Day 2 at sea – and our last full day on board

We have 475 miles to sail from Aruba to San Juan.

In total we have sailed 1782 miles.  1 nautical miles = 1.15 land miles.

As at 12 noon we were 95 nautical miles south of Puerto Rico, sea depth of 4800 metres (over 14,000 feet), and it’s 27 deg.

Thanks, Gaye, for your e-mail saying it’s golly cold in Melbourne – yeah, we’re really looking forward to getting back to cold weather – not!  Although we are looking forward to getting home and seeing the cats.

Awake at 7.15am and down to the main dining room for an a la carte breakfast, which we haven’t done before.  We then went on a Galley Tour at 9.30am, which took us through two of the six galleys on board, and took about half an hour.  Then up to the theatre to see “Millennium Has Talent” which was some of the non-entertainment crew showing off their talents, eg singing, dancing, juggling.  A bit of fun.

They then brought onto the stage some of the crew including officers and the Captain, to rapturous applause:

Stayed to watch On Point perform a couple of songs:

Then back to our cabin to get the laptop and go to the café to post some blogs which we hadn’t done for a couple of days – very busy, this holiday business!  Bought our formal photos on the way back to our room, into our togs and up to the pool for a couple of hours.  Had a couple of slices of pizza for lunch, so no foodie blog necessary there.  The entertainment crew were out in full force with a band playing, then one of the chefs came and carved an eagle from a huge block of ice, then an officers’ vs passengers’ pool volleyball game – which the passengers won for the first time in 10 years.  Ice creams on the way back to our room, then packing.  We keep an overnight bag in our cabin, and all other suitcases have to be outside our room between 4-11pm.  A few days ago we filled in a form with our departure details, and last night numbered tags were delivered to our cabin according to what time we disembark.  It’s not like checking out of a hotel!  At 8am we are Group 14.  We have a full ship as all the cabins are in use, however at 2,000 passengers we are not at full capacity as there are very few kids on board.  I think our total ship capacity is something like 2,200 passengers.  Casual night tonight so no dressing up necessary.  7pm show in the theatre was a round-up of the solo entertainers we’ve seen so far.  Up to Cosmos to watch On Point one last time, then a final dinner with Terry and Chuck before going to bed on the ship for the last time.  Definitely looking forward to getting home to our own bed.

Orangestad, Aruba

Overnight sail of 74 miles at snail’s pace (which was obviously the long way as Aruba is 42 miles west of Curacao)

Bit of a bumpy ride as it was windy in Curacao so the boat had a bit of a rock ‘n’ roll thang goin’ on.  Windy also in Aruba, and also warm at 30 deg and humid so quite sticky.  Usual morning routine then onto shore, and onto a catamaran to take us west to Catalina Bay for a shallow snorkel, then to the Antilla wreck for a deep snorkel (30 ft).  It was very choppy, and the shallow snorkel was not very good as there were not a lot of fish to see.  It was even rougher around the wreck, so I decided not to go unless R said it was very good.  No sooner had everyone got in the water, than the first few were out as it was so rough.  R said it was OK, but I chose to lay on the netting at the front of the cat in the sun.  Nice.

The crew were not at all helpful and R had to help an elderly chap get up the stairs from the water and also carried his gear out the back.  The poor old chap was exhausted just getting up the stairs so lay on the netting for a while to get his breath back.  No tips for the crew!  Bumpy, splashy tootle down the coast again, then back onto the ship for showers and dry clothes.  Back on shore, and into the town.  We were starving, so food & beers first at Iguana Joe’s (and no, there was no iguana on the menu), then a look around the town.

We were a bit knackered so back on the boat for ice creams, then up to the pool for a swim and a spa.  Last of the gin on the balcony for sailaway.

We went to the iBroadway show in the theatre, which we weren’t very impressed with and left early.  It was a formal night so we were in our gladrags, so had some formal photos taken.  Through for dinner, then home to bed.

Willemstad, Curacao

441 nautical miles since leaving Grenada

7.10am awake, and we were already docked.  Quite sleepy this morning, so lay in bed and read the brochure and LPG about Curacao.  The old down is Unesco World Heritage-recognised, and the island’s colonial Dutch heritage is prevalent.

Dressed and upstairs for breakfast.  Back to our room, into our togs with clothes over top, and off the ship by 9.15am.  Onto a boat that took us 35 mins east down the coast to Van der Valk Beach.  It was very windy, and the sea was quite rough with 1 metre swells, sometimes swelling to 1.5 metres.  Off the boat, and while walking to the beach (5 mins) we saw an iguana.  We were in a hurry to get good deck chairs so didn’t get a photo.  It was a big one, about 3 ft long.  They eat them here – iguana soup and iguana stew – don’t know if I’m that game.  The local market was closed by the time we got to it, so didn’t get a chance to even see any of it.  We got good beach loungers under a coconut tree, went for a walk up and down the beach, people-watched, and read our books for three hours.

Back on the boat, and back to the ship to get out of our togs and change.  Back on shore again, and walked into town.  They have a pontoon pedestrian bridge, which opens (like a door) to let ships through to the harbour.

We didn’t see the pontoon bridge open for another big cruise ship about the same size as ours that had arrived earlier, so the bridge is quite long.  When the bridge is open, there is a ferry that runs as sometimes the bridge can be open for up to 30 mins with the sea traffic.  The bridge was open when we wanted to cross, so we had to get the ferry, but fortunately it was closed on the way back so we were able to walk over it.  The outskirts of the town are very cutesy with pastel painted houses.  Within the town, it’s mostly your average tourist town with the usual buildings.  We had lunch at Indi’s Spice House with fabulous views across to town:

Then had a look around the town, at the markets, unfortunately the fish markets were finished for the day, as had the local markets.  Across the pontoon bridge, and went to the Kura Hulanda Museum, which iis an anthropological museum with the largest African collection in the Caribbean.  It is also known as the slave museum, and gives a good history of the slave trade in the Caribbean.  Although the museum was not well laid out and clearly documented, it was still a very sobering experience.  Bought some tonic on the way back to the ship.  Showers, then gins on the balcony for sailaway.  Wrote the blog, then downstairs to the theatre to watch John Bressner, who is a pianist and singer.  He was excellent at tickling the ivories, and could belt out quite a song.  Dinner with Terry and Chuck again, then home to bed.

Day 1 at sea:

As at 12.15pm we had sailed 240 miles, with the sea at a depth of 3,500 metres.

My goodness, we actually slept till 8.10am!  Primo!  Usual tea routine, then up to the buffet in the main dining room at 9.45am for a Brunch Buffet Extravaganza.  They open the buffet for 15 mins for photos, then everyone out till 10.15am when they open for dining (see foodie blog for photos).  The ship is very busy today as it’s an at-sea day, and the queue was huge to get into the dining room, but as we had already taken photos we were pretty much at the front.  We sat with this hideous American couple – the guy had retired after working for Delta Airlines, and his wife still worked for them (she definitely was not air crew).  If you work for them minimum of 10 years and still with them by age 52, when you retire you get free travel for the rest of your life.  He retired 3.5 years ago and has been to 187 countries (and he was ground crew).  When we said we were living in Australia, he said, “oh, you poor things”.  Yep, that kind of ugly attitude.  However when we said we were Kiwis he said, “oh I love New Zealand – it’s just so beautiful”.  Turned out he’d only been to Auckland for a couple of days.  He figured he’d seen the whole country.  Couldn’t wait to finish our brunch and get away from them.  We blobbed the rest of the afternoon – read our books – didn’t do much else really cause we were so full from brunch and quite happy to have a day off.  Got ready for dinner then went and watched On Point again – they really are hard case as they get the giggles in the middle of a song and have to try and hold it together.  They totally failed tonight and had to stop, recover, then start the song from the second verse.  Good fun.  These sets usually go for 20 mins.  Went to the theatre to see Carl Andrews, a magician and sleight of hand expert.  He was very good.  R was sure he was going to catch him out, and see him passing cards up his sleeve or wherever.  Nope.  He even took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves so he couldn’t do that.  All the card tricks were projected live on the big screens so you could see close up.  The theatre shows start at 7pm for an hour, then we have 30 mins before dinner.  So, creatures of habit, we went to see On Point again who had another set at 8pm.  Then off to dinner, and the other couple from our table joined us last night, so there were six of us.  They will not start a conversation, but will answer questions – kinda like trying to get blood out of a stone.  Hope we don’t see them tomorrow night – ooh, how uncharitable!

St George’s, Grenada

Overnight sail of 162 nautical miles.

Usual morning routine, then off the ship for river tubing, although we had time for a look around the shops before we left.  We left the cruise terminal at 10.30am for a 45 minute drive to get to the river.  St George’s was devastated by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, then again by Hurricane Lucy in 2005.  Ivan brought lots of wind (no surprises there), while Lucy brought lots of water.  Grenada is volcanic so therefore mountainous with lots of vegetation.  (You can tell by this commentary that we had a very good tour guide.)  The main crops are cocoa, nutmeg and bananas (yellow and red).  Along the way the guide also pointed out those three trees, along with avocado (in blossom), mango, wax apple, and papaya (which he said if you throw the seeds on the ground they easily sprout and grow).  After Ivan hit, all the trees lost their greenery and over the entire island there were only tree trunks left.  Yet now, most of them have recovered and fully green again, ie only a few bare tree trunks to be seen.  90% of the houses lost their roofs, and even now some of those houses have not been repaired.  After Lucy in 2005, the Chinese Government built a new stadium in preparation for the Cricket World Cup in 2007 (or ‘09 – can’t remember).  The Canadian Government helped rebuild a high school, as education is very important here.  Mandatory for 3-year-olds to start kindergarten till they are 5, then primary school through till 12; high school till 18, then 2 years’ college.  University if they want to, and there is one on the island, otherwise they have to go further afield.

Anyway, back to river tubing.  The island is in the dry season, however the expected rain has not eventuated so the river was lower than usual.  Hence I now have a bruised bum cause I kept bouncing over the rocks.  Never mind.  About 40 in our group in total.

It was great fun – I laughed all the way, swirling round, and down the rapids.  We were told that each rope we saw that crossed the river, we had to hold on to and wait for the guides.  The guides helped us into the tubes (just like on a river ride at a water park – tube with handles, and a base – you had to sit in with legs over the side) – and away we went to the first rope.  The guides (about 10 in total) then ran ahead with their tubes and positioned themselves along the next course of the river to help us through; then we’d get to the rope, and they’d pick up their tubes and run along to the next bit.  Four times in total.  Golly it was good fun.  Back on the bus, and back to the cruise terminal.  Back to the ship to get out of our wet togs and on with dry clothes, then out for lunch.  Great location but disappointing menu (see foodie blog).

Ice creams again once back on board (which we’ve done for the last few days – I’ve just forgotten to tell you!), then to our room to watch the Grand Princess, which was docked next to us today, sail away.  Gins on the balcony for our sailaway, then I wrote the blog.  Downstairs to watch On Point again, then to the Jack Walker show at the theatre.  He’s Scottish, and has been in all sorts of broadway musicals and Las Vegas shows.  He was OK.  Dinner with Terry and Chuck again, then off to bed.  It’s knackering this holiday business!

St Castries, St Lucia

Overnight sail of 100 nautical miles.

Wow, sleep-in this morning – woke at 7am and they were just docking the ship.  Watched that, then R upstairs for tea for us to have on the balcony.  Took our time over breakfast and getting ready, and headed off about 9-ish.  Got ashore and there were signs for Segway – yes!  Something we’ve both wanted to do, with me having played enough of it on Wii.  Booked for 10.30am, so we wandered round the shops and bought a few more presents.  Back to the ship to drop off the presents, then back to the information centre to get on our way to Segway.  Taxi about 15 mins away to Rodney Bay, to the “Tours ‘R’ Us” office (cute sign imitating Toys R Us).  Orientation on the Segway, then on our way.  I must admit, there was one hilarious moment during my orientation.  I was on the Segway, and the guide had taught me how to go forward.  Then we tried backward.  Oh, I was going backward alright – faster and faster – I knew I had to lean my weight forward to stop, and he was yelling at me, “lean forward!!”.  Nope, brain not in gear.  “Help, help,” I cried.  He came running after me by which time brain was engaged, and I got my weight forward and stopped.  Whew.

They are relatively simple to use once you get the hang of them – some of us are just slower to learn than others!  Big leaning forward to go uphill, and lean back to go downhill – which was a bit scary at first cause I had visions of me going too far back and toppling backwards off the golly thing.  However, we had no mishaps so that was a good thing.  Seeing the almond trees was one of the highlights, and also noni trees.  Lots of stops along the way for photos, then a climb up a hill to a rock pool to feed some fish.  Down the hill again for a fresh fruit refreshment – pineapple, wax apples, pink grapefruit and bananas.  We had a great time.

Taxi back to Castries to the restaurant we had chosen out of the LPG – The Coal Pot.  Great lunch in the most gorgeous setting looking out over a lagoon.  It was really beautiful.

Walked back to the ship, did the blog, shower, then sailaway at 5pm.  Down to Rendezous Lounge to watch On Point, an a capella group, then dinner at the posh restaurant, The Olympic.  Tired bunnies again so home to bed.

Roseau, Dominica

Overnight sail of 147 nautical miles.

Another great day, with better snorkelling than yesterday.  Woke at around 5am for me and 6am for R.

Tea on the balcony again, before breakfast and off on shore for our excursion.  Waited near a stinky diesel-fume bus so the tour guide moved us all closer to our where we boarded the catamaran.

The cat today was bigger than yesterday, but we only had about 25 people on board, compared to 50 yesterday, so there was lots of room.  Tootled along the coast about 20 mins, quite windy on the way so couldn’t wear hats.  I have sunburnt scalp from yesterday after having the same problem.  A shortened excursion blurb says:

Set sail southbound to the Soufriere/Scotts Head Marine Park, for our first snorkel site, Champagne, which is a large granite reef fed by underwater hot springs creating bubbles, hence the name.  Reef is approx 100m offshore starting at a depth of 3’ with the main dive reef drop off of 15’.  Then sail to the second snorkel site called L’abym (La Bim), a Creole word meaning “the deep”.  L’abym is one of the area’s most vertical wall sites running about 2 miles.

We saw barrel sponge coral, feather duster sponge (or was it a type of coral – can’t remember) which closes up when touched (our guide dived down to touch it), a sea slug, black and white moray eel, a turtle (which was big but a long way down in murky water – we saw it later on the surface for a few secs), and all sorts of coloured fish from blue to yellow to black and white spotted.  It was just fabulous.

When we walked to board the catamaran there were barriers up keeping the general public away from the proximity of the ship, about 100m.  There were police guarding these barriers.  When we came back from sailing we understood why as there were locals touting tours, and also begging.  We had an armless man (not sure if he was ‘armless though!), asking us if we needed a taxi.  We said no, then he asked if we had any spare change.

We had found a restaurant in the LPG which we wanted to go to for lunch but it was closed.  Turned out to be a good thing, as we found an upstairs hotel restaurant on the foreshore so we could sit and watch the waves crashing onto the rocks.  No beaches to speak of in Roseau, apparently very hard to find and well off the beaten track.

Back on the ship after lunch and time for a snooze.  Washed out our togs and one of R’s polos, glass of bubbly in our cabin while writing the blog.  Up to the café to publish the blog, then back to our room for sailaway.  Watched them untie the ship’s ropes from the docks – hadn’t seen that before.  Had a look through the shops on the way to dinner, then home to bed.