Day 7– April 10, 2008
Location: Castaries, St. Lucia
Weather: scattered showers/partly cloudy, 79 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: Marigot Beach
Distance sailed from Miami: 1769 miles
Today was a great day! Well, it started off not so great, but it got better! We stayed out a little late last night at the casino. That and I couldn’t sleep really well since I took a humongo nap yesterday and I’m still feeling like crap from this stupid cold. So who knows if we just slept through the alarm this morning (that was set for 7am) or if it just didn’t go off. Either way, we missed the alarm.
Our beach excursion was supposed to meet at 830 am. Well, Kerry got up to use the facilities and was wondering what time it was, when lo and behold, it was 831. Oh crap!!! So we made record time getting our swimsuits on and beach bag together and ran down to the theater, which was the designated meeting spot. It was 843. We asked one of the excursion staff if it was too late and our tour bus had just left. We were able to get on a different excursion to a different beach, though. So all was not lost. This excursion was a little longer, with the bus ride taking 45 minutes each way. But along the way we ad a lovely tour of the island. St. Lucia is a huge producer of bananas, plantains, mangos (they have over 50 different kinds!), pineapple and coconuts. It was cool to see all the banana plantations and trees along the sides of the roads with tons of mangos growing on them. The flowers on the island were also amazing. Such vibrant colors. Unfortunately, we bought sucky rechargeable batteries for the camera that only lasted about 45 minutes. What the heck? So we didn’t get any pictures of any of hem. Nice. They are going back as soon as we get home.
The place we went was Marigot Bay Beach. Not a huge beach, but it was very nice. It was also the beach for a resort, so it wasn’t very crowded. The morning started with a few rain showers, but by the time we got to the beach, it had stopped raining, but was sill cloudy. The bay was very shallow…...you could walk out quite a ways and the water was only up to your knees. It was very nice. The local entrepreneurs were also out. Kerry had an offer for a few different, uh, illegal mind altering substances, which he promptly declined. I found a cool necklace (that was probably made in china!) and bracelet. After a few hours at the beach, we got back on the bus and headed back to the ship. Of course as soon as we drove away, the sun came out from behind the clouds. Go figure.
Nothing exciting to note tonight as we sailed away from our last port of call. I can’t believe that our amazing vacation is almost over. We got cleaned up and I headed up to deck 13 to catch a few rays, or rather a few clouds. I just wanted some time to stretch out on a lounger, relax, and finish a book.
Our timing was off again for trying to see a show. We had dinner again at Cagney’s Steakhouse. Once again, it was so delish! More gambling after dinner, along with not winning the $163000 lotto. Bummer. Another $50 down the slots and I left Kerry at the poker table and headed back to the room to go to bed. I am beat!
The next two days we are at sea on our return voyage to Miami. Bummer.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Caribbean Cruise...Day 6
Day 6– April 9, 2008
Location: Bridgetown, Barbados
Weather: partly cloudy, 80 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: none
Distance sailed: 1630 miles
Today we had no excursions planned. After the day on the catamaran yesterday and most the day in the sun, we were beat. Plus, I had managed to get a nasty cold somewhere along the way, so the past two days I have felt like hud. Add that to dehydration and too much sun and today I feel even worse. So we decided to just take it easy today.
We headed into the port to look around and see what shops were there. The port mall was little with a few duty free shops, some jewelry stores and the various local shops. We didn’t find much that interested us, so we thought about trying to go find a taxi to take us somewhere took one look out at the crowd and decided to just head back to the ship and relax.
So back to the ship it was. And of course, after grabbing something to eat, we took a nap. What would a day on vacation be without a nap?? Dinner tonight was at teppenyaki again. It was equally delightful and entertaining as the first night and was just as good. We sat next to a nice couple from Cincinnati that we seem to keep bumping into. We are even on the same beach trip tomorrow. They were also on the catamaran sail yesterday.
After dinner, we were too late for a show, so we went to the casino for more slots and poker. Tonight wasn’t as profitable or lucky for me on the slots. Oh well. Can’t win every night, I guess!!
Location: Bridgetown, Barbados
Weather: partly cloudy, 80 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: none
Distance sailed: 1630 miles
Today we had no excursions planned. After the day on the catamaran yesterday and most the day in the sun, we were beat. Plus, I had managed to get a nasty cold somewhere along the way, so the past two days I have felt like hud. Add that to dehydration and too much sun and today I feel even worse. So we decided to just take it easy today.
We headed into the port to look around and see what shops were there. The port mall was little with a few duty free shops, some jewelry stores and the various local shops. We didn’t find much that interested us, so we thought about trying to go find a taxi to take us somewhere took one look out at the crowd and decided to just head back to the ship and relax.
So back to the ship it was. And of course, after grabbing something to eat, we took a nap. What would a day on vacation be without a nap?? Dinner tonight was at teppenyaki again. It was equally delightful and entertaining as the first night and was just as good. We sat next to a nice couple from Cincinnati that we seem to keep bumping into. We are even on the same beach trip tomorrow. They were also on the catamaran sail yesterday.
After dinner, we were too late for a show, so we went to the casino for more slots and poker. Tonight wasn’t as profitable or lucky for me on the slots. Oh well. Can’t win every night, I guess!!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Caribbean Cruise...Day 5
Day 5– April 8, 2008
Location: St John’s, Antigua
Weather: partly cloudy, 78 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: Catamaran Sail
Distance sailed from Miami: 1300 nautical miles
Oh my. Where do I even begin to describe today? You know those postcards that show the pictures of the ocean with various shades of blue and green with the white beaches and palm trees? That’s where we went today and what we saw. Simply amazing!!! Our excursion today was a catamaran sail with a stop for snorkeling, an hour on the beach and lunch on the boat. Holy blue waters, batman!!! First off, it started out meeting with the group of people that were going on the trip. I was a bit skeptical since there were about 50 people and when we saw the boat, I thought there was no way we were all going to fit. Well, we did, just barely. The boat was manned by a 3 man crew and a captain. The group was Wadadli Cats. We headed off out of the port to start the journey. As soon as we headed out of the port, the water turned the most amazing shade of blue-green. And it just kept getting better the farther we went out.
We sailed for about 30 minutes out in the middle of the ocean where there was a huge coral reef that we were going to snorkel at. Those of us that were going to snorkel got all geared up and we jumped in the water. It was a bit chilly at first, but once you were in, it was so nice. And there were tons a fish. Now I’ve never snorkeled before. And due to a little near drowning incident when I was younger, I’m kind of wuss when it comes to swimming in large bodies of water with no real ground underneath. And the whole mask and snorkel thing was foreign to me. But once I figured out that I didn’t have to freak out and hyperventilate and I really could breathe underwater with the snorkel, I had quite a good time. There were big schools offish and they would come right up to you. The reef was pretty cool to look at too. Of course I totally forgot to bring the disposable waterproof camera we got. Oh well. Maybe we will be able to snorkel another day.
After about 40 minutes, we all got back on board and headed off on a 45 minute ride to the island we were going to swim at. The scenery was simply amazing. I can’t do it justice to describe it. Like the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and we took about a hundred of them. We finally got to the island after passing a good portion of the island of Antigua. The little cove and beach the captain had chosen for us to stop at was amazing. Unfortunately the tides were to low so we weren’t able to go up to the beach. So we dropped anchor in the middle of the cove. He did have a little motored raft that he took people in to the beach if they wanted. I was fine just jumping in off the boat and swimming.
After lunch on the boat, which was Caribbean chicken, rice with black beans, some sort of roasted pumpkin, and mac & cheese, I tried my hand at snorkeling a second time. This time it went much smoother. The water was calmer and now I had a better idea of what I needed to do. The water was crystal clear. You could see all the way to the bottom, about 14 feet, and it reflected light as if it were a swimming pool. And it was the most amazing shade of blue. The bottom of the cove was made up of sand and coral reefs. I saw a bunch of fish, of course I don’t know what kind they were, but they were very pretty. Stripped ones and these really pretty electric blue and yellow fish. They looked like the kind you would find in a huge salt water aquarium. I also saw a ton of sand dollars, but apparently it’s against the law to remove anything from a reef. So I didn’t touch anything.
After an hour of swimming and snorkeling, it was time to head back to the ship. It was a 45 minute ride back, but the last part of the way, the captain cut the engines and put up the sails and we sailed the rest of the way. Truly amazing. It was such a cool experience. The crew was very nice and had a continuous supply of beverages for all of us. I wonder how many cases of beer they went through today!! That was the nice thing, too. It was 5.2% alcohol, none of that crap 3.2 Utah beer!! After two of them, I was feeling quite nice!!! It was called Carib Lager and it was mighty tasty. Of course it was ice cold and so refreshing in the sun and heat. I’m surprised I was able to swim after a few more!!
Once we got back on the ship, we did the standard shower and clean up and took a nap. A day in the sun wears you out. Then we went to the Lotus Garden for some Asian Fusion (whatever that means!) for dinner. It was really good. Pot stickers and tempura shrimp for the appetizer, teriyaki steak and asparagus for dinner. Delish!
We missed yet another show, since we have been planning dinner at the wrong time, so we headed to the casino again after dinner. I took about $60 and lost it all in about 10 minutes. Had to be a new record for me. I found Kerry (at the poker table of course!) and told him I was headed back to the room. He gave me $20 to play on the way out. Well, 3 spins later and I won $120. So I took him back his $20 and put one more twenty in another machine. Ching, ching, ching! $107 again! Woo hoo!! I cashed out and spent about $40 more and went back to the room with my winnings. That casino isn’t too bad!! I’ve left with more than I started with 3 out of 4 nights. Not to shabby!!
Tomorrow we are going to be in Bridgetown, Barbados. I think we may just do a little walking around and shopping. No excursions planned as of now. I might need a day to recover after today!!
Location: St John’s, Antigua
Weather: partly cloudy, 78 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: Catamaran Sail
Distance sailed from Miami: 1300 nautical miles
Oh my. Where do I even begin to describe today? You know those postcards that show the pictures of the ocean with various shades of blue and green with the white beaches and palm trees? That’s where we went today and what we saw. Simply amazing!!! Our excursion today was a catamaran sail with a stop for snorkeling, an hour on the beach and lunch on the boat. Holy blue waters, batman!!! First off, it started out meeting with the group of people that were going on the trip. I was a bit skeptical since there were about 50 people and when we saw the boat, I thought there was no way we were all going to fit. Well, we did, just barely. The boat was manned by a 3 man crew and a captain. The group was Wadadli Cats. We headed off out of the port to start the journey. As soon as we headed out of the port, the water turned the most amazing shade of blue-green. And it just kept getting better the farther we went out.
We sailed for about 30 minutes out in the middle of the ocean where there was a huge coral reef that we were going to snorkel at. Those of us that were going to snorkel got all geared up and we jumped in the water. It was a bit chilly at first, but once you were in, it was so nice. And there were tons a fish. Now I’ve never snorkeled before. And due to a little near drowning incident when I was younger, I’m kind of wuss when it comes to swimming in large bodies of water with no real ground underneath. And the whole mask and snorkel thing was foreign to me. But once I figured out that I didn’t have to freak out and hyperventilate and I really could breathe underwater with the snorkel, I had quite a good time. There were big schools offish and they would come right up to you. The reef was pretty cool to look at too. Of course I totally forgot to bring the disposable waterproof camera we got. Oh well. Maybe we will be able to snorkel another day.
After about 40 minutes, we all got back on board and headed off on a 45 minute ride to the island we were going to swim at. The scenery was simply amazing. I can’t do it justice to describe it. Like the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and we took about a hundred of them. We finally got to the island after passing a good portion of the island of Antigua. The little cove and beach the captain had chosen for us to stop at was amazing. Unfortunately the tides were to low so we weren’t able to go up to the beach. So we dropped anchor in the middle of the cove. He did have a little motored raft that he took people in to the beach if they wanted. I was fine just jumping in off the boat and swimming.
After lunch on the boat, which was Caribbean chicken, rice with black beans, some sort of roasted pumpkin, and mac & cheese, I tried my hand at snorkeling a second time. This time it went much smoother. The water was calmer and now I had a better idea of what I needed to do. The water was crystal clear. You could see all the way to the bottom, about 14 feet, and it reflected light as if it were a swimming pool. And it was the most amazing shade of blue. The bottom of the cove was made up of sand and coral reefs. I saw a bunch of fish, of course I don’t know what kind they were, but they were very pretty. Stripped ones and these really pretty electric blue and yellow fish. They looked like the kind you would find in a huge salt water aquarium. I also saw a ton of sand dollars, but apparently it’s against the law to remove anything from a reef. So I didn’t touch anything.
After an hour of swimming and snorkeling, it was time to head back to the ship. It was a 45 minute ride back, but the last part of the way, the captain cut the engines and put up the sails and we sailed the rest of the way. Truly amazing. It was such a cool experience. The crew was very nice and had a continuous supply of beverages for all of us. I wonder how many cases of beer they went through today!! That was the nice thing, too. It was 5.2% alcohol, none of that crap 3.2 Utah beer!! After two of them, I was feeling quite nice!!! It was called Carib Lager and it was mighty tasty. Of course it was ice cold and so refreshing in the sun and heat. I’m surprised I was able to swim after a few more!!
Once we got back on the ship, we did the standard shower and clean up and took a nap. A day in the sun wears you out. Then we went to the Lotus Garden for some Asian Fusion (whatever that means!) for dinner. It was really good. Pot stickers and tempura shrimp for the appetizer, teriyaki steak and asparagus for dinner. Delish!
We missed yet another show, since we have been planning dinner at the wrong time, so we headed to the casino again after dinner. I took about $60 and lost it all in about 10 minutes. Had to be a new record for me. I found Kerry (at the poker table of course!) and told him I was headed back to the room. He gave me $20 to play on the way out. Well, 3 spins later and I won $120. So I took him back his $20 and put one more twenty in another machine. Ching, ching, ching! $107 again! Woo hoo!! I cashed out and spent about $40 more and went back to the room with my winnings. That casino isn’t too bad!! I’ve left with more than I started with 3 out of 4 nights. Not to shabby!!
Tomorrow we are going to be in Bridgetown, Barbados. I think we may just do a little walking around and shopping. No excursions planned as of now. I might need a day to recover after today!!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Caribbean Cruise...Day 4
Day 4 – April 7, 2008
Location: Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Weather: partly cloudy, 79 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: Tortola Tour and Cane Bay Beach
Distance sailed from Miami: 1200 nautical miles
Today we are going to Tortola, an island in the British Virgin Islands. When I woke up, after sleeping through the wake-up alarm, we were in a beautiful bay surrounded by lush covered hills. There were a ton of sailboats in the bay. The water was amazing. We didn’t have an excursion planned today, just going to wing it, so we took our time getting up and getting ready to go.
We docked in this port, so going ashore was much easier. Swipe out through the security gate and down the gangway and away we went. It was a nice sunny day, with a little breeze, so it wasn’t too hot. We headed toward the town area. Our plan was try and find a taxi that could take us to Brewer’s Bay, a place I had heard was a great beach to hang out on. Yesterday, Kerry’s sunglasses broke, so we ventured to the row of vendors selling their items to see if we could find him a new pair. No such luck. They were either all women’s glasses or straight from the 70’s! So we walked a little farther into town to see if we could find a taxi. Well, we were propositioned with several offers from different people trying to take us on a tour of the island. We did find a taxi stand, but they wanted $20 each to take us to the beach, unless we could find four other people, then it would only be $6 each. Whatever. We told them never mind.
I was starting to feel a little bad about not having planned something more official or structured for this port, because the ship excursions can get pricey, and it was evident we weren’t having luck finding anyone to take us to the beach. After a mini-melt down by some jewelry store, we decided to head back to the ship to see if Kerry could find some sunglasses on the ship. Turns out it was evacuation drill day (I guess they do it once a week!) and everything was closed. Figures. So I said fine, let’s stay on the ship and was ready to go hang out by the pool for the day. Kerry said we should go out to the main area after getting off the ship and see if we can still get on one of the ship’s excursions. So we did. We ended up going on the Tortola Highlights tour, which also included an hour beach trip to Cane Bay Beach. So we signed up and headed to the tour bus (or rather the covered benches on the back of a heavy duty pickup!).
Turns out the tour wasn’t so bad after all. We drove all around the island, going up some of the twistiest and steepest roads I’ve ever seen. The tour driver, Joe, was a great guide. He pointed out all sorts of things of interest and was very knowledgeable. It’s hard to describe the sights we saw, so pictures will tell the story. A funny thing about this island, all chickens are wild and just roam freely. As well as a lot of goats. Weird. We also saw a lost horse trying to find its way down one of the canyons.
After about an hour or so driving around the island, we stopped at Cane Bay. It was an amazingly blue bay with a very nice sandy beach. We staked out two loungers under an umbrella and I headed in the water for a swim. Amazing!! It was a bit chilly at first but then it warmed up. There were gentle waves and almost no rocks. Perfect. Apparently it was a topless beach, or so one lone sunbather thought. It was funny to sit out in the water and watch as people discovered this one woman was topless. Their reactions were priceless!! Also, too many old men in Speedos were spotted. Ick!
An hour on the beach was plenty and it was time to head back to the ship. We saw some more sights along the way. It’s funny to see other cultures and what things are called, like supermarkets. They really don’t have them here. Instead they are little stores called superettes. I wanted to go in and check them out, but we didn’t have time.
Finally made it back to the ship. Once back on board, we decided to do a little laundry in the on board launderette. We managed to have quite the amount of dirty laundry for being here for such a short time, so we took a few hours to tackle it.
Dinner tonight was at Mambos, a Tex-Mex restaurant. It was pretty good. I had chicken and shrimp fajitas. For dessert we had churros (not like the ones you might think of that you get at a baseball game or at Disneyland). These were little fried things with a little honey glazed on them, served with a side of chocolate mousse. Very good.
With turn down service tonight, we got another towel animal. It was hard to tell if it was a sheep or a dog with log ears. Either way, we took a Kodak moment. We had missed both shows, since dinner was so late, so it was off to the casino again for more wasting of hard earned cash (or part of last night’s winnings!). I lasted all of about 10 minutes tonight with my $30, so I said goodnight to Kerry to go up to the room and write about today’s events.
Tomorrow we are going to be in St. John’s, Antigua and have a catamaran sail and snorkel trip planned!! More rough seas, but by now we are used to it. Everyone is saying this is one of the roughest cruises they have been on. I don’t mind. As long as I’m not sea sick and can still sleep through it and walk without tipping over!!!
Good night...more adventures tomorrow!
Location: Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Weather: partly cloudy, 79 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: Tortola Tour and Cane Bay Beach
Distance sailed from Miami: 1200 nautical miles
Today we are going to Tortola, an island in the British Virgin Islands. When I woke up, after sleeping through the wake-up alarm, we were in a beautiful bay surrounded by lush covered hills. There were a ton of sailboats in the bay. The water was amazing. We didn’t have an excursion planned today, just going to wing it, so we took our time getting up and getting ready to go.
We docked in this port, so going ashore was much easier. Swipe out through the security gate and down the gangway and away we went. It was a nice sunny day, with a little breeze, so it wasn’t too hot. We headed toward the town area. Our plan was try and find a taxi that could take us to Brewer’s Bay, a place I had heard was a great beach to hang out on. Yesterday, Kerry’s sunglasses broke, so we ventured to the row of vendors selling their items to see if we could find him a new pair. No such luck. They were either all women’s glasses or straight from the 70’s! So we walked a little farther into town to see if we could find a taxi. Well, we were propositioned with several offers from different people trying to take us on a tour of the island. We did find a taxi stand, but they wanted $20 each to take us to the beach, unless we could find four other people, then it would only be $6 each. Whatever. We told them never mind.
I was starting to feel a little bad about not having planned something more official or structured for this port, because the ship excursions can get pricey, and it was evident we weren’t having luck finding anyone to take us to the beach. After a mini-melt down by some jewelry store, we decided to head back to the ship to see if Kerry could find some sunglasses on the ship. Turns out it was evacuation drill day (I guess they do it once a week!) and everything was closed. Figures. So I said fine, let’s stay on the ship and was ready to go hang out by the pool for the day. Kerry said we should go out to the main area after getting off the ship and see if we can still get on one of the ship’s excursions. So we did. We ended up going on the Tortola Highlights tour, which also included an hour beach trip to Cane Bay Beach. So we signed up and headed to the tour bus (or rather the covered benches on the back of a heavy duty pickup!).
Turns out the tour wasn’t so bad after all. We drove all around the island, going up some of the twistiest and steepest roads I’ve ever seen. The tour driver, Joe, was a great guide. He pointed out all sorts of things of interest and was very knowledgeable. It’s hard to describe the sights we saw, so pictures will tell the story. A funny thing about this island, all chickens are wild and just roam freely. As well as a lot of goats. Weird. We also saw a lost horse trying to find its way down one of the canyons.
After about an hour or so driving around the island, we stopped at Cane Bay. It was an amazingly blue bay with a very nice sandy beach. We staked out two loungers under an umbrella and I headed in the water for a swim. Amazing!! It was a bit chilly at first but then it warmed up. There were gentle waves and almost no rocks. Perfect. Apparently it was a topless beach, or so one lone sunbather thought. It was funny to sit out in the water and watch as people discovered this one woman was topless. Their reactions were priceless!! Also, too many old men in Speedos were spotted. Ick!
An hour on the beach was plenty and it was time to head back to the ship. We saw some more sights along the way. It’s funny to see other cultures and what things are called, like supermarkets. They really don’t have them here. Instead they are little stores called superettes. I wanted to go in and check them out, but we didn’t have time.
Finally made it back to the ship. Once back on board, we decided to do a little laundry in the on board launderette. We managed to have quite the amount of dirty laundry for being here for such a short time, so we took a few hours to tackle it.
Dinner tonight was at Mambos, a Tex-Mex restaurant. It was pretty good. I had chicken and shrimp fajitas. For dessert we had churros (not like the ones you might think of that you get at a baseball game or at Disneyland). These were little fried things with a little honey glazed on them, served with a side of chocolate mousse. Very good.
With turn down service tonight, we got another towel animal. It was hard to tell if it was a sheep or a dog with log ears. Either way, we took a Kodak moment. We had missed both shows, since dinner was so late, so it was off to the casino again for more wasting of hard earned cash (or part of last night’s winnings!). I lasted all of about 10 minutes tonight with my $30, so I said goodnight to Kerry to go up to the room and write about today’s events.
Tomorrow we are going to be in St. John’s, Antigua and have a catamaran sail and snorkel trip planned!! More rough seas, but by now we are used to it. Everyone is saying this is one of the roughest cruises they have been on. I don’t mind. As long as I’m not sea sick and can still sleep through it and walk without tipping over!!!
Good night...more adventures tomorrow!
Caribbean Cruise...Day 3
Day 3 – April 6, 2008
Location: Samana, Dominican Republic
Weather: partly cloudy, 79 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: Cayo Levantado Island
Distance sailed from Miami: 718 nautical miles
Today is our first port day. We are stopping in Samana, Dominican Republic. Last night, the wind was quite strong (Force 7, near gale, according to the Captain’s log!) and you could definitely tell by the way the boat was rocking to and fro. Luckily, still no seasickness or anything. How nice it is not to have to worry about that!!!
We anchored at this port, as it is a developing port and don’t have a well-established place for cruise ships to dock, I guess. So we had to take a tender (aka water shuttle) to the beach. What it was is an island that NCL has contracted with to allow their guests to use the beachfront. It was the most amazing beach I’ve ever seen. As we were taking the speed racer tender (on which I chose the way wrong seat in the whole boat……...I was completely soaked by the time we got to the island) I was amazed at the color of the water and the amazing scene that was unfolding. Once we got to the dock and headed to the beach, I told Kerry that we finally found the picture postcard beach I’ve always dreamed about and only seen in books. It really does exist!!! I have proof!!!
We played on the white sandy beach and swam in the amazingly blue ocean for a few hours. There were a lot of “vendors” on the beach trying to sell us a massage or braids for your hair. It got kind of annoying after a while. We walked around and checked out the jewelry and trinkets that everyone was selling. I had a tasty pina colada in a real pineapple. It was delish!!
After enough of the sun, we headed back to catch the tender back to the ship. We had the same speed demon driver, but he must have gotten in trouble, because he went so slow on the way back. I could have swum faster!! After we got cleaned up from the beach, we laid down. Next thing I know it is 3 hours later!! It’s amazing how much energy the sun drains from you. Oh well. That’s what a good vacation is for. Napping! We kind of slept through the turn-down service, so no towel animal tonight.
Dinner was at Teppanyaki. It’s a Bennihana-like place where you sit in a group around a grill and the chef prepares your dinner. It was very good. I tried a few new things. Edemame was the appetizer, along with a seaweed and cabbage salad. Both were very good. Well, I only tried a piece of the seaweed, but the rest of the salad was good! My main course was the filet and shrimp. It was amazing to watch the chef make everything. He made it all look so easy! And everything was so good. I had coconut ice cream for dessert. Yummy!!!
After dinner, we went to the casino to spend a little cash. Of course Kerry found a poker game right away, so I headed to the slots. After about $35. I was ready to call it quits, then I hit a 600 credit (quarters) jackpot. So then I was really done!! I cashed out, told Kerry I was heading to bed, and started out of the casino. But on the way, I had just one more $5 bill so I put it in a machine and got $30 on the first try. I cashed out and hit the road!! Figured I better not push my luck!!
Tomorrow we are head to the British Virgin Islands.
Location: Samana, Dominican Republic
Weather: partly cloudy, 79 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: Cayo Levantado Island
Distance sailed from Miami: 718 nautical miles
Today is our first port day. We are stopping in Samana, Dominican Republic. Last night, the wind was quite strong (Force 7, near gale, according to the Captain’s log!) and you could definitely tell by the way the boat was rocking to and fro. Luckily, still no seasickness or anything. How nice it is not to have to worry about that!!!
We anchored at this port, as it is a developing port and don’t have a well-established place for cruise ships to dock, I guess. So we had to take a tender (aka water shuttle) to the beach. What it was is an island that NCL has contracted with to allow their guests to use the beachfront. It was the most amazing beach I’ve ever seen. As we were taking the speed racer tender (on which I chose the way wrong seat in the whole boat……...I was completely soaked by the time we got to the island) I was amazed at the color of the water and the amazing scene that was unfolding. Once we got to the dock and headed to the beach, I told Kerry that we finally found the picture postcard beach I’ve always dreamed about and only seen in books. It really does exist!!! I have proof!!!
We played on the white sandy beach and swam in the amazingly blue ocean for a few hours. There were a lot of “vendors” on the beach trying to sell us a massage or braids for your hair. It got kind of annoying after a while. We walked around and checked out the jewelry and trinkets that everyone was selling. I had a tasty pina colada in a real pineapple. It was delish!!
After enough of the sun, we headed back to catch the tender back to the ship. We had the same speed demon driver, but he must have gotten in trouble, because he went so slow on the way back. I could have swum faster!! After we got cleaned up from the beach, we laid down. Next thing I know it is 3 hours later!! It’s amazing how much energy the sun drains from you. Oh well. That’s what a good vacation is for. Napping! We kind of slept through the turn-down service, so no towel animal tonight.
Dinner was at Teppanyaki. It’s a Bennihana-like place where you sit in a group around a grill and the chef prepares your dinner. It was very good. I tried a few new things. Edemame was the appetizer, along with a seaweed and cabbage salad. Both were very good. Well, I only tried a piece of the seaweed, but the rest of the salad was good! My main course was the filet and shrimp. It was amazing to watch the chef make everything. He made it all look so easy! And everything was so good. I had coconut ice cream for dessert. Yummy!!!
After dinner, we went to the casino to spend a little cash. Of course Kerry found a poker game right away, so I headed to the slots. After about $35. I was ready to call it quits, then I hit a 600 credit (quarters) jackpot. So then I was really done!! I cashed out, told Kerry I was heading to bed, and started out of the casino. But on the way, I had just one more $5 bill so I put it in a machine and got $30 on the first try. I cashed out and hit the road!! Figured I better not push my luck!!
Tomorrow we are head to the British Virgin Islands.
Caribbean Cruise...Day 2
Day 2 – April 5, 2008
Location: at sea, somewhere
Weather: partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind gusts
I think I have finally found the perfect vacation. Or at least perfect so far at this point in my life. Today has been a lazy day. Isn’t that how vacations are supposed to be? Kerry entered a poker tournament (his perfect vacation!) and it started at 10am. I guess he wasn’t thinking about getting up that early when he signed up! Oh well. I told him when the alarm went off at 830 and rolled over and went back to sleep!! I finally got up about 1030, ordered some room service for breakfast and sat out on the balcony for while watching the beautiful blue ocean. Fabulous! Kerry came back with no winnings from poker around 1230. I had just gotten out of the shower and we headed up to get some lunch.
After lunch, Kerry wanted to take a nap (that’s a shocker, especially since we went to bed so late and he got up so early!), so I headed out to find a nice quite spot to read out on one of the decks. I found the perfect spot, complete with a lounger and quietness. I think I sat there for about two hours, not reading, but simply watching the ocean and listening to some music. What an amazing experience. Not a care in the world...just me, a little breeze, some good tunes, a beverage and the wide open sea. It was cool because I could still hear the sound of the sea over my music. Perfect!
Finally came in from my lovely perch on the promenade deck and found Kerry to still be sleeping. Big shock! I wake the dead, and we figure out what to do for the rest of the day. We lounge around the room for a while then head up to Cagney’s, the ship’s steakhouse, for dinner. This was a restaurant that charged a cover charge for the meal. But it was well worth it. I had a delicious meal with crab cakes, caeser salad, au gratin potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and prime rib. For dessert I had bananas foster and a cappuccino. It was all so good.
After dinner, we headed to the casino. I had to see if I could enter the slot tournament on Friday, because I totally spaced off the fact that I was entered in one today that I didn’t go to!!! I was able to and now hopefully on Friday I won’t forget to go to it! Of course while there, I blew my standard $40 or so on slots. I don’t know why I bother, but its fun. Kerry played poker for a while, and then I ran out of money and left him.
When we returned to the room, the stewards had been in to do their turn down service. I’ve never had that before. Someone comes in and turns down your bed and puts a little chocolate on your pillow. Neat! They also left a surprise...an elephant (made out of towels) sat guarding our bed. It was pretty cool!!
All in all, it was a great relaxing day.
Location: at sea, somewhere
Weather: partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind gusts
I think I have finally found the perfect vacation. Or at least perfect so far at this point in my life. Today has been a lazy day. Isn’t that how vacations are supposed to be? Kerry entered a poker tournament (his perfect vacation!) and it started at 10am. I guess he wasn’t thinking about getting up that early when he signed up! Oh well. I told him when the alarm went off at 830 and rolled over and went back to sleep!! I finally got up about 1030, ordered some room service for breakfast and sat out on the balcony for while watching the beautiful blue ocean. Fabulous! Kerry came back with no winnings from poker around 1230. I had just gotten out of the shower and we headed up to get some lunch.
After lunch, Kerry wanted to take a nap (that’s a shocker, especially since we went to bed so late and he got up so early!), so I headed out to find a nice quite spot to read out on one of the decks. I found the perfect spot, complete with a lounger and quietness. I think I sat there for about two hours, not reading, but simply watching the ocean and listening to some music. What an amazing experience. Not a care in the world...just me, a little breeze, some good tunes, a beverage and the wide open sea. It was cool because I could still hear the sound of the sea over my music. Perfect!
Finally came in from my lovely perch on the promenade deck and found Kerry to still be sleeping. Big shock! I wake the dead, and we figure out what to do for the rest of the day. We lounge around the room for a while then head up to Cagney’s, the ship’s steakhouse, for dinner. This was a restaurant that charged a cover charge for the meal. But it was well worth it. I had a delicious meal with crab cakes, caeser salad, au gratin potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and prime rib. For dessert I had bananas foster and a cappuccino. It was all so good.
After dinner, we headed to the casino. I had to see if I could enter the slot tournament on Friday, because I totally spaced off the fact that I was entered in one today that I didn’t go to!!! I was able to and now hopefully on Friday I won’t forget to go to it! Of course while there, I blew my standard $40 or so on slots. I don’t know why I bother, but its fun. Kerry played poker for a while, and then I ran out of money and left him.
When we returned to the room, the stewards had been in to do their turn down service. I’ve never had that before. Someone comes in and turns down your bed and puts a little chocolate on your pillow. Neat! They also left a surprise...an elephant (made out of towels) sat guarding our bed. It was pretty cool!!
All in all, it was a great relaxing day.
Caribbean Cruise...Day 1
Day 1 – April 3, 2008
Locations: Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami
Distance traveled: 2400 miles
First of all I don’t know what possessed us to get a red eye flight to Miami. Well, I guess I do...Kerry couldn’t get Thursday off so we had to fly out late Thursday night in order to be at the port in time on Friday. So we headed out to the airport about 10pm shuttled by the services of my cute mom. She was so nice to come and get us and take us to the airport. We ended up leaving way early, so we made a pit stop at Denny’s on the way and had a quick snack. Soon, we were at the airport, dropped curbside by my cute mom, and in line to check our bags. We got all checked in, and luckily we were flying first class, since our bags were 3 and 4 pounds over the limit of coach. So we didn’t have to pay anything!! We headed to the terminal to wait for our 1230 am flight.
Time to board the plane. Finally!!! The anticipation of finally being able to go on vacation and have the reality that it is finally time to start hits. They call us to bard and we head on the plane. First class, here we come. It was cool. We had little bottles of water, a pillow and blanket sitting on our seats. This was definitely going to make the almost 4 hour red eye flight a little less brutal. Each seat had its own little tv screen with tv/movies on demand. It made the flight go by so quickly. I watched Dan In Real Life and part of Juno. Both so so flicks. I didn’t even realize that it was almost time to land until the overhead announcement was made. Ok, now we just had a 2 hour layover in Atlanta. But you would have never guessed we were in Atlanta by looking out the window. It was hazy and fogging and 46 degrees!! It was cold!!!
By this point of the day, I was starving. I didn’t eat much the day we left because I was too busy doing stuff and kind of forgot. So we grabbed some breakfast at Chik-fil-a and hunkered down for our layover. Once the food coma set in and the realization that I haven’t slept in almost 24 hours I hit the wall. With a vengeance. Luckily the flight was ready to board, so we got on the plane for the second time. I think I barely made it through the safety presentation and I was out. I had my little blankie and pillow and I was sawing logs. The next thing I know, the almost 2 hour flight from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale was almost landing. Wow …how refreshing can a little catnap on plane be!!
Now the adventure can begin!! We have to find the people from Norwegian Cruise Line who had arranged for our transport from Fort Lauderdale to the Port of Miami. Us and 45 other people. We gathered our luggage, which made the trip without incident, and we were herded out to the greyhound bus that was waiting to take us to the port. We had a lively bus driver that gave us a nice little tour on the way.
We got to the port, saw the massive ship that was going to be our home for the next 9 days and proceeded to start the process called embarkation. I have never even heard of this word until about 3 months ago, when I started researching going on a cruise. Basically, it means the process of loading the ship!!! The process was relatively painless. A few lines here and there, showing your passport a few times, singing a few things, and we were headed to the magnificent Pearl. It was huge!!!
By this time it was about 1pm and staterooms were not ready so we headed to the Grand Buffet to get some lunch. It was a bit of a madhouse, since it was the only place open and everyone on board was there eating. But we managed to find a table and got some good food. As we were finishing up with our lunch, they made the announcement that our rooms were ready. We went on the search for our room
We booked a mini-suite because it was only about $200 more than a balcony room. The difference between the two is a little more room in the room and a shower with a tub. Definitely worth it. We found our room with no problem and checked everything out. It is a cozy little place to call home for the next 9 days. Our luggage wasn’t delivered yet, so we decided to just lie down and take a little lap before the lifeboat drill. And we had no problems falling asleep!!! We got up about a half hour before the drill and read the directions on our door for our emergency exit pathway. Then they announced the drill and we grabbed our life jackets and headed to the planned meeting spot. About 15 minutes later, the drill was over and we headed back to the room. Relatively painless. Our bags had been delivered, so it was time to unpack and put away everything. Once that was done, it was time to get cleaned up and ready to go explore the ship.
Once we had explored a little, we headed to La Cucina for dinner, the Italian restaurant, on the ship. Dinner was ok. Not the best Italian faire I’ve had, but it was decent. They had an odd choice of desert, okay, not so odd, just not anything we really like, so we headed to the Grand Buffet to scope out the offerings there since we knew they had ice cream. After getting a little dessert, we headed up to the 13th deck to enjoy the night. Of course we picked a terrible time to go on a cruise...the new moon phase. So not really any moonlight to enjoy. Whoops! Oh well...I think I live.
WE headed back to our room and passed one of the lounges on the way back. Kerry happened to spot a tv that was showing the Jazz game, so we stopped in there to watch the last quarter. What a cool thing. Hanging out in the middle of the ocean, somewhere between the US and Cuba, watching a game we would normally be watching from our living room. But instead, we are watching it on a cruise ship!!!
We made it back to our room and we were beat, even with our nap earlier. So it’s off to dreamland for the night. What a great day. I was worried that with the time of our flight, the hour it took to get to the pier and the whole checking in process that something would be horrible about today. But it was pretty good overall and now it’s over. Big sigh of relief! Now on to enjoy the next 9 days!!!
Locations: Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami
Distance traveled: 2400 miles
First of all I don’t know what possessed us to get a red eye flight to Miami. Well, I guess I do...Kerry couldn’t get Thursday off so we had to fly out late Thursday night in order to be at the port in time on Friday. So we headed out to the airport about 10pm shuttled by the services of my cute mom. She was so nice to come and get us and take us to the airport. We ended up leaving way early, so we made a pit stop at Denny’s on the way and had a quick snack. Soon, we were at the airport, dropped curbside by my cute mom, and in line to check our bags. We got all checked in, and luckily we were flying first class, since our bags were 3 and 4 pounds over the limit of coach. So we didn’t have to pay anything!! We headed to the terminal to wait for our 1230 am flight.
Time to board the plane. Finally!!! The anticipation of finally being able to go on vacation and have the reality that it is finally time to start hits. They call us to bard and we head on the plane. First class, here we come. It was cool. We had little bottles of water, a pillow and blanket sitting on our seats. This was definitely going to make the almost 4 hour red eye flight a little less brutal. Each seat had its own little tv screen with tv/movies on demand. It made the flight go by so quickly. I watched Dan In Real Life and part of Juno. Both so so flicks. I didn’t even realize that it was almost time to land until the overhead announcement was made. Ok, now we just had a 2 hour layover in Atlanta. But you would have never guessed we were in Atlanta by looking out the window. It was hazy and fogging and 46 degrees!! It was cold!!!
By this point of the day, I was starving. I didn’t eat much the day we left because I was too busy doing stuff and kind of forgot. So we grabbed some breakfast at Chik-fil-a and hunkered down for our layover. Once the food coma set in and the realization that I haven’t slept in almost 24 hours I hit the wall. With a vengeance. Luckily the flight was ready to board, so we got on the plane for the second time. I think I barely made it through the safety presentation and I was out. I had my little blankie and pillow and I was sawing logs. The next thing I know, the almost 2 hour flight from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale was almost landing. Wow …how refreshing can a little catnap on plane be!!
Now the adventure can begin!! We have to find the people from Norwegian Cruise Line who had arranged for our transport from Fort Lauderdale to the Port of Miami. Us and 45 other people. We gathered our luggage, which made the trip without incident, and we were herded out to the greyhound bus that was waiting to take us to the port. We had a lively bus driver that gave us a nice little tour on the way.
We got to the port, saw the massive ship that was going to be our home for the next 9 days and proceeded to start the process called embarkation. I have never even heard of this word until about 3 months ago, when I started researching going on a cruise. Basically, it means the process of loading the ship!!! The process was relatively painless. A few lines here and there, showing your passport a few times, singing a few things, and we were headed to the magnificent Pearl. It was huge!!!
By this time it was about 1pm and staterooms were not ready so we headed to the Grand Buffet to get some lunch. It was a bit of a madhouse, since it was the only place open and everyone on board was there eating. But we managed to find a table and got some good food. As we were finishing up with our lunch, they made the announcement that our rooms were ready. We went on the search for our room
We booked a mini-suite because it was only about $200 more than a balcony room. The difference between the two is a little more room in the room and a shower with a tub. Definitely worth it. We found our room with no problem and checked everything out. It is a cozy little place to call home for the next 9 days. Our luggage wasn’t delivered yet, so we decided to just lie down and take a little lap before the lifeboat drill. And we had no problems falling asleep!!! We got up about a half hour before the drill and read the directions on our door for our emergency exit pathway. Then they announced the drill and we grabbed our life jackets and headed to the planned meeting spot. About 15 minutes later, the drill was over and we headed back to the room. Relatively painless. Our bags had been delivered, so it was time to unpack and put away everything. Once that was done, it was time to get cleaned up and ready to go explore the ship.
Once we had explored a little, we headed to La Cucina for dinner, the Italian restaurant, on the ship. Dinner was ok. Not the best Italian faire I’ve had, but it was decent. They had an odd choice of desert, okay, not so odd, just not anything we really like, so we headed to the Grand Buffet to scope out the offerings there since we knew they had ice cream. After getting a little dessert, we headed up to the 13th deck to enjoy the night. Of course we picked a terrible time to go on a cruise...the new moon phase. So not really any moonlight to enjoy. Whoops! Oh well...I think I live.
WE headed back to our room and passed one of the lounges on the way back. Kerry happened to spot a tv that was showing the Jazz game, so we stopped in there to watch the last quarter. What a cool thing. Hanging out in the middle of the ocean, somewhere between the US and Cuba, watching a game we would normally be watching from our living room. But instead, we are watching it on a cruise ship!!!
We made it back to our room and we were beat, even with our nap earlier. So it’s off to dreamland for the night. What a great day. I was worried that with the time of our flight, the hour it took to get to the pier and the whole checking in process that something would be horrible about today. But it was pretty good overall and now it’s over. Big sigh of relief! Now on to enjoy the next 9 days!!!
Monday, April 14, 2008
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