Day 14

Today is the first of two sea day and then we will be home.

We have determined that an 11 day cruise to islands we have been to many times, is not as much fun as we thought it would be.  Of course, being with old friends, is always fun.

Of course today was very warm and beautiful with not a cloud in the sky the entire day.

As is our tradition on sea days we got up late, around 10:00am and went up to the top deck to be in the sun.

Mid-morning we also found out that we have been given 2 cruises with the only cost being port charges of around $200.00 each.  The two cruises have a value of $20,000 and needless to say we are very happy to receive these bookings.

At 12:30pm we went to the buffet and the back the ship to have lunch with everyone.

As is Celebrity’s tradition, today is a very elaborate lunch buffet with lots of extra foods it was a fun lunch.

Then we rested from a “busy” morning and lunch before getting ready to meet Barb & Tim in the Casino.  Jeff and Vera did not join us as they nap in the afternoon.

In the casino, Barb and Ed both lost.

After the casino we came back to the room to get ready for the evening’s activities.  The dress code tonight is Chic Night, a scaled down version of formal night. 

The show tonight was high energy musical night with music from Bruno Mars to the Beatles and it was good.  The performer played a sax and he was outstanding.

Then it was on to the casino, of course, where Barb and Ed lost again.  The 5 of us, plus Barb as our cheerleader always have our own table and tonight, we have never lost so much as a group.  We were fortunate that we lost the least, but it still hurt.  For those who know blackjack on the first shoe (8 decks) there were only 6 winning hands! 

Tomorrow is out last day of the cruise and it is at sea.

We are sooo looking forward to being home.

On our way home as fast as we can

Hugs from Gram and Ed

                                                            Ribs for lunch

                                                                The chcolate tower

                                                            Going out in the afternoon

                                                         and then going out for the evening

 

 

Day 13

Our last stop before two days at sea and then home is the island of Curacao.  Curacao is just 35 miles from the coast of Venezuela and is a 38-mile-long volcanic island.  It is also diverse and Dutch in nature.

The ship was ready for guests to depart at 7am; however, we finally left at a little after 10 as it was a long night at the casino. 

We then walked into town across the floating bridge into the main part of the city.  We were going to eat at a local restaurant but we couldn’t find it.  Ed had left the directions back in the room.  We settled on a small stand in the market and it was not good.

It was then back to the ship, having walked 9,981 steps!

Because of the length of the rip back to the United States, the ship left shortly after 2:30pm.

Since we were back on board early, we played a session in the casino where Ed lost and so did Barb

The show tonight was the Silhouette cast singing the sounds of Broadway and they were very good.

Dinner tonight was again in the main dining room joining Vera & Jeff and it was a fun dinner.

Then we went back to the theater and heard the comic from an earlier show give a xx-rated routine.  He was very, very funny.  I will post a video of him after we arrive back home.

Then it was on to the casino where Barb and Ed both lost.   We have a lot of ground to make up in the next two days, so wish us both luck.

We are now heading north and home in a couple of day.

Nite for now

                                                        Ready to go into town

                                                        On the floating bridge

                                             Our table in the market - food was not so good

                                                    Ready to go out for the evening

                                       Our appatizerof 5  Beef Cappacios - 1 for barb and 1 for Ed

Day 12

We arrived at the second of the A, B, C islands, Bonair and the temperatures are again in the 80’s.

Bonaire is 86 miles east of Aruba and then we will have only 30 miles to travel to Curacao.

We were also here during our New Years trip so we didn’t hurry about going out.

There was nothing special that we wanted to do so we just wandered around a bit and then ate at a local restaurant call “It’s Raining Fishes”.

Then we stopped at ice cream store where we have had ice cream every trip we have been to Bonaire.  Made on the premises and very good and reasonable.

We went back to the ship in the early afternoon and went up on the top deck to get some sun – our tans are progressing nicely.

As the ship didn’t depart until 6:30pm, we simply wandered around the ship watching people and relaxing.

Dinner was once again in the restaurant Blu and the meal was very good.

After dinner, we went to the show and listened to an A Cappella Group and great harmonies.  They were fun.

Then of course, we went to the casino where Barb didn’t play and Ed won a little.

At the start of our session in the casino, the casino manager bought a bag of swag and said that the items in the bag would go to the table winner between the 5 of us.  So, we each started out with $1,000 to bet and after 2 ½ hours Barb Freeman had won the most money.  It was just fun.

Nite for now and tomorrow is Curacao, the last of our island we will visit on this trip.

Hugs to all 

                                                        Going out for lunc

The restraurant called" It's Raining Fishes"

                                                             The port of Bonaire

                                                    The swimming pool in the afternoon

                                                It feels like our own private yacht

                                                            Going out for the evening

                                   The Casino Manager, Damien with Barb and her swag winnings

Day 11

We are overnight in Aruba, so the ship was open for everyone to come and go to the island as they wished.

We slept in and met Barb & Tim to go to church which started at 11am.

Our taxi driver, Beverly picked us up right at the ship and took us what was called the most beautiful Catholic Church on the island and yes, it was beautiful.

The service was packed and very enjoyable and we were amazed at the different ethnic groups that were represented at the service.

Then Beverly picked us up and took us to Redfish Grill where we had eaten several times, including when Jeff and Jason were here.

We have recently seen an Andrew Zimmer program about food in Aruba and the lead story was about the #1 local restaurant on the island – Redfish Grill.

This was the first time for Barb and Tim and they were not disappointed.

After lunch, Beverly picked us up and took us to the ship and we went up to the top deck to be outside for a few hours.

Eight-Six degrees and with the sun almost directly overhead – it was hot!!

We then followed our normal evening routine which was the show and a very good singer/musician, dinner in Blu and then onto the casino.

After 3 ½ hours we closed the casino with Barb having lost a little and Ed had his best win.

We arrived back in the cabin at 2am and called it a night after writing this blog which we hope you all are enjoying.

We are on our way to Bonaire where we will spend the day tomorrow.

Nite-Nite

                                                    On our way to church/lunch

                                                                The church

                                                        Grilled Mai-Mai and Plantains

                                                        Time to go out for the evening

Day 10

Today is a partial sea day so we slept in.  Ed work up and had breakfast at 10am and Barb woke up at 11am!!  As far as we remember, we have never slept in that long on any vacation and it sure felt good.

We had lunch with our friends on the back deck and stayed a while just talking.

Then we went back up on the deck in the sun until we docked at Aruba.

We will be in Aruba overnight and leave tomorrow afternoon.

We had booked with Barb and Tim dinner at Passions On The Beach where we have gone at least 3 times before and they serve excellent food and we can watch the sunset and all the sail boats in the ocean.

To get there we took a cab owned by Beverly, the lady who drove us around on our last trip here over New Years.  She is a delight, knows everyone and also has lived in Aruba all her life.

After dinner, we called Beverly who took us back to the ship.

At 9pm we went to a production show in the theater by the singers and dancers of the ship.

Since the casino is closed while in port, it was then time to go back to bed for an early sleep.  We don’t believe we have ever gone to bed before midnight on a cruise.

Tomorrow we will be staying in Aruba until later in the day.

Nite-Nite

                                                       The pool deck - lots of empty chairs

                                                        Going to dinner on the beach

                                                                The sunset from dinner

                                                        Ready for dinner with Barb and Tim

                                                              Ed's Mai-Mai

                                                                 Barb's Red Snapper

                                                    As always, flowers from Ed

Day 9

We finally made it to Cartagena, Columbia, South America.

It is just about as far from Merna to Miami as it is from Miami to Cartagena - That’s a long way south!!

Once before we were here and did the tourist type of things and this time, we booked a private to the Bazurto Market for us and also Barb and Tim.

It was 86 degrees when we went out and it was very, very hot.  We are so close to the equator to make it uncomfortable to walk very far in the direct sunlight.

When you leave the ship, you have to take a shuttle bus to the start of the port and walk through a really nice bird and animal sanctuary with lots of Parrots, Monkeys, Peacocks and Flamingos.  None of them are caged so it is really neat.

We took a short cab ride to meet our guides.  The tour is sponsored by a non-profit organization and the two guides were very nice.  One was a lawyer and the other

Basically, this market has everything and it is a labyrinth of stall and if we didn’t have a guide, you could easily get turned around and lost!!

For anything you wanted to get fixed, there was a craftsman to fix it for you.  We watched a metal mechanic make duck work all by hand.  We listened to their local music and they gave us a CD to take home.  We went to a traditional Colombian healing center where they used all natural plants to cure “anything”.

We tasted some very different fruit and they made a fruit drink for us.

We then went to a restaurant in the market that was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s TV show to have lunch of fish and several kinds of rice and ??.

The final part of the tour was the produce, meat and fish markets and they were amazing. 

There is no refrigeration and he meat and fish are just sitting out in open air stalls!

Then our guides took us out of the market and back to the ship where we again walked through this amazing entry to the port with all the birds.

After cleaning up we met everyone on the back of the ship for lunch.  While we had eaten in the market, it just seemed to eat again on the ship – it was there, why not??

After lunch we went back to the cabin to relax before going out for the evening.

The show in the theater tonight was called “big Band & Broadway” and it was very good.

After the show we went to Blu and had a wonderful meal.

Then it was to the casino where Barb and Ed each lost a little.

Tomorrow we arrive in Aruba at 4pm for an overnight stay.

Nite – Nite from way south.

                                                              Going out to the market

                                                            Showing off for us       

                                            

                                                        Getting ready for the lunch crowd

                                                        A typical isle of many isles

                                                                Freash fish - notice no ice

                                                                The local drug store

                                                            Our guide eating at the restaurant

                                                               Ed's food at the bottom

                                                        The restaurant - Barb & Tim did not eat

                                                                The Kitchen at our restaurant

                                                        Another kitchen in the same area

                                                                Just watching us

                                                         Going out for the evening

Day 8

Today is our second day at sea and again a beautiful day with tempetures in the 80’s and not as windy as yesterday.

We stayed out on the deck until 12:30pm when it was time to meet everyone on the back of the ship for lunch.

We sat with everyone for a couple of hours just talking about our lives and different experiences we have had.

It is so fun enjoying a cruise with couples we have met through the casino – all with different backgrounds and locations which are so very, very different but all with a mutual liking and respect for each other.

Jeff Wurst is a major corporate banqurepcy lawyer with an office in Manhattan and a home close to the UN overlooking the river.  Vera was ones a school teacher.

Tim Freeman is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force who now has a major job with a very important defense contractor.  They live in Virginia and during the week, Tim flies his plane to Huntsville, Alabama for work and back on the weekend.  They also flew their own plane down to Ft Lauderdale to board the ship.

Neither couple has ever lived in the Midwest so it is an interesting group.

We played a session in the casino during the afternoon and Barb and Ed both lost. 

The show tonight was a magician and he was very good at slight of hand.  I have a couple videos of his performance which I will put on the blob at the very end of our trip.

Tonight, we were guest of the casino at a specialty restaurant called “The Poarch” It is located outside on the top deck and it is mainly a seafood restaurant.   While it is outside, there is glass to keep the wind out.  We had a wonderful meal there.

After dinner we all went to the casino where Barb and Ed both won.

Tomorrow we dock in Cartagena, Columbia and have fun day planned.

It is hot here with the sun almost directly overhead as we are getting close to the equator.

Nite-Nite

                                                                Going out for the afternoon

                                                  Canapies are delivered to our rom each day

                                                            Going out for the evening

                                                        Our group at the black jack table