Sunday November 27 2016 – Castries, Saint Lucia

We arrived in port about 8 AM on a lovely Sunny day – temperature around 26C.  It is a small port with from what I can see – only room for one cruise ship at a time, though there may be more space in the harbour but that would involve tendering.  As it is Sunday – and a great many of the folk on the island are strong Christians we were warned that there may not be a lot of stores open.

Anyway – this was a day without excursions as it is Grey Cup Day and when we were booking we did not know the time.  As it was – it was 7:30 so certainly not a hindrance for the days activities.  Harry decided to take the day to relax, so I decided to walk into town which we could see across the bay.  The only problem – where is the exit – after searching for a while I found the ferry that went between the port and downtown, so I paid $5.00 for a round trip ticket and off I went.

Exploring the town was fun – I found several parks, an Anglican Church and eventually the Cathedral that was highly publicized.  The hours for services at the Anglican Church were very interesting – Sunday 6 AM and 7 AM – and a couple of services during the week, all in the early morning -  guess they have no Air Conditioning.  Once I found the Catholic Cathedral I was not surprised to see a service in progress.  The doors were open so I peeked inside – the church – which must hold at least 500 – was full. I also ran into a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but they weren’t too aggressive. 

I did head down one street and encountered a lady sitting in front of her store – who told me in no uncertain terms that I should listen to her and that I should not walk in the direction I was going.  I took her advice and turned around and headed the other direction.  After a couple of hours, I decided to walk back to the ship.  It was a pleasant walk and it led me right back to the Terminal and the stores etc. 

Back on the ship we relaxed with the sail-away drink of the day.  At 3:30 we were sailing on our way to Barbados.  Within an hour of leaving port we did some scenic cruising past the other side of the island through Soufriere Bay with its two inactive volcanoes – a very dramatic scene. 

After a leisurely supper we headed to watch the disappointing, but exciting Grey Cup – no musicians tonight.

Saturday November 26, 2016 – Philipsburg, Saint Maarten

This morning we awoke to much calmer seas and within a short time before we docked at Philipsburg along with 4 other cruise ships and a 5-mast huge sailing ship.  After short (2 mile) walk around the Promenade deck and a quick breakfast we headed out on our excursion.  It was called French Marigot and Butterfly Farm.  We had a great driver/guide Denis who talked us all around the island  - pointing out all the significant sights and giving us a real lesson on the history of the island including the partnership between the Dutch and the French, and the story behind how the French got more land mas than the Dutch – based on the consumption of Alcohol and walking from one end to the other.  The French outlasted the Dutch and therefore got more land.  Anyway it is a friendly relationship but with very different customs and things like car licencing. 

  Our first stop was the Butterfly Farm were our host gave us a great education on the raising and life of various butterfly species all the while being surrounded by butterflies – some of which attached themselves to some of the other participants. 

From there we drove through the French town of Marigot where we wandered through the shops and enjoyed the view of the large and well populated harbour.  The views were magnificent and the water very appealing – though we did not get to try it out.  

Then back to the ship for lunch and then departure from the island at 2:30. I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on emails and information from Naramata – until the internet went down. L

Harry enjoyed relaxing time on the deck watching us depart and head towards our next stop tomorrow at St Lucia.  After yet another lovely dinner we went back to our room for a bit then headed down to the World Stage for the Ventriloquist/Comedian.  He had been on American Idol and was to say the least fabulous.  Then it was onto the Billboard Lounge where we were introduced to the incredible talent of Emily’s new partner – Jonathon from Abbotsford.  They make a very good pair.

Friday, November 25, 2016 – Sea Day and US Black Friday

All night long we felt the ship rocking back and forth due to the strong wind and therefore large waves.  I went out for a walk on the Promenade Deck but after 6 circuits I gave up due to the rolling ship.  To give an idea – I had 5000 steps and 55 floors.  I also got sprayed with what I thought was rain but when it ran into my eyes and mouth I realized it was sea water.  Some of it ran off from the fourth floor (our floor)

So then onto a pleasant breakfast then onto the Lido deck to check out the Black Friday deals from The Shops.  Nothing that really excited either of us.  So time to spend on Petit Point, reading and just relaxing until lunch. Lunch was a special Indonesian lunch for ‘Collectors’ – in other words almost the entire passenger list.  Lunch was great, but the ship rocky so we spent the afternoon in our stateroom jut relaxing on the deck.  I actually slept due to the Gravol I had taken earlier in the day. 

After a small dinner we headed to the World Stage to listen to a trio of women from the UK known as The Grace Trio.  They were three women – two of them sisters with lovely voices, two playing Guitar while the other played the violin.  They all wore long red dresses – very striking!

\our favorite artist had the evening off, so we headed for our room and had a relaxing time with wine and a bit of TV – Castle reruns!

Thursday, November 24, 2016 – Sea Day and US Thanksgiving.

Today was the first of two sea days, the wind is blowing from the north west, so the ship is rocking which is great for sleep but not much else, but I persevered and went for a walk around the Promenade Deck. The rest of the day must be a day for relaxation, so we did just that. 

In the afternoon I attended a seminar on where to shop and what to buy.  A couple from South Africa – Oxy and Archie were doing the presentation.  Archie was loud and did most of the talking.  I found it quite annoying and was seriously thinking of leaving, but – as there was a draw at the end I decided to stick around – just in case I got lucky.  And I did, they only gave away one prize and I won!

The presentation being over I returned to take a look at my treasures – two necklaces, a t-shirt, a bag and some hair clips!  Both of us spent the rest of the afternoon reading and/or playing games on the tablet.

Super was of course special due to US Thanksgiving. What that meant was that if you didn’t have reservations for supper you waited, we didn’t so we waited.  After about an hour and a half I went to the Dining room and lo and behold the found us a table.  The lower level of the dining room was half empty waiting for those with reservations 45 minutes later.  One of the few inefficient situations we have encountered.

After a lovely turkey dinner, we made our way to the World Stag where the presentation One World was taking place.  This included the Koningsdam singers and dancers who are a very talented group of young people. During the performance there were all kinds of pictures and scenes shown on the screens about 180 degrees around the theatre.  Really spectacular!  I took a coupe of pictures of the theatre scene after the end of the show just to give some idea of what they can do with this innovative technology.  I have also included a picture of the ‘screen’ with a comparison to my fingers.

After the performance we went to the Billboard Lounge to enjoy the music of the 60’s with Emily.  Great music, then off to bed as we have to move our clocks forward again. 

Wednesday, November 23, 2016 – Ft. Lauderdale

What a great day – we awoke to lots of sun but a nice cool breeze here in Ft. Lauderdale.  We pulled into port at 7 AM sharp had an early, simple breakfast then made our way to the Queen’s lounge where we were to meet up with the rest of the folks who were to go on the Excursion that we had signed up for.  We learned there were 66 others, but there were lots more than that in the Queen’s Lounge.  We soon learned that those who were disembarking were also gathering in that lounge so that they had vacated their rooms and were waiting to disembark and head to the next leg of their journey – some of which were going home.

At 8:30 we headed out but had to go through customs as we had been out of the country.  They really didn’t care about us as we were Canadian and had ‘in transit’ passes.  Once through Customs we headed to our bus to go to the Sawchuck Everglades Park.  This included an airboat ride through the everglades where we discovered numerous Florida Alligators who naturally live in the everglades and many small black crow-like birds called Grackles.  They are very bold and several of them came and sat on the side of the boat.  The Alligators wasn’t disturbed by our presence either.  We later learned that the are just not likely to attack, more likely to swim away or just go deeper.  They are not at all aggressive when in their natural habitat.  We also learned that the Everglades are not a swampland but actually a very slow moving and very wide river which is shy the Floridians have really had not much luck in draining them.  They have however drained some for development purposes – but this is now changed and they are actually trying to restore the natural environment. 

After the Airboat ride we went through the Animal sanctuary – a charitable organization – which takes in rescued wild life.  We were also educated a great deal about Alligators – like the fact that they can ive wel over 80 years and that they males in particular never stop growing. 

After a wonderful day exploring the Everglades we made it back to our boat and relaxed until supper then went to a presentation by the Cruise Director, then onto the Billboard Lounge to listen t our favorite piano-player/singer Emily.  

Tuesday, November 22, 2016 – Sea Day

Another sea day, so we checked out the programming for the day and determined that this was a great day for me to catch up on my reading for the Naramata Board meeting this weekend and to do some pleasure reading and work on my Petit Point.  So the morning was relaxation mode on the Lido deck and then lunch and this afternoon I focused on the information for the Naramata Board meeting.

 In the evening we had a great meal, then went to the World Stage where the ship’s musicians put on a great presentation to the display of the BBC production Frozen Planet.  The musical group consisted of three violins, a cello, two guitars, three keyboards and of course our favorite drummer.  The screen behind the musicians is quite remarkable, it is not a projection screen, but rather millions of very tiny led lights which can be programmed to do almost anything from projecting pictures to giving a dynamic light show.

We then went to see our favorite musicians in the Billboard lounge which was a Piano Celebration of popular musicians` music, such as Elton John etc.  A great performance then ready to turn into bed to look forward to our day back in Ft Lauderdale for the day, and the start of the second part of our cruise

Monday November 21, 2016 – Sea Day

This morning we awoke to a very rocky ship – or should I say a rolly ship.  So much so that by the time I had recorded 3000 steps on my fitbit – I had the equivalent of 55 floors climbed.  As a sea day – there were a few extra activities on board the ship.

The first one we attended was a Slide show and Q & A with the Captain who is a Canadian, born in Ottawa, grew up in Richmond and now living in Nova Scotia.  It was a good presentation, then we were off to a Champagne luncheon for all those who belong to the Mariners Association (1900 on board this ship).  Needless to say it was well attended. 

Then I was off to another Digital presentation on another way to edit pictures.  Very easy and quick if you know the shortcuts which I now do.  Back to the cabin for a bit of a warm up time – the ship is well equipped with air conditioning and it is 25C outside so it is easy to warm up quickly. 

We then went to High Tea in the Queens Lounge with the show band playing and a number of folk dancing.  The only criticism we had was that – well before the performance was over the wait staff were clearing things off the table – including the table cloths.  We found it a bit rude to say the least.  A negative comment for our review. 

Tonight was Surf and Turf - Gala Night in the Dining

 
Room so we got dressed in our best garb and went for a lovely dinner.   I of course had Surf and Turf but Harry had to settle for a great Ravioli dinner.  Then it was onto the final great production entitled Off The Charts. This was an incredible performance with the dance team and the cruise band consisting of two pianists, two guitar players and a drummer who obviously enjoyed his work.  The focus of the performance was Bllboard winners over the past many years dating back to the 70’s.

At the end of the performance we ventured a short distance to the Billboard Lounge where our favorite dual piano players were performing country tunes.  They were really great!  Then it was off to bed to prepare.

Sunday November 20th, 2016 - Oranjestad Aruba

Well we docked in Aruba but while we were lying in bed we heard a great thunderous roar – but soon realized it was in fact thunder, and when we looked out our window the rain was coming down so hard that we couldn’t even see the shore.  It continued like that much of the morning as a result all of the excursions for the day were cancelled.  Not so much for the rain which did ease up, but because the streets were flooded.  We looked out later in the day and noted that the water was up to the hubcaps on the vehicles outside.  As a result we decided not to venture out.  Those who did came back with very wet shoes and feet.

So what we did do was to sit on the deck and I worked on my petit point and Harry played games on the computer and read the Canadian newsletter that is published daily. 

Later in the day I fought for a while with the internet and finally, by going down to the front desk I managed to get the Konningsdam screen up and bought some time on WIFI.  Very expensive but good, so I got most of our blogs up and was able to download the Naramata documents. 

After a lovely supper with Maria (the gal with the post polio syndrome) we made our way to the world stage where a very funny magician/comedian (Neal Austin) was performing.  After the show we made our way to the billboard lounge where the young couple were performing Beatles Music – they do a great job, and the young woman is an amazing pianist and both sing very well and seem to have fun with the performance.  

Saturday November 19th, 2016 – Willemstad Curacao

We started this morning a bit earlier than usual in that we booked an excursion which we thought would set out at 1, but instead – set out at 9 AM.  So a quick breakfast – I did a few laps then we were off the ship.  The ship had actually arrived close to midnight last night so there was no waiting to get the day going. 

Our excursion was a 3 ½ hour bus ride around the central area of the island of Curacao.  The first stop was at the distillery that makes Chobolo liquer.  This is made from the dried peel of a locally grown small bitter orange, then has added alcohol, spices, flavours and colors.  We had some small samples of their latest experiments with flavours from Tamarind, Chocolate and an orange flavour.  The traditional drink is actually blue.  The samples were great but we resisted buying as we can take it on board, but have to turn it in until the end of the journey so decided we might pick it up sometime later.

The next stop was in the Hato Caves – we were given an explanation of the formation of these caves, dating back many centuries before the ice age.  They were also used by the escaping slaves during the long period of slave labour back in the 19^th century. 

The next and final stop was to the historic museum.  It was originally a slave/plantation owners hoe which is now home to a few well preserved pieces of furniture plus the front of the first KLM flight that flew from Amsterdam to Curacao.  The island was of course until recently part of the Netherlands so one of the primary languages on the island is Dutch, along with English, Spanish and a native language. 

Then back to the ship for lunch then I went out exploring the town in the 29C degree weather, stopping to explore many of the shops, more for the fans than the merchandise.  Then back to the ship – stopping on the way to send out a FB message.  On the sea days – I will breakdown and buy a Wifi package so I can upload this blog and get on line for the Naramata Board Meeting next weekend.

Dinner tonight was a Caribbean Barbecue on the Lido deck - fabulous food and lots of folks around.  We finished the evening with a performance on the World Stage with Spencer Robson a singer and impressionist.  His voice was amazing and he really didn’t need to do the impressions of famous singers as his voice and the back up musicians were fabulous enough!  The back up musicians include one piano player, two guitars, a fellow an electric piano and a really great drummer who was obviously enjoying performing.  All in all a great show – the off to our room for wine and finish this blog.

We pull out of port around midnight and head to Aruba tomorrow morning