PORT CANAVERAL - Former President Bush and his son, Gov. Jeb Bush, returned Sunday from a three-night Caribbean cruise with family and security agents, showing no signs of recent illnesses that have sickened some cruise passengers.
All the Bush family members were in good health when the Disney Wonder cruise ship pulled into port about 6 a.m., said Dixie Sansom, Canaveral Port Authority's director of government relations. The Bushes left the vessel by 8 a.m. without making comment, she added.
"They had a wonderful, relaxing trip," said Jill Bratina, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bush.
In an onboard interview with Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Thomas, Gov. Bush described his first vacation in more than a year. Bush read "Theodore Rex," a biography of former President Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris, watched a movie on Winston Churchill, worked out in the ship's gym and relaxed on the beach.
"I went to sleep at 8:30 the first night. I slept 10 hours," said Bush, dressed in baggy shorts and a T-shirt. "I can't remember the last time I slept 10 hours."
For Christmas, Bush said he received a green tie, some Bay Rum cologne and a bottle of wine a month for a year. The governor said he gave his mother a bottle of expensive perfume and his father "one of those things that you clear your ear and nostril hair. For the guy who has everything, from Sharper Image."
Gov. Bush said he did not exchange gifts with his brother, President Bush: "We don't give gifts. There are too many brothers and family members."
Passengers said they often saw the Bush family, which included former first lady Barbara Bush; the governor's wife, Columba, and their two sons. President George W. Bush's two daughters, Jenna and Barbara, were also listed on the ship's manifest.
"It was wonderful," said Dianne McCutchen, 72, of Peachtree City, Ga. "They were swimming, playing games, taking pictures with kids, and it was all very nice."