Caribbean Cruise 2006

2006-11-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2006

San Juan PR

Well that's all folks. We were out of our state rooms about 8 AM and waited in the theater for several hours before we were released to get our luggage and transfer to the airport for the trip home.

We had some really neat experiences throughout the trip.
On the first night we went to the buffet and sat down with a couple we did not know. Toby and Mary joined us and we got to talking. We found out that the couple we sat with were from Long Island, Huntington, near where Toby lived in Northport. So the names started being dropped. Soon other friends of those we sat with were crowded around the table and boy did the stories fly.

Another time Suzette and I joined a couple of women and it turned out one of them, Vi, was from the town where Suzette was stationed at Ft. McClellan near Weaver Alabama. So they got to talking about where and when. Vi was just so excited that she met someone on the cruise who knew were her home town was.

One of our pleasures was our dinner companions. Of course Toby, Mary, Suzette and I were a group but we were joined by Mark, Judy and their son Luke. Suzette and I had briefly met Mark, Judy and Luke at a pre cruise get together at Kissy's. We all enjoyed each others company for dinner.

We had one adventure on our return. Lost Luggage. It was eventually made it to Richmond airport and they were to send it to Charlottesville airport to be delivered to our home. Well when I checked online the luggage had arrived in LaGuardia. I sent a note to Delta's lost baggage link and received a note back that the luggage was being rerouted. Finally we received a call from Charlottesville that they had a bag with our name on it but they didn't know why. There was no airline tag. I gave them the lost baggage case number and they sent the bag right out. A few hours our dirty clothes were delivered to our door.

We had a great trip. The precruise planning that Mary did was fantastic and Toby and Senior Rita did a fine job of routing us around Puerto Rico.

Thanks to Kissy for another great cruise.

2006-11-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

November 10, 2006

St. Thomas

Yet another sailing excursion. You gotta love it. This time we are with Ondeck Ocean Racing. We thought we would be on Farr 65's but they had not arrived from Europe yet. So we were on Beneteau Distinction 40.7. This is much closer to what we were used to. As luck would have it there were only 5 from our ship to crew. Parker and Beth are also members of Kissy's group but we had not seen them so far during the cruise.
Once at the boat we were introduced to the captain and mate, Ocean and Billy. Which Suzette quickly dubbed Billy Ocean. Ocean was born on a yacht and has circumnavigated twice. Billy is a Flordia boy who bought a 1 way ticket because Flordia was not warm enough.
This was another match race and we just basically took positions. Suzette and Parker had the starbord jib sheet, Toby and I had the port jib sheet, Beth had the queen seat aft of the helm. Ocean did tactics and tended the main.
Once Billy found out that 3 of us had sailing experience he just knew we were going to win. And win we did.
This was a really fun boat to sail however the helm is quite sensitive.
At the victory party after the race the rum punch flowed and there were lots of things to purchase.
We decided not to do any shoping in St. Thomas since we had quite an exciting day. So back to the ship for some pool time and relaxation.

Tending the jib
Our sister ship in the background
Our sister ship
Beth enjoys the race
Enjoying the sail
Parker, Ocean and Billy
The last place boat
Another view of last place
Ocean at the helm
Parker and Suzette
My turn at the helm
Toby watches the main
After the race
The taxi's
Our last sunset

2006-11-20T17:42:00.000-08:00

November 9, 2006

St. Maarten

This is a beautful island. We did not get to see much since we had choosen another sailing excursion. This time we are on the 12 meter Americas Cup yachts. See 12 Metre Challenge for details on the boats.
The participants were split into 3 crews with a team captian for each crew choosen by the tour operator. Our team wanted to sail Stars & Stripes. Another team wanted the same boat so there was a coin toss. Our team captian called it right and we got Stars & Stripes. We were told that this was the boat that brought the cup back from down under. Think of the Jimmy Buffet song "Take it back".
We were taken to the boats by "launch", well a pontoon boat, since they had to off load the previous crew before we boarded. Prior to boarding we were assigned positions. I was a main grinder, Toby was on one of the running back stays and Suzette was the timer.
As we began a few practice manuvers it was discovered that one of the back stay winches was malfunctioning. This was repaired while we sailed along. Instead of a 6 minute flag for the start it was shortened to 3 minutes.
We had a fair start and lead Canada II and True North for a leg. We had a poor tack and were not able to regain the lead. Some of our crew were more talk than action. Such is life.
After the race we went to their boutique and were treated to rum punch. You could spend a lot of money at the boutique. We did buy replica crew T shirts and a picture.
It was great to see a 12 metre boat up close and personal. We had a good sail and we were the first American boat across the finish.

Welcome to St. Maarten
The bow of the Crown Princess
The beach at Phillipsburg
The cruise ship pier
US 55 under sail
I get a turn at the helm
The crew
Formal night

2006-11-20T17:10:00.000-08:00

November 8, 2006

Antigua

Today's adventure starts a little later, 9:15 AM, so we can sleep in and have a long breakfast. Then it is off to a catamaran snorkel and swim adventure. See Wadadli Cats for details on their boats and cruises. This was a great trip. We sailed for quite some time and then anchored near a reef and were fitted for snorkel gear. Once anchored we snorkeled for about an hour.

Once back on the boat we washed off with fresh water before getting underway. Once underway the party started. The bar opened and snacks were served. The rum punch flowed freely as did the soft drinks. We motored to a beach and swam for about another hour. Back underway lunch was served and the conga line formed complete with limbo bar. Those of us with limited flexibility did not partake of a sufficient quantity of rum punch to attempt the conga line or limbo bar. A good time was had by all.

On our snorkeling adventure
Fun with our disposable underwater camera
More fun with the camera
Swimming at the beach

2006-11-20T16:40:00.000-08:00

November 7, 2006

St. Lucia

Today's excursion is a sea kayak trip to Pegion Island. Which is nolonger an island since they built a causway some years ago. These were sit on kayaks with back rests. We did about a half hour paddle and then some snorkling and swiming followed by a light snack and drinks. No rum punch here.
After we returned to the ship we cleaned up and went to shore to shop. We got the ususal free stuff and returned to the ship.
Kayaking in a bay
Crown Princess from the market in St. Lucia
The market area and a rainbow
Stern of the Crown Princess
A lighthouse on St. Lucia
Gumby waves

I like this definition of a gumby,

A bureaucrat, or other technical incompetent who impedes the progress of real work.

Sunset as we leave St. Lucia

2006-11-20T12:53:00.000-08:00

November 6, 2006

Barbados

We arrived in Barbados about 0700. After breakfast we took a few pictures and the went to the assembly point to catch our tour, Yacht Racing Challenge.
Crown Princess and the Pier
The ships flags

We are on Martella an 80 foot Maxi ocean racing yacht. See link for more information.
Raising a main sail on a mast that extends about 90' above the deck is a lot of work. We had 4 people grinding. Although we lost the match race we had a great time. The most important part of this excursion was the victory party complete with food, rum punch, beer and soft drinks.
Hoisting the Main. Grind boys grind
Enjoying the race. Who's at the helm?
The captain talks to the crew
About to leave the pier

2006-11-20T12:38:00.000-08:00

November 5, 2006

This is a day at sea so we can relax and explore more of the ship. At dinner last night I signed up for a wine tasting. Suzette went to the "Discover Shopping Show" so she could learn how to shop, well really what is available in what port. Where to get the free stuff. Many of the shops such as Diamonds International offer some free gift to get you in the store and hopefully sell you something.

The wine tasting was interesting but I really didn't like any of the 5 wines we tasted. But I did get to keep a rather neat glass.

Tonight is the first of 2 formal dinners. We didn't get any good pictures of us dressed up. The food was excellent and we enjoyed dinner with Mark, Judy, Luke, Mary and Toby.

2006-11-20T12:05:00.000-08:00

November 4, 2006

At breakfast on the top floor of our hotel we could not see our ship at the pier stated on our ticket. Well maybe it will arrive a little later. Not to worry we can not start boarding until 1 PM.

We check out and the hotel allows us to leave our baggage in the lobby under the watchful eye of the desk clerk. Off to see El Morro and San Cristobal.

We return to the hotel and find that the ship has been moved to the Pan Am pier so we get a van and set off. We arrive sometime close to 2 PM to a loooong line in the sun as folks are checking in. I think it takes about an hour and a half to get checked in and on the ship.

We wait for our luggage and tour the ship. It is huge. 948 feet long, 118 feet wide with a maximum passenger capacity of 3500 and a crew of 1200. We sailed at 11 PM. We will be at sea on our way to Barbados.

El Morro
Looking toward San Cristobal from El Morro
The Lighthouse at El Morro
El Morro from San Cristobal
The tourists
Crown Princess as seen from the top of San Cristobal
A view of the sea from San Cristobal
El Morro from San Cristobal

2006-11-20T11:49:00.000-08:00

November 3, 2006

We returned from Vieques today and checked in to the same hotel we were at when we arrived. Another lucky day for parking. Once we had the baggage in the hotel we noticed that the vehicle behind us looked like they would be leaving soon. The driver confirmed our assumption. So when she left we merely backed into the space she vacated.

After we took our luggage to our rooms we went out to see if the ship was at the pier. It wasn't. While walking we found where to return the rental car the next morning.

The pier at sunset

2006-11-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

November 2, 2006
Esperanza, Vieques, PR

Since it was early season, really pre-season, there were only 2 restaurants open in Esperanza. Neither of which served breakfast on the days we were there. However the hotel folks suggested we go to the bakery a couple of blocks away.

The bakery
These are the ladies that own/operate the bakery. The one in the background is the owner and is from Mass.
The ladies at work
After a very good ham and egg sandwich and coffee Toby relaxes with the pastries he has purchased.
Toby relaxes after breakfast
Our hotel. It only had about 14 rooms. There was a deck on the roof which provided a good view of the bay. You could purchase some groceries as well as beer and hard liquor.
The hotel
This is Sun beach. It is about 1000 yards or more long. This picture only shows about 1/3 of the beach. There is more to the left. There were only 7 people on the beach when the four of us were there
Life on the beach
This picture shows the town pier as well as the clarity of the water. It was just beautiful
Town pier
These next two pictures show the town boardwalk. There is no access to the ocean. I think a hurricane may have reshaped the shore line.

The boardwalk
Suzette takes in the sites
This lighthouse is near the ferry terminal in Isabel Segunda.
The Lighthousee
The lighthouse as we depart Vieques. It seemed a common practice for the small boat captians to swim to shore after they put their craft on a mooring.
Departing on the ferry

2006-11-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

November 1, 2006
We have flown from Richmond Virginia to Puerto Rico. After an adventure with Hertz to get our van we were on our way to Old San Juan to find the Hotel Milano. Toby had purchased a Garmin GPS, which was named Rita, to help with the navigation while on the island. We found the hotel and found that there was no hotel parking. Oh good.
We moved the barriers that were in front of the hotel and unloaded our luggage. We found that we could park any where there was no yellow or blue line or a no parking sign.
Toby and I left to find a parking spot. As luck would have it a place one car ahead opened up and we were able to get in there. So goes day 1 10/31/2006.

The next morning, 11/1, we head out to El Yunque, the rain forest.

These banners were along the road leading to El Portal

The gateway to the visitors center. Our Golden Age Passport gave us a free pass.

Larry, Toby and Mary on the top of an observation tower. Carolina is in the back ground.

From the observation tower I zoomed in on Carolina.

A view of the top of El Yunque.

After visiting El Yunque we made our way to the ferry terminal and the ferry that would take us to Vieques. This is the island that the US Navy used for bombing practice. The points of interest here are the bioluminescent bay, http://islavieques.com/biobay.html

Sunset as we make land fall.