Wednesday, January 28, 2014
Sunny, 83 F, windy with 6-10 ft. swells
Today
was a lazy routine, reading by the pool, a digital photography class, shopping
presentation for St. Maarten, Tortola, and St. Thomas. If I keep taking photography classes, I may
learn more about my camera! I think I have “white balance” mastered! Tim tell me I could give the shopping
lecture—no doubt! Today’s shopping “talk” lasted for 1 ½ hours. That is way too
long. Everyone stays because the presenter raffles off nice gifts.
Tonight,
Cruise Critic members, Peggy and Steve from Virginia, organized a “Celebration”
dinner in the Seven Seas Dining Room. Tim and I are celebrating our 30th
anniversary all year long, so we definitely counted ourselves in. Over 70
Cruise Critic people attended this enjoyable dinner. We sat with Kevin and
Linda (screen name--Scotnadian) and Peggy and Steve (screen name--Plank). We
discovered that Linda, Peggy, and I are all educators, so we had a lot in
common. We shared cruising tales too. For one thing, Peggy and Steve were on
the Royal Caribbean _________ of the Seas when it caught fire last year.
We
saw on MSNBC news last night that another Royal Caribbean ship (Explorer of the
Seas) had to return to Miami with 700 passengers who had norovirus. Cruise lines really try to prevent
norovirus—there are hand sanitizer stations throughout this ship, especially at
all the restaurants. Crew also stand by the restaurants’ entrance and spray
your hands with hand sanitizer. All the ships we have been on do this. We notice other precautions, too. Passengers
who have norovirus are quarantined in their staterooms for over 24 hours (NCL,
Carnival, Princess, Holland America).
We
are quite sure it is still snowing and cold in Erie. We are grateful that we are
enjoying sunshine daily.
Tonight’s
towel animal was a darling elephant. Alit Setiawan of India, our cabin steward,
says it takes him about one minute to make one towel animal.
TK’s Takes:
The biggest pool today was closed because of the wind—too much water
splashes over the side.
ST. MAARTEN AND THE YODA GUY!
Wednesday,
January 29, 2014Philipsburg, Dutch St. Maarten
Sunny with a couple drops of rain, 81 F
About 8:30
a.m. Caribbean time, we took a water taxi from the area where seven huge cruise
ships are docked to the main area of town. Seven cruise ships—that means at
least 15,000-18,000 extra people on the island! To tell the truth, we were not
jostled nor did we feel crowded. We hadn't been in St. Maarten for a while, so
everything looks different. The main shopping street is narrow and quaint. One
block off Philipsburg’s main street
there are more shops, restaurants, and hotels right on a white sandy beach. We
are returning to Philipsburg on February 10th, so we decided to have
lunch on the island then.
We
discovered a shop owned by “Yoda Guy.” Nick
Maley opened a Star Wars museum right on the main street. He was the
designer and creator of Yoda and got
an Emmy nomination for his creation of Anthony Hopkins' Hunchback of Notre Dame
in the movie of that name. He is a personable guy who told us he sold his
Ferrari three years ago and moved to the Caribbean. Smart! He signed some items for usJ.
TORTOLA AND SUNNY CARIBBEE!
Thursday,
January 30, 2014Sunny with a few drops of rain, 82 F
We get up
about 7 a.m. each morning so we are ready to go off the ship quite early. The
shops on the islands so far open about 9-10 a.m., so we usually take a walk
while waiting. We have visited Tortola several times. If we visit again we are
definitely going to go to Virgin Gorda. We have heard so much about that area,
but have never gone—it is only accessible by boat.
Road Town,
Tortola does not have too many shops, but the one we always go to is Sunny Caribbee, a shop that sells the
spices we love. Today, we made a few gift purchases here J. I have ordered their “Salt ’N Spice”
online, we like it so much—tomatoes, mozzarella, oil, and this seasoning,
sumptuous. A small market area has been developed with small, sturdy wooden
buildings for the vendors who were formerly in canopies the last time we were
here. I love the bright
colors---oranges, yellows, greens, blues that we see in the Caribbean on
clothing, buildings, even the flowers.
Tonight I
went to the show with acrobats, “Soul Duo.” They are extraordinary performers
from the Ukraine. As the NCL Freestyle
Daily said, their show is a fusion of acrobatic feats, circus art, aerial
ballet, and beautiful choreography. They did things I did not know the human
body was capable of.
We stopped
in and out of other shops, like Diamonds International, Boolchand’s, Aruba
Aloe, Tommy Bahamas, Tissot, and Del Sol. We do love looking at watches
and I don’t mind looking at diamondsJ. I don’t think I will be buying the $11,000
Crown of Light diamond that I looked atJ.
A candy shop
offered free Wi-fi, not as convenient as Starbucks. I loaded the blog (updated as of now) and saw
that Erie is 3 F. I sure do hope my dear
family is doing OK in that cold weather.
After some
gelato (me: lime and coconut; TK: coconut and mango), we boarded the water taxi
to the area where the cruise ships docked. One cannot imagine what 7 gigantic
cruise ships look like, back to front, four in a row, 3 behind. The towering
behemoths make me feel like very very tiny!
We went to
the comedian Chris Alpine’s show
tonight. Definitely funny. E.g. he narrowed in on people from south Florida. He
asked, “Why do you go on cruises to the Caribbean? Just walk outdoors.”
Another: The comedian said his sister had a baby. “She named him after his
father, ‘Who.’” One more: “My sister
told me not to get her son any toy guns. So I didn’t. I bought him a real
one.” Finally: Alpine said the first
time he boarded a cruise ship he made the mistake of calling it a boat in front
of the captain. The captain said to him, “Tomorrow morning how about I put you
on a boat out in the Atlantic? I bet then you will know the difference between
a ship and a boat.” That joke really tickled me—it’s so silly when people call
a ship a boat. Really. I’m surprised
that I remembered that many of his jokes.
St. Maarten:
144 miles east of Puerto Rico. Population, 69,000. French, Dutch,
English.
SHOP SHOP SHOP IN ST. THOMAS!
Friday,
January 31, 2014 Sunny, breezy, 80s F
We are
sitting in the Green House, our favorite St. Thomas restaurant where we sit by
an open window, cool breeze, and right on the bay, to have our cheeseburgers in
paradise. I practically begged the waitress to let us move to a lesser section
after we ate while I did my blog, but she insisted we stay right at this lovely
open window. Free Wi-Fi here.
We had a bit
of a misstep this morning when we left the ship. The locals “herded” us to what
we thought was an open air bus headed for downtown. After 10 minutes we figured
out we were on the bus to the beach. So we had a little detour, saw Magen’s Bay
for the swimmers and the golf course one man was headed to. Finally we got to
the shops. Heaven forbid we weren’t there when the stores opened!
We spent
about 3 ½ hours meandering through the shops, perfume, watches, jewelry,
liquor, electronics, souvenirs, and so on. St. Thomas is a shopping haven with
so much variety---we love to look. This activity probably would not appeal to
everyone, but we have learned a lot about diamonds, watches, and other jewelry
over the years. There are so many Americans of all ages who live on the islands
and work in the shops—a lifestyle one could easily adapt to.
I was
thinking about all of our Caribbean trips and why we enjoy the islands so much.
All of the islands were first populated by Native Americans, generally Arawaks
or Caribes. Then individual islands were
“captured” by the Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, or the Dutch. Many of the islands were defeated by another
country or more after the first settlement. Then the African slaves were
brought in. Each diverse people brought in another layer of culture---art,
food, language, music, religion, and so on.
It is a fascinating history and we get to be a part of the culture! I
know this sounds silly, but I remember studying the West Indies in grade
school. I loved the idea of the spices, gold, and silver, the resources of the
Caribbean. Now we have experienced almost every inhabited island in the Caribbean!
All except Cuba!
When we were
finished shopping (no big purchases), we boarded an open air bus for the pier.
Turned out it was the bus for Blue Beard’s Castle Time Share Resort. Oh well!
The driver took us to the pier after dropping the other people off, and we had
another “tour” in St. Thomas. J
Tonight we
are reading our books after dinner.
Tonight’s
towel animal is a penguin—we have never seen one before.
TK’s Take: The
nice cool breeze is really fine!
Janie’s Take: In case you did not get our email, we do
want the Seawolves tix!
AT SEA
Saturday.
February 1, 2014Sunny, some rain sprits, 80s F
We had
breakfast in the dining room, assorted pastries, scrambled eggs, hash browns,
Tim had eggs Benedict. We have not been eating breakfast but today was the
exception. Then we headed for the pool—we chose lounge chairs under the awning
to avoid the sun and any rain. The noon barbecue was prepared right next to us,
a vat of rice, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables, along with a large grill for
pork and chicken. Watermelon slices and corn on the cob complemented the
barbecue.
Where is
Barb C when we need her? Years ago she was the one who pointed out that cruise
ships put one color carpeting on the port side of the decks with staterooms,
and another color on the starboard side. That made it so easy to know which
side our stateroom was on when we got off the elevator or climbed the stairs.
It is easy to get turned around on a ship. Anyway, on the Sun, the carpet is
the same color on both sides. By now we are fairly good at figuring this all
out, but it is so much easier with a color system.
Another
thing—Tim and I disagree about the food. I like the cuisine on this ship so
much better than on Princess. I like simpler fare, without elaborate spices and
herbs. NCL’s offerings certainly are interesting cuisine, but not so far from
our everyday dining. I think the pastries are fresher and I already commented
on the desserts, although I am not eating that much. Last night there was a
chocolate dessert buffet—I don’t eat chocolate anymore.
Our dinner
tonight was at Il Adagio, the Italian restaurant. I loved the atmosphere—galley
style with windows on the sea---very intimate. The wait staff was very
attentive. The first thing we noticed was the warm Italian bread, right out of
the oven. Five different dipping oils. Caprese salad, chicken parmesan, for
me---steak, Caprese salad, minestrone for Tim. Excellent. We liked this
restaurant better than the French restaurant. We had a voucher, but if not this
would have cost us $15 per person. Le Bistro is $20 per person without the
voucher. We get two vouchers for two because we are at “Platinum” level, over
60 days or so with NCL.
We went to
the show, “Rock You Tonight,” with songs by Queen, Journey, and Who.
Jonathan Kellerman: The Conspiracy Club (girlfriend killed—psychologist finds killer); Flesh and Blood (girl/patient
murdered—Delaware connects to magazine magnate)
Tami Hoag: Dust
to Dust (young cop dies, then his father—detective figures out a 20 year
old secret)John Sandford: Rules of Prey (“maddog,” a serial killer turns out to be a lawyer who works in real estate)
James Patterson: Sail (the Family Dunne, alive after weeks missing at sea)
(just noting books I have read on the cruise)
SUPER BOWL SUNDAY AT SEA
SEAHAWKS??Sunday, February 2, 2014
Sunny, 80s F
We weren’t
sure what the weather would be based on our departure from Miami 12 days ago,
but it is very warm.
Fortunately
I was able to snag 4 more books from the library that passengers have left,
because I finished all the ones I brought—can’t read the iPad outside by the
pool, so I must rely on the real thing.
I am glad we
aren’t saying goodbye to the crew—they have been very sweet, the friendliest
ever. Absolutely no problems with the Pepsi card—no waiting, no questions. Some
bars have fountain guns, other pour out of a can.
We watched
the Super Bowl on deck for the first quarter. It was gruesome and we were
really worried about Brian and B1. I was rooting for Denver, I can assure you.
TK was dumbfounded because he really thought that Denver would win. After the
first quarter, we returned to the room and watched the game on TV there while
reading. The ship provided wings, chips, salsa, hotdogs, etc. as well as the
usual buffet or dinner. This ship does not have a big screen like the Carnival
and Princess ships we have been on for the Super Bowl. Neither of us won the pool.
MIAMI AGAIN! BACK TO BACK
Monday,
February 3, 2014Sunny, 80s F
What a
terrific day in Miami. I was able to talk to Randy, Brian, Denise, Coleen (left
message), Marge and Bill, and Friends H and M! So good to hear their voices. B1
and B2 were in school, so no luck talking to those dear ones. Found out that B2 has not lost her tooth yet.
That will happen! B1 has a basketball game tonight, so we will think of her
playing her favorite sport. Skiing is happening, although it rained on
Saturday. Our house still stands. Doesn’t
sound like the weather is any warmer in Erie/Jamestown than when we left in
mid-January. I sure wish we could ship
some warmth up north!
Tonight’s
dinner was lobster and steak. Everyone
loves the spring rolls. The key lime pie for dessert was great too. We talked
about the upcoming stage shows and our insight into this ship and others at
dinner. When I asked if Kevin and Linda had seen the acrobats last cruise,
Kevin said, “Oh, do you mean the girl who can clean her ears with a Q-tip in
her toes?” In the blog I said they could
do things with the human body I didn’t know one could do. I like his way of
saying it better.
Tonight’s
towel animal was the little bitty birdie.
At Sea
Tuesday,
February 4, 2014Sunny, 80s F
After
breakfast, we watched the Zumba class for a little while. I emphasize the word,
watched. The “leaders” were two of
the ship’s dancers and they sure could do some moves. Everyone had worked up
quite a “glow.” The male dancer was doing kicks above his head. I noted that
none of the passenger participants could do that. We also noted that the
average age of participants was probably 35-40. 45 minutes!
Our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet was organized for 11 p.m. This time there were only 30, a much better number so we could actually meet a lot of the people we were chatting with on the CC board. The group ranged from Canadians (even Northwest Territory), to people from NJ, CT, MA, MO, IL, NC, OH, WI, and NV. Tom from Columbus, Ohio is super organized and even printed a beautiful color flyer with super photos of everyone, maps of the ship, directions for the “cabin hop,” (visiting different staterooms, poker run), and the slot pull. Our stateroom will be the example of a balcony. Tomorrow we will see an aft mini suite, our mid-ship balcony, an ocean view, and two forward suites. For the gift exchange, we ended up with maple leaf golf balls, a card holder, chocolate loonies, and maple leaf pens. Our gift was a tin of mints with Presque Isle on the front, Romolo’s sponge candy, an Erie coozie, Niagara postcards, and an Erie magnet.
We enjoyed
dinner tonight at Il Adagio. I had the Caprese salad and baked lasagna.
Fabulous. Tim had lobster linguine and Caesar salad, both very good. The lemon
cheesecake was our dessert.
Janie’s Take:
For the first cruise 12 days I slept so well and heard absolutely NO sounds at night, just the lulling
rocking of the ship. Now, 2 nights in a row, I have awakened to loud talking
and laughing, presumably next door. Not good.
AT SEA
Sailing past Haiti and Dominican
RepublicWednesday, February 5, 2014
Sunny, 79 F
Today was a
pool day—the crowd this week is a little younger and cruise savvy, so we had to
get to the pool deck early to secure our chaise lounges in the shade.
In the
afternoon we had our Cruise Critic Cabin Hop and poker run. About 30 people
visited the 5 cabins on the “Hop,” ours included. Believe it or not, our room
is especially tidy because….we have a great room steward, there is a lot of
space for our things, and we make an effort to keep the room neat! The mini
suite was aft—in the back of the ship---entry foyer, the large bath with
tub and shower, large balcony with 2 lounge chairs, 3 cushion couch, walk-in
closet, and queen bed. The ocean view stateroom was bright with a
large window, queen bed, smaller closet, and shower. Our balcony with queen bed, shower, ample closet, desk with 3 drawers,
small counter with 3 drawers, plus wall cabinets, and a two cushion couch, 2
deck chairs, table on the balcony. The two forward penthouse suites were similar, entry foyers, large balcony with 2
lounge chairs, 2 deck chairs, and a table, queen bed, table and chairs, large
bath with tub and shower, large walk-in closets. Queen beds can also become
large twin beds. As I mentioned before, suites have butlers!
Almost
everyone paid $5 to draw a playing card in each room. Each “host” kept track of
the draw in their room and at the end we met in the Observation Deck lounge to
determine the winner—in this case it was Angel’s sister in law with 4
threes--$60!
There is a
rock n roll band from Gary, Indiana on board with their fans so “Spike and the
Bulldogs” played at 3 p.m. at the pool. They were very very good and I am glad
they are going to play by the pool again next week. We think at least 100
people came on this cruise to support their favorite band. Beatles, The
Animals, Jimi Hendrix, Motown, 50s and 60s music was enjoyed by all.
Tim and I
agreed that tonight’s show in the Stardust was the best show we have ever seen
on a ship, “The Graffiti Classics.”
Advertised as “16 strings, 8 dancing feet, and 4 voices with one aim: to make
classical music wickedly funny and fantastically exhilarating. Graffiti
Classics burst elitist boundaries of the traditional string quartet with its
hilarious all-singing, all-dancing musical comedy cabaret show.” These four young people, two girls, two guys
from England were fantastic. B1 and
I loved “Nuttin But Stringz,” two young men who made their violins sing on the America’s Got Talent show. She would definitely have enjoyed this
group! Their four instruments were two
violins, a viola, and a cello. Such talented musicians—can you imagine singing
and playing “Hava Nagila” while dancing?
At one point, the lead musician said, “Imagine you are on a ship.”
Everyone laughed, but the musicians swayed as if on rough seas while making
their instruments sound like the creaking and moaning of masts and sails on a
tall ship. Then they sang, “Early in the Morning—what do you do with a drunken
sailor.” The lead musician also sang
“Danny Boy” a cappello. Beautiful. For
the finale they played the can-can music from the opera, Carmen, while doing the can-can! Yes, I bought their CDs!
TK’s Takes:
Ocean temperature was 79 F.
Tonight’s
towel animal: Scorpion
ST. THOMAS ENCORE!
Thursday, February
6, 2014Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Sunny with a few drops of rain, 83 F
We knew what
we were doing in St. Thomas today. This is the 16th time we have
been in St. Thomas so we should know what we are doing—except last week’s
misstep. J
We did things a little differently and found some jewelry souvenirs
for??? J
We had lunch at the Green House so I was able to work on the blog. We have done a lot of walking on the cruises, hopefully to offset some of the food. I love the shopping here---so much jewelry, so little time, so little money. Only 3 ships were in port, so the crowd was light. However, even with 6 cruise ships there are so many shops that one never feels neglected while shopping. We returned to Havensight and our ship laden with jewelryJ.
As the ship
left the dock and we sailed away, Tim and I sat on the balcony. It was a
heavenly view with the mountains and clouds in the backdrop, the gently rolling
sea, and palm trees, villas, resorts, and yachts all fading into the distance.
Tonight’s
show was Comedian Rick Starr. His jokes made us laugh, but I can’t write them
out so they would be as funny as they were in the moment
Christopher
Columbus discovered the island of St. Thomas during his 2nd voyage
to the New World in 1493. Carib and Arawak Indians were already there, so no
one really knows who the first humans on St. Thomas were. The area is 31.24 sq.
miles. Population is 105, 275.
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