Cruise 2011 - Day 15 Grenada

Today was a game changer! We did not rent a car on Grenada so I signed us up for a snorkeling excursion. After breakfast we met up at the foot of the pier and join a group of fellow shipmates for the morning snorkeling adventure. The catamaran was loaded up and we headed to a marine park at Flamingo Bay just around the corner about 15 minutes from the ship. The fish were amazing and one of the guides named Brian dove down and retrieved numerous items from the bottom for us to see. He returned them of course as taking anything from the park is strictly forbidden.



























Post dive rum punch!





















We spent 45 minutes or so at this spot then headed for the beautiful beach named Grand Anse. We were delivered to the beach and we enjoyed numerous rum punch drinks as we swam in the very warm clear waters. Another hour past and we reloaded the catamaran and headed back to the ship. We loved the beach and would definitely come back here!!


We changed clothes and headed into town for some local grub. We went to a small restaurant by the water called BB's and had a great lunch. This was one of the reccomended spots in Gthe town. We signed the wall before we headed up to the fort and our next objective.

The fort overlooked the harbor and gave us great views of the ship and the lagoon that was formed by an ancient volcano. This is yet another earth cache so we did the required items and enjoyed the views.


Back on board we headed up for a final sail away and readied ourselves for dinner. It's become routine!

Cruise 2011 Day 14 - St Lucia

(Ok I lost my hard drive on my laptop so I am writing this on the way home from DFW to SEA)


We awoke to the bustling harbor of  Castries on St Lucia. It was busy as there were no less than four ships moored in the small confined bay. After the usual breakfast meeting we headed out to find our car rental people. The town center was very busy as 2500 plus tourists flooded the small downtown core.


We had to wait a bit but were eventually picked up and driven to a remote rental location at Marigot Bay. Turns out this is one of the most photographed bays in the Caribbean and it was beautiful. Unfortunately my photos are unavailable so I hope Mark & Robyn can help me out. (And they did!!!)


Seeing as we were 30 minutes south of town we decided to continue in that direction and head down the coastline to the sulphur pools at the dormant volcano behind the Petit Peton. These huge land formations are a major attraction and jut high along the coastline. They are easily spotted as we traveled south.





Our travels took us along very windy and steep roads through several fishing villages and towns. First up was the town of L’Anse La Raye and then Cannaries before arriving into the main town of Soufriere. We bought some gas and headed towards the sulphur springs.and the inactive volcano core.



The road occasionally offered fantastic views of the towns (Soufriere here) and the Petit Peton.
































































The sulphur springs are part of an Earth Cache so we where going about completing the cache when we met some fellow cachers from our own ship. We had a short chat and then continued on our way. We then headed back home with several stops for pictures and some shopping.


We also stopped at a roadside stand and picked up some fresh bananas and coconut. It was very tasty and so different from what we get at home. We dropped off the rental and as the girl drove us back towards town,  she gave us a little tour and some local information. She dropped us off at the shopping center by the ship and after a bit of shopping we took a small ferry across the bay to our ship. 


As luck would have it Kelly’s fellow MOA at her work Maria knew our ship’s Captain’s wife and… well through some magic emails we were contacted and offered a spot on the bridge during sail away.  We surprised Mark and Robyn as we waited at the 10 floor elevators. The Captain’s wife Carroll soon arrived and we were escorted to the bridge. This was a real honour for us and we soon met Captain Michel. He made us feel welcome and then proceeded to ready the ship for departure. Carroll gave us the lay of the land and explained the duties of the different crew members and the positions they occupied. Captain Michel showed us the ships controls and how they operated the three bow thrusters and the two propeller Aziopods. These swivelled 360 degrees and provided very accurate control and positioning of the ship.





We stood back as the ship's crew gently backed out of the harbour. It must have looked funny to the ATR 72 crew landing on the local air as one big RCI ship headed out of the harbor and we backed out at the same speed . Then again maybe not as the plane approached between the ships! That would be cool to see from the aircraft flight deck!



We enjoyed the departure procedure and I noticed the crew coordination during the whole process. Several similarities with our aircraft procedures were evident. I took some pictures of what would normally be an approach from a plane… except it was from the bridge as we backed out. We took lots of pictures and spent almost 90 minutes enjoying the views as we went south past the Pitons towards Grenada.



After a short walk on deck (for a liquid refreshment of course ) we headed for the 7pm show  featuring the Mo-Town singing group "Spectrum". They were very good and received a well deserved standing ovation at the end of the show. 


Off to bed after another exhausting day!

Cruise 2011 Day 13 – Antigua

We awoke to our ship slowly making its way through the narrow channel that leads into St John’s harbor.  The island, although not as hilly as some, was lush and green in color. Numerous beaches were in sight as we approached the dock in the downtown core. We moored right at the front of the town site so access to all the amenities is very quick and easy. We grabbed a bite of breakfast and it was off to pick up the car rental. It took a few minutes but soon we were on the road in our Jeep Wrangler. The side windows were removed so the “air conditioning “ was on full blast LOL. It was my turn to drive so I obtained my Antiqua Drivers license and Mark did the map reading. Robyn steered us to the caches from the rear seat as we headed across the island to Nelson’s Dockyard. This famous location was the hub of the British Naval fleet and it’s well guarded harbor gave lots of protection from wind, waves and of course attack.

We headed for Shirley Heights that overlooked the entrance and provided complete views of the ocean and harbor entrance. It was spectacular!

 

Looking down on the harbor where the dockyard is.

Next we headed back to the dockyard were we made our way out to the point that housed the garrison and gunpowder storage. We took some photos and headed to a nearby cache after some easy computations using the cannon as information. Numbers on the cannon transformed into Lat & Long for the GPS.

We got the cache and then headed across to Half Moon Bay and Smiling Harry’s Bar. Both Mark and Robyn visited this island in 2008 and had fond memories of the bar. They have never told me what those memories are though. There was a cache there as well so the stop was a bonus!

 

Harry poses with Kelly and the cache.

Mark then guided us to a well known snorkeling beach at Long Bay. We grabbed some chairs and settled in for some serious R & R. The snorkeling was good and the variety of fish amazing.

 

Long Bay, Antigua

We headed back to the ship as we had to be boarded by 1630 today. The first glimpse of the ship is always comforting at this point in the day! A few stops at the kiosks along the waterfront of course. Yet another amazing, exhausting day for us! I had hoped to grab the laptop and upload pictures but just ran out of time.

A quick snack and we were out on deck for the sail away. The harbor is very narrow but the crew did a great job of maneuvering this huge vessel out as we backed away from the town. We watched numerous large fish jumping and the local sea birds dive into the waters chasing smaller fish.

 

Leaving port.

We went to the 7 PM show featuring a comedy magician and I have to say he was very entertaining. He had us in stitches and the illusions he created amazed everyone. He has been in Vegas for many years and was even on Oprah at one point. Mark remembered seeing him on the show and was impressed then.

After the show we headed downstairs to dinner then I watched Mark have a nice run at the roulette wheel in the Casino. It’s was nice to see someone win LOL

We wandered through the ship and ended up in the Safari Club where a audience participation game called Quest was just getting started. This game pitted teams against one another in a scavenger hunt kind of format. For example the host Mark the cruise entertainment director would ask for a man to be dressed in a bra, lipstick, purse and shoes. Points were awarded on which team could do it the fastest. It was hilarious to watch full grown men get dressed up in a matter of minutes and parade around the floor. Even funnier watching the women offer up the items! I am not talking about one or two men but twenty or so! We laughed a lot as the Quest demands became even funnier. If you’re on a cruise and they play this game just make sure you go and see it for yourself.

After the mayhem ended we headed for bed as we will be up early to plan the day in St. Lucia. This will be our second to last stop on our amazing vacation.  

Cruise 2011 Day 12 – St Croix

Cruise 2011 Day 12 – St Croix

I dragged my butt down to Latte-tudes Barista Bar and had a nice cup of coffee waiting for me. Kelly was already down there with Mark & Robyn when I showed up to publish the Day 11 blog report. They went off to breakfast while I uploaded the last day’s diary and a few pictures. 

We left the ship (at Frederiksted) and after a short walk came upon a Cruzan Rum Lady giving out free samples! As the rum factory was on our list of spots it was a natural to try it. The coconut rum was very nice and reminded me of the rums my dad Roy used to bring home from his trips south.

Next it was off to get the rental car (Jeep Wrangler) and the Avis lady on the island was most helpful. The documentation was completed on the steps of the local pharmacy and we were on our way. The map worked well and we were driving past the rum factory in no time. U-turn and we arrived just as a tour was heading out. Perfect timing!! The girl named Chris gave us a great tour and we got to see right into the huge vats that were fermenting inside an open building. I cannot describe the aroma in any fashion that would do it justice. Let’s just say it smelt wonderful.  We had a look inside a storage building and there was row upon row of 55 gallon rum barrels.  

 

Vats fermenting

We tried to smuggle one out under Mark’s shirt using me as a decoy but she said to put it back…darn! Obviously she has see other Canadians down here!

Pictures of the barrels with a Canadian.

  

Once the tour ended we were treated to a nice rum drink of our choice.  This was a very different tour from the Bacardi Factory but it well worth it. We headed off trying to get some caches and got all turned around in a hilly subdivision. We had planned to go to the east end of the island but made a command decision to head to Cane Bay Beach.

 We arrived to fined a nice stretch of beach with small bars and a restaurant right beside a geo-caches… how convenient!. We grabbed the cache and headed to the beach for some swimming and relaxing. We had a great lunch and then headed up through the rain forest area down to the eastern side of the island.

Lunch at Cane Bat Beach

 We grabbed another cache under a huge Banyan tree on our way back to the shopping area and ship.  

 

 We loitered around the shops and then it was off to the ship to get cleaned up for sail away. We met up at the bow of the ship and enjoyed backing out of the port and the great views.

View from the bow looking back at the rainbow farewell.

We headed to the special reception for return cruisers at 1945 and enjoyed free snacks and drinks. Dinner was in the dinning room at 20:30 on deck 4 this cruise as we were rotated to a different area of the ship. This was a nice change as we had different waiters/helpers and enjoy a much different view.


Happy 75th Birthday to my dad.....wish you were here... I'd buy you a nice drink!

Cruise 2011 Day 11 - St Thomas

We had our usual meeting in the Latitudes coffee shop to discuss our daily plans. Today was going to be a game changer as we decided to shop first then go to the beach! Yes we don’t like to have a set routine you know LOL

We grabbed the rental vehicle quickly as the car was located right beside the terminal. We drove through town and got the lay of the land sort o speak… terminal area, shopping area and on through to the airport. We watch a 757 take off over top of us as the view down the runway was pretty neat.

We headed back into town as the shops were starting to open up. The main shopping district is lined with every kind of jewelry store known to man! It was a shopper’s nirvana and Kelly was in full gear.

After a couple hours Kelly settled on a a particular jewel and bought herself a beautiful ring for her birthday. She was very happy and it was the highlight of the trip for her so far I am sure. Mark and Robyn also found some nice jewelry and I got a shirt.

We jumped into the jeep and headed across the island to Megan’s Bay for some R&R on the beach. The shopping had worn us out and we needed the rest LOL. The drive over was on a windey steep road but Mark handled the driving duties with great expertise! Left hand drive here but you drive on the left…. We will eventually figure out these islands as they are all different!

We stopped and got a couple caches and hit the beach. It was beautiful and probably one of the more crowded beaches we have been to but still plenty of room to relax and swim though.

Back to the ship and some shopping around the terminal to cap off our visit. We hit the top deck for sail away and enjoyed the spectacular view as we departed the harbor. I stopped an internet cafe/bar but sadly the connectivity was worse than the ship. I have hundreds of photos that I would love to share but sadly I will have to wait until I either find a better connection or get home.

Dinner followed at the Italian specialty restaurant Portofino and it was excellent. After we walked the ship to let dinner settle… anyone starting to see a trend here :-)

I even made money in the casino tonight! Whoot!

Cruise 2011 - Day 10 – San Juan

Today was a busy day on the ship as the vast majority of the passengers were disembarking and heading home. We are in the enviable position of getting to stay on the ship for another week and another 5 different island stops! We decided that a quick trip into Old San Juan was in order after the fare to the Bacardi Rum Factory was rather steep. We had a look through the various shops in the old part of town and managed to get a cache that had eluded us the first days in San Juan. After that we headed to a small ferry that took us across the harbor towards the rum factory. It cost 50 cents each and then we hopped on a taxi for a short drive to the factory. The grounds are immaculate and the tour was very informative. We learned all about the history of the company and the source of the bat logo. We even had a chance to sample the rum as everyone received two rum drinks of their choice.

There was a cache near the entrance that we just walked over to and found easily. We then headed back to the ship and hit the buffet. Our Sail Pass and “in transit” papers allowed a quick and easy return to the ship.

The buffet had a beautiful fruit animal themed carvings

Nap time! Yeah it’s been a tough day!

We then headed up for some games at the Schooner Bar as we awaited the safety briefing to begin. Once that was over it was off to Chops Grill as they offered a two for one dinner upgrade… which we could not refuse. The dinner was fantastic and the service unforgettable. We left completely satisfied and headed to the shops and casino area for some fun and to walk off the meal.

Tomorrow we go to St Thomas and Meagan’s Bay for snorkeling… should be fun!

Cruise 2011 - Day 9 Cruising

We got up and headed for coffee and our morning internet fix. I uploaded the last days blog for Barbados and Kelly checked out her Facebook page. She received a bunch of birthday wishes from her Facebook friends and enjoyed reading them all.

Next stop was the Galley Tour and lunch at Chops Grill. This is an add on to our trip and for $30 we received a 45 minute tour of the various areas that customers are not permitted. In fact I saw a sign that said any employee bringing guests in would be subject to termination by the Master! (We had permission of course)

Ice sculpture that greeted us at our brunch. The tour took us up and down several levels and we saw the desert prep areas, bakery, appetizers prep and main cooking areas. We even watched as someone’s special order was prepared. It was very interesting to see it all and it was spotless. Stainless steel everywhere and it sparkled. After the tour we were treated to a small personnel buffet in Chops Grille. This was not your ordinary buffet as it featured tenderloin steak, lamb chops, pork chops, steaks & eggs, proscuitto wrapped asparagus, seafood kabobs, baked salmon, cheese plates, cold meats… it was fantastic. Of course they included as much Mimosa drinks that you wanted. Definitely worth every penny!

Here is a picture of Kelly's plate.

After the galley tour & brunch we headed upstairs to the Vortex Night Club facility as they held a special meeting for us “Continuous Cruisers”. We felt special LOL. They provided information on how we go on and off the ship in Puerto Rico as well as ideas for excursions on the next week’s cruise.

It was then off to the pool area where the belly flop contest was held. The 400 lb American easily one with huge pool emptying flops… it was hilarious!

We found some chairs at the front of the ship and enjoyed some music that a group had brought along. The day slowly past by and we relaxed with numerous specialty drinks in order to maintain proper fluid levels in the warm sunshine.

We also found access to the front of the ship where Kelly did Lauren's pose.

Dinner was once again fantastic as both Kelly and I had the Lamb Shank. I believe it’s possible that I will commit lambicide on this trip LOL

We shopped a bit after dinner and then after a walk about retired for the evening after a stop at the main bar to enjoy some music and dancing.

Cruise 2011 Day 8 - Barbados

We awoke to celebrate Kelly’s birthday today! We arrived in Bridgetown, Barbados this morning and met up the Mark & Robyn at the Latte-tudes coffee bar. Armed with our laptops we updated our respective Facebook pages and our blog. I hope to upload picture eventually but the slow speed and cost makes this nearly impossible.


We headed out for our rental pickup and after a short walk arrived at the agencies office right near the cruise ship terminal. Unfortunately they had Robyn’s reservation on a different day (their mistake as Robyn was armed with all her e-mail correspondence) so this created a bit of a delay as they scrambled to get us a vehicle. After a short wait we jumped in a near new Suzuki Jimmy and headed out to start our day. It was a nice vehicle and suited or purpose very well.


We decided to head north towards a Earth cache that both Robyn and Mark had done the last time they were on the island. It is located at the north tip at the Animal Flower Caves. Our drive took us on highway H1B which was pretty much just like all the other roads we have been on but a bit busier traffic wise with lots of beach type resorts along the coast. After a relatively short time and a bit of a reroute we arrived at the caves. Above them the viewpoint offered a spectacular view on the North Point where huge waves crashed against the rocks and exploded skyward.



We then had a guided tour of the caves down below. We descended down a steep flight of stairs and into the rear of the cave. The cave itself has been hollowed out by the waves over the many centuries. It was where a well know music video by Billy Ocean was made called the Caribbean Queen. Google it up for some inside video!


Both Robyn and Mark had been here before but they said the water was much higher and they could not get inside as far. This trip was a whole new experience for them with the highlight of being able to swim in a beautiful pool.





It was a fantastic experience but did give me a few minutes of tension as a wave breached the entrance and hit us I stood near the opening. Before I knew it my glasses were gone and I was basically blinded. Both Kelly and Mark had swum away but I was right near a rock so dove behind it just as the wave hit. I went to grab them but I was too slow…old age I guess. LOL After the waters cleared Kelly spotted them on the bottom of the pool and Mark dove in with his snorkeling mask. A couple seconds later I had my glasses back on and relief for me set in. We had a good laugh now and swam out to get back top side for a cold beer!


It was a great experience and one that we will never forget. We did the caching requirements and then headed towards the south end (via Highway H2A) to Pebbles Beach for some snorkeling. Mark did a great job driving on the left again and deftly handled the roundabouts.


We found some parking and hit the warm clear waters. We spotted lots of neat fish and also a turtle swimming along. Kelly finally figured out the mask snorkel thing and was enjoying her first real snorkeling adventure here. We returned to the ship and after our usual sail away drinks on deck we headed to dinner.


It was 70’s night and the band was rocking the place at the Centrum. We enjoyed the show that the ship’s dancers put on and then headed to bed. Although tomorrow is our cruise day home we have lots of activities planned. A kitchen tour and a special meeting of consecutive cruisers… like us!

Cruise 2011 Day 7 – Dominica

We awoke tied up to the dock in the town of Roseau on the Island of Dominica. A very lush tropical island with mountainous terrain in the volcanic vein that we have come to know in this area. Black beaches and a huge shopping area were just outside the ships berth. After breakfast we met up and headed out. After getting the Toyota Rav 4 loaded we decided to take it easy this day. We found an Earth cache in route to the town of Portsmouth and stopped in Mero Bay for an interesting cache. It was at a small hotel that was hidden from the main road. The Tamarind Hotel featured beautiful, lush and clean grounds with a gorgeous view of the beach area.

Next stop was a cache in the town of Picard and it was located in a restaurant & bar high atop a ridge in the town. It is Wednesday and the bar was closed but we met a nice fellow named Scott who was the manager. Scott it turns out is from the Vancouver area and was down supporting his fiancé’s education at the local medical school to become a doctor. He was very helpful and brought us up to date on the latest Canuck action. He also gave us some directions to a great snorkel area at Toucari Bay. We took some pictures from this great vantage point and said how nice it was to meet a fellow Canadian down here.

Off to the beach and after a few tense minutes navigating some winding one lane roads we arrived safe and sound. There was no one there and we soon had our snorkel gear on and in we went. Lots of fish and sea creatures were easily viewed although the water was a bit murky.

We headed back and stopped for some local food just near the medical school. It was good food and Kelly also had a chance to drink from a coconut. Very nice flavor… even better with rum I think!

We dropped off the rental and we where driven back to the ship… alas more shops and souvenir hunting! The ship was very close and after exhausting our feet we headed back for the sail away and dinner. Tonight we are in the Portofino Restaurant for a specialty dinning experience Italian style. Dinner was once again fantastic. We planned some things for tomorrow’s agenda with Kelly’s birthday bash the main focus. Off for a walk to settle dinner and then it was into the rack.

We will continue to update when time and connectivity permits and we will upload all the photos as soon as possible.

Also check out the links to Robyn’s Facebook page. Search RVtraveller.

Cruise 2011 Day 6 – St. Kitts

Another great day as we arrived in Basseterre. We met for our now usual breakfast and planned our day with some caching and beach activities.

Our car was reserved at Avis and we made the short walk over to their facilities. Not sure what was going on with that business but you sensed a certain air of discontent within the office. No smiles just take your car and go… very uncharacteristic of the other islands and businesses we dealt with. Anyway after having the car examined we headed off on our days adventure. Right hand drive car with left hand flow a’la the British. As the island is fairly small we decided to circumnavigate the whole thing by car and stop as we felt like it. There are only a few geocaches on the island so we decided to head North West towards the closest cache at a Veterinary Training Center. The cache is actually in the guard house so we got to meet the security people. They were very friendly and helpful in our quest.

Next stop was at the Romney Manor. A beautiful piece of land and gardens nestled in the forest. Small monkeys greeted us and we had a look around the batik shop. We headed towards Sandy Point Town and around the north tip. Lots of sugar cane fields and their former processing plants were plainly visible. We were going to stop at a plantation for lunch but decided to press on as it was still early. We came back around the island and headed south past the great salt pond to Cockleshell Bay. We parked the car in a secluded spot and headed to the beach for some snorkeling, food and a cold beer.

The beach was nice and the food very good again. We have had great success with the various restaurants that we find! After lunch Kelly signed a huge Canucks flag hung from a wall. A nice touch!

The water was pretty clear and we all had a great swim before relaxing on some lounge chairs with some beers. Eventually it was time to head back to the ship and do some shopping at the stores and kiosks along the waterfront. We dropped off the rental car and after some issues with “scratches”, (The car had lots let me tell you) we once again left a very strange environment at Avis and headed back towards the ship.

Some shopping and a cold drink and we returned to the ship with a few small items. Sail away drinks on the deck and then it was off to dinner and an early turn in.

Cruise 2011 Day 5 – St Maarten

Up at 0630 for a shower and buff and it was back to the morning buffet. We watched the ship slip gently into the dock at Phillipsburg, St. Maarten as I started the birthday celebrations! Another day, another birthday party on the boat and on shore. We met up with the Byrne’s and I received a nice card from them with a lotto ticket inside. Sadly we did not win but the thought was very nice!


We grabbed a rental car and headed for our first cache above the cruise ship terminal. Well our trip ended at the Prison! No not in it! But sadly the road came to an end at the local prison and we didn’t really want to hike up past it another 400m to find the cache. Yes we are lazy when it comes to hiking this trip…. Maybe it’s all the food or drinks?? Maybe we are excited about seeing the island on a limited time frame and don’t want to waste time hiking? LOL We headed past the main part of Phillipsburg with its interesting shops and went north towards the French side. We wanted to plan our trip so we arrived at the Sunset Bar for lunch and the arrival of the big planes. More on that later.


We followed the road towards Orient Beach where there was a cache. It took us past a great little souvenir shop with great prices on items. We bought a few things and got directions to the beach area where the cache was. The beach was gorgeous and Mark was quick to grab the cache. Our first in several days! We took the time to explain what we were doing as several local girls started asking the usual questions. We explained how Geocaching worked and they were surprised when Mark said we came all the way from Canada to get this! Well not really it just happened to be there.


Off we went and grabbed another cache at Grand Case and searched out or planned snorkeling spot at Friars Beach. There was a cache there as well but we couldn’t find it. A couple arrived and started getting the lawn chairs out obviously preparing for a day at the beach. Kelly saw that they were wondering what we were doing and again explained the idea of Geocaching and how it took you to some great places like this one.

They said that the beach was great but they were taking a short 10 minute walk to Happy Beach. A quiet secluded beach that had palm trees and a gorgeous beach with small crowds and I thought sounds good to me! Off we went and it was truly a great spot. As we walked with them we learned they were from Toronto and wintered down here. We also learned that the beach was a well known nude beach! Well so what… the water was great and we had a great time and yes there were both clad and unclad people there. It was no big deal and Mark commented that he never saw Bo Derek running down the beach! Damn!

Next we headed off to the town of Marigot and drove along the north shore through Baie Rouge (Red Bay), around Simpson Bay Lagoon and re-entered the Dutch side of the island.


Our main destination came into view and we all enjoyed the beach music and arrivals at the button of RWY15 at Princess Juliana International Airport. This is the well known video spot of all the low flying aircraft. It was one of my bucket list places I wanted to see… so being as it was my birthday my timing was excellent.

I had excellent information on this place from fellow pilot Jack Cassidy who flew Twin Otters out of this airport for, I believe, Winair. We saw Jack’s old pink residence off on the hill and I am sure he will remember the views when he sees the pictures I took.


We had a great lunch and enjoyed the aircraft arrivals and departures. I have seen thousand of close up views but never from a barstool with this kind of weather! We swam in the warm waters and had numerous cold beverages. Everything was going great when Mark decided he would try a “St Maarten Sandblaster”.. Well that’s what I call them now! I looked down the beach and Mark was standing in the blast path of a soon to depart 737. He was looking at me giving me the thumbs up and I was looking back at him shaking my head “NO”! I don’t remember the thrust of those CFM engines but when the power came up the sand, gravel and whatever other debris was hurtled over the beach and hit poor ol(yeah he’s 50 now!) Mark with a vengeance. At first Mark looked ok and winced as the sand started tearing the skin away from his body. He fell to his knees then went “belly to beach” as the thrust pushed him towards the water. He ended up in the surf and slowly recovered once he figured out which way was up. The crowd roared their approval and Mark slowly came over with pockets full of sand. We were laughing so hard and after He said “I am ok!” we laughed some more.

The gals laugh after Mark's adventures! It's now on youtube now as well!

I will say Mark is a pretty sharp guy most all the time… except for this time. We have actual video of this “amazing brain fade” and I hope to link it eventually. (Internet is 55 cents a minute on board!)


It will never be forgotten by us and we were thankful he was not hurt! Back to the ship after a quick stop at the shops in Philipsburg and I bought myself a new watch as a birthday present after scoring a sweet deal.


Beverages followed as we went on deck for the sail away out of St. Maarten. As repeat cruisers on RCI we were also invited to a special meet & great with the captain and crew. Free drinks and appies were served for everyone as they promoted their family of ships and the great upcoming cruises available to us this year. Dinner was at Chops Grill, one of two specialty restaurants on board. The food was simply fabulous and the service equally impressive. After dinner and a stop at the casino we all headed for the rack. Another great but exhausting day for us.

Cruise 2011 Day 4 - Tortola B.V.I.

Kelly was up early… way to early and started preparing for the day. I tried to sleep in but the lights came on a six am for some reason and I just knew my sleep in was officially over! We headed up to the Windjammer Cafe for breakfast. It is a huge buffet with nautical themes through out. A very nice place to eat in a relaxed atmosphere.


Mark and Robyn joined us and we celebrated Mark’s 50th birthday. He will not be allowed to buy any drinks today. Robyn had already arranged for a rental car so we disembarked and ran the gauntlet of tour operators and kiosks that lined the route from the ship. It’s an interesting experience walking through but easy if you already had a plan like us. At 9 am sharp the Hertz gal arrived and sent us on our way in a GeoTracker. We headed off in a south westerly direction with some geocaching in mind. The island roads along the shore are pretty easy to navigate although they drive on the left side of the road on this island. Robyn safely guided us to our turnoff to the first cache which was at the top of the hill looking down over the harbor and cruise ships. This is when things got interesting. The roads are very steep here and the little geotracker was dropped into low gear and struggled hard as we would our way up the hill/mountain/goat trail… don’t laugh we saw goats!!


Try as we might, the route proofed elusive and we decided to pass on this cache and head around the island to do some beach activities i.e. snorkel/drink etc. We headed down the hill on the other side into Sea Cows Bay, through Pockwood Pond and across the west end to Apple Bay and the famous Bomba Shack Party area… one sign said $40 bucks for all you can drink! We only stopped for pictures this time.


We continued on past Carrot Bay and on into Cane Garden Bay. This has a very nice beach area and is also home to the Callwood Rum Distillery. We set up on the beach with loungers and the bucket of beer on ice and enjoyed the day. Although the sun was eventually replaced by some warm rain, we had a nice time and Mark and I did some snorkeling. Lots of small fish with numerous sea birds (pelicans etc.) diving from the skies to grab them. We saw several bigger fish cruise by as well. I thought I saw a slow moving Manatee floating by but it turned out to be Mark. LOL

A shot of the manatee... days since birth.

After lunch we headed back to Road Town and checked out some kiosks and the Little Switzerland store. Back on the ship we found some deck chairs and relaxed until a large rain shower drove us for cover in the solarium.


We meet the Byrne’s at the Champagne bar for a pre dinner drink. As this was the first of two formal nights, everyone looked very nice in their outfits & finery. Dinner was once again great and we then hit the gambling tables for a little roulette action. I spent 25 bucks but Kelly was hitting her numbers regularly and pocketed some chips. Her luck as been very good on this cruise. We watched as one fellow won $3750 on a slot machine! Lots of excitement going on tonight!


We will get connected sometime tomorrow and upload all the photos we have taken….. Sorry it’s not being updated as quick as one would like but hey we are on vacation LOL.

Cruise 2011 Day 3 (part 2)– On to the ship.

We got up and started our day with our usual trip over to the local Starbucks. It’s funny how you just settle into a routine. With everything so close by we were glad we booked this hotel in the area that we did. It was safe, great foods of different varieties and a nice easy walk. Lots of bars as well :-)

Mark & Robyn check out the waters near our hotel.

We came up with a plan to then check out of our rooms, grab a few caches and then head over to the Mall of the Americas. Our bags were stored at the hotel as we ventured off. After hitting a few caches we grabbed a cab (Ford F350 Vans) and headed to the mall. Kelly was in her glory as we split up and shopped. Lunch at “Margaritas” and then some bargain shopping for some cruising shirts and other items. I scored a great deal on some shirts… 80% off! Now I know why Kelly always seems so happy with bargains! LOL


We headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and then it was off to the ship terminal. We arrived early at 16:00 and quickly went through security, check in and processing. Armed with our “Set Sail” pass (a ship credit/identification card) we boarded in less than 15 minutes from the time we joined the line! Turns out we could have boarded the ship much earlier than we were told.

We checked out our cabins and then went about exploring the ship. It is very nice and the drinks just seemed to go down so easy now! Our bags arrived and we unpacked before our Muster for the emergency practice session. They showed us how to don our floatation device after the Captain did his welcome aboard speech. After that it was time for the sail away party as the Serenade of the Seas eased out of its birth and slowly rounded the rocky shores of the harbor entrance. We had a great view, although dark, of the old part of the city and the harbor. Lots of flash bulbs along the shore guided us out.


Dinner in the Reflections dinning lounge was of the usual high standard and we got to meet our main dinner waiter Edwin and his assistant Richard. They will take care of us during our main dinning experiences on board. We do have a couple specialty restaurants book during the cruise as well… more on that later.


We finished dinner and went for a walkabout to work off the added poundage. As dinner was late for us we were pretty beat so we called it a day. Tomorrow is Road Town on the British Virgin Island of Tortola.

Cruise 2011 - Day 3 Start Cruising

Well folks we have discovered the the trip journal has some limitations. Can't put lots of pictures on it so we are reverting back to our travel blog here. We will edit and link pictures shortly as well as get the pictures captioned.... we are very busy drinking, gambling, eating, sightseeing so updates are or will be speratic depending on ship signal and ports we go into....


So right now we are packing for the cruise portion and storing our bags at the Hotel until ship boarding time (17:30) Local. We sail away at 20:30 Local

Cruise 2011 - Day 2 San Juan

Today's adventure started out just like yesterday, a trip to Starbucks to get us going. After a nice cup of coffee sitting in the gorgeous warm sunshine we headed back to the beach to try and find the geocache that was elusive yesterday, we still couldn't find it so we think it's no longer there.

We had planned a driving trip today, the car rental is conveniently located next to the hotel. We set off about 10:00 for "El Yunque" rain forest. This is about a 45 minute drive from the hotel. There's a very informative visitor centre with trails through part of the rain forest. This is not unlike home except it's all tropical plants as apposed to evergreens. We continued to drive up the mountain to a few other look outs and a tower. Great views from up there.


After the rain forest it was beach time and of course by now we were hungry and thirsty. A very nice and informative bartender at our hotel gave us some ideas about beaches. The first one wasn't what we were looking for so we continued to "Luquillo" beach. Had lunch at the "Ceviche Hut" where they served great seafood right at the beach. We then continued over to the next beach which is government run. Being this is "winter" in San Juan there was hardly anyone there.... great for us. There's a kiosk selling cervesa's and Pina Colada's right on the beach, oh ya! That was how we spent a couple of hours this afternoon. Of course Mark was once again a source of entertainment today. He was in the water with Dave and declared he got bitten by something, sure enough he had a bleeding mole on his back. He now thinks it was a mole eating shark, we think he scratched himself with his watch! As he was snorkeling I snuck up behind him and grabbed his leg! We have never seen anyone shoot straight out of the water like that!! Poor Mark! At 5:00 they came and took our chairs away, that was our cue to leave and head back to town.


Once back at the hotel it was time for a quick shower and off to dinner. We had seen an Argentinian restaurant that looked interesting, being as we were there in 2007 we thought this would be a good reminder of that great trip. Well we were not disappointed, this rates up there with the best steaks we have ever had. We could tell right off this was not Argentinian beef, it was actually "Angus" beef, that's why it was so good. After we gorged ourselves on "Chocolate Volcano cake" it was time for a walk down the street. We got as far as the Marriott and decided to give the roulette table a go, Mark and Dave had a successful time at the tables, it was time to cash out and head for our hotel. A quick night cap at the roof top bar and now it's time for bed. Not sure what the plan for tomorrow is as we don't board the ship until 5:00 pm..... Stay tuned

Cruise 2011 - Day 1 San Juan

After a good nights sleep we were up and at it fairly early. We went off down the street in search of Starbucks and Walgreen's, they are conveniently located next to each other. It was a beautiful hot muggy day, we sat outside of Starbucks and had our coffee waiting for Walgreen's to open. It never did so we decided to go back down the other end of the street to the one that was open... sheesh. On our way we decided to detour to the beach, there was a geocache that we wanted to get as well as walk on the beach. Of course we couldn't find the cache but we had a lovely time walking on the sand and paddling our feet in the warm water. We got our supplies then back to the hotel to drop them off.


Hopped in a taxi then off to Old San Juan. This is a very historic old town, some of the Forts date back to the 1500's. The forts were extremely important to protect the "New World" from the Pirates and other bad guys! It is absolutely gorgeous. There are two large Forts one at the Western end the other at the Eastern portion of Old San Juan. We roamed the narrow streets site seeing and geocaching. At noon we realized we hadn't had any breakfast and should eat. We had "Mango Tango's" for breakfast followed by a Mojito for lunch!(all at the same Tapas Bar) There was a little food in there someplace! Off to roam more of the Forts and to see the "Ferrel Cat's of San Juan" These are wild but friendly cats that hang around the streets and one particular park that we saw.





At the square across from the main large Fort there is a large water fountain that looks somewhat like a water park... well of course the kid in Mark came out and he wanted to play in the fountain. He stood in the middle of the fountain for about 10 minutes waiting for the water to turn on..... I sat inconspicuously on a bench almost pretending not to know him! It was rather entertaining when the water did turn on. Dave has it all on video and I do believe it will end up on "You Tube!" After Mark's shower we headed to the Eastern Fort for a look. The views are spectacular. By this time we were getting tired and of course thirsty. There was a terrible traffic jam with the cars not going very far and a lot of horns honking. We decided to walk a little way out of this part of town before getting a taxi to try and avoid the traffic. There were still a few geocaches we wanted to get as well. As we walked along the street there were vehicles from the local radio stations as well as satellite trucks from the TV stations, there was also lots of Police milling about. We wandered over to see what was going on and there was a demonstration from one of the local University's. The police were in full riot gear with tear gas and all. Time to get out of here guys! We got one more cache and hailed a cab to get back to our end of town.


Back to the hotel hungry and thirsty again, had a few drinks and appy's in the hotel restaurant. Went for a wander down the street to decide where dinner would be, we decided on a little Caribbean restaurant after a brief stop at the Marriott Casino. Back to the hotel for showers and an early night.


A few observations of San Juan so far, in no particular order.


Huge police presence, they do not appear to bother anyone but you feel very safe


Not many motor cycles or scooters, lots of very nice cars.


It reminds us very much of Santa Fe Argentina but on a higher end scale.


The people are extremely nice and helpful.


The weather is wonderful, we were talking to a couple of locals today and this is the cool season... It was 80 degrees today, that's just fine for us!


Tomorrow we are off to the Rain forest and then the beach to swim.

Cruise 2011 - Travel Day

After almost nine months from when we booked it was finally here! As we had such an early flight from Victoria Mark and Robyn spent Tuesday night at our house. After a few rum drinks and Champagne it was bed time. At the most we got about 3 hours sleep, just too excited. Kris was at our house at 0410 to drive us to the airport, he had to work early so it was very convenient for us. We departed YYJ for SEA at 0600. The flight arrived in SEA on time, quickly retrieved our bags to clear Customs and Immigration. Then onto the train to change Terminals, we were asking the information man what to do when Dave said "quick let's go" I hopped on the train with him only to see Mark and Robyn staring forlornly at us from outside the door! We gave a little wave and away we went! Luckily the trains run constantly and they caught up a few minutes later. So when you travel with the Reaville's and we say jump ya better hop to it!





Got to our gate and it was coffee and bagel time. Our flight departed SEA for DFW (Dallas) at 0825, we were a little late due to the flight being completely full and there were too many carry on bags. A few folks had to check them and we were on our way. Good thing we were armed with Ipods, e-readers, and books as there wasn't even music on this plane. We arrived in Dallas at 2:15 PM local, hungry and thirsty. We once again had to change terminals via trains. The Byrne's kept up this time! Went to TGI Fridays for Margarita's and food. We were a little late leaving Dallas but a pleasant flight none the less. Arrived San Juan at about 11:00 pm, all luggage arrived safely and off to the hotel. Of course we were hungry and thirsty again.... Off down the street for pizza and Corona at an outdoor cafe. Headed back to the hotel completely exhausted for much needed sleep.

Cruise 2011 - Prep

In 12 days and 12 hours we will be leaving on our Caribbean adventure! Last May our good friends Mark and Robyn decided they were going on a cruise and asked if we would like to join them. It only took one look at the brochure and we were booked! The final preparation is underway before our early morning departure to Seattle, Dallas, then onto San Juan Puerto Rico. We will have almost 3 days to acquaint ourselves with San Juan then onto the Serenade of the Seas for two one week back to back cruises.