2024 - Bonnie's Journey to the Caribbean

 

Background The summer of 2024 we stayed in Arizona because I was receiving chemotherapy for lymphoma. Treatment was successful, and in September, my oncologist said the cancer was in remission. We decided to celebrate with a two-week Caribbean cruise, during the middle two weeks of November, making a loop in the eastern Caribbean and a second to the western Caribbean, starting and ending each week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We are travelling with friends Walda and Janet, and Walda's friend Bea. Itinerary: Nov 10: Sail from Fort Lauderdale, Fla, US Nov 11: Nassau, Bahamas Nov 12: At Sea Nov 13 St. Thomas, U S V I Nov 14: San Juan, Puerto Rico Nov15: Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Nov16: Sea Day Nov 17: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US Nov 18: Sea Day Nov 19: Costa Maya, Mexico Nov 20: Georgetown, Cayman Islands Nov 21: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Nov 22: Sea Day Nov 23: Debark ship, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US November 9, 2024 Our Uber driver picked us up. We had not anticipated the closure of I 10, the main route to the airport, but we had left early so had time to navigate another route and arrived in plenty of time for our 1:30 departure on American Airlines to Miami. Checking bags was a bit of a hassle, but there was not a line at security so that went fast. We arrived at the gate at 11:30, two hours before departure. It looks like the flight will be on time, so all is good. My worries pop like bubbles when I turn things over to God. The direct flight to Miami went well except it was too cold. David had on shorts and got chilled. I had on long pants and brought my jacket, so I did better. I sat on my hands to keep them warm! We touched down in Miami at 7:33 pm. Baggage claim was in a different building, and we took the tram which just runs back and forth between 4 stops, running to the end of the line then reverses in the other direction. That was a little confusing and we weren't the only ones trying to figure it out. If you stay on it long enough it gets to the baggage claim stop. Whew! A woman with a Holland America sign was waiting for us at baggage claim. Once we collected luggage, she called the driver and led us outside across three lanes of airport traffic to the pickup point. The driver arrived shortly in a fancy black Cadillac Escalade, loaded our bags and us and drove us 45 minutes or so to the hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The driver, Hubert, was a chatty man with a Spanish accent. He's been in the US seven years from Venezuela. We checked in at the Renaissance Ft Lauderdale West about 8:30 p.m. and learned the cruise line booked two rooms for us, so we will need to straighten that out and get a refund. We hadn't eaten since breakfast, so we were more than ready for a meal at the hotel restaurant. David had a burger and I had a salad with chicken. We were hungry and it tasted good. The waitress was very friendly. We were in our room at 10:30 so got to bed even though our bodies thought it was 8:30. I didn't have trouble falling asleep. It felt good to finally be warm after the chilly flight. Sunday November 10 Embarkation day. Last night, we both had been cold in the plane and still felt chilled, so David turned up the thermostat when we went to bed. In a couple of hours, I woke up too warm and turned it down. The hotel comforter was too warm too. I don't much like the comforter style bedding.  When we checked in last night, Brittany, the clerk, said there were two rooms booked for us by the cruise line. This morning, we spoke with the ship representative at her desk in the lobby who said this was not something she could help with. Fortunately, Brittany was on duty this morning. She said she would call the manager to sort it out. We said we would check back after breakfast. The hotel offered only a buffet breakfast for $25. No menu service. There was a Starbucks for coffee. We had the buffet. After breakfast, we spoke to the hotel manager who said the mistake was theirs. When they got the manifest from the cruise line, for some reason they booked two rooms. Maybe because of our different last names? She assured us we weren't charged by the cruise line for both rooms. We accepted her explanation, but I still had some doubts. I'd like to follow up with Holland America. (Which I had the travel agent, Louann, do for us when we got home. She confirmed we were not charged twice.) We returned to our room to finish packing. We have two friends joining us on this cruise, Janet Kafel and Walda Stevens. A friend of Walda's is also coming. Her name is Bea Wilson. They arrived from Texas yesterday and are now waiting for us in the lobby. We finished packing. Hotel staff picked up our bags to load on the bus to take to the pier. We went to the lobby, checked out, and visited with our friends until we were called to board the bus. While we were waiting, we looked at an artistic display on the hotel wall of climbers pulling themselves up the wall across a map of Florida. We asked the clerk what the significance was, but she didn't know. When our bus arrived, we confirmed our bags were among those to be loaded on the bus, climbed on and rode to the pier. On the way, we watched roadway signs and port activity. When we arrived at the pier, bags were unloaded first and when we got off, we again confirmed our bags were there. To board the ship, we went through security screening like at the airport and showed our ship boarding passes using the Holland app on my phone. A staff member showed us how to find our cabin number on the pass and told us how to find 4137. We found the cabin, checked it out, and dropped off our hand luggage.  We headed to deck 3 to find our muster station. A safety video in our cabin was the last part of the safety briefing. We had to complete it before our TV would show us anything else. I will be turning my phone off while we are on the ship because AT and T wants to make a big charge for me to use it on the ship. I will turn it on when we are in port to get Internet. The ship has four levels of internet service for a fee. We decided to find some lunch and discovered most of the restaurants are on deck nine. We went to the buffet where we were greeted by our friends and joined them at their table. We learned that Janet needed a wheelchair at boarding to assist her to her room. When she was boarding, she had not eaten and had taken pain medication for sciatic nerve pain. The combination caused her to feel weak and needing assistance. Walda rushed to their cabin and got the cabin steward to bring a wheelchair for her. By the time we met up with them, Janet was feeling better. After lunch, we spent some time touring the ship and learning about the amenities at the spa. I had previously booked two massages. I checked in at the shore excursion desk to learn that I had reserved three shore excursions. I thought I had reserved a beach cabana at one of our stops, but it did not show up in the list. (I had not found the cruise ship's website very user-friendly to make my bookings.) I will need to go back and reserve the cabana at a later time. (I found out later that I had been successful in booking it the first time.) We sat by the pool for a while, having drinks. The ship sailed at 4 o'clock and I found a place outside to take pictures as we left the Fort Lauderdale area. At 5 o'clock, Janet and I went to a raffle at the fitness center, but we didn't win any prizes. A Chinese doctor talked to us about acupuncture and Janet signed up with him to have him treat her sciatic nerve problem. The doctor offered to treat eight people free for motion sickness, so I signed up. He put a small patch with a seed in it inside each of my ears. I sure hoped it would work. I was one of the eight. He placed a small round sticky adhesive patch with a tiny seed on it inside my ear, not in the ear canal, but on the flat surface inside my ear, against my head beneath the folded part of the outer ear. He put one on each ear and said they would prevent motion sickness. I wound up putting too much stock in them and got sick anyway.  We went to look at the travel map posted on deck nine. This is the route for the first week: from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, Bahamas; then a day at sea before arriving in St. Thomas, USVI; then to San Juan Puerto Rico, followed by Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; another day at sea, then back to Fort Lauderdale. When I returned to my cabin, my luggage still had not been delivered. David's came, but not mine so I went down to the front desk to look for it. I had confirmed it was at the boarding area when we got on the ship. The clerk at the desk was very helpful. She first checked with security because she thought maybe the bag had been confiscated for having something inside that wasn't allowed on board such as an iron, but security was already closed. There were no bags there. She made a couple of other phone calls without finding a solution. Finally, she asked me to fill out a claim form and estimate the cost of my bag and all of its contents. This is my main piece of luggage, so it had all of my clothes and shoes and jewelry and everything I brought with me except my toiletries and medicines which were in my carry-on. As I walked away from the desk, I heard someone call my name and looked back to see Walda who told me that my bag had mistakenly been delivered to their cabin. I was relieved that the bag wasn't lost, but disappointed that I'd wasted so much time looking for it. Walda made dinner reservations for us at one of the nicer restaurants with table service, so we went to dinner together. Janet was in pain and chose not to eat dinner with us. She has an appointment at 7:30 am with the acupuncture doctor. We finished eating in time to go to watch the performance in the theater at 8 o'clock. The demonstration featured different instruments used for playing music in the Caribbean such as the steel drums. When the show was over, Walda wanted to stop for a drink. We went to one of the bars with live music. It was very crowded, and loud. Neither of us likes loud.  David and I decided to go back to our room. I unpacked my bag and got things organized for tomorrow. Monday, November 11 Nassau We docked in Nassau at 7 AM. A colorful display of colonial architecture greeted us on the way into the busy Bahamian harbor as we docked at Prince George Wharf. There were two other cruise ships already docked. We had already made a plan to spend the morning at the beach and we have to be back on the ship by 1:30 PM.  The alarm woke us at 6:30 and we had breakfast. I took photos of the famous Atlantis resort from our balcony on the ship. We loaded up our beach towels and walked off the ship down the pier into the town.  We were greeted by several vendors, trying to get us to either take their taxi or a tour. We passed them all by planning to walk on our own. I used the GPS on my phone to find the beach which was less than a half mile away. But I made the mistake of leaving the GPS to show us a route by car instead of walking. David suggested we head in the other direction, but I was sure we should follow the GPS. He was correct after all. We wound up walking much farther than we planned around a few blocks in the downtown area, passing several churches. While making it back to the coastline and finding Junkanoo beach, I rubbed a blister on the outside of my left little toe from the walking. At the beach, a local woman with a large hat invited us to rent chairs at her space. It looked like a good spot and included an umbrella and a table, so we decided this was our spot to relax. The cost was $40. David started to pay cash and then asked if he could use a card which he did. The beach was a long expanse of beautiful fine white sand, looking just as we had expected a Bahama Beach to look. Just as we got settled under the umbrellas, it started to rain. The umbrellas protected us pretty well and the rain shower lasted only about 10 minutes. I started to read my new book, a memoir called A Dangerous Woman by Pat Mitchell. I really did not know who this woman was even though she had been the CEO at NPR and held other important prestigious media positions. David was reading a book on his phone. We relaxed and read. David ordered a beer from a waitress passing by. It was hot and humid, and I began to feel sticky. A slight breeze blew occasionally, which helped cool things off. We spent the morning on the beach and decided about noon to start our trek back to the ship to meet our 1:30 deadline. Now that we had our bearings, we picked an easier route along the shoreline and took pictures on our way back. We passed the famous craft market called the Nassau Straw Market and went inside so David could buy another cap. He was successful in finding one. The market was filled with booths of souvenir treasures which we passed up and headed for the ship. We ate lunch on board while the ship left port, passing a light house. We headed up to the game room where David beat me at a game of checkers. We found a couple of comfortable chairs at the front of the ship sitting inside with air conditioning where we could watch the ship move forward, passing a small fishing boat, and seeming to move sideways. David ordered a drink from the bar. We relaxed for a couple of hours before returning to the room to get dressed for dinner. The captain had mentioned in his afternoon announcement that the water was going to be a bit rougher, and I could begin to feel the motion of the boat. I dressed for dinner, and we met up with our friends at the door to the dining room before I finally decided that I really didn't feel like eating and returned to my room to heave, take another Dramamine and go to bed. Tuesday, November 12 At Sea

The ship changed time zones last night, one hour forward. I set my clock ahead by using my telephone and finding the time zone for Halifax, Canada. I also set my alarm for 8 o'clock because I have a massage scheduled at 9:30 and I wanted to be sure and get up and have breakfast. I slept until the alarm and woke up feeling fine without nausea. I took my morning medication along with a Dramamine. I still have the Chinese medicine seeds taped inside my ear, but they aren't working for me.

We headed to breakfast at the buffet so that I could be done in time to go to my massage. David settled himself on our balcony outside our cabin to read while I went up to the 9th deck salon for my massage. It was a very relaxing experience although on the ship more expensive than what I pay at home. The massage therapist educated me about products that she hoped that I would buy, but I declined.

It was a quiet day at sea. We sat on our balcony and read and had lunch at the buffet. We walked around the ship looking at the shops and casino. We took photos of the outside of the ship by leaning over the railing.

We learned to use the Holland America Navigator app on our phones to learn about the daily schedules. 

The fitness center held an event to promote their activities and products. The Good Feet store had a representative on board who educated us about foot health and tried to sell plastic molded insoles for better balance. 

I had a body composition analysis done, showing my BMI as healthy.

We met our friends at the dining room. Walda likes to eat at 6:45, so we adopted her choice. We all purchased the beverage package so ordered drinks before dinner. I usually ordered sparkling water. The dining room has table service, with wait staff taking orders for drinks and food. The menu offers appetizers, entrees and desserts. The ship has great food.

Wednesday Nov. 13 At Sea AM, St. Thomas Virgin Islands-PM

I had trouble falling asleep last night even though I used one of the mindfulness apps on my phone.  I was awake until around midnight. We were at sea until afternoon today, so we slept in this morning until about 8:30. After breakfast, David decided to lay out by the smaller Lido pool to get some sun, and I decided to try to walk a mile on the outer deck of deck three. Walking around the outside of the ship is 1/3 of a mile so three laps is a mile of walking.

The ocean is much calmer this morning, and although the ship continues to have some rocking movement it’s not as bad as it was yesterday. I noticed as I was walking on the deck that I was weaving back-and-forth as I moved forward. When I got to the front or the rear of the ship, then I was walking uphill as the ship moved or downhill if we were on the downside of the wave.

There were several people on the ship who use electric scooters to get around and a few folks with walkers. There’s definitely an older crowd on board, although there are some families with younger kids as well as singles and couples. The ship has a program for kids of all ages and meetings scheduled with the teen group and an activity program for the younger kids. The activity schedule tries to appeal to everyone and has meet-ups scheduled for the single crowd, for the LGBTQ crowd and so forth.

Of course, there was a lot of shopping available on the ship and the ship also featured presentations such as come to a particular gallery to hear about art history, with encouragement to buy art; or to another meeting area to hear about the latest fashions and buy from the boutique. The salon featured samples of massages and facials and other products and services.

David brought his long-sleeved dress shirt that requires cufflinks, but he forgot to pack his cufflinks, so he looked in the jewelry store. They did have cufflinks stashed away in a cupboard and the clerk brought out a set that had a symbol of an anchor on them, but when David found that they were priced at $595 he passed them by.

The ship's newsletter emphasizes "Pool Etiquette", urging sharing chairs at the pool, but of course, no one pays attention. People drape towels over the chairs early in the day, expecting them to be theirs for the day whether they are using them or not. They even walk away when finished, leaving the towels in place. How rude! 

Our group has had some difficulty communicating on the ship because we are at sea far away from any cell towers, so we have to rely on satellites. Texting often does not work. We usually can get an email to go through, and I just got one from Janet saying that their plan for lunch was to eat at 11:30 in the deck two dining room. (We later learned a more effective method of communicating with our group by using the Navigator app.)

Our afternoon was on St Thomas, a 31-mile square island that is home to some of the Caribbean's highest viewpoints, spectacularly positioned among lush tropical greenery. We were visiting the capital, Charlotte Amalie, founded in 1666, and containing excellent Danish-colonial architecture listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

I interrupted my walk on the deck to find David at his sunbathing spot to invite him to lunch. We all had fish and chips for lunch and relaxed and visited and told jokes as we reviewed plans for the afternoon in port in St Thomas.  Walda and Bea are going to take a sky ride, which are like ski lift gondolas to the top of the mountain to a shopping plaza for three hours of shopping.

Janet's sciatica is still bothering her, so she opted not to do a lot of walking. Instead, she stayed on the ship and found the lounge chairs that I mentioned to her which are in the shade on the third deck. I saw them earlier this morning when I was walking on the deck.

David and I booked a tour called Island Drive. We had enough time before our shore excursion to do some shopping as David wanted to buy some shirts with collars to wear to dinner. He found when he unpacked that he only had one collared shirt. We walked across the street to the shopping area and browsed several gift shops and boutiques. He was able to find three shirts that he liked. We stopped at a restaurant for a cold drink before returning to the area around the ship to meet up with our tour.

Many people from the ship chose this shore excursion. The vendor had open air buses which we boarded with about 20 people per bus and drove around the island with a narrator pointing out sights. We stopped at Peter Mountain, the highest point of St. Thomas, 1200 feet above Magens Bay.  Heart-shaped Magens Bay beach is named one of the top 10 beaches in the world by the National Geographic Society. 

This area of the island is suitably named the Mountain Top where we had 30 minutes for photo ops and shopping, I bought two T-shirts for our great granddaughters. The Mountain Top is home to the original banana daiquiri. The area affords vast island and bay views from an observation deck and gift shop.

We watched a young man playing steel drums for tips in the parking lot. He was energetic and pretty good.

The scenery around us was lush tropical forest very densely thicketed. From our viewpoint, we were able to see much of the island and one of the cruise ships that was docked in the harbor.

 

Our tour guide gave us some history and explained that these islands once belonged to Britain but now belong to the United States and are called the US Virgin Islands. People living here are US citizens.

The tour bus returned us to the ship about 5:30. 

We planned to meet the rest of our group at 6:30 to have a birthday dinner for Walda.

David went down to the bar early to have a drink while I changed, got ready for dinner and went to meet him. The rest of our party arrived. 

From left: Janet Kafel, Walda Stevens, Bonnie Boyce-Wilson, David Wilson, Bea Wilson

The head waiter was able to get us into the restaurant a bit ahead of schedule. We enjoyed a long and delicious meal, full of laughter. We gave Walda gifts and cards. The gift we gave her was a container of soap solution and a bubble wand to make bubbles. (She used this later in the trip on the day when we rented a cabana.) The restaurant provided a lovely chocolate cake for us to share.

We finished eating about 9:00 and went to the theater to see a dance show filled with laser lighting and special effects. Very impressive!

Back in our cabin we got organized for our shore excursion which heads out at 7:30 am tomorrow.

Thursday, Nov. 14 - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Today is David’s birthday and we plan a celebration at a fancy restaurant on the ship tonight.

We will be in port at San Juan, one of the most iconic places in Puerta Ric. Even from the pier, we were amazed with the history of the city and detail of Puerto Rican culture.

But to begin today, we started the morning early by setting our alarm for 6 o’clock. We ordered room service to deliver our breakfast because the dining room wasn't open yet. We needed to leave the ship at seven to meet up with our shore excursion at 7:15.

Breakfast came right on time. We were surprised at having a double order of the bacon and eggs part of the breakfast. We finished eating, got dressed and packed our day gear. For David this means his camera and accessories. For me it’s a backpack with my raincoat, a bottle of water, and a couple of apples for a snack if needed.

We watched the captain park the ship.

As we waited for the elevator, we introduced ourselves to a couple standing there and learned that they are a part of a large group on the ship called the Media Research Center. 

We had previously noticed in the dining room that there were tables reserved for this group, with signs saying MRC, and learned that they are hosting a convention on this cruise. There is a large contingency of Trump-supporting people attending this conference aboard the ship. 

Their business card claims that they are the media watchdog working to expose and neutralize the propaganda arm of the left, which is according to them is the national news media.

We headed down the elevators to the first floor to find the signs for the gangway, then swiped our cabin cards to exit the ship. We walked down the pier to station number seven where our tour assembled.

 Many people have signed up for this trip and the tour departed in small mini buses.

Our first destination was the El Yunque rain forest. This is the only tropical rainforest in US territory, and this national treasure exhibits jungle-like vegetation, impressive waterfalls, and cool fresh air.

Our driver was Miguel and he joked with us saying, "That’s why they call me Miguel". He spent time narrating what we were seeing as we drove through the town and into the country. He told much of his personal history. He also answered questions, particularly about Puerto Rico’s relationship to the United States.

As a U S territory, Puerto Rico has US post offices and a US courthouse and other US government features such as military bases. Puerto Ricans are US citizens and vote in the US elections.

The drive to the rainforest took about 45 minutes. The rainforest offered spectacular views, breathtaking scenery, clear mountain rivers, and is one of the most biologically diverse National Forests.

Our first stop at the rainforest was Yokahu tower, an observation point from which by climbing 98 steps we were able to go to an overlook to take photos of the San Juan coastline and the ocean beyond. Miguel tells us that this is the place where the Caribbean Ocean meets the Atlantic.

We drove a bit further and stopped to take pictures at the La Coca waterfall. Rain sprinkled on us on the drive up and we were concerned that it may begin to pour but were fortunate that it did not. The beautiful waterfall spread out across a rock face on the mountainside and created a mist in the humid tropical air.

We drove back toward town to our next destination, the San Cristobal Fortress, the largest fort in the New World, built by the Spaniards in 1634. Now it is a National Historic Site managed by the National Park Service. (When we were in Puerto Rico on a previous trip, we visited Castillo San Felipe del Morro, located on another part of the island. We were pleased to visit this Fortress companion historic site on this trip.)

This site preserves stories of great ambition and aspirations. Countries fought for control of this tiny strategic island for centuries. Generations of soldiers have lived and worked within the fort. Visitors today are as inspired by these stories as they are by the beauty of the architecture and the continuity of design and engineering of this World Heritage site.

The purpose of the fort built at this strategic point was to defend the city from invasion by enemy armies. Within its walls, painted white, were placed firearms and cannons that defended the perimeter. It has several watchtowers and in the center of the complex rests the command headquarters, the powder magazine, the hospital, and other buildings.

When we finished the tour of the fortress, we boarded the bus and drove into downtown near the pier.

 A final option was available to get off the bus early to walk in the new San Juan area and the tour guide gave directions to those who did not want to return immediately to the ship. David and I decided that we would stay on the bus and go back to the ship to have lunch.

Every time we leave and board the ship, we have to swipe our cabin room key so that they can keep track of who’s on and off the ship. We swiped our cards to re-enter the ship, cleared security, headed to our cabin to drop off our gear and went to lunch at the buffet. 

I texted Janet K to tell her that we were back and that we were having lunch at the buffet and she responded by saying that they were having lunch at the buffet as well. David spotted them at a table not far from us, so I walked over to say hello and discuss plans for the rest of the day.

After lunch, we went back to our cabin so David could read and I could work on my journal. We woke early this morning so a nap sounded like a good idea.

David was excited to wear one of the new shirts that he bought in port yesterday. We got dressed for dinner and took some pictures in our dressy clothes to help celebrate his birthday.

The ship was scheduled to leave San Juan at 4:30. Our group decided to meet in one of the bars at 5 o’clock for happy hour. We gave David his birthday cards and Janet K gave him a small flashlight for a gift. David also received several email greetings from family and friends for his birthday. He was able to receive them because we had been in port and wi-fi was available.

Our dinner reservations were at 6:30 at the Tamarind restaurant described as Pan- American cuisine. The decor was Japanese, but the food was more like Thai food. There were two Japanese warrior costumes outside the restaurant.

David ordered his meal very spicy and loved it. I said I didn’t want spicy. We all enjoyed our meal, and they brought a birthday cake for David as part of the dessert. We laughed and sang and took photos.

The evening entertainment tonight was a stand-up comedian. David and I opted not to go and went back to the cabin. We were both ready to get out of our dress-up clothes. We watched TV and read. I worked on my journal.

Friday, November 15 - At Sea AM, Grand Turk PM

David woke up this morning with a cold. I had signed up for a 9:00 event on board called On Deck for a Cause which is a fundraising event to benefit victims of the recent hurricane. I put on my event T-shirt and headed to deck three where the charity walk was to take place.

There were about 35 people who had signed up to walk the event. They took a group photo of us and then we went out on deck and did a countdown to start the walk. I took pictures of those walking around me. It was warm and humid enough that it didn’t take me long to work up a sweat, even though I was just walking the deck.

When I came back to the cabin, I invited David to go to breakfast with me. We went up to the buffet to eat. David wanted to lay in the sun for a while. I went back to the cabin to journal.

After my journal was up to date, I went out to the sundeck where David was on a chase lounge. We moved to a table and ordered cold drinks. We sat there reading for a while and finally moved indoors to the shade.

We watched as the ship docked at Grand Turk at 1 o’clock. Grand Turk--big name, small island.

We had not visited Turks and Caicos before. Turks is named for the Turk’s cap cactus. Caicos means “string of islands”.  It is a group of 40 islands, only 10 of which are inhabited. Grand Turk is the capital and has 7,000 residents who are called Turks and Caicos Islanders. The island is so small, the rental cars are golf carts! Of course, Starbucks are everywhere!

Tourism is its main source of income at 80%. Second is offshore banking. There are many constitutional questions about this practice, but it is considered legal.

Crystalline turquoise waters and white sand beaches are trademarks of the islands. Each island and cay is considered a destination on its own.

The islands are a British Overseas Territory, so its sovereign is King Charles III of the United Kingdom. The islanders elect their own local politicians and currently have their first female governor.

We are visiting Grand Turk, which caters to cruise ships, while the larger Caicos Island, Provodentiales, or Provo for short, is more developed commercially and hosts air travel tourists in its many resorts.

After lunch on board, we left the ship to browse the shops in port looking for cold medicine for David. We didn’t find any.

Our shore excursion today is an island tour and duck boat ride at 3:00. The vehicle is a colorful, fun, amphibious Duck vehicle, the only one in the Caribbean. It is a large open-air bus on wheels, equipped with a propeller below for traveling in the water. Robert, our guide and driver, welcomed us and narrated the tour. Janet, Walda and Bea were with us on this adventure.

We started with a panoramic drive through downtown to Front Street.

The island used to make sea salt in large ponds, and burros were used to haul the salt. When salt production stopped, the burros were set free and now are seen everywhere on the island.

We made a stop for shopping. 

We headed to famous? North Creek, where the Duck splashed straight into the water to explore. We drove down a ramp into the water and became a boat floating around a small lake surrounded by mangroves. We made a big circle around the lake and exited by the same ramp.

This island had many abandoned buildings which are deteriorating in the weather and hurricanes. In many ways it seemed a poor developing area. Robert told us there are no hotels because the island doesn’t have an airport, and the airlines say they won’t come because there are no hotels.

By now the sun was setting with a beautiful sunset as we drove back to the ship.
We stood in line waiting to board the ship and slapped at the pesky mosquitoes which appeared at dusk.

Back on board, I went to the clinic Medical Center to find cough medication for David. The clinic is on A deck, the deck below deck 1. But you have to walk to the aft end of the ship on deck one before going down a level because A deck doesn’t run all the way through the ship. I barely made it to the clinic before closing time. I was glad to get the medication because we spend the day at sea tomorrow with no chance for shopping again on shore.

We changed clothes for dinner and ate with our travel companions. We discussed everything from our first jobs to wearing orange for the ship party celebration of Holland.

Saturday, Nov. 16 - At Sea

There’s no special reason to get up today, but we still woke up at seven and went to breakfast. At David’s suggestion we went out to walk the deck and walked for a mile. There was a pretty stiff breeze, which blew us around a bit while we were walking.

We spent the morning reading and relaxing, watching the water. Despite taking my Dramamine, I begin to feel a little nauseous but had a massage scheduled at 11:30 so went there thinking that perhaps I could relax and enjoy the massage. I was wrong. I had to stop the massage early because I was so sick. I went back to our cabin, took another Dramamine and slept for 2 1/2 hours. David is reading a John Gresham novel.

I woke up feeling better. David brought me a ginger ale which I drank slowly to see how it would settle. This went fine so I ate an apple. We set out on our own veranda, watching the birds swoop. I wonder where they land since we are so far away from any land.

I received a text from the daughter of my friend Bea Edwards. Her name is Mary Beth. She went to California to help celebrate Bea’s birthday on November 14 and wound up hospitalizing both Bea and Bob. There is a mass on Bea’s kidney and the recommendation is to have the kidney removed. Bob has a UTI and once the infection is treated, he will return home with 24-hour comfort/hospice care. Sad news.

I continued to read my book until time to get dressed for dinner. The group has come to agree to do a happy hour about 5:30 and dinner at 6:45 in the main dining room. That was what we did tonight. David and I told our story of working on a medical missionary boat on the Amazon.

The staff did a cook’s parade so that we could appreciate all the behind scenes people who make the meals successful. This is the last night aboard for people who are only doing a one- week cruise. We still have another week to go.

We received paperwork to explain about our shore excursion tomorrow on an Everglades airboat. We need to take our passports and go through security and customs to reboard.

Sunday, Nov. 17 - Fort Lauderdale

There was a flurry of activity on the ship last night as people prepared to disembark today. Most people are leaving the ship after having vacationed for a week and some people like us are staying on for a second week. The MRC group is departing the cruise. They had a big farewell party last night. 

We signed up for a shore excursion today outside Fort Lauderdale on a airboat ride in the Everglades. We set the alarm for 6:30 and departed the ship before 8 o’clock, following a long line of passengers departing the ship who were boarding buses for the various airports. We kept walking past the airport buses and finally connected with the tour leader who directed us to our bus.

There were 44 of us who were going to the Everglades adventure Park. We drove about 30 minutes while our tour guide Janice gave us information about the wetlands in Florida and told some lame pun jokes.

Where does the gingerbread man sleep? He sleeps on a baking sheet.

What does one ocean say to another? He doesn’t say anything, he just waves.

The Everglades Holiday Park is a large operation designed to entertain crowds of tourists. We arrived early, but it was already packed. We waited our turn to board one of the airboats.

While we waited, some folks shopped at the souvenir shop and bought food at the snack bar. Janice had warned us ahead of time that the blackbirds that she didn’t know the name of, but which looked to us like grackles, were very aggressive and would swoop down and grab any of your food, including hotdogs, even right out of your hand. We laughed when we saw that actually happen.

Each boat holds about 50 people and is powered by a large engine which turns two huge fans at the rear, making a lot of noise and propelling the boat forward.

The Everglades is a large expense of water covering more than 1,000,000 acres. The guide made a point of assuring us that this water is moving and therefore it is a slow river, not a swamp. There are many mangrove trees, seagrass, sedge and spatterdock, (which looks like water lily). 

It was hot, but a breeze kept us comfortable.

The boat driver expertly maneuvered the craft through the water sometimes at a high rate of speed. He knew where to find the alligators and took us to see three. Each had its own nickname, and he told us why. He talked about the invasive python snakes, but we didn’t see any. There were lots of birds in the water and overhead. He also provided information about the Everglades and the plants. The boat ride lasted about 45 minutes.

After the boat ride, we went to the alligator presentation. We sat in bleachers while a young man brought one of the large alligators to the center of the sand in front of us, lifting the alligator by his tail to move him around. He pulled the alligator’s mouth open to show us the teeth and educated us about the alligator anatomy. He put his head inside the alligator jaws.

He explained the difference between crocodiles and alligators and provided other educational information. He was very comfortable, moving around the alligator, lifting up his head and tail. The presentation lasted about 20 minutes.

The bus ride back to the ship took about a half an hour, and we listened to more of Janice’s silly puns. At the pier we showed our ID in order to get back on the ship. They told us to bring our passports, but no one asked to see them.

Today is the start of a new cruise for many people. We weren’t sure if we had to go again to muster stations as we did when we boarded the first time, but I took both of our cards to our muster station and the crew there scanned them to show that I’d stopped by. We also again watched the safety video on the TV in our cabin.

We had lunch at the buffet and met up with our traveling partners to talk with them about plans for using the cabana that we have reserved for the day we are in the Bahamas.

We went to our cabins to watch the Sunday afternoon football games. Too bad the Chiefs lost!

I called to talk with my friend Bea while we were docked in Fort Lauderdale. She sounded good and knew about the tumor on her kidney and the plan for surgery.

I took photos as we left port.

We dressed for cocktail hour and dinner, met our friends in the hallway and went to the bar on deck two for drinks. Janet made us laugh when she said we always order the same drinks: Manhattan on the rocks for Janet and Walda, Old Fashioned for Bea, double Jack Daniels on the rocks for David, and Perirre for me. 

We had a nice dinner in the main dining room on deck 2. We eat there because they have table service and we order off the menu. Meals here are included in our cruise fare. The other included meals are at the Lido Market self serve buffet. Actually it is not exactly self serve because customers stand at the counter to tell staff what they want. Staff puts the food on the plate and hands the plate over the counter to the customer to carry to the table. The counter has a glass front so the customer can see the food, (like at a Subway) with a flat horizontal glass above the food.

There are several stations with signs indicating the sushi bar, the dessert bar, the salad bar, entrées, and so forth. There are actual self serve stations for dessert and drinks.

There are four other restaurants which have an up charge to eat there. Because we paid for a Have it All package, two meals at the nicer restaurants were included in that and we ate there for the two birthdays we celebrated.

The last two places to eat are the New York pizza stand, and the Dive In burgers and hotdog stand both near the pool.

 The “Have it All” package also includes unlimited drinks, as long as the drinks cost $11 or less. If the drinks cost more, you pay the difference. The cruise line gets their money's worth from me because I don’t drink alcohol.

Our waiter tonight offered a suggestion that we could ask to reserve the table number 144, where we were sitting tonight, to eat in the same place each evening if we wanted. We agreed that that would be a good idea because we were in a relatively quiet corner of the dining room. It’s not a guaranteed reservation, but they will do their best to hold the table until we come in at 6:45 each evening.

Monday, Nov. 18 At Sea

I am taking Dramamine regularly and not having more motion sick problems.
We slept in until about eight then went to the buffet for breakfast. While we were eating, we were able to look out the window and watch the tiny flying fish, looking like white butterflies, jumping out of the water and diving back in.

David was curious about the path of our travel for the second week, so we went to the Crow’s Nest, which is the bar on deck 11 at the top of the ship. There is a large screen in that bar which shows our position at sea and the route of our travel. Our second week is Fort Lauderdale; a sea day; Costa Maya, Mexico; Georgetown, Cayman Islands; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; a sea day, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; Fort Lauderdale.

From Fort Lauderdale, we traveled south along the east coast of Florida and then turned southwest past the northern tip of Cuba across the Gulf of Mexico, where our destination is Costa Maya, Mexico on Tuesday.

As we returned from deck 11, we stopped on deck nine at the spa. I wanted to check to be sure that I have a discount on one of the massages. I learned that the spa did not charge me for the massage that I interrupted because I was sick. Great news and much appreciated. 

They rescheduled me for another massage today, but I didn’t know that. I learned that I have a massage scheduled at 12:30, and this is the massage that will be a discounted rate.

David and I walked a mile on the deck. Because the ship was traveling west, 1/2 of the deck was in the sun and the other half was in the shade, so as we walked around and around, we moved from sun to shade and back again.

We returned to the cabin to relax for a while.

I went to the theater to watch a program about Caribbean water and coral. I learned the Caribbean is such a bright turquoise blue because it is shallow enough that the sun reflects off the white sand sea bottom. The other oceans are so deep the sun doesn’t reflect back.

I headed for my massage and David went to get some sun by the pool.
I had a different massage therapist. Her name was Nana. She is from the Philippines. She did a good job with a massage.

Afterward, I looked in our cabin and by the pool for David, but didn’t find him. I pushed the elevator button to go up to the buffet and when the elevator opened, I was surprised that standing in front of me were Janet, Walda, Bea and David. They had been having lunch together in the dining room on deck two. David had sent me a text to tell me where they were, but I didn’t see it. Reception of texts and emails are iffy on the ship.

David went with me up to the buffet so that I could have lunch, then we went back to the cabin. David went to our veranda to read his book. I watched some information on the television about the destinations we will be visiting on this cruise, then read a while.

David went inside the cabin to nap. I woke him at 5:15 to get ready for happy hour.  I knocked at Janet and Walda’s door at 5:30. Janet answered it said they had been reading and weren’t ready.

They soon joined us in the bar, and Bea came later. (Bea Wilson is a friend of Walda's who lives in her apartment building.) When we went to the dining room, table 144 was already taken. They seated us at another table and we enjoyed our dinner.

David and I are early risers so usually go to our cabin after dinner. The other three women like to sleep in in the morning, so they spend more time in the evening listening to music after dinner before they go to their cabins. We watched Monday night football before turning in.

Tuesday, Nov. 19 - At Sea again

The ship's captain came on the public address system this morning at 7 o’clock to inform us that the docking at Costa Maya, Mexico was canceled due to high winds and heavy seas.

We were looking forward to Costa Maya, a place in Mexico where we have not been. It boasts Myan ruins called Chacchoben, with ruins of temples and pyramids nestled in the forest. The Malecon in town offers panoramic views and Caribbean seafood dishes.

 We were disappointed not to be able to go ashore at Costa Maya. And even more disappointed to have another day at sea, but safety is, of course, the priority and the waves were washing over the pier and the pilot captain who came to steer us into port could not transfer from his boat onto our ship. 

We will have the day at sea and arrive earlier tomorrow at Georgetown in the Cayman Islands.

David and I had breakfast at the buffet, then returned to our cabin. At 10 o’clock, I attended a presentation called tech for travelers, which was about using features of the iPhone to take better pictures. I learned several new things. I hope I can remember them. 

At noon, we went down to the dining room for lunch. We didn’t see our travel buddies so stood in line to be seated at a table for six with four people we did not know. That gave us an opportunity to have some different conversation. We particularly enjoyed meeting the couple from the Netherlands who were on their honeymoon. He works for Netflix. She works in the business office at their nation’s healthcare system.

After lunch, and confined to the ship, everyone in our group decided to do their own thing for a while. I chose to get my steps in walking inside because the winds were so strong outside.

David was reading. Janet watched a presentation about pirates. She learned that pirates were not as bad as the movie industry paints them. Wanda knocked on our door to ask what type of massage I was getting so she could schedule the same. I told her Swedish massage. She scheduled her massage for 4:30.

We read and relaxed in our cabin, dressed for dinner and went down to our meeting place in the bar for happy hour at 5:30 where we shared stories, remembering times together like when we visited at Bea Edward’s daughter’s home in Montana. I pulled up pictures on my phone of Bea’s husband Carl dressed in a grinch costume. We all had a good laugh and Janet and Walda remarked that we have had a long history of good times together.

We had dinner in the dining room. Afterwards, David and Walda and I went to listen to the comedian who was the entertainment for the night but we only stayed about 10 minutes before we decided to go back to our room.

David found a movie about the Amelia Earhart story and I very much enjoyed watching it before turning in.

Wednesday, Nov. 20 - Georgetown, Grand Cayman

We arrived at the port at about 7 o’clock this morning, but did not dock because the sea is too shallow to accommodate the ship pulling up to shore. We anchored offshore, and passengers were transported during the day by tenders, which are smaller boats that hold about 200 people. They serve as a ferry moving people back-and-forth between the ship and the island.

We had breakfast at the buffet, then packed up our beach gear and used the tender to go ashore. At the shoreline, we took photos at the sign saying Welcome to the Cayman Islands.

 We were immediately greeted by vendors selling transportation to get to the beach.  We signed up and along with many others got on board a small bus and drove the 3 miles to 7-mile beach, which is a long stretch of beach along the Cayman coast.

The locals have this beach thing down to a science, and as we stepped off the bus, there was a vendor who was encouraging us to rent our beach chairs and an umbrella, which we did. She led us to the beach and showed us where to sit. The area was very crowded with beach chairs lined up in either direction for what seemed like miles.

David asked if we could move closer to the water and the woman said, “You have to come earlier in the morning.” We settled in. David headed to the water. It is 10:00 and already getting hot. Now that I was on shore and had internet access, I sent out my blogs for the past three days and started working on one for today.

The water here is beautiful, and the beach is very crowded, and we spotted a chicken looking for snacks. As I mentioned, there are rows and rows of chairs along the waterfront and many people were crowded into the water. I took a picture. Janet and Bea took a shore excursion tour of the island and they came by that same beach about 2:30 in the afternoon. The crowd was gone. Janet compared her picture with mine, we all had a good laugh.

David enjoyed the water. He would get into cool off and then come and lay on his chair to get some sun then get back into the water again. I went out to wade in the water. It was warm and crystal clear.

We decided to return to the ship for lunch. We took our return taxi ride back to the north terminal. We stopped to shop and each of us bought a T-shirt. David bought a cap. 

We went back through security to get on the ship, dropped our beach things off in the cabin and went up to the buffet for a late lunch.

I stopped by the front desk to ask for a printout of our account on board just to confirm that things were going OK. The clerk was very helpful and printed it out for me. Everything looked fine.

I went walking inside the ship again to get some steps in. I stopped by the theater where they were showing a movie and discovered that they furnished popcorn at the movie. The movie was just about over. But there were several bowls of unclaimed popcorn so I took one back to the cabin with me to enjoy while I read. I felt really spoiled as popcorn is one of my favorite snacks, and another passenger who saw me taking it to my room asked where to find it.

The ship pulled out of port at 3:30. The captain said we would move a little more quickly to our next destination at 20 knots an hour. We’re headed for Jamaica tomorrow.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing, then got dressed for dinner and went down for happy hour at 5:30. David wore his new T-shirt and Janet said she bought a shirt with the same fish pattern but in a blue color. David‘s is yellow.

We always enjoy dinner together. Everyone shares their stories of what they did today and any special incidents. We always find things to laugh about.

Janet and Walda like to sleep in. When we were talking about plans for tomorrow, our three friends discovered that they were all taking the same shore excursion and needed to meet the tour at 8:15 in the morning. Walda said, “What was I thinking?” We all got a good laugh out of that.

Thursday, Nov. 21 - Jamaica

When we woke up this morning, we were already docked in Ocho Rios, Jamaica at the Reynolds Pier, also known as James Bond Pier because it was made famous in the James Bond movie, Dr No. Our three traveling companions had booked a shore excursion for sightseeing, so they had to leave the boat by 8:15.

David and I went to breakfast and discussed our options for today. Jamaica may evoke images of palm trees, white sand beaches, and reggae music, but there's more to the island than pop culture suggests. Think verdant mountains, tropical forests, cascading waterfalls, 120 rivers, and sparkling ocean waters. 

Jamaica offers every kind of activity imaginable, from adventure courses and hiking trails to snorkeling and shopping galore. Cruise ships dock at the Ocho Rios Cruise Ship Terminal, which is just steps away from shopping plazas, restaurants, and pristine white sand beaches.

David's always favorite destination is a beach, and we chose that option. Boy, were we glad we made that decision! We grabbed our flip flops, swimsuits, and a sense of adventure and headed out.

We left the ship, took our Jamaica arrival photos and started to sign up with a taxi to take us to the beach when David discovered that he had left his wallet in the cabin. 

We went back on board. How fortunate that he remembered his wallet while we were still near the ship. He retrieved his wallet, we left the ship again, found our taxi and rode about 30 minutes to Bamboo Beach. We arrived just before 10:00.

The taxi driver asked us when we wanted him to return to pick us up and we decided on 1 o’clock. There was another couple from our ship riding in the taxi with us. My guess was, from their language, they were from the Netherlands.

The taxi pulled up to a gate where the guard let us in. The taxi pulled up closer to the beach and dropped us off. The driver told us his name was James and that he would be back to pick us up at 1 o’clock.

This is the most spectacular beach we have seen so far, crystal clear waters, a gradually sloping beach, a blue horizon and not very crowded. We paid a $15 admission fee which included our rental chairs and got situated on the beach. A server came by to take David’s order for beer. We asked her to run a tab. She helped me find a place in the shade to put my chair. I took a picture of the trees overhead.

The temperature was 72°. The trade winds were mild helping to keep us cool.
I worked on my journal while David went in to try the water. A woman from nearby came over and offered me her glass of leftover ice. She was very friendly and talked about how lovely the water was. I couldn’t resist. I had to go wade in the water for myself. The water is smooth and calm as it comes into the shore with no big waves. The fine white sand feels good between my toes. This is really an ideal beach.

As 1 o’clock approached, we gathered our things and stopped at the little gift shop to buy some T-shirts and another cap for David. We walked to the driveway where we sat with some other folks on a wall.

The other couple who had ridden to the beach with us pointed out that the taxi was already parked at the end of the driveway. We walked there, thinking that the driver was not in the car, but when the man from the other couple peeked in, he saw that the driver was sleeping. He tapped on the window. The driver woke up and let us in the car.

We drove back to the ship, enjoying the beautiful greenery on the way. Jamaica is indeed a beautiful island. I had not really paid attention until now that they advertise everything in three basic colors, green, yellow and black. Many T-shirts have those same colors. The Jamaican flag is green, yellow and black so I came to think of those colors as typical Jamaican just like red white and blue are typical United States. 

When we got back to the ship, the driver reminded us that it’s important to tip the driver. He had taken good care of us and got us home on time. David gave him a tip and he wished us a safe journey home. The locals here are very friendly.

We dropped our beach stuff off in the cabin and went up to the buffet for a late lunch. We hadn’t yet seen our travel companions today.

Our sail-away today was at 3:30. I went out on the deck to get my steps in and to watch as we slowly pulled out of port. I stopped to have a glass of iced tea and some french fries for a snack.

I returned to the cabin and David and I continued to read until time to dress for dinner. We met our friends at happy hour. They were eager to share with us about their tour today. They loved the botanic gardens and also drove through a long valley filled with ferns. Their tour guide was very informative.

We received communication from the ship that they will offer a service for a fee of $25. They will take our luggage from the ship and check it in at the airline for us and we can pick it up in Phoenix. They will deliver our boarding passes to us. We thought this sounded like a great convenience and signed up. It reminded us that our cruise is shortly coming to an end.

Tomorrow is a day at sea. Saturday will be at a private island owned by Holland America cruise line. The five of us have reserved a beach cabana for shade on the island.

We met our friends for happy hour and shared adventures from our respective days. Even though the three ladies had been reluctant to get up early, they felt like their tour was worth it. We were pleased to share how happy we were with our beach experience. We will remember the name Bamboo beach if we come again.

We went to dinner and afterward, David and I returned to our cabin and watched a movie on TV. Janet and Walda stayed up to have another drink and to experience an event the ship called the Chocolate Surprise. This turned out to be varieties of chocolate served in many different ways. They indulged! We missed out!

Friday, November 22 At Sea

We had a leisurely breakfast at the buffet. Because it’s a sea day lots of folks slept in so it was quiet at the buffet. We lingered over our coffee and tea. This trip has been by far our most leisurely vacation.

We went back to our cabin and sat out on the veranda to read. I’m having a book read to me through the app called Libby. I’ve been reading a book called Troubled. It was recommended to me by Marge. It’s the story of a boy who grew up in foster care but eventually joined the military and then used the G.I. Bill to graduate college. He finishes the book by talking about class in America. He makes some interesting and valid observations.

The shops on the ship are having an end-of- cruise sale today. I suggested to David that we go to look at jewelry to see about buying him a new bracelet. He had been given a bracelet as a gift several years ago, but lost it.

He agreed to take a look, and we wound up finding one that he liked. I was very pleased that he was willing to do that and said we would consider that his birthday present.

 

We went next to a presentation by the cruise Director, who was telling about what to expect on the island tomorrow. The cruise line bought an island and named it Half Moon Cay. The name has two meanings: one because the island’s beach is shaped in a crescent moon and the other is because it’s named after Henry Hudson’s famous sailing ship.

The island is in the Bahama archipelago. The ship’s crew will transfer enough food to the island to have a bar-b-q picnic on the island for the ship’s 2000 passengers. The cruise Director invited us to get up early to watch the operation of transferring all that food and equipment to the island.

The food for lunch will be free, but alcoholic beverages will be sold for a cost. Our drink package will not cover the beverages bought on land. Passengers will be transferred to land on a tender.

When we got back to our cabin, I went next-door to tell Janet and Walda the details of what we had learned at the presentation. While I was there, we made a plan to go to lunch together at noon.

The dining room was featuring a Caribbean brunch. I had banana pancakes. David had a grouper sandwich. Excellent, of course. This ship serves great food.

There is always a lot of activity going on all over the ship. The fitness center offers exercises such as Tai Chi and Yoga and a full array of exercise equipment. Every morning begins with a walk a mile on deck and ends with an evening stretch. The jewelry stores offer best brands and beautiful pieces. The spa offers products and services. There are bridge games and Mah Jongg, the casino is full of excitement, the bars are crowded and have live music, the food service seemingly never ends. The art center has coloring for adults and origami lessons. There is a priest on board who performs mass every evening. The photography studio has specials such as photographing the iris of your eye!

We went back to the cabin, and I worked on my journal until time for the Royal Dutch Tea service at 3 o’clock. I met some of the other passengers while we had tea, including a man named Stan, who had below-shoulder length hair and had it braided in corn rows while he was in Jamaica. He said he could hardly wait to go back to work to show everybody his evidence of having been in Jamaica. The style was very becoming and even had colored beads at the end of each braid. He said it took the woman who braided his hair only 40 minutes. This is his first cruise, but he’s decided he likes to travel.

I never have enough tea, so took a tea pot from the buffet to our cabin to refill as needed. I went back to our cabin to get the teapot and take it up to the buffet, which has 24-hour tea and coffee service. I made myself a fresh cup of tea and filled the pot with hot water and a fresh teabag. I took this all back to my room while I journaled and read for the afternoon.

I’m starting a book on Libby by Barbara Kingsolver called the Bean Trees.

We dressed for dinner and went down to meet our friends for happy hour. They were already there. We talked about our adventures today. Walda had a salt scrub in the spa. She described it in detail and had us laughing about how she tried to walk into the shower while she had so much oil on her feet, she had to hang on to keep from falling.

I told them that while I was at Tea, I learned from a woman there about how to use the Navigator app on our phone to write commendations for staff. Staff are rewarded with extra break time for commendations. There are some of the staff on the ship that we have grown attached to over the two weeks that we’ve been cruising. Meri in the buffet is one of them. In the Pinnacle bar we were waited on by a man named Irwin and another named Edwin. I showed our friends how to use the app to make the commendations.

We went in for dinner and sat our favorite table number 144. Tonight was a Dutch Dinner night 

, and everyone was supposed to be wearing orange. We got a big laugh out of two men who came in wearing orange safety vests to dinner.

After dinner, David and I went back to our cabin. The other three ladies went to the Rolling Stone lounge, where a trivia contest was going on. The teams were some of the ship staff against some of the passengers.

Saturday, November 23, Half Moon Key


 Today is the day that we spend time on the private island. We set the alarm at 7o’clock, but woke up before it went off. We got dressed and went to deck nine buffet for breakfast.
Afterwards, we went to deck three, which allowed us access to the outside of the ship because we wanted to watch the crew unload the food and equipment needed for the barbecue on the island today.

This was quite an extensive process. A smaller ship with a crane on it came alongside our ship. The crew on our ship arranged the food and the equipment on large pallets which were covered with a netting to keep everything in place. They pushed the pallet out of the ship onto a platform where cables were attached to the crane to lift the pallet from the platform and swing the load over to the smaller ship.  As the load was lowered down, the crew on the smaller ship used their hands and arms to guide the shipment into position as it lowered on the deck of the smaller ship. Several of these transfers were made. Remember we are feeding 2000 people!

The cruise Director came over the public address system to announce that permission had been given for us to go ashore and for people to proceed to the alpha deck (below deck one) to load the tender.

I went back to the cabin to get my jacket and my hat. David and I boarded the tender and we transported the five-minute trip to the island.

We had reserved a beach cabana, but we weren’t sure how to find it. When we asked staff for directions, we were informed to board a small bus that was taking people along the beach. They told us that the cabanas weren’t numbered, but that there were staff who would help us find our place.

We found a cabana that had the name Wilson on it, but there were names of other people who were not with our group. I found a staff member to help and she said she would radio for someone to come and help us find the correct cabana.

I began to be a bit apprehensive, thinking that maybe our cabana had not been properly reserved. The woman who came to help us radioed back to the main desk to clarify that we had reserved cabana number three and she pointed out its location down the beach.

We walked through the sand to the cabana and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was so well equipped with snorkeling gear, a table and chairs, flotation devices and an array of food, including shrimp cocktails, assorted fruit, guacamole dip, and some chips. The sand was not hot, but silky smooth, like fine powder. Luxurious!

David and I were glad that we had done this scouting ahead of the rest of our party so that we would have the location established by the time they arrived. They took a later tender and arrived in about 30 minutes.

Everyone was blown away at what a terrific arrangement is cabana was. There was plenty of shade and comfortable seating. The bar to order drinks was nearby and I offered to take orders and deliver drinks.

The setting was perfect. The temperature was comfortable. The trade winds kept us cool. The water was a beautiful turquoise blue, which turned to a deeper blue as you looked further toward the horizon. We felt like we were in Paradise. David immediately got into the water and eventually came out to sunbathe in a lounge chair.

We took lots of pictures. Even Walda, who is not a picture taker, took pictures. She said, “You know I must be impressed with this place for me to be taking pictures.”

We watched as other passengers swam in the water or played with some of the water toys, like a giant tricycle-looking boat with rubber wheels driven by pedals. There was also a beach driven handicap accessible chair with big rubber tires. Others had a small sail boat.

Walda entertained us by making bubbles with the solution we gave her for her birthday.

When time came for lunch, we decided to do some shopping first and walked to the gift shop before going to the barbecue on the beach. We took our food back to the cabana. I took an extra burger and a cupcake for David, who had stayed on the beach.

All too soon, it was time to pack up. We have to be off of the island by 1:30. Staff are coming along to each of the cabanas to clean up. We gathered our things and walked back to the pier to board the tender to go back to the ship.

We returned to our cabin to find instructions about departure, but our envelope did not include the colored luggage tags. I went down to the front desk to ask for them. We were also informed that the ship had not been able to make the luggage arrangements they offered earlier, so we will need to manage our bags to check in ourselves.

We finished packing and tagged our bags. We have to have them set out before midnight tonight for staff to move them off the ship in the morning. We kept our carry-on bags with us for our toiletries.

We went to happy hour and dinner with our friends. Everyone decided to go to their cabins afterwards, but we made plans to meet for breakfast in the morning to say our goodbyes.