Day 9, Friday, January 16

Our last stop before going home tomorrow is St.Thomas – the jewelry capital of the world.  St. Thomas and its capital city, Charlotte Amalie has unbelievable duty-free shopping and this is what sets St. Thomas apart from all of the other islands.  Also, numerous shops line the small alleys between the two main streets and it is just fun to be there.

In the past, we have visited almost every jewelry store looking for something specific.  We even developed a relationship with a wonderful couple who owed a jewelry store – Ed even bought a ring there in 1983!  They have recently retired so St. Thomas isn’t the same there anymore, which probably saves us a lot of money.

A number of years ago they also built a shopping plaza just as you get off the ship which has many of the major stores that are downtown and lots of little stores.

When we left the ship, we first sopped in the stores at the port.

Then we took a shuttle to downtown where the real shopping action is.  There were only 2 cruise ships in town today so that is about 6,000 people but that is small compared to the number that we have seen before so downtown was rather quiet!

Believe it or not, all we could find to purchase was a magnet and a Christmas ornament!!

We then took what Ed thought was the shuttle back to the ship but it actually was going out in the countryside.  When we realized it we got off and took another shuttle back to the ship and walked around the shops at the port that we did not visit before going back to the ship.

On the ship we went to lunch and then up on the deck to get some sun.  The sun was really hot this week at it is the first time that we were not using oil on the last couple of days; but, we did get a good tan.

Then it was time to go back to the room for a nap.

After the nap, we did the dreaded packing to go home as the luggage had to be outside the door for tonight.  In addition, we have to have clothes for tomorrow and also for a daytime stay at the Marriott as our plane does not leave until 3:30pm.  If all goes as planned, we will be home on time at 9:13pm and be able to pick up Pippen, our new puppy at Jason’s.

We packed fairly quickly and then went to pick up the photos that we had taken and then to the show.

The show was a musical variety show and the cast was very good.

Dinner on the last night is always a little sad.  We made some new friends but we will probably never see them again.

Then it was to the casino where both of us lost!!  With the lost tonight, we ended up just a little in the red.  This is then only the third losing gambling trip out of 42.  We played the games correctly, just did not have enough playing time due to a lack of players to handle the negative swing.  But, like the Cubs, there is always the next time and this time it will start February 28.

This is the last entry into the blog as tomorrow we go to the Marriott from the ship and will stay until just after lunch when we will take a cab to the airport and on home.  We always look forward to a cruise and we always look forward to coming home.  

Night from the sea and we will be home tomorrow.

The view of the harbor from our balcony

Our ship on the right from the town

 

A shopping alley in St. Thomas



 

 

January 2015 – Day 8, Thursday, January 15

The weather was perfect when we woke up in Philipsburg, St. Maarten.  We are on the Dutch side of the island so the first thing that we did was get a shuttle to the French side of the island and one of our favorite beaches, Orient Beach.

This beach is really great in that we stay on the beach where the Orient Beach Resort is located and they have lounge chairs to rent, we know where the bathrooms are and they have a wonderful beachfront bar/grill.   Sorry, no pictures as cameras are not allowed on the beach.  In fact we saw security take a camera from a couple and inspect it to make sure that they had not taken pictures on the beach!!

We stayed on the beach until 1:30pm and then we walked up the beach to the area where there are shops and looked around for a little bit, but bought nothing.  Five hours in the sun was probably about ½ hour too much, but we enjoyed it.

Then we took the shuttle back to the port where we spent time shopping at the shops at the port and then boarded the ship.

After sitting on the deck for a little bit, we decided that we had time to go back off the ship, take a cab to the main city and again shop for a little – which we did.

We then came back to the ship, took a nap and watched the ship leave the port at 6:00pm.

Tonight was formal night so we rested for the evening and went down to deck 4 to people watch and have our picture taken and then we went to the show.  Tonight the show was a vocalist who was quite good.

After the show we sat in the lounge and listened to music before going to dinner.

As this was formal night, dinner was great.  Barb had lobster tail and Ed had Beef Wellington.

After dinner we went to the casino where Barb lost just a little and Ed had one of his best nights ever!!

Tomorrow is our last island, St. Thomas and also our last day of the cruise but we will be back on this ship February 28 with our friends from New York and will visit a new set of islands

Night

 

Santa Claus welcomes us at the entrance to the island!!

Formal Night

 

 

 

January 2015 – Day 7, Wednesday, January 14

St. John’s is the capital of Antigua and it is a city of only 31,000 and it was beautiful when we arrived in port with a Costa Cruise Line ship already docked.

Soon after we docked, the Carnival Freedom arrived in port and docked right across from us.  It was amazing to watch another big ship guide ever so slowly into port only feet away from us.

We took our time leaving the ship and after getting off we hired a taxi to take us to Hawksbill Resort an all-inclusive resort north of town with a tremendous beach about 1 mile down the coast from the resorts entrance.

It took us about ½ hour to reach the entrance to the beach and looking down the beach there were only about 4 other couples on the entire beach!!  As photos are not allowed on the beach, the only picture we have is one from the cliff at the entrance.

We stayed on the beach for 2 ½ hours and then walked back to the entrance of the resort where our taxi arrived shortly afterwards to pick us up.

It was about a 1/2ride back to town where the taxi driver let us out right in front of the main port shopping area – what surprise!!

After shopping and buying things that we really, really needed, we walked back to the ship, dropped our “stuff” off at the room and went up to the food deck and had a late lunch.

Then it was back to the room to shower and take a nap.

We woke up to the sound of the ships horn indicating that we were about to leave and so we sat out on the deck and watched us sail away from Antigua – it was a great day.

We dressed and went to several areas to listen to music and played a quick session of blackjack and came away even.

The show tonight was a magician who was probably the best magician we have ever seen on a cruise ship – he was amazing.

Then it was dinner time and once again the food was great.

The casino however was another story and both of us lost –but the good news is that we were able to get to bed before midnight for the first time

Tomorrow St. Martins and one of our favorite beaches – Orient Beach.

The Carnival Freedom arriving


 

Ready for the beach

 



The beach at Hawksbill Resort

 

Great home made ice cream

January 2015 – Day 6, Tuesday, January 13

St. Lucia is an island that we have not so great memories of a New Years Eve week at one of the Sandles Resorts and Barb had awful sunburn.  But, it is a beautiful island with lots of rocky mountains and wonderful people.

After getting up and having breakfast, we left the ship and took a taxi from the port into town.  It was only a 30 minute walk, but why walk as it was very hot and very humid.

There were two major sections that we visited - the craft market and the food market and they are both huge.

For an early lunch we ate at one of the many local stands inside the market and had a really good meal with Lamb, some type of noodles, with veggies and a salad.

After doing more shopping, we took a water taxi back to the ship and changed clothes and went up onto the deck to get some sun.  Two hours was enough so then it was back to the cabin for a nap.

After our nap, we went to the casino and there were no blackjack players so we went to the lounge and listened to the band and when the band finished we went upstairs to listen to a piano player/singer.

Then it was time for dinner and we had fun with our new tablemates.

Tonight at the casino Barb lost a little and Ed had his first losing night – let’s hope it is the only one; however, we are still ahead for the cruise.

Tomorrow we arrive at the town of St. John’s, Antigua

Bought some neat stuff from this lady, including earrings

Lots of vendors

The Market

Our Ship

Lunch at this little shop

 



Ready for the evening

January 2015 – Day 5, Monday, January 12

Barbados – 83 degrees and sunny with a few clouds!!

This is a country with a very British background, with a lot of beaches, inlcuding10 miles of beaches on the west side of the island.  As we have been here before and been to the beaches and have some very inclusive tours, we decided to sleep late and walk from the port to the main town, Bridgetown.

We left the ship about 9:00am and walked toward town stopping along the way at a number of vendors.  We also stopped at the main fish market and watched them prepare the fish that had just been caught.

A little after we reached the center of town the rains came and did it pour down.  Luckily we had taken an umbrella so we were able to stay dry as we ran to a storefront.  After watching rain for 15minuites, we took cab back to the port.  There we shopped indoors at the port shops.

Then we took the shuttle on the pier to the ship and had lunch and then up to the deck for some sun.  That didn’t last long as the rain came again.  So, it was back to our cabin for our nap – a little early we were ready s Barb’s back really needed a rest as did Ed’s knees.

After our nap we walked around and looked at the buffet to see how it looked for dinner and they have made some great changes in food preparation and presentation – everything looked really good.

Then we stopped in the casino and played for ½ hour before dinner.  Barb broke even and Ed was down.

Again tonight, the entertainment was at 7:00pm before dinner and tonight it was a wonderful four part male vocal group called Unexpected Boys and they put on a great show.  They were all from New York and New Jersey and did some wonderful Frankie Vallie and Broadway songs and it was a fun show.

As last night was our second night without anyone at our table, we asked the matri d if they had any open spots at another table.  They put us in a table that we close to where we were with 6 other people, 2 couple and 2 ladies who are friends of one of the couples.  It will be a fun table.

After dinner we went to the casino where Barb doubled her money she started with and Ed also won and also made up for his losses in the afternoon.

Night from the sea and tomorrow it is St.Lucia.

Leaving in the morning

The first stop of the day!!!

 

The local fish market

Just gotta have a new purse!!  and she did - not that there is anything wrong with that!!

The rich are different

 

 

January 11, Sunday , Day 4

What a great way to spend a vacation – waking up to beautiful skies and 80 degrees.   After breakfast we went up on the deck to soak up the sun until Noon.  Then it is was down to the Aqua Spa area for a healthy lunch which was quite good.

We went back to the room to take a shower and relax a little before going to the casino for a 2pm slot tournament and then a 3pm blackjack tournament.

In the slot tournament, neither of us qualified for the final.

The Packers football game was going on so in the blackjack tournament there was only one table playing and Ed did not win.

After the tournaments, Barb played a little slots and Ed played roulette and black 20 hit twice in four spins and Ed got up from the table up $100 - just a no-brainer win, but fun.

After the tournaments we had a snack and shopped for Celebrity “stuff” and went up to the room where we had our evening canapés followed by a nap – remember, naps are good!!

The show tonight was at 7:00pm so it was before dinner which we really love as we can go right to the casino after dinner.

This was formal night and of course Barb looked spectacular in her long green shimmering gown!!

In the casino, Barb was up on the slots and Ed ended up exactly even, which is just fine.

Tomorrow our first of 5 islands – Barbados.

Snacks in the afternoon

Flowers from Ed, Champaign and fruit from Celebrity

Barb at her favorite slot machine

Canapes delivered to our room

Our first formal night

 

January 2015 – Day 3, Saturday, January 10

The weather was perfect when we woke up and Ed ate breakfast as usual and Barb got ready to spend the morning on the beach together.  The sun was really, really hot but we were only able to stay on the beach until 10:30am as we had to pack, check out and go to the ship.

We took a cab to the ship and basically walked right into our cabin – the service was probably the fastest we have ever seen.  Later we found out that very few of the passengers had arrived before us and most came later.

We took our carry-ons to the room, me our room attendant and went up to the deck to eat.  Our friends from New York, Jeff and Vera who had just been on this cruise told us that the food was better than they have seen in a long time and they were right.  The presentation and food was outstanding. 

We first had a sandwich, then some food from the buffet and finally deserts.  After that we went to see where our dinner table was located, walked around a little more and then went up to the deck to be in the sum. 

They had a great steel pan player and we also danced to some of his songs – it was a lot of fun.  We stayed on deck until 5:00pm and went to our cabin where our luggage was waiting for us.  After unpacking we took our usual nap.

Later after the life boat drill we went to dinner.  Our table is in perfect spot and is a round table for 8; however, the other couples did not show up which is not unusual for the first night.

After dinner we went to the show which had a couple of good acts and then it was to the casino.

We basically closed the casino are 1:00am and Barb had lost just a little at slots and Ed was up nicely.

We hope Jason had a Happy Birthday and the two new puppies are getting along fine.

Miss everyone and it is going to be a fun cruise.

Night for this day.

Going out for our first night on the cruise

 

 

 

January 2015 – Day 2, Friday, January 9

It was a fun day for our first full day in San Juan.  Ed got up first and had breakfast then we walked about ½ mile to a Walgreens to pick up pop and Kahula for the cruise.  The only problem was that it rained on us about 4 times as we were walking to Walgreens.   

After we got back, we changed and went out on the beach, first eating at the ocean front grill. 

We stayed out on the beach until about 4pm and yes we probably got a little too much sun, but it was fun.

Then it was up to the room to clean up and we walked to the bus stop to take a bus to Old San Juan.  After waiting for about ½ hour, we gave up and took a cab to town.

We walked around, bought a magnet and then took a cab back to the area of the hotel where we went to a local restaurant that we had seen on our walk in the morning.

The food was really good and we had three appetizers for our dinner.  One was Sweet Plantains (basically a banana) stuffed with shrimp or ground beef with garlic cream sauce.  Then we had crab portaricon fritters, beef portaricon fritters.  The last appetizer was a sweet Plantain hollowed out with mixed vegetables topped with cheddar cheese.  All three of these appetizers were served hot and when we were finished we did not need a main course.

We walked back to the hotel and changed clothes and went down to the casino.  Barb did not play slots as the only slot machine she likes was a penny machine and she didn’t want to play it.  Ed played blackjack for over an hour and just broke even but it was good practice for the cruise.

As it is Friday night, they had a band and a DJ playing in the lounge for Salsa dancing we sat and had a free Rum drink the hotel had given us.  After that it was time to go up to the room – big day tomorrow – sun on the beach first and then onto the ship for our cruise.

Night from San Juan.

 

The beach

A new friend for our new puppy - about 6 feet long!!

 

Sweet Plantains (basically a banana) stuffed with shrimp or ground beef with garlic cream sauce on the left.  Then crab portaricon fritters, beef portaricon fritters on the right.

A sweet Plantain hollowed out with mixed vegetables topped with cheddar cheese

 

 

January 2015 – Day 1, Thursday, January 8

We didn’t spend New Year’s traveling or in a foreign port, but this is the next best thing, travelling January when in when it is terrible weather in Illinois!!

When we awoke at home at 4:00am, the temperature was -13 and after we arrived at the airport, we would out that it was also too cold for airplanes.

They were able to get the plane started; however, they said it was too cold for some of the instruments to work properly.  Finally at around 9am or so, they allowed us to board and it felt great – but only for a few minutes because then they took us off the plane and told us the flight was cancelled.

Since we would have missed our flight in Atlanta anyway, I had them previously protected us by booking the 4:30pm and 7:00 pm flight from Atlanta to San Juan.  Now all we had to do to get to Atlanta. 

After just a little bit of time, they announced that because there were so many international passengers, they were flying in a replacement plane from Atlanta.  It was supposed to get to Bloomington by 11:00am and it finally arrived at about 1:30pm.  We all boarded quickly and the flight to Atlanta was uneventful, finally!!

We made the 4:30pm flight to San Juan and we were on our way on time and upgraded to first class.  The coach section of the plane was 3 & 3 seating so we were very fortunate for this 3 ½ hour flight.  They served us a great meal and we watched a movie on the iPad.

We arrived in San Juan right on time, 9:00pm their time (we are two hours ahead of Illinois) and we took a cab to the hotel.  This is a nice Marriott Courtyard and right on the beach.

We walked around a little bit, went through the casino and then it was time to go to bed after a long day traveling to San Juan.

At bedtime the temperature was 76 degrees – WOW we are here.  We have only Friday and then we board the Celebrity ship the Summit on Saturday and most of our time will probably be on the beach.



Barb's Dinner



Ed's Dinner



The Beach our first night