Day 12 – Sunday, October 27

The ship was docked by the time we woke up and other than a brief rain shower at 8:30am, it was a perfect day.

Barb and Tim had what is called a Grand Suite and with that came the privilege of being escorted off the ship in a private group.  The person reasonable for that level of cabin also thought we were in one as it was his lounge that we had drinks and snacks in each night, walking in with Tim and Barb.

Our small group of people left at 8:30am and there was a fast lane for us to depart the ship, get our bags and get through security and customs.  We were probably 15 minutes from leaving the ship to our in a cab to the Marriott.   The regular lines were probably taking an hour to get out.

We had asked our contact at the Marriott to allow us to check in at 9:30am and our room was ready when we arrived.  Barb and Tim put their bags in our room and we took a Uber to Old San Juan so that Barb and Tim could have the famous Mallorca sandwich.  

After that early lunch we walked to the San Juan Cathedral for Sunday service.  It was in Spanish but we enjoyed it.  The church is the second oldest church in the Americas and it was in amazing condition.

After church, Barb and Tim went back to the hotel and we went to the gift shop for the church.  There we met a man who was working on the restoration of the church and he gave us a tour of the parts of the church that the public doesn’t get to see – it was wonderful.

Then we shopped for a bit before taking a Uber back to the hotel where we changed into swimming suits and went down to the big pool.

Barb and Tim left about 3:30pm for their flight back to DC and we later changed and went to dinner.

Dinner was a wonderful Puerto Rican meal. 

Then we played a session in the casino and Ed lost and Barb broke even. 

That’s all for our gambling on trip and while we didn’t win much, we did come out ahead.

We did get some bad news this afternoon,  a your friend, Mike Moss who we knew from our days at the Covered Bridge Festival lost his battle for life and passed away on Saturday – so sad to lose someone who was so young.  Our prayers go out to his wife and two children.

This will be our last blog before we get home; however, I will add videos later in the week.

About to leave the ship

Lunch of Mallorca sandwich

Getting ready to go into church

The door to the orginal part of the church

The view from our room and the Marriott

Dinner - Fish on top and pork on the bottom

Day 11 – Saturday, October 26

We arrived early in the morning at St. Martin, one of our favorite islands.  Normally there are a huge number of cruise ships docked here, at least 4. 

Today, when we docked, we were the only ship here!

We got off at about 9am and shopped around the pier shops for a little bit and then took a cab to Orient Beach, one of our favorite beaches.

We had been here before just after the last hurricane and then a year ago.  The beach is slowly rebuilding but a lot of the businesses are just not here at all. 

Anyway, we had fun on the beach and ate at our beach chairs with take-out from one of the only restaurants that has re-built.

Then we took a cab back to the ship and packed for getting off the ship tomorrow.

We met Barb and Tim at 6pm in the casino before dinner and Ed lost a little and Barb didn’t play.

Dinner tonight was at one of the specialty restaurants, an Italian restaurant and the food was very good.

Then we went to the show and was just a fun fairy tale production number.

Finally we went to the casino for the last night and Ed won nicely and Barb broke even.

The comedian that we saw last night was having a late night adult comedy hour so we went to see him and he again was really, really funny.

Finally after midnight we went back to the cabin to finish packing for departure tomorrow and head back to the Marriott in San Juan.

Heading for home in one more day!!

Miss everyone.

Tea in the morning on our deck!!

Welcome to St.Martins

Our final night out on the ship

Day 10 – Friday, October 25

Our second to last day on the ship and it is a day at sea which is great because after 3 islands in 3 days, we need some time to just relax.

We stayed up on deck until 11:15am and then came in and got ready for lunch with Tim and Barbara at the buffet.

At 1pm was a blackjack tournament and Ed tied for the 7^th spot and in a playoff, didn’t make it.

Then at 2pm we all played in a slot tournament and again, none of us won.

After that we played a session in the casino and Ed had his biggest win and Barb didn’t play.

At 4pm we went to see the ice show and it was a good show on a very small ring.  Apparently the only ice rink on a cruise ship.  It is also open for public skating but we have not been interested.  Why go to the Caribbean to be cold!!

We left the cabin at 6:45pm and met Barbara and Tim for drinks in the lounge before going to dinner.

Dinner tonight was back in the main dining room because it was formal night and the cruise ships always put out a great menu on this night, the last formal night of the cruise.

The show tonight was another comedian who was very, very good and will have a late night show on Friday, should be great

After that we went to the casino where Ed had a huge run includng 4 blackjacks on $100 bets!  AS best we can remember it was a run of 11 or 12 hands in a row.  As the run happened in the first couple of hands in the first shoe, Barb get to play.

After gambling we went up to the entertainment area where they were having a 70's party and people watched.

Time for bed as tomorrow we go to St. Martins and one of our favorite beaches, Orent Beach.

Night

The ice show

Going out for the evening

We have a wonderful cabin attendent!!

Day 9 - Thursday, October 24

The last of the ABC Islands –Bonaire 88 degrees at 8am and a great looking day as we docked.

Since we have been here before, today we rented golf carts and drove to an interior island town, seeing the countryside and then going to a very local restaurant.   We ordered Ox-Tail stew with rice and beans and it was very good.  Barb and Tim decided not to eat!!

We also stopped at a local distillery which made liquor from cactus, had some samples and bought a couple of small bottles to bring home.

We took a different way back and were back to the port city by the middle of the afternoon.  We parked the golf cart and walked around and bought a few trinkets but nothing big.  

We took the golf cart back and they took us to the ship and spent the rest of the afternoon eating again and since the ship was still in port, we laid out on our big balcony in the sun just relaxing.

At 5:00 we went to the inside promenade and watch a Marti Gra type parade inside the ship – what fun it was.  While we were waiting for the parade to start, we also book a Venice to Venice cruise for October 2020 on a smaller Royal Caribbean ship, but again a suite so that Barb can have her walk-in closet!!!

Before dinner we went to the main show to see a magician and he was so bad we walked out and went to dinner early.

For dinner we had a complementary dinner at the specility restaurant the Chop House and had a great meal.

After dinner we went to the casino where both of us won so it was a nice day.

Tomorrow is a day at sea before out last island – Saint Martins.

Night

leaving in the morning

A normal yard with a nice house in the country

The city where we had lunch

The church in the city

The best restaurant in town

Our waiter and Barb choosing drinks

Lunch - Ox Tail Stew and it was very good

Our waiter with lunch

A local soccer field

The parade

Going out for the night

Our ship

Day 8 - Wednesday, October 23

Curacao – another Dutch Island and one of our favorites!!

So very pretty, so very clean and actually south of the northern tip of South America so it is really hot here at this time.

After breakfast we got off the ship and took a taxi to the Curacao Liquor Distillery, took a tour and sampled several different kinds of Curacao Liquor.  We ended up buying a bottle of a type that is not imported into the United States.

Then we took a cab to the center of the city and walked across the pontoon bridge to the part of the island connected to the cruise ship.

We had a coupon for $10 or free slot play at their casino and we played the free credits but didn’t win anything.

After the casino, we walked back to the ship and had lunch.  Of course the next thing was going up to the top deck to get some sun.

Before dinner, we met Barb and Tim in the Suites lounge for free drinks and then went to deck #2 for an ice show – what fun to see skaters perform on an ice rink.

Dinner tonight was in the main dining room and it was good.

Afterwards we went to the casino where Ed and Barb both lost a little.  This has not been one of our better cruises in the casino, but we are having fun.

Tomorrow is our last of the ABC Islands Bonaire so night for now.

Curacao liquor

Having a Mango Smoothie

The pontoon bridge leading into town

Going out for the evening

On the bridge

Another towell creature

Day 7 - Tuesday, October 22

Today we arrived in Aruba a Dutch country that is a very popular tourist destination.  Of course the weather was perfect.

We got off the ship at about 10am and walked into town and down the main street of course shopping as we went and bought a few small items.

Then we went to the casino as we had $30 worth of coupons, $15 on slots and $15 for blackjack for each of us.  Barb lost her $15 of free money and Ed on his first play on a 1 cent machine hit for $23.00 so he took the money Day 7and went to the blackjack table.

Ed with his penny slot winnings

We both played and Barb lost her $15 and Ed was lucky and turned the coupon into a net of $100 so we left the casino with $123!!

Then we took a trolley around the center part of the town before buying a bottle of Kahula and taking it back to the ship.

Our waitress on the beach at dinner

We ate lunch on the ship and they went up to our favorite deck to lie out in the sun.  We stayed out until 3:30pm when we went inside, cleaned up and met Barb and Tim for dinner.

Dinner on the beach with Barb and Tim

We had arranged to have dinner on the beach at the same restaurant that we had dinner on before.

It was a fun sunset dinner on the beach, the food was wonderful and Barb and Tim also enjoyed it.

Then it was a short cab ride back to the ship and on to the casino where Barb lost a little and Ed won a little.

This is the first night we have been back in our room before midnight so we will get lots of sleep tonight.

Tomorrow is Curacao, one of our favorite cities.

The two Barbs trying on Aloe hand lotions

Night for now.

Riding the trolley

The trolley

Going out for the evening

Going out in the morning

Day 6 - Monday, October 21

Our first of two sea days and the weather was perfect when we woke up.  Clear, hot and very calm sea.

As usual, Ed reserved lounge chairs on the deck above the pool areas ate breakfast and then we both stayed in the sun until 10:30am when it started to sprinkle.

As today is a busy day in the afternoon, we came on in, showered and when to meet Barb and Tim for lunch.

Lunch was a typical buffet on a cruise ship and it was just fine.

At 1:00pm there was a blackjack tournament were Barb cheered and Ed, Barb F and Tim played.  The bad news is that none of us won.

At 2:00pm there was a slot tournament were so far Barb F and Ed are in the finals which will be on Friday.  

After the slot tournament we all played a session and at 4:00pm when to a presentation on Alaska which is going to be our cruise around July 4^th.

We booked this tour through Barb Freeman’s travel agency and tonight we went to the Steak specialty restaurant as a guest of her travel agency and we had a great meal.

The show was at 10:15pm and it was a theater production number called Marquee and it was very good.

Then at 11:30pm we went to the adult comedy club where the comedian from last night and he was probably the best comedian we have ever seen – all laughs for his entire set.

Finally at 12:30am we made it to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed lost a little

Tomorrow is the first of 3 islands, Aruba and it will be fun.

Night from the early morning somewhere in a very big ocean.

Hugs to all

The Kids Pool

A pool in the middle of the ship

The large pool

Going out for the evening

Our towell aminal

Day 5 - Sunday, October 20

We set our alarm so that the 4 of us could go to church at 8am.  Barb had been told by the hotel that the 8am mass was in English; however, when we got there we found out that it was in Spanish.  We stayed anyway!!

After church we walked the 3 blocks back to the hotel and had breakfast.

Then Ed took the rental car back and at 11:30am we met Barb & Tim and took cab to the ship.

Boarding was quick and we were eating up in dining room by 12:30pm.  We then spent the next couple of hours walking around the ship from the top floor down seeing all that the ship had to offer.  Barb and Tim had not been on this ship either so it was fun discovering the ship

.

After relaxing, it was time to go to the VIP lounge for a couple of drinks before going to dinner.

Dinner and the service were great.

Next we went to the show which featured a comic who was really, really funny and following the show we all went to the casino where Ed was even after an hour and Barb lost a little.

By now it is 12:30am so writing the blog before going to bed – enjoy everyone

Night

Leaving the Marriott

Barb and her flowers

Day 4 - Saturday, October 19

Another beautiful day in San Juan – 88 and clear when we woke up.

We had breakfast with Tim and Barb and then while Tim stayed at the hotel to work, the three of us went on a driving tour of Puerto Rico.

We headed south to the city of Ponce, the second largest city on the island.  The route took us over the “mountains” in the center of the island and the road was very, very winding but it was fun.  Also, the scenery was awesome with all the houses built on the sides of the mountains.

We also traveled thru the town at the highest point on the island.  Most of the homes were built right on a ridge with maybe 10’ of back yard. 

After getting to Ponce and heading north back towards San Juan, we found a very small city with a great center square and so we parked to walk around.  We walked into a church which turned out to be Baptist and watched some kids practice singing and the kids and adults welcomed us to visit.  One of them suggested a local restaurant so we went there for lunch and it was great.  Great food, great service and a great setting.

After we left the restaurant, we travelled down the mountain in a major rain storm so we had to go very, very slow.

We finally made it back to San Juan at 5:00pm after driving lots of miles all day, but it was fun. 

We changed for dinner and Barb and Tim came up to our room to have Champaign on our balcony.

Then we went to a local restaurant that we had found a couple of days ago to have a wonderful 2 ½ hour dinner.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and played a session in the casino where Barb lost a little and Ed won so we are up a little bit after playing 4 days n San Juan – a great start.

We then packed to be ready tomorrow to head to the ship after going to a local Catholic church a few blocks away.

Night from San Juan and tomorrow it will be from the ship – The Freedom Of The Seas.

A house on the edge of a ridge

Lunch - all local, all freashly made

The Baptist Church in town

It really is a dollar store!!

Inside the dollar store