Early morning flight to Halifax, then we'll stay in our apartment overnight before heading home on Monday. We'll have to get up at 4:30 ish, so will be tired. Dean has our car, so he and Remi will be picking us up.
I've been reading an amazing book that Gerry got me for Christmas, called "Balance...nature's way to heal your body" by Susan Manion Macdonald, of Amherst. She healed herself after a diagnosis of terminal cancer in 2002. I have been intrigued with this concept since my brother Wade was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the fall, and went to South Dakota for detoxing.
The same path that Dad took by going to Mexico for alternative treatment..... Wade is doing well in his process to get rid of his cancer, I've already learned alot from him, and I want to detox to PREVENT cancer!
So, this blog is going to turn into a health blog this winter, if anyone is interested, as I (and hopefully Gerry) try to make some changes toward this direction of detoxing our bodies and eating even better.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Our week in Florida - Jan 16 -22
Our timeshare exchange was not ready until 4, we got off the ship at 9, so got our rented car and headed south to the keys. Had a great lunch and stop at Robbie's Marina in Islamadora, the best burrito's ever!! Checked out a few RV parks, nice state park near Key Largo, with a coral reef. Might have to come back.
Our condo at Palm Beach Shores is lovely, nice deck overlooking the beach, kithenette, huge bathroom and bedroom. One b'bque chicken with salad was dinner, chicken soup for lunch and dinner again.
Then it was off on Tuesday to drive to Bradenton on the west coast to visit Bill and Donna Cox, our friends and neighbors at Lobster Point. Of course we had 2 days of wonderful food, wine and company at their huge but cozy winter home. Steak, a yummy salad one night and salad and great wild rice the 2nd night. Bill & Gerry golfed on Wed while Donna and I had a great walk thru the subdivision and then lunch at Ruby Tuesday and shopping at the outlet stores...bargains galore!
Thurs. we were off across the state again, northeast to Titusville to visit friends we met in BC last winter, Pat and Lorna. They are at the very posh "Great Outdoors Golf and RV Resort", 5000 people plus. Here there are permanent homes, most have an RV garage, sometimes also another garage...just too much!! Beautiful spot...we rent a golf cart to tour around to see the RV sites, homes, park models and the other sites like P & L's where you have an RV site plus a full suite with a florida room. That's where we are staying ,so we have our own washroom, hideabed, and they use the kitchen in this unit as it is bigger than their 5th wheel. We also tour the wetlands, 6 ponds, check out the golf course, the restaurant, pool, hobbyroom, etc, etc. Pretty amazing!
The men combined their skills and cooked a pork loin to perfection and Lorna did a bang up job on the veggies.
We drove back down the coast on Friday, looking for a quilt shop in Vero Beach and then found an excellent "world cuisine" restaurant called Stax. Gerry had a crab sandwich and I had the seared ahi tuna sandwich, both with fancy salad. Very delicious, I highly recommend this spot.
It's shrimp and salad at the condo after a walk on the white sand beach out front on Friday night and then a movie on tv - "Love and Other drugs", good, good!
Today we had hoped to sit in the sun, but it failed us. Fortunately it was there when we walked in the am, but not in the pm. Enjoyed the pool and hottub anyway and then are packing and going out to "Happy Fish" for dinner. It's a little Thai and Sushi spot a block or so away.
Our condo at Palm Beach Shores is lovely, nice deck overlooking the beach, kithenette, huge bathroom and bedroom. One b'bque chicken with salad was dinner, chicken soup for lunch and dinner again.
Then it was off on Tuesday to drive to Bradenton on the west coast to visit Bill and Donna Cox, our friends and neighbors at Lobster Point. Of course we had 2 days of wonderful food, wine and company at their huge but cozy winter home. Steak, a yummy salad one night and salad and great wild rice the 2nd night. Bill & Gerry golfed on Wed while Donna and I had a great walk thru the subdivision and then lunch at Ruby Tuesday and shopping at the outlet stores...bargains galore!
Thurs. we were off across the state again, northeast to Titusville to visit friends we met in BC last winter, Pat and Lorna. They are at the very posh "Great Outdoors Golf and RV Resort", 5000 people plus. Here there are permanent homes, most have an RV garage, sometimes also another garage...just too much!! Beautiful spot...we rent a golf cart to tour around to see the RV sites, homes, park models and the other sites like P & L's where you have an RV site plus a full suite with a florida room. That's where we are staying ,so we have our own washroom, hideabed, and they use the kitchen in this unit as it is bigger than their 5th wheel. We also tour the wetlands, 6 ponds, check out the golf course, the restaurant, pool, hobbyroom, etc, etc. Pretty amazing!
The men combined their skills and cooked a pork loin to perfection and Lorna did a bang up job on the veggies.
We drove back down the coast on Friday, looking for a quilt shop in Vero Beach and then found an excellent "world cuisine" restaurant called Stax. Gerry had a crab sandwich and I had the seared ahi tuna sandwich, both with fancy salad. Very delicious, I highly recommend this spot.
It's shrimp and salad at the condo after a walk on the white sand beach out front on Friday night and then a movie on tv - "Love and Other drugs", good, good!
Today we had hoped to sit in the sun, but it failed us. Fortunately it was there when we walked in the am, but not in the pm. Enjoyed the pool and hottub anyway and then are packing and going out to "Happy Fish" for dinner. It's a little Thai and Sushi spot a block or so away.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Jan 15 - Nassau
5ships in port
Police people in Bahamas......watching football on the big screen on next ship over.........
We don't dock until afternoon, so we both make use of the fitness centre and the walking deck, then G goes for a body composition analysis - he has 10 pounds of water he is told....a cream can fix that (they are always trying to sell something!)....I get an acupuncture treatment for my sciatica, and some chinese herbs, hope it all works!
In the afternoon we get off in Nassau and leave the crowds taking the water taxi to Atlantis...we walk across the bridge and into Atlantis....the resort, casino, beaches...hugh and amazing. We don't take any tours, don't feel like we have time to fully enjoy, so just walk around and then take water taxi back to downtown to take in the straw market - lots of women packed into a market, making straw bags, purses, and selling knock-off bags and their wares, as well as the usual t-shirts and trinkets.
We have not bought much this whole trip, a tank top, dark chocolate and some fresh spices, but find some small purses here...otherwise everything looks the same and we've seen it before.
Sea Day
There are lots of educational and other activities available each day on the ship.
Today we go to:
- session on acupuncture
- session on golf chipping
- session on shopping in Nassau
- beginners tai chi
You can guess which one of us went to which.
Otherwise, there was just plain laying in the sun, reading, deciding where to eat and what entertainment to enjoy in the evening. We go to dinner in the dining room, it is the 3rd formal night and we have a table to ourselves by the window. Nice young (almost 50) couple next to us from Houston. Wine, food, activities, cruising are discussed while we have our Maine Lobster and filet mignon. Life is tough! Broadway show is on for entertainment and it is very impressive...the quality of the entertainers is amazing...so much has changed in the almost 10 yrs since we have cruised before.
Today we go to:
- session on acupuncture
- session on golf chipping
- session on shopping in Nassau
- beginners tai chi
You can guess which one of us went to which.
Otherwise, there was just plain laying in the sun, reading, deciding where to eat and what entertainment to enjoy in the evening. We go to dinner in the dining room, it is the 3rd formal night and we have a table to ourselves by the window. Nice young (almost 50) couple next to us from Houston. Wine, food, activities, cruising are discussed while we have our Maine Lobster and filet mignon. Life is tough! Broadway show is on for entertainment and it is very impressive...the quality of the entertainers is amazing...so much has changed in the almost 10 yrs since we have cruised before.
Barbadoes
Wooden pulpit in church, slave emancipation statue, movie location and a beautiful beach...
Pictures - St Lucia Market, fishermen,
The hat worn by single women on holidays and special occasions.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Jn 13 - St Thomas
The ship docked at 8, but we did not get off the ship until closer to 10, as we heard the night before that Gerry’s bro Joe was not expected to make it thru the night. He has been in the hospital for about a month and we learned today that he has had a brain stem stroke and his body is starting to shut down. We call and email family members to get updated, and find that Joe has rallied and Julie, Kevin, Brenda and Michelle and families are with him. Our thoughts & prayers are with them.
We look for info on hiking, but find there is none to speak of nearby, so get a taxi to Magen’s Bay where there is a short hike, then we walk the long while sand beach, but still feel like we need a longer walk, so we start to walk back to town, over the steep hill on very narrow roads. Here their cars are just like ours, but they drive on the opposite side of the road, so the drivers are always on the ditch side….very strange! It is a cloudy day, thank goodness as we are really on a challenging hike, when the cars and taxis (trucks with the back replaced by tram-like seating) are going both ways we have to hug the bushes or guardrail to be sure they can pass. After 1 hr we have made it over the hill and on the way down traffic is going faster and it seems narrower so we get in a taxi. They were constantly stopping to see if we wanted a ride…
Back in town we find lunch at Cuzzins Restaurant. G has conch fritters and I have veggie platter which is sweet potato (white), green banana (cooked), rice and beans and fungi (pronounced foonjy), which is ochre and cornmeal, quite yummy, mashed and cooked. I had to try it! We check out the stores, sooooo many diamond and jewellery stores on all the islands, don’t know how they all survive. Lots of duty free liquor, electronics and souvenirs of course.
Gerry walks on the track on deck 3, I shop awhile longer and then walk back to the ship, by now it is hot and is a long walk, so in the bath it is before dinner. Tonight in the dining room we sit with a large table of 10, 3 Australians, 1 gent from Montreal, a couple from Toronto and 2 ladies from California. It is noisy here at the front of the ship, so conversation is limited to those close by. Gerry has the Cornish hen and I have the cheese risotto, both are yummy. However, G’s tummy is not so good today, so he heads back to the room after dinner and I go to see the comedian Lee Bayliss in the lounge. He is very funny and most of his act is about this, his first cruise, with the small rooms, etc. After all our walking today we are toast by 10 pm.
We look for info on hiking, but find there is none to speak of nearby, so get a taxi to Magen’s Bay where there is a short hike, then we walk the long while sand beach, but still feel like we need a longer walk, so we start to walk back to town, over the steep hill on very narrow roads. Here their cars are just like ours, but they drive on the opposite side of the road, so the drivers are always on the ditch side….very strange! It is a cloudy day, thank goodness as we are really on a challenging hike, when the cars and taxis (trucks with the back replaced by tram-like seating) are going both ways we have to hug the bushes or guardrail to be sure they can pass. After 1 hr we have made it over the hill and on the way down traffic is going faster and it seems narrower so we get in a taxi. They were constantly stopping to see if we wanted a ride…
Back in town we find lunch at Cuzzins Restaurant. G has conch fritters and I have veggie platter which is sweet potato (white), green banana (cooked), rice and beans and fungi (pronounced foonjy), which is ochre and cornmeal, quite yummy, mashed and cooked. I had to try it! We check out the stores, sooooo many diamond and jewellery stores on all the islands, don’t know how they all survive. Lots of duty free liquor, electronics and souvenirs of course.
Gerry walks on the track on deck 3, I shop awhile longer and then walk back to the ship, by now it is hot and is a long walk, so in the bath it is before dinner. Tonight in the dining room we sit with a large table of 10, 3 Australians, 1 gent from Montreal, a couple from Toronto and 2 ladies from California. It is noisy here at the front of the ship, so conversation is limited to those close by. Gerry has the Cornish hen and I have the cheese risotto, both are yummy. However, G’s tummy is not so good today, so he heads back to the room after dinner and I go to see the comedian Lee Bayliss in the lounge. He is very funny and most of his act is about this, his first cruise, with the small rooms, etc. After all our walking today we are toast by 10 pm.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Jan 12 - Martinique
We are in port early today and out early, 7 – 1, but we don’t plan to go far today, so we have breakfast in the dining room, wonderful eggs Florentine (eggs benny with some spinach), and fruit. We are seated with a couple from Ohio, great chat while watching the steep shoreline of Fort-de-France, Martinique.
We walk into the town, there are young girls and boys dancing at the terminal entrance. Mart. Belongs to France, lots of creole here, not many who speak English, but enough to manage. We walk around and look at the statues, church, square and some shops. They only take euros here, so we have to plan if we want to buy anything as we don’t have any euros. It is a very hot day, Gerry heads back to the ship and I walk the narrow streets and look in the little shops. It is a lot like New Orleans, old buildings, lots of work to be done to clean up buildings and streets. Cute place though.
We are back onboard and off cruising by lunch. We sit out by the pool in the sun for awhile then it rains, so in to read on deck, then G for a walk on the track on deck 3 and I head for a bicycle in the gym.
At dinner we sit with 2 older couples and we find out one gentleman, who looks like 80 is 91!! They have 3 daughters, they married when she was 20 and he was 50, and had children after that, so he is only now a grandfather to 2 kids under 2!! Afterwards we watch the “Battle of the Sexes” in the theatre, very funny, 3 women, 3 men, have to answer questions the same on each side to get points.
We walk into the town, there are young girls and boys dancing at the terminal entrance. Mart. Belongs to France, lots of creole here, not many who speak English, but enough to manage. We walk around and look at the statues, church, square and some shops. They only take euros here, so we have to plan if we want to buy anything as we don’t have any euros. It is a very hot day, Gerry heads back to the ship and I walk the narrow streets and look in the little shops. It is a lot like New Orleans, old buildings, lots of work to be done to clean up buildings and streets. Cute place though.
We are back onboard and off cruising by lunch. We sit out by the pool in the sun for awhile then it rains, so in to read on deck, then G for a walk on the track on deck 3 and I head for a bicycle in the gym.
At dinner we sit with 2 older couples and we find out one gentleman, who looks like 80 is 91!! They have 3 daughters, they married when she was 20 and he was 50, and had children after that, so he is only now a grandfather to 2 kids under 2!! Afterwards we watch the “Battle of the Sexes” in the theatre, very funny, 3 women, 3 men, have to answer questions the same on each side to get points.
Jan 11 - Barbados
Very lush countryside, lots of rainforest here! Eddy the taxi driver was first in line and he had a nice a/c van, he grabbed us for an island tour, but we had to wait 10 minutes while he recruited a few more people (then the price would go down, but it didn’t!). He gathered up another 8 folk from the ship and off we went, to see one of the churches (there are 110 religions on Barb….who knew there were that many anywhere??). Lots of mahogany trees here, so the churches have wonderful carved mahogany everything in them. Beautiful flowers, Christmas candle & pointsettia bushes, very lush. Eddy showed us the white sand beaches, but on the Atlantic side there are dangerous currents, so no swimming, but there is a surfing beach. They have green monkeys here, their bellies are green, and Blackbelly sheep that have…. Eddy said we would laugh when we saw their sheep…because they look like goats. Sugar cane (for brown sugar) is the second industry after tourism. They are very friendly and happy people.
Eddy dropped G & I off at Carlisle Beach, we had the National park lady take us to a scuba shop down the beach where we could go out on a boat with scuba divers, to snorkel over some shipwrecks that we had read about. We had lunch while we waited, fried flying fish which is the most common local fish. They are small and look like mackerel. So about 15 of us went out in a boat and Shaun was assigned to go with us. There are 2 sunken war ships and then someone has added a large anchor, a log, a barge and another ship, so it is very interesting to see the barnacles and sea life that has grown on these metal pieces, with lots of colourful tropical fish nearby. The sand here is pure white and the water clear aqua, so it is easy to see everything and the bottom is only about 40 ft. It was cool to watch the divers also, they were working on their advanced class. Shaun had a bag of bread pieces, he gave us each one and we fed the fish, so there were 100 pretty fish nibbling at our fingers. So cool, Gerry went back in and Shaun took my hand and we went around to all the shipwrecks again, so sweet!
We have recreated our “at home” routine here, our little drinky poo of rye, with a snack we have to plan to get at lunch when there is cheese and fruit available, put in fridge, pull out at 5:30 or so, sit on verandah, then shower for dinner. Dinner in the Vista Lounge, we have open seating (we can go anytime from 5 – 9), and we get seated with whomever else has just sat down, tables for 6 – 10. So it is always interesting to meet new couples or singles. People from all over Canada and US. All meals are 4 courses, apps, soup/salad, entrees, dessert, with lovely teas after. Tonight we sit with 2 couples, one from S Carolina, they have 2 adopted children, their daughter found out at 35 that she had a twin sister and they wrote a book together called “Identical Strangers”!! Sounds fascinating, I have to read it! Later we attended the Lido Pool Party, Caribbean party, with glow lights and lots of music and dancing. The rec coordinator, Jazzy keeps everyone moving and showing line dancing, etc.
Eddy dropped G & I off at Carlisle Beach, we had the National park lady take us to a scuba shop down the beach where we could go out on a boat with scuba divers, to snorkel over some shipwrecks that we had read about. We had lunch while we waited, fried flying fish which is the most common local fish. They are small and look like mackerel. So about 15 of us went out in a boat and Shaun was assigned to go with us. There are 2 sunken war ships and then someone has added a large anchor, a log, a barge and another ship, so it is very interesting to see the barnacles and sea life that has grown on these metal pieces, with lots of colourful tropical fish nearby. The sand here is pure white and the water clear aqua, so it is easy to see everything and the bottom is only about 40 ft. It was cool to watch the divers also, they were working on their advanced class. Shaun had a bag of bread pieces, he gave us each one and we fed the fish, so there were 100 pretty fish nibbling at our fingers. So cool, Gerry went back in and Shaun took my hand and we went around to all the shipwrecks again, so sweet!
We have recreated our “at home” routine here, our little drinky poo of rye, with a snack we have to plan to get at lunch when there is cheese and fruit available, put in fridge, pull out at 5:30 or so, sit on verandah, then shower for dinner. Dinner in the Vista Lounge, we have open seating (we can go anytime from 5 – 9), and we get seated with whomever else has just sat down, tables for 6 – 10. So it is always interesting to meet new couples or singles. People from all over Canada and US. All meals are 4 courses, apps, soup/salad, entrees, dessert, with lovely teas after. Tonight we sit with 2 couples, one from S Carolina, they have 2 adopted children, their daughter found out at 35 that she had a twin sister and they wrote a book together called “Identical Strangers”!! Sounds fascinating, I have to read it! Later we attended the Lido Pool Party, Caribbean party, with glow lights and lots of music and dancing. The rec coordinator, Jazzy keeps everyone moving and showing line dancing, etc.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Jan 10 - St Lucia
some French, some british influence here, but the people on both of these 2 islands are decendants from African slaves. Both places derive most of their income from tourism, but unfortunately are very pushy salespeople. You really almost have to be rude and say no thank you many times…
We plan to do a rainforest hike (the 3 of us, with Jara), but much of those areas were flooded and had mudslides in October with Hurricane Thomas, so we cannot go. Instead we walk to the town of Castries, 2 km or so, walk around the markets, get a taxi to Vigil Beach and have a beach walk. Then a taxi back to the market to walk around some more. Bought some more fresh spices today, cute package in a coconut shell. Looked everywhere for a tank top with their slogan of “LIVE SLOW”, but only t-shirts. It is a shorter day in port, so we are back on the ship by 1:30 to relax on our verandah. Gerry did all our laundry in the bath tub, so tonight our deck looks like a chinese laundry, but things are drying fast at 80 degrees!
Dinner of salmon for G and Spinach Ricotta Lasagna for S in the Vista DR, with a group of 9, all the rest are from the US, New Orleans, Washington wheat farmers, Ohio and Atlanta. Lots of travel talk and the food was yummy. Lucky for us they charged us for a glass of wine instead of a bottle, bonus!!
We caught the end of the Celtic entertainment in the lounge, had our photo taken (on our camera) as it is formal night, took a picture of a cute dog with a tuxedo bib on in the picture gallery, but then was accosted by the photo gallery police and had to delete from my camera as it is their property! Trouble tonight! So safer doing this in the room….then off to bed early as it is a full day in Barbados tomorrow.
We plan to do a rainforest hike (the 3 of us, with Jara), but much of those areas were flooded and had mudslides in October with Hurricane Thomas, so we cannot go. Instead we walk to the town of Castries, 2 km or so, walk around the markets, get a taxi to Vigil Beach and have a beach walk. Then a taxi back to the market to walk around some more. Bought some more fresh spices today, cute package in a coconut shell. Looked everywhere for a tank top with their slogan of “LIVE SLOW”, but only t-shirts. It is a shorter day in port, so we are back on the ship by 1:30 to relax on our verandah. Gerry did all our laundry in the bath tub, so tonight our deck looks like a chinese laundry, but things are drying fast at 80 degrees!
Dinner of salmon for G and Spinach Ricotta Lasagna for S in the Vista DR, with a group of 9, all the rest are from the US, New Orleans, Washington wheat farmers, Ohio and Atlanta. Lots of travel talk and the food was yummy. Lucky for us they charged us for a glass of wine instead of a bottle, bonus!!
We caught the end of the Celtic entertainment in the lounge, had our photo taken (on our camera) as it is formal night, took a picture of a cute dog with a tuxedo bib on in the picture gallery, but then was accosted by the photo gallery police and had to delete from my camera as it is their property! Trouble tonight! So safer doing this in the room….then off to bed early as it is a full day in Barbados tomorrow.
Jan 9 - St Maarten
our first stop in the Caribbean. Small island, ½ dutch, ½ French. We dock on the dutch side at Phillipsburg, nice port, we take a water taxi to get across to where the town is. We find a taxi and driver “Jean” the dancing machine. He takes the 3 of us (Jara, a lady we have met from Seattle is with us) on an island tour, we have several stops in mind, the French capital Marigot, Orient Beach (nude), Grand Cas (the gourmet town), Maho Beach where the planes land low over the beach and back to Phillipsburg. We have a swim at Orient Beach (not nude for us), walk around Marigot, up to the fort, and down at the harbour. It is Sunday, so most of the town is closed, but it is lovely. Bill Gates’ yacht is moored in the harbour. We buy fresh spices in Grand Cas and then look around the shops in Phillipsburg. Lots of the usual Caribbean style clothes, lots of jewellery and TONS of diamond stores! Electronics are cheap here, all duty free. We find some cheap brandy, cigars and vodka. We have to give up the vodka when we board the ship, but that is ok it is for gifts anyway. They do not detect the brandy, wrapped up in our towel, we want that for the room, so all is good.
We have an exquisite dinner for 2 at the Pinnacle Grill, where they specialize in steaks. I have steak and shrimp with creamed spinach and sautéed mushrooms, Gerry has cedar planked sea bass, both are delish. We share a decadent chocolate poofy thing.
Likely no pictures until we get off the ship as it takes too much time online here, so stay tuned.
We have an exquisite dinner for 2 at the Pinnacle Grill, where they specialize in steaks. I have steak and shrimp with creamed spinach and sautéed mushrooms, Gerry has cedar planked sea bass, both are delish. We share a decadent chocolate poofy thing.
Likely no pictures until we get off the ship as it takes too much time online here, so stay tuned.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Jan 8 - 2nd day at sea
we sleep in, have a lovely healthy breakfast and then while Gerry checks emails, I go on the kitchen tour. Amazing how they put out 12000 meals with 173 staff and about 1900 guests. They use 11830 lbs of beef each week, 137,500 lbs of vegs, 7750 lbs of potatoes, 23,040 eggs, 362 cses of soda, 1636 bottles of wine, etc. including 3500 lbs of rice for the crew who are mostly from Indonesia. Lots of recycling and incinerating and crushing happens onboard, so that is good to hear.
On my walk around the track on level 3, I run into Jara both days, we met at the hotel in Ft Lauderdale, she is from Seattle and is very outdoorsy. We discuss plans for port days and she wants to come with us to do some active activities, she says: as long as you aren’t honeymoony and want to hold hands…no problem, we’ll try to keep our hands off of each other …!
This afternoon we sit in the sun for awhile and relax, about 80 degrees, but with a nice breeze, and then spend about 2 hours in the “Spa” on a day pass – sauna, steam room, heated ceramic lounge chairs and a hydropool with many jets.
Dinner on Sat night is at the Italian restaurant, so we have pasta and wine from Italy. For dessert everyone gets lemon cotton candy, just for a joke, along with anything you order. The food is all pretty amazing, lots of very tasty and healthy items, although I am searching for healthy bread at times. The bread is all baked onboard, and desserts are all made here also.
On my walk around the track on level 3, I run into Jara both days, we met at the hotel in Ft Lauderdale, she is from Seattle and is very outdoorsy. We discuss plans for port days and she wants to come with us to do some active activities, she says: as long as you aren’t honeymoony and want to hold hands…no problem, we’ll try to keep our hands off of each other …!
This afternoon we sit in the sun for awhile and relax, about 80 degrees, but with a nice breeze, and then spend about 2 hours in the “Spa” on a day pass – sauna, steam room, heated ceramic lounge chairs and a hydropool with many jets.
Dinner on Sat night is at the Italian restaurant, so we have pasta and wine from Italy. For dessert everyone gets lemon cotton candy, just for a joke, along with anything you order. The food is all pretty amazing, lots of very tasty and healthy items, although I am searching for healthy bread at times. The bread is all baked onboard, and desserts are all made here also.
Jan 7 - 1st day at sea
rough seas for awhile : 7 – 12 ft swells. The gentle rolls make it difficult to balance at my 9 am yoga class, but otherwise we don’t notice much. Gerry works for the morning, I take in a 10 am seminar in the fitness room on detox and weight loss. It is very similar info to the book I am reading called Balance, written by a lady from Halifax. Not the right book to read on a cruise…! The instructor Allysa has just graduated from U of S, so will have to catch up to her later. I meet Gerry at an 11 am session on shopping tips for our first 2 ports, but it is all about buying jewellery at the shops that Holland America has deals with! I attend free Bingo to try to win prizes, one card each, and several other free draws, but we win….nothing!
Dinner on our 2nd night is formal night and we dine at the Vista lounge and are seated with 6 others, 2 ladies from NY, 2 ladies from Oakville and a couple from Sydney, BC. Lots of great banter and chatter, a lively group! When we leave at 9, I check out the entertainment but it is burlesquey, Gerry heads to the casino.
We have a Meet and Greet with a group that was arranged online at Cruise Critic.com, from all over NA, staff from the ship come to answer questions and we meet 15 or so others. One couple from Ottawa. Good to find out what other people are planning for activities at the port stops.
Dinner on our 2nd night is formal night and we dine at the Vista lounge and are seated with 6 others, 2 ladies from NY, 2 ladies from Oakville and a couple from Sydney, BC. Lots of great banter and chatter, a lively group! When we leave at 9, I check out the entertainment but it is burlesquey, Gerry heads to the casino.
We have a Meet and Greet with a group that was arranged online at Cruise Critic.com, from all over NA, staff from the ship come to answer questions and we meet 15 or so others. One couple from Ottawa. Good to find out what other people are planning for activities at the port stops.
the rest of Jan 6
Got on ship no problems, quite quickly despite lineups, by 1:00, lovely salad for lunch outside by the pool while waiting for our room to be ready. Got oriented to the layout of the ship and then our room was available, so we unpacked our 2 carryons. Before we knew it our big bag was there and our 40 oz plastic bottle of rye undetected, yippee! We can have our pre-dinner drinks on our verandah!
Gerry went to a class about Texas Hold Em before dinner then a practice round and we had the Carribbean barbeque at the poolside, then back to the casino. He won, I lost. They allow smoking in the casino and many other places outside, we are surprised…
Gerry went to a class about Texas Hold Em before dinner then a practice round and we had the Carribbean barbeque at the poolside, then back to the casino. He won, I lost. They allow smoking in the casino and many other places outside, we are surprised…
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Waiting for the Cruise ship - Jan 6
Arrived safely in Fort Lauderdale last night, ready for shuttle to cruise port this morning, then we set sail at 5:00. We'll be two days at sea, before our first stop at St. Maartens. Wonderful warm sunny day here.
We broke our rule of no checked bags on this trip as there is just too many fancy clothes you need for the cruise dinners, which are not the clothes we can wear for walking and touring during the day, so had to break down and bring a big suitcase...tsk, tsk!
We're also testing the rules on Holland America for taking alcohol on board, we have something tucked in the big bag...let's see what happens...
Till next time.
We broke our rule of no checked bags on this trip as there is just too many fancy clothes you need for the cruise dinners, which are not the clothes we can wear for walking and touring during the day, so had to break down and bring a big suitcase...tsk, tsk!
We're also testing the rules on Holland America for taking alcohol on board, we have something tucked in the big bag...let's see what happens...
Till next time.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Off a Cruisin'
Jan 4, 2011 - Had a wonderful day here at our sub-let in Bedford, picked up Remi for the day at 10:30, playing doctor, lunch, struggled to get her down for a nap, but she flaked out for more than 2 hrs. in the spare room with a "closet bed" she calls it. Great walk on the waterfront, checkin out the neighborhood, while Grampy stayed with her. More playing and getting dinner ready. Our first dinner with Dean, Anne and Remi in our apartment! Leftover fondue food from New Years Eve, cooked in broth on a hot plate at the table, our new fun method.
Leaving tomorrow, flight to Ft. Lauderdale, then:
Holland America cruise - Southern Caribbean - Jan 6 -16, from Ft. Lauderdale.
Minimal blogging, but will post where we are, general activities and of course the food!
Leaving tomorrow, flight to Ft. Lauderdale, then:
Holland America cruise - Southern Caribbean - Jan 6 -16, from Ft. Lauderdale.
Minimal blogging, but will post where we are, general activities and of course the food!
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