WELCOME TO GRAND CAYMAN

Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Sunny, 75 F, rough seas

Tuesday was a sea day—from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. we stayed by the aft pool and read our books. We took little breaks for soda or iced tea, and lunch (cheeseburger/fries are not quite as good as Princess), but we mostly soaked up the sun. This is very unusual for me, but I am using lots and lots of sunscreen (55 SPF) and so far no burning. It just feels so good to be in the sun.

We are going to dinner nightly in the Gold Olympian Dining Room between 7 and 7:30 and sit at a table for two on the rail—that means we overlook the first floor dining room. On Carnival ships the wait staff put on a little show with dancing every night and we have a good view for that. We have also observed how quickly the wait staff prepares the dining room for second seating, complete with a new tablecloths and folded napkins (candle stick, boat, bishop’s hat, and fan so far—different each night), and, of course, the table settings. I almost want to get right up and help them because I do love a formally set table. Traditional dining is at 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. The “open seating” that we have means we can dine anytime from 5:45 to 9:30 p.m. We have never had to wait for a table at open seating. We have been amusing ourselves by taking photos of each course. The food presentation has been quite decorative.

We hurried after dinner to the Venetian Palace Theater for “It’s a Wonderful World.” We were just a little late and had trouble finding a seat. It amazes me that Carnival would design a theater in 2005 with huge brass columns on both levels, affecting the sight line for many people. Despite finding a seat in back of a column, this stage production was fantastic. There were at least 14 scene and costume changes in less than an hour. The first scene was a huge lighted globe that filled the stage, then a hot air balloon, the Moulin Rouge with windmill (Cancan dancing), a Venetian bridge, a Thai scene (“One Night in Bangkok”), China and a beautiful flowing dragon, Mexico, London, the South Pole (dancers were dressed as Penguins), Africa (with wooden life size giraffe cutouts and zebra headdresses on the dancers), Ireland (Celtic dancing), and then the finale with the U.S.A. and Yankee Doodle Dandy. The 16 dancers/singers were truly professional with obvious athletic abilities for jumps and kicks. Carnival does have very impressive spectacular shows.

Today we were at Grand Cayman. Originally we were going to take a tour to Sting Ray City where one snorkels and swims with the stingrays. Tim and I did this in 1996 and had planned to do it again on this trip, but we never got around to signing up for the tour. As it turned out, the seas were too choppy and most tours were cancelled, including all Sting Ray City tours. Because Grand Cayman is surrounded by precious coral reefs, no ship can dock at the island and passengers must take “tenders” to shore. We tendered to Spot Bay instead of Georgetown and had to take a taxi to Georgetown ($5 each—one way).

Georgetown has really changed since 2002 (our last visit) and I am not sure if it was because of a hurricane. Carnival does not give a brief description of ports like Princess did. Anyway, we walked around the downtown area and I finally found some souvenirs for my friends who help me with writing assessment—hand painted pencils with a carved and painted animal on the top, e.g. dolphin, sting ray, seahorse, turtle, fish). I also found toy stuffed stingrays that are so well done for granddaughters B1 and B2, as well as Del Sol beach balls and rings that change color in the sun. B1 is sort of interested in rocks so I bought two unpolished pieces of ammolite (from an ammonite, a sea creature (looks like a sea shell) that survived until the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago and is found only in southern Alberta, Canada—anyway this gemstone fossil was discovered in 1981 according to literature and the polished version with reds, greens, blues, and yellows is very expensive when made into jewelry. This unpolished version was not expensive. Tim was very patient with the shopping although he does enjoy looking at watches. We went to a 2nd floor restaurant overlooking the Caribbean for Diet Pepsi and conch fritters.

There were no lines to tender back to the ship and we went straight to the aft pool to read again. We found out that the ships cannot even anchor in this area because of the coral, so the ship was moving with the wind and using engines to stay in place as much as possible.

We sailed away about 4:30 p.m. on our way to Jamaica.

Culinary Delight of the Day: conch fritters, fried mozzarella; Tim liked the Seafood Newburg.

TK’s Takes: rough water, no anchors; vendors on Grand Cayman are not pushy at all.

A Note our Dear Granddaughters, B and B: We really really miss our two beautiful granddaughters, aged 7 and almost 2. The children on board look like they are really having fun. There are many activities for children and Tim and I are really pondering a family cruise.