A blog about all kinds of things. I blog about places I've travelled to, shows and movies I've seen, restaurants I've tried, music I've listened to and products I've tried.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Once everyone was on board, we handed in our vouchers to Rupert our driver and set off. Just as we were getting ready to leave the pier area, Rupert got called back as some late arrivals showed up. So, we went back and got them. Then, we proceeded to drive up some of the hills surrounding Charlotte Amalie. It was an interesting drive.
The hills were very tropical and pretty. They gave great views of the town’s harbor. Driving to the other side of the hills, we saw great views of Magen’s Bay which was stunning. At one of our stops, we could see all of Charlotte Amalie’s harbor and found out that the Noordam (see St. Maarten blog entry) had followed us. It was tied up at the pier on the opposite side of town. Our driver/guide Rupert told us some of the history of the place as well as some of the other islands. There are 3 islands that form the U.S. Virgin Islands. They are St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. From our stop, we could easily see St. John. People from St. Thomas would take a ferry over there for a nice stroll along the beach and to relax. From there, we could also see Blackbeard’s Castle. Blackbeard didn’t own the tower. Someone recommended they name it after a pirate as it would presumably help the island draw tourists. They did and it worked. They have another tower named after Bluebeard.
After our tour of the hills around St. Thomas was done, Rupert dropped us off at Blackbeard’s castle. Here, another guide would take over. Unfortunately, I forget his name. He told us more of the pirates the island was famous for. They had a number of metal statues of the more famous ones including Blackbeard, Mary Read, Calico Jack and Captain Jack Avery who was a dead ringer for Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He also showed us a number of old buildings and why they were built the way they were. It was a fascinating tour. At the end, he dropped us off at the shopping area of Charlotte Amalie. It was then that my next ordeal began. What gift was I going to get my step-mom Kay?
I’d promised I get her something. However, I figured if I bought her a t-shirt. I’d be dead meat. She suggested some kind of fabric but I didn’t see any bolts of it. The shops were filled with touristy stuff like jewelry, especially jewelry. I did see some lace like stuff but, it didn’t wipe me out. Another problem was funds. I needed to get some dollars. Finally, I found a bank with an ATM. It was First Bank and they only charged $2 to use their ATM. I felt like saying Nyaah at the cruise ship with their $5.50 ATM charge.
The only idea for a good gift I could come up with was getting her a real silver Spanish coin. It went with the Caribbean theme and it would be a cool gift. Where to get one though? I didn’t want one that was set as jewelry. I wanted just a basic coin.
Another concern was Harvey. While I was prepared to explore far and wide through Charlotte Amalie, Harvey wasn’t. Harvey has had a hip replacement and doesn’t care to do tons of walking. I wanted to find something for Kay within a reasonable amount of time so I wouldn’t drag him all over the place.
I think it was Harvey who spotted S.O.S. Antiques. We walked in and they had unadorned Spanish silver coins. Cool! I looked at the various ones. Then, a saleslady came over and we started talking prices. Uh oh! Real Spanish silver coins aren’t cheap. The cheapest one cost $299! I had second thoughts about getting this for my step-mom and might’ve gotten her something else except I couldn’t think of anything else to get her. I remembered I didn’t buy her a Christmas present so maybe I could make this a combined present. That made the cost somewhat more reasonable. After speaking further with the saleslady, I settled on a class 4 coin which you could see the coat of arms on and a cross on the other side. It came with a certificate of authenticity verifying that it came from the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. I thought it was pretty cool. Interestingly, since the coin was over 100 years old (and then some), it was free of any U.S. duty. The store put a slip informing Customs of the coin’s age and the law exempting antiques that are over 100 years from duty.
Finally, I had my present for Kay. I had dollars and I had stamps to mail postcards with. I bought 10 stamps at a Post Office I found when I first started walking through the shopping area. It was interesting to see the Post Office there. It had the U.S. Postal markings but, it was different.
Harvey and I looked for a way back to the ship. To our delight, an open taxi like the one we used to see the hills and harbors of St. Thomas came by and asked if we needed a ride to the pier. We asked how much. He said $10. We hopped in. As we made our way to the pier, the driver picked up a couple more fares. We also passed a Hooters restaurant which reminded me of my brother Hank who is something of a playboy. See previous blogs about the Hooters calendar I absolutely must buy him every year.
We arrived back at the pier, skipped the tourist shops there and walked back to the ship. The ship was loading supplies. It was interesting to see all the booze the ship needed for its passengers.
While walking around, we’d noticed some dark clouds. Luck was with us. It didn’t start raining until we were on-board the ship and having lunch at the Windjammer Café. It ended up being a nice little downpour. I suspected we’d depart on time this time since folks weren’t going to want to stay out in that.
Later, Harvey and I knocked back a couple brews one last time before dinner. Tomorrow, we’d arrive back in San Juan and the cruise would be over. It had been a nice cruise and a learning experience. I felt certain the next cruise would go smoother. I’d already begun looking at Royal Caribbean 2009 Caribbean cruises. I found one cruise that would be ideal. The only problem was they didn’t list cruise dates for late April and May 2009 in the brochure. I’d have to keep an eye out to see if they offered that cruise on the Adventure of the Seas. After comparing Royal Caribbean’s bigger and smaller cruise ships, I preferred the bigger ones because they have more to do. Also, I wanted to try a suite next time if it wasn’t too expensive. It would be nice to have more room and a larger shower. I really enjoyed having a balcony so I could watch as we departed from or pulled into port. The next cruise, I’d make sure I had a balcony again.
After dinner, I went back to my cabin and packed. I also reviewed the departure procedures the ship staff had left in the cabin. Before I crashed, I put the color coded luggage tags on my two pieces of check-in luggage and left them outside my cabin. Ship staff would pick up the bags and leave them in the Customs area the next morning.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
I looked forward to playing the proper tourist. Unlike Aruba and Curacao, I wouldn’t be rushing off to go diving in St. Maarten. After having a filling breakfast at the Windjammer Café, Harvey and I took an elevator down to deck 1, had our SeaPasses scanned and departed the ship. We looked for and found the person holding the sign saying deep sea fishing. Once the entire group of 12 got together, he gave us some bad news. The second fishing boat had broken down. They found a replacement but it would be 30 minutes before he arrived. He needed 6 volunteers to go in the later boat. I didn’t care to wait and said so. Luckily for me and Harvey, they got enough volunteers for the second boat.
The man herded us to the spot where we could board taxis. He told the taxi driver where to take us. He told us that the boat captain would drop us off at the cruise ship pier after the fishing. The taxi ride was a short one. We arrived at a marina that had a number of fishing boats. A lady guided us to ours. It was the Natalie Kate which was owned and operated by Captain Paul (last name unknown). Captain Paul told us the boat’s previous owner had named the boat after his daughter. Captain Paul for whatever reasons didn’t change it.
The boat had spaces for 5 rod and reels as well as a seat where whoever got a hit could battle the fish. After Captain Paul explained where the bathroom was, drinks were and that the guest cabin was air conditioned, we departed. We didn’t have to go far out from St. Maarten before we got to start fishing. Captain Paul used outriggers for 4 of the rods so presumably their lines wouldn’t get tangled with each other. Then, he informed us to look for birds. Where seabirds were feeding, there you find big fish feeding also. So, I began looking for seabirds.
After about 30 or 40 minutes we found one and sure enough, we got a massive hit on one of the rods. It was the smallest rod with the lightest line. Captain Paul cursed a bit over that. I helped push the youngest member of our group a kid of maybe 12 or 13 into the command chair. The kid wasn’t strong enough at times to battle the fish so Captain Paul helped him. It would take over 20 minutes before the fish was landed. It was a Mahi Mahi which weighed over 17 pounds and was around 4 feet long. It was an impressive fish. We didn’t know it but that would be the only fish we’d catch the whole time we were out.
Everyone got excited after that fish and looked forward to catching more. However, luck wasn’t with us. We looked every where for birds and saw only a few single ones barring some that were following a fishing boat. Captain Paul tried a number of different areas without any success. Our time out ran out and we had to head in. I know I was very disappointed. I’d paid $200 and didn’t get to catch anything. I thought this stunk.
As previously mentioned, we were told that we would be dropped off at the cruise ship pier. Captain Paul said on our way in he never dropped anyone off there. He said we’d have to take a taxi back and I got the impression he wasn’t going to pay for it. I didn’t bring any money with me because I didn’t think I was going to need any. The folks running this fishing trip were responsible for getting us to the fishing boat and back. Harvey asked how far it was to the cruise ship pier. We were told it was a little over a mile. We looked at each other and started walking. By the time we got to the pier, we were both royally steamed. We checked out some of the souvenir shops at the pier, looked at the Noordam which was also in pier and re-boarded our boat. I was so disgusted over what had happened that I decided not to see anymore of St. Maarten. Instead, I had some lunch and waited for us to depart. When departure time came, I watched as the ship maneuvered away from the pier and set sail for Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. I looked forward to seeing St. Thomas as I’d be able to access the internet from my laptop and could get some more dollars from an ATM there. I hoped things would be nicer there than they had in St. Maarten. Stay tuned.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
What to do? It was my second full day at sea. I’d explored the ship and I knew what it offered as far as activities. I decided to check the Cruise Compass. The Cruise Compass was a newsletter the ship puts out daily. It listed all the special activities the ship had that day. I saw that Captain Nyseter was going to do a Captain’s Corner, there was going to be a Singles trivia game, a bingo game where the prize was a free cruise and a t-shirt sale. I decided to do all of those.
The Captain’s Corner was the chance for passengers to meet Captain Nyseter, learn about ship operations and ask any questions they might have. First, Captain Nyseter told the audience about himself, how he made Captain and how long he’d been with Royal Caribbean. Captain Nyseter worked his way up from the very lowest ranks to that of Captain. He’s been with Royal Caribbean for over 16 years now. Then, he introduced Chief Engineer Tormod Isaksen and Environmental Officer (name forgotten) who told about themselves. Engineer Isaksen was responsible for all the engines on boards and the desalinization plant. The environmental officer was responsible for ensuring the ship met all environmental regulations. He also made sure that all types of waste were properly disposed of. The ship created a lot of it with over 3,600 passengers.
When the ship was in cruise mode, it used 2 engines and maintained a speed of 13 knots (14 or 15 mph). Top speed for the ship was 23 knots. The ship’s draft i.e. the part that was underwater was a surprising 29 feet. When you see how high the ship goes up above water (at least 70 or 80 feet), it’s surprising that there is so little ship underwater. During the question and answer session, Chief Engineer Isaksen said at top speed the ship burned 20,000 gallons of fuel a day. The ship carried over 1 million gallons of fuel. The ship made all its fresh water through its own desalinization plant. There are engines in the front of the ship that enable it to push away or pull to a pier. At the rear of the ship are engine pods that can be rotated enabling the ship to push to or away from a pier. The ship has 4 stabilizers which come out when the ship is at sea enabling a smoother ride. The ship can tilt up to 45 degrees and still recover. The worst situation Captain Nyseter was ever in on a ship was during a hurricane induced storm which caused visibility to be zero. The ship rocked a bit too but otherwise life carried on. If someone went overboard, the ship could stop in approximately 3 ship lengths and go back for them. Captain Nyseter said he’d had one person go overboard though he wouldn’t illuminate the cause of the incident. It was during the question and answer session that I learned of the new class of ship that Royal Caribbean will be coming out with. It’s called the Genesis Class and will be able to accommodate 5,400 passengers. Currently, the largest class ship Royal Caribbean has is the Liberty class which can hold over 4,000 passengers. The Adventure of the Seas was of the Voyager Class which will be their third largest class once the first Genesis Class ship is finished in 2009. With crew, the Genesis Class ships will have over 7,500 people on board. They will be literally floating towns.
I found the Captain’s Corner really interesting. It was also neat to get to meet Captain Nyseter. He was very friendly and likable. I didn’t envy him his job. He has to efficiently manage a ship that is over 100 feet long and over 130 feet wide. He has an international crew of over 1,200. He has to keep an eye on ship, restaurant, hotel and shop operations. He also has to keep on eye on the passengers on board, no small task considering we had 3,689 this cruise alone. It is a huge task. From what I saw, he does a great job of it. I hope I get to cruise on another ship he commands.
After having some lunch, I went in search of the peekaboo bridge. The peekaboo bridge is a spot on the ship where a passenger can look into the ship’s bridge and see its workings. They have a display board that identifies the equipment on the bridge. The seats that the captain can use to control the ship look like something from a jet. There is a radar screen that shows everything around the ship, how far from the ship it is and if it’s another ship whether their paths will cross. They have another screen that shows the ship’s position, the planned course and how close they are to the planned course. At sea, the ship in on autopilot though there is at least 1 officer on watch at all times to keep an eye on things. In the event of a computer failure, the ship carries paper maps, pencils to chart courses and sextants so they can figure out where their position is. It was really interesting.
I’m a big fan of trivia. I like learning things even if the knowledge isn’t terribly important. I saw on the Cruise Compass that they had a single traveler’s trivia game. It turned out it was organized an Australian lady named Jacarda who hailed from Melbourne. After the game, I told her I’d visited there and proved by telling of her of the some of the sights there. The game itself was fun and to my surprise, I won. My prizes were a Royal Caribbean pen and leather luggage tag. Ok, they weren’t the most exciting prizes but, I was still delighted to win.
The ship advertised a t-shirt sail in the Cruise Compass. I wanted a t-shirt from the cruise so I decided to check it out. Little did I know how fierce some people on board could be when it came to shopping. It seems that some folks go on cruises for the bargains that can be had in the various ports. They are on the prowl for a bargain. The ship was promising as much as 50 percent off on t-shirts and other items. Those were magical words to such avid shoppers. I was surprised by the crowd at the tables. One lady refused to make any room so I had to reach around her and grab t-shirts and see if I could find my size. Eventually, I found 3 t-shirts which I liked as well as a nice looking white fleece jacket. To my annoyance, the last night of the cruise, they discounted the t-shirts even further. Still, I got some nice t-shirts which I’ll wear showing that I was on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
Lady luck wasn’t with me when I played bingo for a free cruise. You had to fill in an X on your playing card in order to win. Cards weren’t cheap going at $15 a piece with a free card thrown in if you bought 3. I managed to get down to 3 numbers of one of my cards before an unknown lady won it. Damn!
After the bingo game, Harvey and I had a couple beers at the Promenade Café. It was a nice way to relax before dinner and discuss plans for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’d go deep sea fishing out of Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Deep sea fishing can be very exciting with the big reels, big rods and BIG fish. I went a couple times with my step-grandfather and I really wanted to try it again. I looked forward excitedly to my next adventure. Stay tuned for my deep sea fishing adventure in St. Maarten.
Friday, March 21, 2008
A guy named Jeremiah was waiting for the dive group at the pier. I forget what his nationality was but, he told me was married to a Dutch girl and had worked at a dive spot in Egypt before coming to Curacao. He’d travelled a good bit of the world. He seemed pretty cool. Once everyone had arrived, Jeremiah directed us to some taxis which would take us to Ocean Encounters. The drive was interesting as we got to see a bit of Willemstad.
Once we arrived at Ocean Encounter’s dive shop, we started setting up your gear or were issued gear if we rented it. Then, we received a briefing on how things were going to work. We were going to do a beach entry. Once we were in shallow water, we’d slip our fins on then, we’d work our way out to the dive point. Once there, we’d let the air out of our BCDs and descend down to the reef. If someone hit the halfway point on their air, they’d let the leader know and they’d head back with the leader’s assistant. The rest would carry on until it was time to turn back.
We made our way out to the beach. I waded into the water and promptly had problems getting my fins on. Then, I put air in my BCD and swam with the rest of the group to the dive site. While swimming out there, I swallowed damn salt water again. That stuff is nasty. I ended coughing some of it up when we got to the dive site. Thankfully, once I started breathing through my respirator, I was fine.
The reef itself was impressive with a large variety of coral and fish life. Visibility was outstanding at 65 feet plus. The reef wall supposedly descended down to 350 feet though the deepest I went was 62 feet on the first dive and 63 on the second. I didn’t have any problems equalizing on the first dive but I did on the 2nd to my great annoyance. I tried to overcompensate and ended up giving myself a bloody nose. I was frustrated with my left ear and pretty certain I had an ear infection.
In regards to Ocean Encounter and their people, I was very pleased with them. I thought they really tried to ensure we had some nice dives. The only thing I would do differently is make sure I go out on a boat vice doing a beach entry. Boat entries are loads easier.
After we returned or packed up our gear, we got back into the taxis that brought us to Ocean Encounter’s and returned to our ship. I grabbed some lunch and decided to stay on board. It looked like it might be a long walk to some shops in town. It turned out I was wrong. There is an easy walk to a number of shops and the remains of one of the old forts.
Departure time was 4:30 p.m. Apparently, some people thought that meant they could return at 4:35, 4:40 and two ladies even showed up at 4:45. They got royally razzed by those of us who were stuck waiting for them. They also got lucky Captain Nyseter didn’t depart. If he had, they would’ve had to fly to St. Maarten at their own expense to rejoin the ship.
I chatted with my friend Harvey and found out what he’d been up. I watched as we sailed east along the coast of Curacao. I decided to see one of the shows the ship out on in the Lyric Theater. It was called “Can’t Stop the Rock.” It featured music from films from the past 40 years. It turned out to be a nice production. I wouldn’t have paid money to see it but it was fun to watch and something to do. Afterwards, I had a nice dinner at the Windjammer. Later, our ship Adventure of the Seas changed tack and sailed northeast to St. Maarten. We would be at sea for an entire day. Stay tuned.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Land ho! Land on the starboard bow! I didn’t actually say that from my balcony as our ship arrived at Oranjestad, Aruba BUT I was tempted. I’d been at sea for 33 hours at that point which is the longest I’d ever been to sea. Aruba seemed flat and heavily built up. The cruise ship pier was easy to pull up to and it took little time for Captain Nyseter to pull along the pier. For me, I had to pull my dive bag to one of the glass lined elevators and go up to deck 11 where I checked in for the dive trip. Then, I had to take the elevator down to deck 1 to get my dive knives from Security. I had to show them my receipt for the knives. They found my knives and I returned to deck 11. When it was time, our group descended to deck 1, had our SeaPasses scanned and walked one of the gangways to the pier. A lady was waiting for us. She took us to the boat that we’d use for our dives. Sadly, I can’t remember it’s name. Ton, a retired Dutch IBM executive, was the first mate. He shepherded us to spots on the boat and told to use to start setting up our gear if we brought it or issued it to those who didn’t.
When all were aboard, we left for the boat’s dive shop as they were short 2 pairs of fins for members of our group. Once we left their shop, we proceeded to the location of the Antilla wreck. The Antilla was a German freighter which was off the coast of Aruba at the start of World War II. Apparently, German authorities didn’t warn the ship of the pending invasion of the Netherlands. When Germany invaded the Netherlands, the ship was at anchor. So, when war broke out, Dutch authorities in Aruba came on board the freighter and informed her captain that they were going to seize the ship. The captain pleaded for 24 hours. The authorities foolishly gave it to him. Once the authorities left and were out of sight, the captain proceeded to scuttle i.e. sink the ship. When the Dutch authorities returned the next day, they found out what he’d done. The captain and his crew spent the whole of the war as prisoners of war. Later, he moved to Bonaire where he opened a hotel. There, you can see a picture of his freighter. I heard this story from Ton who was explaining to us about the wreck.
On our way out, we got paired up. I got paired with a guy named Tony. We were part of a 6 diver group that went with Ton’s assistant. When we arrived at the dive site, we took frog steps into the water. Then, we followed a line to the anchor line where we began descending to the bottom.
The wreck was in good shape for a World War II ship. It was also BIG. It was 400 feet long. We dove along side it seeing the various corals growing on the wreck as well as various species of fish. Visibility was at least 35 feet. Ton’s assistant pointed out things of interest including a very long light green Moray eel. The dive lasted at least 35 minutes. When it was time, our group began ascending the anchor line back to the ship. After our group was aboard, we waited for Ton’s group to return. While waiting we changed to fresh tanks of air. Once the second group was aboard, the board departed for the 2nd dive site.
The 2nd dive site was the wreck called the Pedernalis. According to Ton, two German subs were prowling the waters one night off Aruba. The first fired a torpedo which hit a ship but it failed to explode as the crew forgot to the take off the cap which covered the detonator. This tipped off ships that subs were in the area. Luck was not with the Pedernalis which headed straight in the direction of the second German sub. The crew on the second sub made sure the torpedo detonator was uncovered. The ship sank in 25 feet of water. As it sank in such shallow waters, people on shore who owned hotels on shore didn’t like their guests seeing a sunken ship so they asked the Dutch authorities to do something about it. They gladly took care of the problem by blowing the wreck to bits. You can see various pieces on the ocean floor.
After the 2nd dive, we headed back to the cruise ship pier. Ton and his assistant did a great job. The company they’re with is called Red Sail Sports. Later, I visited their dive shop which in my opinion wasn’t very impressive. Still, I’d gladly go diving with them again.
I returned to the ship and turned my dive knives back in to security. I dumped my bag off at my cabin. I grabbed something quick to eat for lunch at the Windjammer. Then, I left the ship again so I could see a little of Oranjestad and take some pictures. From what I saw of the town, I wasn’t impressed. I was amazed by how many jewelry stores they had. I believe they were there for the steady flow tourists that arrived by cruise ship. At St. Maarten, the fishing boat assistant there told me they had 1 cruise ship come in to port every day. Considering how many people are on those ships, I suspect the stores get a good bit of business.
After wandering around for 45 minutes or so, I returned to the ship. I caught up with Harvey and found out how his tour of Aruba went. According to him, they must have driven the length of the island twice during their tour. From listening to him, it didn’t sound like there was a lot to see in Aruba.
Around dinner time, I returned to the Windjammer and it’s sister café. Departure time at Aruba was 8 p.m. This meant it was dark when we left. The Windjammer is at the end of deck 11. It has large glass windows so passengers can look out and see the surrounding area. This was a huge plus as I got to see Oranjestad all lit up at night as we departed. It was really impressive. Our next port of call was Willemstad, Curacao. I looked forward to my next adventure. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
From there, I joined another line. This line was to get my photo taken for the ship. After that, I walked up various walkways to the ramp on deck 4. Just before boarding, a photographer was taking photos of people that would show them joining a Royal Caribbean cruise. If the passenger liked the photo, they could buy it later in the photo shop on-board. This would be the first of many opportunities to buy a cruise photo. I thought it annoying.
I skipped the photo and boarded. I made my way to my cabin and found the gifts I ordered for myself waiting. The cabin was decent size and comfortable. The balcony featured nice views. I was pleased with the cabin.
As the last things I’d eaten were some pastries at the Normandie Hotel, I was starved. I decided to find one of the ship’s restaurants and get something to eat. I found out the Windjammer Café was open on deck 11. I found an elevator, went to deck 11 and managed to find the café. They were selling unlimited glasses of soda for the cruise with a bonus of a glass that you could keep and was less likely to slide. The cost with tax was $48. As I didn’t want a bunch of charges for sodas, I decided to get the unlimited drinks. I used my SeaPass to pay for it. Then, I got to experience for the first time the renowned cruise ship buffet. The Windjammer offered at least 9 main entrees, vegetables, salads, rolls and desserts. You could go back as many times as you wanted without having to pay a penny. As the food was pretty good, I could understand how people could manage to put on a few pounds while on a cruise.
After lunch, I decided to see if I could find my friend Harvey. I had one problem though. I wasn’t sure what cabin he was in. I had the operator put me through to his cabin and twice he wasn’t there. Finally, I did get a hold of him. It’d been 6 months since I’d last seen him. He’s a good bloke and it was nice to catch up on the chit chat. After talking for a bit, we found out about an exercise where everyone has to put on their lifejackets and stand by their lifeboat. Some people were blasé about the exercise but, I was fervently hoping I wouldn’t have to do this stuff in real life. I didn’t want my cruise that exciting!
The exercise went all right and was ended. I returned my lifejacket to its spot in my cabin. I decided to find the dive shop on board and make sure all was well with my planned dive trips. The folks at the dive shop were very nice. They tipped me off that I would have problems with the dive knives I’d brought. You weren’t allowed to have such knives on board. Security would keep my knives during the cruise. When I needed them for diving, I’d check them out from security. When I returned from diving, I’d turn them back into security. It was to be a major hassle during the cruise and I’m resolved to not take dive knives ever again on a cruise.
My travel agent arranged for Harvey and I to eat at the second seating. That meant that dinner didn’t start until 8:30 p.m. I wasn’t thrilled with eating that late. Our table was in the Mozart dining room. It was a very impressive dining room with a crystal chandelier and uniformed waiters and waitresses. The food turned out to be good average food. That would be the case throughout the cruise.
After dinner, I returned to my cabin and found out I had a voicemail. Security had the predicted problem with my dive knives. I turned them over to them and they wrote me a receipt for them. Then, I hauled my dive bag to my cabin and finally crashed around 11:30 p.m. Tomorrow, we would have a full day at sea. Stay tuned.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
First Trip to San Juan Puerto Rico
Update: January 1, 2014. Two things. First, the Hard Rock Cafe in San Juan is closed at the time of this update. I was in San Juan April 2013 and sadly saw it was closed. I don't know why it was closed. Also, today, I checked the Hard Rock Cafe website (http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafe3/) and, it still isn't listed. Second, the Normandie Hotel is closed. According to the following webpage: http://blekko.com/wiki/Normandie_Hotel?source=672620ff, it was closed in 2008 due to redevelopment plans and purchased by Ben Medetsky and Jack Polatsek of Interra Capital Group in 2013 who are working on redeveloping the hotel. I couldn't find anything on that on Interra's website: http://www.interracapital.com/default.aspx about that or what their plans are for the hotel though the property is a departure for this company as all its listed properties are in Texas.