I was so excited when my manager Dan called and told me that I was the opening act for the FREESTYLE BLAST at the College of Staten Island. DOCO Entertainment put together an amazing line-up for their first major freestyle event in Staten Island, and I got to be a part of it! I was so honored.
I knew I had to give it my all and prove that freestyle is not just a thing of the past … it is alive and still going strong. I practiced with my dancers Dominic and Mary (aka China) for a solid month so that we were prepared.
On the day of the show, we all met at my place and drove up to the show together. Everyone was excited, and ready to give a great performance.We hit a little traffic on the way up to Staten Island (we are from the South Jersey/Philly area), but knew that we would make it to the venue on time. During the ride we listened to the show tape one last time as a final preparation. And of course, the guys were downing their Red Bulls. lol.
Once we got to the Performing Arts Center, the whole experience went to another level. To be surrounded by such amazing acts like ANGEL THE ORIGINAL COVER GIRL, and GEORGE LAMOND, CORO, JUDY TORRES, etc. was so amazing for me. I have been such a fan of all of them and now I get to perform in a show with them. TOTAL DREAM COME TRUE! Me, my dancers and my manager Dan were so pumped!
We were greeted by everyone at DOCO Entertainment (what a great crew), so nice and professional. Jay from DOCO showed us to my dressing room with a sign with my name on it … very nice touch, guys!
After an interview with a local radio station and some picture taking, we got “the call” to the stage. We were ready and went to the stage to go on. I couldn’t wait to get out there and do what I love to do. I love to write and record but there is nothing like getting on stage and performing for a crowd. I live for that!!
After a quick prayer we were ready to do our thing! Speedy from LaKalle gave me a great introduction, and then it was showtime! We performed and the response was great. There is nothing like giving it all that you have onstage, and then having the audience show their appreciation.
When we were offstage, we all had a small celebration among ourselves. Then I got to enjoy the rest of the show and see how the veterans do it. Seeing and hearing them perform all of the hits that freestyle was built on … WOW! Such great entertainers!! I felt like I was in the best company.
The experience backstage was special to me too. The other artists were showing me love, and I really appreciated it. Angel, the original Cover Girl always makes me feel great with her awesome compliments, I totally look up to her. She is amazing on stage, I have never seen someone connect so well with a crowd the way she does. What an inspiration!
I just want to thank my manager Dan for believing in me and taking me to the next level, thanks to Latif for recognizing my hard work and for having faith in my music career. And thank you DOCO ENTERTAINMENT for putting together such a great show:)
And thank you Staten Island for being such an awesome crowd, I hope to perform again there soon! I see how far I have come — and after watching the veterans perform, I know I still have alot to learn — but I am having the best time and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me.
If you want to see the videos of my performance, I have them posted on my site www.jonelleonline.com
- jonelle xoxo
So there it was, the great Carnival Valor. Though this was just my second time on a Cruise, I was sort of familiar with Carnival. Last year, which was our first Cruise, we did on Royal Caribbean. I’ll talk about the differences later on.
My Mom and Sister Cindy were Carnival Connoisseurs. Mom is no longer with us, and Cindy is still sailing. My mother wanted so bad to take me on a Cruise with her, her treat. At the ti,e I just wasn’t interested. Part of me feels bad because she only wanted to share a wonderful experience, but another part of me is glad that my first Cruise experience was with my wife. It was her first Cruise as well.
I won’t lie, I did try and book on Royal, but they were sold out during our Anniversary which is August 6th. So we agreed to give Carnival a try. I did want to see what all the hoopla was about the so-called fun ship.
If you guys read my blog about last year’s Cruise, you’d notice that there were alot of pictures, well, there would’ve been more for this one because we started snapping photos from the minute we woke up ready to leave the house. The unfortunate thing was, we lost our freaking Camera around the 2nd day. It was the bummer of my trip. I had pictures of us walking out the door, getting into the car, it was still dark out. We met with LB from the group Freestyle Evolution who offered to pick us up at Fort Lauderdale Airport and take us to the ship. Thanks L! He was upset too because we took a bunch of pictures that morning. We had some time to kill so we went over to Bayside, a shopping center not far from the port where they have tons of stores and restuarants. If you are ever in Miami, go check out Bayside, there’s a great Cuban restuarant there. We, however decided to eat at Bubba Gumps, one of mine and Angel’s favorite places. We love shrimp! Oh and Angel and LB put away a couple drinks too… okay, I had one!
Well off to the ship we went. This time it was as confusing as the first. We were pro’s now and flowed through this with ease. We had recently received out new passports and were excited to use them, sounds Corney hu? Well, as you get older, the simple things in life become exciting once again.
Like the first cruise we are led into the lobby of the ship and let go. So here’s Angel and I, just like when we first boarded Royal. Standing in the middle of this lobby, people rushing pass us in every direction, booking excursions, having drinks, listening to music. We looked at each other and said,”Lets find out Cabin!
Stateroom 7-290 on the Empress Deck was where we stayed. We immediately unpacked and hung up our cloths. Anyone who is thinking about Cruising, remember, there are no Irons on the ship, so iron your stuff before packing then unpack as soon as you board the ship and hang up your clothes. We learned that the hard way the last time.
So we finish up and find our way through the mazz of a deck to the elevators. Up to the Lido Deck, where all the action is. Food, Pools, Food, Music, Food, Drinks and did I mention Food? I started heading to the Buffet, Angel to the Bar. She pulled me back and instead we both got a drink, taps our glasses and said “Happy Anniversary!” With drinks in hand we stood along the banister overlooking the Port of Miami as the Carnival Valor blew it’s tremendous horn (Scaring the shit out of me), and off we sailed.
Boats and jets ski’s raced along side the ship waving to us, cars on the highway honked their horns as small hands waved to us from a distance. These people knew we were going on vacation and about to have a blast.
First stop… Grand Cayman!
Another advice when you go on a Cruise. Throughout the ship, on shore, in the dinning room etc. You will have people coming up to you asking to take your picture. Do it! They don’t charge you. What happens is, at the end of the day, you go up to one of the decks where they display all the day’s photos. All you do is walk around and look for your pictures. Some you’ll like, others you won’t. You pay only for those you like. If you don’t like any of them, you don’t pay for any, of course you don’t take any home either.
Angel and I made this almost a game, we sought out whoever was taking pictures, stepped up and said “Cheese!” Well, at least Angel says Cheese, if you look at my shy smile, it’s more like “Meeze!”
There we just wanted to take a tour. I don’t know if I’m really feeling the tours. Unless you are going to go see things that you grew up seeing in photos or TV, like the Pyramids, Mount Rushmore, The Statue Of Liberty or the Grand Canyon, I just don’t see the point. Most of these so-called paradise destinations are poverty stricken and the thought that so many of these people hardly have enough to eat, yet your wife is spending a thousand dollars on Bahama Mama’s, can be a bit depressing. So I think, from now on, we’ll stick to the activity excursions.
Within the country of Grand Cayman, there is a city that goes by the name Hell! For real.
We heard a couple of tales of how it got it’s name, I figured it was because the place is so small and not much to see, that you right away say, “Let’s Get The Hell Out Of Here!”
Honestly, the town basically consisted on one souvenir shop / post office, where the owner dressed like the devil.
So. We got the Hell out of their and headed to probably my favorite stop on the tour. It was the Turtle Farm! Yea, it doesn’t take much to hold my interest. It was however really interesting. It suppose to be the only Turtle farm in the world, wow, and I was there! Lol
No for real, it was really interesting. Turtle come from prehistoric times. Apparently they haven’t changed in like 2 billion years or something. same like the Alligator and the Roach. Damn, Cavemen had Roaches too? I guess the exterminated came over with his club back then. Hahaha, let me stop, Angel hates when I laugh at my own jokes. So anyway, there are these sort of divided tanks where the turtles are held.
Let me try and remember what the director told us. There was a tank for conservation, you know, saving the turtles till they are big enough to take care of themselves then let go. Then there is the Study tank. This tank is used for… Studying turtles. Then there was the “Consumption Tank” yea, you heard right. People like to eat turtle. I’ll pass.
There was one tank that had smaller turtles that you were allowed to pick up and take pictures with. We did that, Angel didn’t want to hold it, but I did!
It was a pretty small turtle, but the only one that they allowed us to pick up. Of course that wasn’t good enough for me. Directly behind me were the 80 pounders. These things were huge. I gave Angel the camera and told her to get it ready. She got all nervous and asked what I was doing, I said, just focus, ready? I reached in and grabbed hold of the biggest turtle I could reach. I think it was the biggest in the tank. This thing was so strong, I swear, it almost pulled me in. I wrestled it as the people started to gather around. The director was busy telling someone a story over at the baby tank that he didn’t see me. I grabbed hold and yanked up as Turtle swam down back and forth him and I tugged until finally, with all my strength, I pulled the sonofabitch out the water. I don’t klnow where this water came from, but turtle flapped his arms and legs and soaked anyone 5 feet or less in front of us. Angel snapped the pic and I tossed turtle back into his tank with a victorious smirk! Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, wiping the fishing water off their faces.
Sorry again, but remember I told you, we lost our camera during the Cruise so I hope I was able to ignite your imagination a bit.
Then there was this tank…
Then we headed back to the ship.
We get back on time to enjoy one of Carnivals fabulous Cheese Burgers, walked around the deck for a while then headed up to our state room for a little you know what!
SLEEP!!! get your mind out the gutter.
We set our alarm to about 7pm Ship Time. Oh another important thing to know. When you leave the ship, make sure you have a reliable watch. Carnival will not wait for you. Your watch is to be set to what they call Ship’s Time. What’s that? Simple. If you are sailing from Miami, is Eastern Time, you got that right?
So we get up, shower, get dress and head to the Washington Dinning Room. This is a pretty exciting time and actually a great idea. You see Cruise ships like to group new people together. So if it’s just you and your significant other, good chance you will be seated with another couple or even a round table with a few couples. Whichever, it’s great. You get to meet new and interesting people and create long lasting friends ships that will last till you leave the ship then you’ll never see each other again.
We met a young and incredible couple who had been dating for a couple of months. Izzy and Jamie… They were really cool and fun and we are so glad we met them. Hey guys, if you read this, leave a comment, we’d love to hear from you.
We came to have a bit in common, I knew the moment we all ordered the same dish! So we ate our dinner and got to know . Angel and I usually try and refrain from the typical ice breaker… “So, What Do You Do?” Most people have great jobs and make tons of money, but of course we are in the music business, so usually the spotlight is on us. But Izzy and Jamie were different. You see, when we were releasing hits back in the day, they were crawling on the floor looking for lead to eat. They had no idea who Angel was, Freestyle, no one, and as strange as that was to us, it was actually really nice.
After dinner, Angel and I went back up to our stateroom to.. you know……
“CHANGE OUR CLOTHES!” Damn, you guys have dirty minds!
After changing we would go up to the Lido deck, which is the top outside deck where you can grab a drink, a lounge chair and lay back under the stars and watch a movie on this humongous screen at the top of the ship. Under the dark sky and quiet ocean, you saw and heard the movie perfectly. We watch about three movies during our trip and even though a couple we’d seen before, it was the most relaxing time ever.
Well, the movies over and there is still plenty to do on the ship. But not for this ol’ couple. We grabbed a quick bite at the buffet and headed to our room.
Oh yes, the infamous Towel Pals!
each night that you go back to your room, you should see a new towel pay made by your room attendant. if you don’t, go look for him and tell him Latif said he better make you a new pal every night or else!
So the next morning, we wake up and go up to the Lido Deck for some breakfast. There’s at least 3 breakfast buffets with a chef behind the counter making eggs. Cheese Omelette well done! I’m a creature of habit so that was my regular order. By the third day, the chef knew me and had my egg ready before I even got up to him. cereal, home fries and some pancakes… Hey, I’m a growing boy! large glass of Orange juice tops it off. Oh, and for you pork lovers! You name it, they got it! I’ll pass though.
Off the ship we go to the beautiful country of Belize. At first I thought we were in Jamaica when this guy came up to pose in a photo with us. I think he was lost!
beautiful place, but the port was a bit stinky. I think the guide said that the marina was man-made and what happens is, the water from the ocean comes in, but never goes out. So you get this build up up algae, dead fist and other garbage. I think it gives off a bad first impression for going swimming. Right away you think all the waters like that. We took a tour that was so so. Again, you’re looking at poverty-stricken neighborhoods. I could see that in my own hood. I took a bunch of picks here, but of course I lost the camera so I hope you have a good imagination. Okay, back to the boat.
I have to admit. If you are looking for a cruise to “Relax” then don’t go on excursions because they can be exhausting. I personally enjoy sailing time. Angel and I turn our chairs toward the water and sit back and relax. Yea boy, that’s what I’ talking about. We had wanted to go to the clubs and some of the shows while on the ship, but like the last time, we didn’t. We just laid around and ate. Oh and don’t forget our 10:30 PM Movies under the stars.. Probably the light of each day for me.
Next stop Isla Ritan, Honduras.
I never knew people came here to vaca. They do and it is a beautiful place to go. Would I live here? I don’t think so, but to vacation, yes. Lots of Jungle. You can get an excursion to Zipline through the Jungle. We didn’t do it this trip, but we made a promise to, next time. Supposedly, when you zipline through the jungle, Monkeys jump through the trees around you. Knowing my reflexes, I might end up knocking one out.
here. we took a Taxi to the beach. It’s cool, because the driver basically sits around and waits for you. he took us to this beach (forgot the name) and there were other cruise-mates there so we felt comfortable. I had forgotten my watch so I was a bit tensed. God-forbid we missed our ship. I can’t see Angel and I walking up and down the beach selling Shark-Tooth Necklaces to tourist.
By the way, yes, many of the locals will approach you to buy their crafts. They are actually very very talented. I had a bunch of guys from Honduras renovate my Bronx house a few years back and they rocked it.
One thing did throw me off though. That’s when some 12 year old girl approached and offered me a message for $5.00 Oh boy. “No thank you,” I replied! ‘I could do your wife too!” She responded. I bet she could. Again I kindly declined her offer. Scary!
Since we had lost the camera the night before, we bought a stupid 27 exposure water camera from the ship. I’m so use to digital cameras that I almost forgot ho to use one of these. here’s are a couple of pictures I took.
This water was absoultely incredible.
Here’s a picture of my AngelFish swimming. You should’ve seen before before the swimming lesson I gave her! Oh, and I had to crop this photo to give it a PG rating.
It was a great day. pretty relaxing, but now, back on the ship. We took a nap, then got up and got dressed for dinner. We decided to stop at a couple of the Photo spots and take some pictures.
I’m not one to do these pose pics. “Turn you body toward her, your head toward the camera with your eyes toward me. Then point your left foot at 12 and your right foot at 6, and just hold it! All along I’m holding my breath. I look like one of those baby pictures, where the baby’s just sort of staring into space.
Next and last stop… Cozumel, Mexico
I always wanted to see this place. It was my Mother’s favorite place and I could see why. I have a chessboard that she had bought me many years ago. It’s made from Marble and Onyx. She bought it here in Cozumel and had my sister carry it most of the trip. It’s beautiful and weighs a ton. I saw the same chessboard when I went into one of the shops at the port and right away thought about Mom. It was exact, but pretty much made from the same materials. My sister told me that Mom didn’t buy it from a shop, but rather from someone at the side of the road who actually hand-crafted it themselves. I don’t allow anyone to play with that chessboard.
This is a place I wouldn’t mind coming back to again.
A couple of days early, I went down to the Service Desk on the ship and bought 2 excursions. I got a pretty good deal on them because they were basically the same thing, just in two different places. I rushed back up to the room and proudly presented the two excursions to Angel. I was waiting for her praise of the deal I came up with. Instead, she looked up at me and said, “Are you F@#$in’Crazy?” My smile quickly dropped. “What’s wrong I asked?” ”You picked two days of snorkeling in the Ocean?” She asked. “Yea, they gave me a good deal!” I replied. “I can’t snorkel!” She said. “Why not?” “Because I’m scared!”
Oh oh! I thought. “And you bought TWO days? Go down and cancel these right now!” She ordered. “But!” “I don’t want to hear it. Go down and change these to something different.” I even tried to lie and say all the other excursions were sold out. “Then get our money back!”
I went down stairs and stood on the long line. The lady whom I had just bought the tickets from saw me. “Everythings okay?” She asked. “Not really” I replied.
I came back to the room with one ticket for a tour, which was the one we did in Belize and a credit for an excursion in Cozumel. I figured I’ll have the whole night to talk Angel into Snorkeling with me. You see, I never did it, but always wanted to. I would love to Dive, but I guess I’ll start with snorkeling.
Finally, after constant persuasion, I talked Angel into Snorkeling. We signed up for an excursion in Cozumel called Three Reef Snorkeling. Angel didn’t realize this, and I did my best not to let her find out till we were already on the boat, but Three Reef Snorkeling took you out into the Ocean on a boat were you will Snorkel. Then they take you to another part of the Ocean, where you snorkel some more. Then they take you out to the third.
So we get into the boat. There’s about 12 people on board also doing the excursion. They give us a speedy lesson and begin handing out gear. Angel looked terrified. I felt bad, but hey, if I could Para-sail, then she could snorkel.
Like everywhere, Angel and I always have problems fitting cloths and equipment. The stuff is usually too small for me, and too big for her. Her Flippers were the smallest they had, and were still lose on her. Mine were fine. Her Mask was too big, mine, too small and was hurting me a bit. Her life vest covered most of her body, mine fit me like a bra. We were cracking up and so was everyone else on the boat as they came and kept letting us try on other equipment. Finally, though the stuff hardly fit us, we took it like champs and geared up. I was so excited my heart was pounding, then as I got to the edge of the boat and put on my flippers, I kind of panicked. the dive master looked at me and asked “Ju Or dite?” I nodded my head then leaped off the edge of the boat into the crystal clear sea. I stayed floating waiting for Angel to jump in. She stood at the edge looking down. I know my wife and her eyes was saying, I’m not doing this. Finally, the Dive Master gave her a life ring which made her calm. She sat at the edge of the boat (everyone else had already jumped in) and holding on to her trusty life ring, placed her body gently into the water.
She was in, and I excitedly swam toward her. “Get away from me!” Ordered. I quickly floated away. The water was about 15 feet deep. If you have never been snorkeling, the first few minutes are strange. You see, since we were little, we are use to holding our breath as soon as our face comes in contact with water. So here you are, under water and you have to Inhale!!! It’s a crazy feeling, like you’re about to inhale a lung full of salty sea water.
But I did it and it was amazing. Anxiety was trying to step in and i think one of the Dive Masters noticed. He looked at me and asked if I was okay. I nodded. Then after about an hour, we got back on the boat and went out further. The water here had to be about 25 feet. Of course one of the first questions we all asked during the brief lesson was. Are there any sharks. They assured us, there were none. Again we Snorkeled around. The Dive Master would go to the bottom and point out some water life to us. Eels, Stingrays, Barracudas. Then, we were back onto the boat and off to the third and final reef. This had to be about 50 feet or so. Angel was calm now and was getting the hang of it. Yes, she was still holding on to her Life Ring, but she mastered it and was able to snorkel like a pro… well almost like a pro.
One of the Dive Masters had a camera and asked us if we wanted to take a photo underwater. We agreed and so how, a school of fish flocked in front of us just as he took the picture… It was great.
Look at the Life Ring in Angel’s right hand.
Well, back on the ship, we took a short nap and headed for dinner. Tomorrow we will have a Fun Day At Sea, then back to Miami where we will leave the ship till out next Cruise.
We would like to apologize to those whom we bored, and thank you to those who enjoy our trip. We are planning another Cruise in August next year and we would love for all of our friends, family and fans to join us.
Latif and Angel Mercado. Washington Dinning Room Carnival Valor 2009
