Day 10

Our only day at sea without visiting any island was today and it was very hectic, but enjoyable. 

Going out for our last evening



First we laid out in the sun for 2 ½ hours and may have come close to burning – we’ll see how we feel when we wake up.

The massive celebration buffet was today from 10am – 1pm so we went there at noon for a huge lunch. This had to be one of the biggest and best brunches we have every experienced.

Then it was onto the Black Jack tournament where Ed came in third and won his entry fees back plus a little more.

Then we both played in the slot tournament but neither of us won. We then picked up the last of our pictures that the staff had taken and headed up to the room and packed.



Dinner with our new friends

Then it was a wonderful but sad farewell dinner, the show and then to the casino to play a little and say goodbye to some really good friends that we had made.

This casino staff is, no question, the best of any casino staff we have every sailed with. We left the casino and some old and new friends at 12:30am and finished packing for tomorrow.  Our Host Andrea is amazing and this was the second time we have sailed with her.  Oana, the Casino Manager led a great staff and we had a wonderful time.

Our dinner partners, Bob and Victoria (on the left) and Robert and Charlotte were really great fun.  We laughted, drank wine, ate good food and shared stories every night.  We could not asked for a better table.  Hopefully we will meet again and it not, we have memories that will last a lifetime.

Saturday we will leave the ship at about 9am and go to the Marriott for the day and our plane departs San Juan at 5:30pm and arrives in Bloomington at 11:00pm.



Oana, the Casino Manager and our Host Andrea

It was a great spring trip and thanks to everyone at home and at work for our being able to go on this trip.





Day 9

Part of the falls

And then there was Tobago, the last island to visit on our cruise. Trinidad and Tobago are linked together as a Federation and we were in Tobago, which is the smaller of the two islands.  It is the most fought-over settlement in the Caribbean and there are some interesting forts on the island.

Tobago also has a traditional rain forest and the island is very volcanic in nature with very steep mountains but the beaches are wonderful fine white sand.

We walked off the ship early and found a delightful young man with his own car to take us around the island and to several places we wanted to see.



In the plantation house

We started out by visiting Fort George, an 18th century fortification – a huge fort guarding the original main harbor.

On the way to the rain forest, we stopped a man’s home who had beautiful gardens, lots of wildlife and a wonderful restored house.

Then it was a one hour drive through the country-side to see Argyle Falls – a 600’ series of falls coming down the mountain. We had to walk about ½ hour through the rain forest to get to the falls, but it was well worth it.

After the tour of the falls, we stopped at the only remaining plantation house on the island and had a tour by the caretaker of the grounds. It is also a bed and breakfast and had amazing accommodations. We also had a very enlighting discussion from the caretaker about slaves and slave owners.

Pigeon Point Beach

Then it was onto Pigeon Point Beach, a private beach resort with all kinds of services and we spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach until our guide drove us back to the ship.

At 5pm we left port and headed north to Puerto Rico.

Tonight is our second formal night and everyone looked great in their formal wear.

The show and casino were also great and it is 2:30 am and time to pick our pictures, post it and go to bed.

Ready for formal night

Tomorrow is our last day and a sea day.

Night for now.

Day 8

Well we are getting farther and farther south and today arrived at Grenada. Grenada is known as the spice island and they primarily produce vast quantities of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices. Grenada is also volcanic in origin and has lush green mountains and spectacular white sand beaches.

At the falls

It is only 21 miles long and 12 miles at it widest and has a population of only 100,000 with virtually no crime.

We started the day off the ship at the shops that were built for the cruise ships right at the end of the pier. Then when we went into the city, we hired a private guide to take us on a tour of the country.

We stopped at a very old fort and then went up into the rain forest to view a very beautiful waterfall. Along the way, our guide stopped and explained different types of plants to us – it was quite an education.

The people on the island live a very long life due to the fact that they eat mostly locally grown fruit and vegetables and fish that have been caught from the seas around the island.



The ship over shadows the town



The tour ended at a beautiful beach with great white sand; however for the next two hours, the sun hardly was out; but, we had fun. That is two days in a row when we went to the beach the sun was behind clouds – no good for tanning!!

Then we were picked up and taken back to the pier where we went into town and shopped at the local market for a little bit.

The show was before dinner this time and the musician was a piano player by the name of Antonio Salci and wow was he good. He was backed by a 7 piece orca straw and they put on quite a show.

Making Barb a new bowl

Then it was onto dinner for another great dinner and we spent most of the night talking about how each of us had met and we really laughed a lot. Then it was the casino and finally to bed. We don’t get a lot of sleep on the cruise but it sure is fun.  We are not doing as well as we would like in the casino, but it is a free cruise so that is not too bad, hopefully the next couple of days will bring good news from the casino.

Tomorrow will be Tobago, our last stop before heading back to San Juan.

Day 7



Barb in the first sulphur pool

 We docked at Roseau, population 14,500, the capital city of Dominica. What a delightful little island. The island is extreme in their protection of their environment. There are no major hotel chains on the island and very few hotels of any kind and plan to keep it that way.

We docked right at the base of the city and the tempteture was again in the 80’s. Dominica is very mountainous and they average 360 inches of rain in the mountains and 65 inches or rain along the coast so needless to say, it is a very lush island.



Lunch on the beach

We took a cab to one of the most famous spots on the island and it is called Screw’s Sulphur Spa and what a place to visit. Screw is the name of the man who owns it and it is a series of natural mineral pools in the middle of rainforest vegetation. It is not only very relaxing and therapeutic, but also very beautiful. The pools are fed by a Sulphur Spring and also by the run off on the mountains.

For $10 each, you have one hour to soak in their very, very hot sulphur spring pools. There are several of them all connected together and mountain water is mixed in to lower the tempeture in some of the pools.

The black sand beach

Then there also is a very cold pool for you to soak in at the end and this is totally fed by the mountain streams.

Our driver then took us to beautiful beach, which was about 30 minutes up the coast. They have very few beaches in Dominica and the neat thing is that they are black sand, because of the volcanoes!

We had a wonderful meal on the beach and it was, no question, the finest meal that we have every had on any beach. The presentation of the skewered meat and the bread fruit was what you would expect at a fine restaurant, not a beach restaurant. And, the cost was only $8, including two sodas.

Then it was back to the town to watch their annual Carnival parade which was crazy. They start drinking at the beginning of the parade and the party goes into the night. Too bad we had to leave. Dinner was excellent once again and good fun with our newest friends.



Carnival



The show was a celebration of award winning music from Hollywood and Broadway musicals and they did a great job.

Then to the casino where the results weren’t as good as we would have liked but we had fun.

Tomorrow Grenada

Day 6



The living room of the plantation

We docked at 8am at St. Kitts, a beautiful island of 50,000 very friendly people. St. Kitts is a volcanic island with lots of small dormant volcanoes.


We took a taxi plantation home and grounds of a local couple. He was from Britain and she was a Crib Indian from St. Kitts and it is her family home that we visited.

After that visit, we took the taxi to the south part of the island to the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and spent the afternoon on their beach. Lunch was at their restaurant and we ordered a grilled sandwich that consisted of sweet bread, sliced pork, a white cheese and pineapple, a really great sandwich.


The beach at the Marriott

We then took a taxi to the center of the city away from the tourist area and found a great store where Barb bought a purse and some clothes and Ed bought some Batik shirts that are made on the island. Did we need them – no, but we are on vacation!!


We then went back to the ship and relaxed until it was time to go out. The show this time was before dinner and the act was a comedian who was funny but just ok.

After the show, we joined our new tablemates for dinner. We have a great table as all three couples bring something different to the table. Amazingly, we ran into both couples on the island while we were wandering around the city.

A local drink stand

Then it was onto the casino to close out the evening and start the next day. We have been averaging 5 hours of sleep each night – vacations are fun!!

Tomorrow Dominica



A fun new outfit

Day 5


Well we are on our way and overnight arrived at St. Croix, the largest island of the United States Virgin Islands. While St. Thomas is the jewelry center and the center of the hustle and bustle of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix is the largest island but the most laid back.


Our Ship

The people of the island are very, very friendly and they take a lot of pride in their island. There is a lot of Danish influence and also a lot of Americans who are now permanent residence on the island.

The town is very small and we shopped for a couple of hours when we first got off the boat.

Then we rented a street-legal 4 passenger golf cart and took it on a tour around the city. Then we went both north and south from the center of the city along the ocean. It was a lot of fun and Barb was Ed’s lookout as he had to drive on the left side of the road, yet the cars controls are on the same side of the car as in the US!!!



The solar "car" we rented

Then we went back to the ship and had lunch, changed into our swimsuits and back off the ship to catch a shuttle to the #1 beach, Rainbow Beach. It is located a few miles north of the cruise dock. We stayed there a couple of hours and it was a beautiful beach. Again, the sun is soooo hot that we still could not put straight oil on. Maybe tomorrow.
Then it was back to the ship to relax a little and then get ready for our first formal night.

We went down early to watch the people walk in for the first seating for dinner and then got dressed ourselves.

Formal nights are always fun – people seem to be on their best behavior when they are dressed up. When we got to our table the other two couples were not there so we went to the dining room manager and he moved a couple that we had met at the dance floor from New York to our table as they were seated along. Then he moved another couple from England to our table and we had a full table and a fun evening. 

Barb and our casino host



The show was all about Broadway musicals and it was really good. The cast is one of the best we have seen.



Then it was to the casino to play for a little bit and on to bed.

Tomorrow St. Kits.



Day 4

The first day of the cruise. Would you believe for the second day of our trip, we slept until 7:00am and

You gotta love those sunglasses!!

did it feel good. After breakfast, we went out on the beach and still had to use #4 lotion, the sun was that hot. It was another 85 degree day and another beautiful morning on the beach.

At noon we went in a cleaned up and checked out of the hotel. By 1:00pm, we were in our room on the ship – check-in was very fast.

After checking out our dining arrangements we went up to the Lido deck and ate lunch and of course, we ate too much, but we are now on a cruise and that is what you have to do!!



The Grand Foyer

The casino invited us to a pre-cruise cocktail party at 4pm and when we walked in it was like old home week. Not only did we know the Host, but we also knew the Pit Supervisor and the Cage Manager. The casino is gong to be a fun place.

Dinner was at 8:30pm and we had a table for 6; however, neither couple showed up so we had a lovely dinner together.



Barb found her machine and it paid off!!

After dinner, we went to the evening show and after that went to the casino. The casino was probably the most fun we have had in a casino in a long time. Since we knew a lot of the staff that made it even better.

Tomorrow will be a great day at St. Croix.







Our room

Day 3

The main entrance at the hardware store

You can’t believe how hot the sun was again today - 85 degrees and total sunshine.   Both of us tan very easily and again today, we could only stay out on the beach for a couple of hours.

By 1:00 am we were cleaned up and on our way to a neat market towards the center of the city. The market is called La Plaza Del Mercado De Santruce and by day it is a commercial area with the main building being the town’s major fruit and vegetable market. Then at night, the market shuts down and the bars open up with lots of music.

We spent a couple of hours there and I think we found only a couple of people who spoke English. It was fun ordering lunch that then afterwards buying what we would call a fruit smoothie from a stand that we communicated by pointing.


Lunch

Then we walked back to the hotel, rested and then out to a local restaurant.

Next it was the casino where Barb did well and Ed didn’t but we had lots of fun.

Live music in the lounge finished our evening and it was back up to the room to finish packing because tomorrow we board the ship.

Puerto Rico and the Marriott are great places to visit and stay at and we really enjoyed our time here. Our casino host Jose was again very special. The people are really friendly and very hospitable. All in all a great stay.

Tomorrow – the ship!!



After lunch drink of ?



Day 2



A cruise ship entering port - as seen from our balcony

We awoke to find the sky totally blue and the air hot. We sat on the beach in 85 degree, perfect weather until Noon and then felt that we had enough sun so we came in, changed and went into Old San Juan.

We saw a restaurant reviewed on the Travel Channel called Café Mallorca and so we had our cab driver take us there. They are only open for breakfast and lunch and we had tried to go there in January but they were closed before we got there.

I think that we were the only customers from outside San Juan who were there. We ordered their special, a Mallorca sandwich. It consisted of thin sweet bread grilled with ham and cheese and sprinkled with powered sugar – that’s right, powered sugar. What a sandwich!!

Barb eating a Mallorca sandwchi

After lunch, we took a walking tour to the “best” local craft stores. It was fun walking the same streets that we have been on before but finding stores that we had never noticed.
Then it was time to go back to the hotel and have dinner in the Executive Lounge again. The free food is not out in the evening on Friday and Saturdays so we will find a local restaurant to go to tomorrow.

Then it was on to the casino where we played the rest of the evening. Barb was down a little and Ed broke even – so the night was fun.

We are tired from a full day of relaxation so night for tonight to all.

The pool and beach from our balcony

Spring 2011 – Day 1



On the west balcony

After seeing our Grandson Jacob play his last high school basketball game for this year, we had a few hours sleep and then it was up and out in the dark to the airport for our flight to Porto Rico.

The flights were uneventful and we landed in San Juan about 45 minutes ahead of schedule.  It was 87 degrees out under clear skies when we arrived - how can it get any better??

A quick cab ride and we were at the hotel, checked right in and took the elevator to the 19th floor to get to our room.

As you can see from the picture, the room is a corner room overlooking the ocean to the north and Old San Juan to the west – what a view. It is the same room that we have had the last three times.

Inside our room

One balcony is about 30’ long and the other balcony is about 15’ long. After unpacking, we headed to the Executive Lounge for snacks that turned out to be our dinner. This lounge is one of the best of any Marriott and we filled up on a variety of food.

Then it was off to the beach for a walk along the ocean. About a mile away is another Marriott so we walked through it, stopped at their casino and then headed back by the street to our hotel.



Dinner on the balcony of the Executive Lounge

We changed clothes and went down to the casino to meet our host, Jose and set up our line of credit. Jose is really, really nice and after chatting we played for just a little while.

We headed back to the room early to get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow the real vacation of sun and fun begins.

Night from San Juan 







The view from our balcony



Our Spring 2011 Trip

The map of the trip

Tomorrow morning we head to the airport to catch a 6:30 am flight to San Juan.  Then we have 3 nights to once again enjoy the sights, sounds and sun of San Juan.  We are staying at the Marriott on the beach and we are looking forward to seeing old friends in the casino.

Then it is on to the Celebrity Summit on Saturday for a 7 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise from March 5, 2011 to March 12, 2011

Here is our itinerary:

Departs: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Sat, Mar 5 San Juan, Puerto Rico Depart 8:30 PM

Sun, Mar 6 St. Croix, U.S.V.I. Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:30 PM

Mon, Mar 7 Basseterre, St. Kitts Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Tue, Mar 8 Roseau, Dominica Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Wed, Mar 9 St. George's, Grenada Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Thu, Mar 10 Scarborough, Tobago Docked Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Fri, Mar 11 At Sea

Sat, Mar 12 San Juan, Puerto Rico Arrive 6:00 AM

We leave San Juan at 5:30pm on Air Tran on Saturday afternoon and will arrive home at 11:41pm