Scrabble at Sea

We usually post about the places we visit, but here's a little bit about how we spend our time on the ship. On days at sea, we often sit in the Sanctuary, or if it's too cool there, in one of the lounges (Wheelhouse is a particular favorite of mine) and play Scrabble. This time my mother and I both forgot to bring the travel Scrabble board, so we stopped at a Barnes & Noble in Fort Lauderdale to pick one up - it's an essential item for one of our trips! So far we've probably played 7 or 8 games, sometimes a couple games in a row. In our last match, my mother started her turns with a "bingo" (Scrabble jargon for using all 7 letters at once), playing "FAVORITE" off my first word for an extra 50 points. Our games are quite competitive; we used to argue about words a lot until we started bringing an iPad with a dictionary on it.

Here's a photo of my mother playing a word during one of our games in the Sanctuary, which is a very relaxing and comfortable place to play.

Diving in St. Thomas

At our stop on St. Thomas, I went on a diving excursion with Blue Island Divers, a local dive shop that some of my mother's friends had recommended. It was a very nice day of diving - extremely personal, with just me and 2 other tourists, plus the divemaster, we had a lot of freedom to do and see whatever we wanted underwater. We went to two sites: the first was the more exciting and spectacular, the wreck of the tugboat WIT power. Sitting upright in about 90 feet of water, this wreck was an interesting place to see marine life, including many schools of fish and big turtles. My diving companions were interested in hunting for lionfish, an invasive species that divers often try to eradicate whenever possible, and also catching lobster. The second site was a reef close to shore, just off some cliffs. Because it was very shallow, we spent almost an hour underwater, swimming from one mound of coral to another and taking in the tropical flora and fauna. It had been a long time since I'd had an opportunity to dive (the last time we went on this same Caribbean cruise, actually), so this experience was a lot of fun for me. The Blue Island captain and divemaster were very friendly and professional, and it was overall an excellent excursion.

I had a disposable underwater camera with me, and will post some pictures after returning home and getting them developed!

March 13 - A Sunny Day in St. Maarten

This morning we arrived at  Philipsburg, St. Maarten.  Until a few years ago the Dutch side of the island was a territory of the Netherlands Antilles, but in October 2010 it became an independent constituent country of the Netherlands.  The other, slightly larger side of the island (St. Martin), remains a department of France.

I was anticipating large crowds in town today because there were 4 other ships there in addition to ours.  As it turns out it wasn’t too bad.  Two of the ships were small ones anchored near Marigot on the French side, and many passengers on our side must have gone to beaches.

We took the boat across the harbor to the downtown area and did a walkaround.  There are the usual jewelry, camera and trash and trinkets stores.  Katie picked up a few things while I just wandered.  Along the sea walk by the beach there were a lot of little cafes and restaurants, but it was too early for lunch so we just walked by.  There were a few rough looking little boats beached and with for sale signs.  One caught my eye with its  “Heaven is My Way” slogan painted on the side.

After walking the length of the main street we decided to head back to the ship and spend the afternoon relaxing.  We went up to our chairs at the Sanctuary.  By the time we came down to our cabin, the sun was getting ready to set and we got this lovely photo of the sun just sinking past the horizon.  

March 12 - A Lazy Sea Day

Today was a full day at sea sailing north of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  The skies were partly to mostly cloudy and the temperature was very pleasant in the high 70’s.

After breakfast we went to the Sanctuary and spent most of the rest of the day there.  Katie graded some quizzes from one of her classes.  When she finished we began our Scrabble tournament.  As usual she beat me soundly both games.  After a fairly late and light lunch, we came back to the cabin and I sat for a while on the veranda enjoying the sound of the wake splashing behind us and watching the clouds move by.  It’s very mesmerizing!

Around sunset we went up to Skywalkers, the lounge on Deck 18 all the way aft, and had a drink and watched the sun go down. There was a band of clouds just above the horizon with enough distance between it and the sea that we could see the fiery ball slowly sink as if going into the ocean.  Tonight was the night that was supposed to be the optimal evening to see the comet heading toward the sun about half an hour after sunset and low on the horizon.  Unfortunately there were too many clouds for us to catch even a glimpse.

For dinner we went to the Crown Grill.  It was formal night and many people were dressed up in their finery.  We enjoy seeing everyone all decked out.  We got our photo taken (we’ll see the results tomorrow).  It was a nice, relaxing day  Tomorrow we’ll be in St. Maarten.

The Sanctuary, our quiet haven during the days at sea

Princess Cays

Today we visited Princess Cays on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera, the cruise line's private beach. While my mother stayed on the ship and relaxed, I went ashore via tender to spend a little time at the beach. As the tender pulls into the inlet at Princess Cays, you know that your tropical vacation has truly begun. The weather was sunny and warm, but not hot, and pleasantly breezy, and the palm tree-covered beach was just perfect. I brought my snorkeling gear ashore with me and took a slow swim around the reef (after making sure that the backs of my legs & back were thoroughly slathered with sunblock). The water where snorkelers enter was cloudy from the sand being kicked up, but once I got further down the shoreline, it was a peaceful swim over a pretty reef. Tropical fish in yellows and blues nibbled and schooled among waving coral fronds.

After my swim, it was time for lunch at the barbecue buffet. One nice thing about Princess Cays is that everything works just like on the ship - food is included, and incidentals like beverages can be purchased on your cruise card. The grill buffet was really quite tasty, and I had a beef hot dog charred just how I like it, along with some salads and sides. Beyond the watersports, there's not a lot to do in Princess Cays unless you want to sunbathe, so at that point I just headed back to the ship. Today was a relaxing introduction to the Caribbean, and tomorrow we're looking forward to a leisurely day at sea.

March 10 - Embarkation Day Chaos!

We awoke to a beautiful day with a nice breeze and partly sunny skies.  After a leisurely breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and were on our way.  I would definitely stay at Turnberry Isle again.

We had realized the night before that neither of us brought a travel Scrabble game ( a must for our vacations!) so we stopped at a Barnes and Noble and bought a new game. 

After dropping off our rental car at the airport we took a cab to the port.  It was around 1 PM so we thought we would be late enough to have missed the initial rush and lines of people waiting to check in.  Not so! The previous cruise had a hundred or so people with gastrointestinal problems the last day of the cruise.  Therefore, the crew went into Code Red mode and the ship had to be thoroughly sanitized before any new people were allowed to board.  While we were thankful that Princess took this stance, it was clear that the shoreside staff were overwhelmed.  New passengers were dropped off at the correct terminal but then had to walk to an adjacent building.  There were really insufficient staff around to tell people where to go or what to do, so like sheep we just all followed along with the flock.  In the second building there were no organized lines for checking on nor was there any indication where to go once you had.  At one point a female passenger stood up and was giving everyone around her information on what was happening and when we would be able to board.  It was at that point that I decided to find a Princess employee who could give accurate information.  When I showed her our cruise card, she told me that we could proceed up the elevator and board the ship.  We were on a few moments later.

The ship is in excellent shape and looks spotlessly clean.  For example, the deck chairs, tables and railings on our balcony all look like they have been recently refinished and varnished as does the floor.  Our cabin steward John just returned from his vacation.  Poor man; to come back to a ship that is topsy-turvy with cleaning and changing all soft goods in the cabins must be difficult.

We sailed late because of the delayed embarkation.  We had brought a William & Mary banner which we hung over the railing as we sailed down the channel so that our husbands could see us on the port webcam.   We were on our cell phones with them and sure enough they could see us as did my friend Judy in California!  We thought that was pretty cool!

Katie with our W&M banner as we sail away

The seas as we headed southeast were calm and expected to remain that way.  After a drink before dinner at Adagio and dinner at Sabatinis, we called it a night.

A beautiful sunset as we head east

March 9, 2013 - Fort lauderdale and Aventura, Florida

Today we began our annual trip together.  This is a momentous year as we celebrate two big events.  A few weeks ago Katie successfully defended her dissertation so she’s Dr. Katie. Even more life-changing, she and Stan were married so she’s Mrs. Dr. Katie!

We flew separately and uneventfully to Ft. Lauderdale on JetBlue flights.  It was my first time on that airline and I was impressed with their aircraft and service.  This year we are spending just one night before our cruise on the Ruby Princess.  The timing fit in very neatly with Katie’s spring break.  We chose the Turnberry Isle Resort in Aventura, located between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

This hotel includes a golf course, pools, and tennis courts in a lovely compound of Spanish style stucco buildings.  It’s across the street from the Aventura Mall, a huge place with hundreds of stores, but one would never know it because all you all you hear and see in this enclave is the splash of water in the fountains and the rustle of the leaves of the palm trees as the wind blows.

One of the hotel courtyards and pools

After checking into our room which was gorgeous, we took the shuttle to the mall for a little window shopping.  It’s evident that south Floridians are much more fashion conscious and stylish than we are in our parts of Virginia and North Carolina.  We did a lot of people watching and Katie tried on a few things but nothing really caught her eye enough to buy it.

Back at our hotel we had a drink before dinner and then a light dinner in one of the hotel’s restaurants.  After an enjoyable day we decided it was time for bed.  Clocks get turned forward an hour tonight so we’ll lose an hour of sleep.

Tomorrow we board the Ruby Princess!