October 2018 – Day 10

Our next stop Curacao – and it is pronounced care –ah – sole.

Once again the high is to be 84 and the lot 80 – not a rain cloud in sight.  This island is not as dry as Aruba which only received 15 inches a year in rain. 

A really neat Dutch island that we have only visited once and had a fun time then.  The buildings in the city are all painted in beautiful pastels.

As we had no real plans, we took our time getting off the ship and walked into the city, the port of Willemstad, which is the capital of Curacao and the Netherlands Antilles.  They say it is one of the richest cities in the world in terms of culture and diversity.

We wish we could you a picture of the water, but it is the most amazing color and so, so clear.

One of the neat things to do is to walk into town via the Queen Emma Bridge.  This is a century-old pontoon bridge which connects the two sides of the city.  It swings open up to 30 times a day to make way for ship traffic.

We walked over the bridge and went over to the river side where the fishing and produce boats from Venezuala come in and sell their fish and produce right along the road.  They even have people at the edge of the road and all you do it drive up and then will sell you your produce without you even parking your car.  It was just fun.

Then we found a very local restaurant and bar.  When we went in, there was only one person who spoke English so he helped us order some local fish for a huge lunch.  We bought him a beer and he was thrilled.

Then we walked around the downtown area and then back over the bridge towards the ship. 

We had a $5 match play coupon for the local casino for the slot machines and we spent it without winning anything, but at least we didn’t lose!!

Then Ed took $40 and we walked away with an $80 profit.  Not bad for a couple of lucky minutes.  

We forget to tell you that we went into a local Aruba casino yesterday and walked out with a $100 profit.  Life is gooood!!!

It is hot, hot here.  While 84 might not seen terribly hot, when you are in the direct, very overhead sunlight here, it is almost burning your skin and we have a good tan.

No sunning on the deck today but it was a very beautiful day.

The show tonight was a comedian who was very, very funny.  Probably better than the last one we saw.  His is the first time in cruising that we have had two really good comedians on the ship.

After a fun dinner where Barb Freeman gave Barb her set of ears, we all went to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed lost just a little.

A fun day and tomorrow Bonaire where we have to get off the ship by 7:30am as the 6 of us have a private tour of the island - it should be fun, but we are not used to getting up early!!

We forgot to tell you that we book a great cruise for next October as we are going on a 12 night cruise to Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand.  That cruise is one of two left on our bucket list, the other trip being to Africa.

The view from our cabin

Ready to go ashore

A new best friend

Buy something and take a picture

Lunch ith our new friend drinking his beer in the background!!

That is where we had lunch

The city from the bridge

Barb and her ears

Barb Nuanne and Barbara - now that's scary!!!

October 2018 – Day 9

When we woke up, we were still a long ways from Aruba so we had breakfast and of course the weather is perfect so we laid out on the deck.

The ship docked ½ early at 10:30am and there was a rush to get off the ship.  The neat thing about this stop is that we are in port until Midnight!

So we stayed on and ate lunch with our friends and then went back on the sundeck until 2:30pm.

We have been here several times before including a week in 2009 so our plan was to get off at 3:00pm and walk around a little bit.

Then we had reservations at a hotel 10 minutes away for a dinner on the beach at the Amsterdam Manor Hotel.  It was an amazing experience.  All of the tables and chairs were draped in white and had torches for each table.  We had some great appetizers and then a wonderful fish dinner consisting of several kinds of fish.  There was even music and a live female sax player to entertain us.  We watched the sun set and had a wonderful meal. 

After dinner, we took a cab back to the hotel and changed quickly to meet everyone in the casino.

We played for a few minutes and then cut out and went to see the show.  Tonight the show featured a comedian who was without a doubt the funniest comedian that we have ever heard on a cruise ship.

 

Then we went to the casino where Barb lost a little and Ed and a good win.

Tomorrow we dock in Curacao – an island we have only been to once and it was some time ago.

Night from way south.

Going out for the day

Dinner on the beach

Now this was fun!!!!

At sunset

WOW!!

October 2018 – Day 8

Another beautiful day and this day we are at sea for the entire sunny day.

Ed first went to breakfast and then went to the gym and then met Barb our on the deck for a morning in the sun,

At noon we met our friends on the back of the ship for lunch and then went back to the cabin to clean up as there was a blackjack tournament at 1:30pm. 

Ed didn’t qualify; however, Tim did and won the tournament – so at least it was in the family!!

We went to future cruises to look at cruises for next October and have a couple to look at.  We would like to go to Australia/ New Zealand and there looks to be a great good one then.  We will try to decide before we leave the ship as there are some promotional dollars that can be applied if we book on the ship.

Then we played a session and Barb lost a little and Ed had a big win.

Dinner in Blu was again good and then we went to the theater and saw a wonderful musical performance by the cast of the ship.

After the show of course we went to the casino where Barb won and Ed lost some of what he had won that afternoon.

Tomorrow we arrive in Aruba at 11:00am.

Night from somewhere on the way to Aruba

Going out for the afternoon

Lots of decorations for Halloween

Going to dinner

October 2018 –Day 7

Today’s high – 85 in George Town, Grand Cayman.

As we have been to this island many times, including a great trip with the kids in 2012, we didn’t have any plans for the day in port.

The day was simple, after waking up on our own time, Ed had breakfast and then we took a tender to the dock.  Grand Cayman does not have a pier large enough to accommodate cruise ships so every ship has to tender in.

We were lucky in that we were the only ship in port as we have been here before when there were 5 – 7 ships making a very crowed town

It was a short tender ride and then we walked around town for about 3 hours before catching the tender back to the ship.

We immediately headed for the buffet, first stopping off at the grill so Ed could get a hamburger.

Then we went to the buffet and had lunch outside, as is out custom, on the back deck.

After lunch we laid out on the upper deck working on our tans.  We could only stay out a couple of hours as the weather was perfect and the sun was hot.

Back inside, we cleaned up and went out walking around the ship until the ship set said at 4:30pm.

Then we joined our friends for a session in the casino where Ed lost and Barb broke event.

After that we went to the show which was 3 guys singing some great music from the past.

Time for dinner in Blu and we had a delightful dinner and headed to the casino where Ed lost alittle and Barb had a nice win

Tomorrow is our second sea day and the weather should be perfect all day long.

Night from the sea – heading for Aruba

Going to town

Our ship from the dock

Downtown Grand Cayman

Going out for the afternoon

Out for a fun evening

October 2018 - Day 6

What a beautiful day it was when we got up.  

Ed did his usual of going to get breakfast first and then to the gym.  Barb met him on deck later and also had a small breakfast.

Then we stayed out on the deck getting some great sun and working on our tan until noon when we met our friends on the back deck for lunch.

We went back up on the deck in the sun for the rest of the afternoon and met everyone at the casino at 4:30pm for a short session.  Barb lost just a little and Ed won just a little.

Tonight the show was a very good production number and we all say together to see it.

After the show, we all went to the restaurant Blu which is the restaurant for those in Aqua Class, which we all are. 

Dinner was wonderful.  Barb and Ed both had Salmon.

Then it was time for the casino where Barb lost a little and Ed had a big win.

Tomorrow the island of Grand Cayman where we plan to get off the ship via a tender, walk around for a little bit then come back to the ship and have lunch until the ship leaves port.

Night

Going out for the afternoon

Going out for the evening

October 2018 - Day 5

On first day on the Equinox was a great day.

We left the hotel at about 9:00am and drove to the airport to return the rental car.  They had a free shuttle to the cruise port so we took it and made great time getting to the ship around 10:30am. 

Then we encountered the longest lines we have seen at check-in in a lot time; however, by 11:00am we were in our cabin so the check in was still fairly quick.

After unpacking our carry-ones we went up to the food deck to eat and wait for Barb & Tim to arrive and they did at about 1:00pm with their friends, John and Neuanne, also from the Washington area.

 

We sat and talked until 2:30pm when it was time to go to the lifeboat drill.

Tim and Barb invited us all to go to the specialty restaurant, Tuscan Grill and we did and have a great meal in celebration of Tim’s new job.

After that we went to the show, which was a comedian, who was just ok.

Then it was on to the casino where Barb won and Ed broke even.

All-in-all a nice day.

Tomorrow is a sea day which is a perfect way to start a cruise.

Night from somewhere south of Miami.

Leaving the Marriott

On the Shuttle Bus to the ship

Going out for the evening

Tim and Barb Freeman at lunch with us on the back deck

October 2018 – Days 1 - 4

Monday – October 22, 2018

A perfect time for a trip as our summer had been really, really hectic with the most car events we have ever attended and also produced and 2019 is shaping up to also be a big year.

The 6am flights were really hard, getting up so early, so this time our flight was at 11:42am giving us lots of time in the morning to get ready to go.

The flight was perfect and we arrived in Miami at 6:00pm.  We took the moving walkways over to the Dollar Rental Company and they upgraded us from a compact car to a full size.  We asked to have one with GPS and they tried 3 different cars before finding a Malibu, just like ours that had a gps that worked.

Off we went for the 40 minute drive to the hotel, the Residence Inn Miami Beach Sunny Isle Beach  This was a new Marriott that we saw being build last year and it is in a perfect location, being only 5 minutes away from our favorite beach, Haulover Beach.

They upgraded out room to the 13^th floor looking out on Collins Ave and the Atlantic Ocean across the street.  It is a beautiful hotel.

For dinner, we walked right next door to a Chinese restaurant that the hotel manager had recommended and it was very good. 

We walked around a little, but being tired from the trip, it was time to go to bed.  It was a good travel day and very uneventful – the way a travel day should be.

On Tuesday we awoke to a wonderful day at 75 degrees.  We first drove to a shopping area and bought Kahula and Pepsi to take on the cruise and then we went to a deli for lunch before heading to the beach.

We spent 3 hours on the beach in perfect weather with the temperature getting up to 85 degrees.  The sun was so hot, we started out with #4 lotion and it was a good thing we did as by the time we left the beach, parts of us were just starting to get too much sun.

The area we are in, Sunny Isle Beach is a very expensive area filled with big condo buildings, include two Trump buildings and with lots and lots of little shops and restaurants.

We ate at a Peruvian restaurant called EL Tayta and the food was wonderful.  After that meal we walked a little and then had a crepe -  little too much food for the evening, but it was just fun!!

Then it was back to the hotel for sleep.

On Wednesday we go up and let the room at 11am and went to one of the little restaurants we had found and had a great Cuban lunch of roast pork, rice and beans and plantains.

Then of course we went to the beach.  We spent 3 hours on the beach before going back to the hotel to clean up for the evening.

We had found a South Beach Food Tour on-line and we drove to South Beach to join our tour at 5pm.  There were 4 other people on the tour and it was the best food tour that we have ever been on.  It was also a local South Beach Art Deco Tour and our guide was very knowledgeable.  For the 2 ½ hour walking tour, we ate at 5 different restaurants and has some wonderful food consisting of many different countries.  On of the restraurants we went to was Gloria Estefan's right on Ocean Drive - wow was it beautiful!!

After the tour, we drove back to our hotel and walked around for a bit before going to sleep.

On Thursday, again we woke up to another beautiful day.  As had been the custom for the last couple of day, Ed got up first and went to have breakfast while Barb slept in for a little bit.  Then we got ready and went out at 11am for lunch at a neat little restraurant that specialized in Argentine foor and then headed to Haulover Beach for another afternoon in the sun.  

After the beach, cleaning up and changing, we drove to central Miami to the Wynwood distinct to one of the largest open-air street art collections in the world.  It was a fun night walking the area and we ate at a Peruvian restaurant and the food was wonderful.

Then it was back to the hotel to pack for the morning as we are boarding the Celebrity Equinox for a 10 night Southern Caribbean cruise.

We had perfect sun, a great hotel and wonderful food during our stay in Sunny Isle Beach.

We are meeting friends from Washington DC who we have cruised with before, Barb and Tim Freeman and another couple who are friends of theirs.  Barb and Tim are fun and this will give us a great blackjack table in the casino!!

Our trip will take us to Grand Cayman, Aruba, Curco, Bonaire and Key West with 4 days just at sea so it should be a very fun, relaxing trip.

Photos from the first 4 days.

Dinner - our fist night

Breakfast

The Pool Deck

The view from our  room

Lunch on Tuesday

Lunch on Tuesday

Dinner on Tuesday

Ed;s snack

Moon over Miami

A late night Margarita

Food Tour 1

Food Tour 2

Food tour 3

Gloria Estefan's restaurant

Eating at Gloria Estefan's restaurant

Pastry stop

Amazing bread from the pastry shop

Barb loves the bread

Appetizer - Chevich

Red Snapper

Flan

Some of the street art in the Wynwood section of Miami