Review w/ photos - Explorer leaves NY for the last time

Well, it took me a week to go through all my photographs, but I am finally ready to post my review. It is long (over 17,000 words) and includes 264 photographs, so there will be about 44 posts before I am finished. So, without further ado, here goes ...

Explorer OTS repo from NJ to Port Canaveral – Nov 1 to 15, 2014

Friday, October 31, 2014 – Travel day

Good morning everyone. It is 6:40am on October 31, 2014. I am through security at LAX and I am waiting for a 9:10 flight. If all goes well, in about 10 ½ hours I should be landing in Newark. So, as I listen to muffled announcements (that I think are being made in English) regarding the boarding of flights, I thought I would tell you a little about myself.

This is my 26th cruise, eleventh on Royal Caribbean, fourth on a Voyager class ship (I have not been on the Adventure OTS) and first on the Explorer of the Seas. I will become Diamond Plus on this cruise. I am also Platinum on Carnival and I have taken two cruises each on Princess and NCL (and one other cruise on the Universe Explorer 1999). At the suggestion of someone who wanted more details, I have been writing my review while still on the ship, while things are still fresh in my mind. Then, when it became clear that people enjoyed seeing photographs with the review, I added photo editing software to the laptop, so hopefully, upon my return, the review will be ready to post.

I am taking three cameras with me. One camera is waterproof to 33 feet (for those underwater shots), another camera is a Nikon D5200 (a DSLR) for those nice clear photos, and the third camera is a good point and shoot (P&S) camera that fits in my pocket for those shore excursions where I don’t want to drag the heavy DSLR with me.

I am flying first class, so I was put in the TSA pre-check line. This means that you don’t have to remove your shoes, your belt (basically, you don’t have to get undressed) or take the laptop out. However, I got stopped so that they could check my hands for explosive residue. All the people behind me were waved on. So I asked if I was the only one that looked suspicious. The TSA agent pointed out that the lady in front of me was also screened. Basically they take whoever is next after they finish wiping the hands of the last person.

I wonder if the lady making the announcements for the flight to San Francisco understands that she should take the microphone out of her mouth before speaking. I’m at the next gate over and the person at my gate had to walk over to the other gate and tell a group of people that it was time to board. Then he made the same announcement in a nice clear voice. Yes, the lady at the other gate is that bad.

I was going to take the Flyaway bus to LAX, but the day I made the arrangements the Flyaway bus website was not working, so I made arrangements with a limo. I asked to be picked up at 6am. At 5:40am when I called the driver to see how far out he was; he said he was here. So from my door until I cleared security was one hour (I had allowed for two hours). And so here I am, my review is current, I’ve already checked in with my roll call, and there is still about one hour until boarding. So most likely, the next time you hear from me, I’ll be in my hotel room in Newark.

Well here I am in Newark. I’m at the Holliday Inn across the street from the Newark Airport. It is a nice sized room with a very good setup for a Holiday Inn. It has a very large screen TV and a work desk that rolls out from under the stationary desk. I would say this room earned the 3.5 star rating that Hotwire gave it. I got it for $78 per night plus tax.

While the room is nice, the buffet dinner was only average. Not worth the$26.95 fee. However, I did meet someone from the roll call who I am sharing a van to the port with tomorrow. So that made the cost of dinner a little more palatable.

The plane ride was nothing special. I did see three other jets going the other way while we were cruising at altitude and one jet alongside of us while we were landing in Atlanta. The first class seats in the Delta 767 are really nothing more than wider coach class seats with more legroom. Nothing like the first class seat I had on American Airlines. The American Airlines first class seats are something special. If you get a chance, try them out. As for Delta, save a little money and get their comfort class coach seats. The eggs for breakfast were good. The chicken dinner was okay. I also had a hot dog during the stopover in Atlanta. One other nice thing, while looking out the plane’s window I saw my luggage being loaded, so at least I knew it and me were headed to the same airport (twice on the trip home that was not the case).

Well, I’m tired now. I’ll catch up with you later on the ship. Good night.

Angry seas ...

... lead to this ...

November 1 – Embarkation day

People on the roll call said two things about getting to the port. One, it could take an hour from Newark Airport because of the traffic and two; it would cost $65 dollars by taxi. It is only eight miles, taxis do not charge eight dollars per mile and how much traffic could there be on a Saturday? Nonetheless, when someone from the roll said he was at the same hotel as I was, I agreed to share a car service with him.

So, here is how the morning went. The person who organized the car service found three more people also staying at the hotel to go with us. So the total cost with tip was $15 per person – very reasonable. We were supposed to meet in the lobby at 10:45 for an 11:00 ride to the ship. The car service was thirty minutes late. Meanwhile two other drivers approached us and offered us a ride. Given the amount of luggage we had I don’t know if anything short of a full sized van would have fit us all. At best one more person could have fit and this was a full sized twelve person van with plenty of room for luggage in the back. To avoid the traffic the van driver took us the “back way”. We made it to the sign that said one mile to the terminal in thirty minutes. From this point on it is a two lane road to the terminal (one lane in each direction). That last mile took us close to an hour. The reason a car service is less expensive than a taxi is that a car service charges a fixed price while a taxi’s meter would still be going all this time. Once inside the terminal the process was quick and easy. We dropped off our luggage, obtained our SeaPass and had our security picture taken.

Then there were the photographers to take the embarkation photo. After starting out one hour later than I wanted to (had I been on my own I would have hired a taxi at 10:30). The person who hired the car service wanted a 10:00 pickup but the earliest the car service could get to us was 11:00 (and was still late). Then waiting over 45 minutes to cover the last mile I was in no mood for an embarkation photograph (I have plenty of those already and the pictures are overpriced). The bus ride to the ship from the terminal was quick and easy. The new terminal will eliminate the bus ride, but it will not ease the traffic issue during that last mile. They need to add a third lane. Then have two lanes out up until 11:30 and have two lanes in after 11:30. Until the traffic issues are resolved, I have no interest in returning to this port.

This is not a closed loop cruise. I have both a passport and a passport card. I wanted to see if the passport card would be accepted. The person checking me in asked for my passport. I handed him my passport card and he said, oh, a passport card, that is just as good. I thought the passport card was only good for closed loop cruises. Of course the person checking me in is not the authority on what is or is not acceptable. However, he was the only one who really cared what it was. Sure, the person allowing us into the tent wanted to make sure the name on the Setsail and my ID matched, and that the picture on the ID kind of looked like me, but even a driver’s license would have worked at that point. The person who gave me the key to the ship was in this case the final word on this.

Finally I am on the ship. I head off to my cabin to drop off my carry-ons. Then I grab my camera and start taking pictures. It is raining outside so I take a few pictures outside and then head back to the cabin to change lenses. On the way I find my luggage and drag it back to the cabin. After taking pictures of the Royal Promenade I head over to the Windjammer for lunch. Then more picture taking. Then the announcement that the muster drill would take place in thirty minutes. I haven’t finished my picture taking yet, and then I remember I boarded the ship about ninety minutes later than I normally do. However, in this case I am really not upset about it. It is raining and I know we have three days at sea before our first port. I figure I’ve got plenty of time for picture taking.

I did notice that the looooong line of cars to get into the terminal was down to zero by 2:30. The muster drill was at 3:30. The captain is Captain Rick. He has a sense of humor. Apparently his officers are not used to going to St. Maarten directly. Normally the ship heads to St. Maarten after stopping at Bermuda. So Captain Rick is concerned that his officers will be able to navigate directly to St. Maarten without a stop at Bermuda. He then gives us a weather report. We can expect fifty knot winds and rough seas through tomorrow. The weather should improve sometime in the afternoon of the second sea day.

We depart at 4:30. I have cruised out of all three New York area ports, and only those ships leaving from Manhattan cruise past the Statue of Liberty. At any rate, because of the weather, not many people were outside when we passed under the bridge, so there was not much cheering when we passed under the bridge and into the North Atlantic.

I retire to my cabin, read the handouts, unpack and meet my cabin steward. I tell him I like ice (I use it to make cold water) and I decide to try something new. In the past I have assumed the cabin steward knew my dining schedule (I have late seating, which has been moved up to 8:00 for this cruise). I’m hoping that the cabin steward will stop attempting to turn down my bed before I leave for dinner.

No such luck. My cabin steward comes in at 7:30 while I am still tying my shoes. It may be a big ship, but it doesn’t take thirty minutes to get from my cabin to the restaurant.

Royal Caribbean is doing something to reduce the crowding in the Concierge and Diamond Lounges by loading three free drinks on the SeaPass card of everyone who is Diamond and above. It says, “We are excited to introduce an additional option for you during this cruise: a nightly happy hour from 4:30 – 8::00 pm to be enjoyed at almost every venue throughout the ship with your friends!” It is not clear if being with your friends is a requirement to get the free drinks. At any rate, this is how it works:

“Drink vouchers have been pre-loaded onto your SeaPass card to enable you to enjoy the flexibility of up to three complimentary beverages each night at almost every bar throughout the ship. You can still enjoy the exclusive experience of the Diamond Lounge and the Concierge Lounge (for Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club members) plus all the other options available to you!” I’m still trying to figure out the meaning of “almost every bar”. I assume it means all the bars except the one I am at.

The three drink vouchers per day will be applied to each eligible (C&A level Diamond and above) SeaPass card. The drink vouchers are not accumulative throughout the cruise. Drinks may not be redeemed in the dining room, specialty restaurants or Windjammer Café (I didn’t know they served drinks in the Windjammer).

There is a menu:

Spirits (ghosts?) - Bacardi Rum, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Tanqueray Gin, Finkandia Vodka, Dewar’s White Label Scotch Whisky, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey, Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila, Couvoisier VS Cognac and Sanderman Port (but not starboard) Wine.

Non-Alcoholic Drinks (does this include water?)

Wines by the glass – St. Martin Chardonnay, Zonin Pinot Grigio, Beringer White Zinfandel, St. Martin Cabernet Sauvignon and St. Martin Merlot (no word if the free St. Martin drinks continue after we leave St. Maarten).

Beers – Budweiser, Miller Lite, Amstel Light, Corona and Heineken.

I enjoyed a Dewar’s White Label Scotch Whisky and a Jameson Whiskey before dinner. I liked the Jameson Whiskey much better. It was smooth; the Dewar’s White Label Scotch Whisky was not.

I am sharing a table with seven other people, many of whom were part of the roll call. I was hungry as I did not have breakfast and I had a light lunch. I had a shrimp appetizer, a two sliders appetizer (three sliders is a main course dish) and the prime rib. Toward the end of dinner the weather kicked in. A tray full of utensils almost rolled into one of the people at the table.

Walking back to the cabin most people were weaving back and forth, except the drunks, they were the ones walking straight.

Once back to the cabin I am tired. I take a ginger tablet (to avoid the ill effects of the “motion of the ocean”) and I am going to sleep.

My cabin is there someplace ...

November 2, 2014 – Day at sea

Well, I got a lot of exercise last night trying to stay in bed. The ship was definitely rolling last night. The Meet & Mingle began at 8:30am today. A lot of people on the roll call were complaining about the early hour. However, from what I could see, there was a very good turnout. Over 350 signed up and I would guess that at least seventy percent of them showed up. Royal Caribbean was prepared for a large turnout with lots of door prizes (none of which were doors). There were thirty movies, twenty bags, a dozen bottles of wine and one Royal Caribbean key ring.

The Group Coordinator and the Activities Director (aka the Assistant Cruise Director) were the Royal Caribbean representatives at the Meet & Mingle. The Activities Director was from Turkey. He left Turkey because he liked chicken more than turkey (his joke – not mine). He after a couple of people in the far end of the Maharaja’s Lounge won prizes he decided to try and combine prizes so he wouldn’t have to run around as much. We all booed, so he went back to one prize per drawing. He tried to combine the prizes a second time and we all booed again. Judging by the constant smile on the Group Coordinator face, she had a great time. The Activities Director kept calling out all six numbers on the tickets. I got to draw one of the tickets (I didn’t draw my own ticket) and when I handed it to the Activities Director I told him to just call out the last three numbers as the first three numbers were the same on all the tickets.

During the Meet & Mingle the Captain made an announcement. Last night the waves were four to six meters (that is about 13 to 20 feet) with an occasional seven meter wave (that is about 23 feet). However around 5:00am the ship was hit by a rogue wave that was ten meters (about 33 feet) high. It lifted lifeboat twenty high enough to not only damage it, but also to release the front end from its hook. The lifeboat hit deck four. It has now been secured; however, that portion of deck four is off limits. Hopefully those passengers assigned to lifeboat twenty are all good swimmers. Actually the Captain said that if something should happen we still have enough lifeboat capacity for all the passengers. The ship is certified to 3840 passengers. There are 3039 passengers on this sailing, so there is plenty of lifeboat capacity for all the passengers.

However, the lifeboat was not the only victim of the rogue wave. The water came into the ship on deck four and got into the aft elevator shafts. So, the aft elevators would remain out of service until the electricians certify the elevators to be in working condition. And finally, due to the weather, all outside exposed decks (four and eleven up) are off limits.

One of the people on the roll call made door signs for all of those that posted on the roll call. I know at least 110 people posted, so that is a lot of door signs. They are very nice and professional looking. Also, they have magnets so the door signs stick to the doors. Now there are a lot of people with door signs, at least on deck seven, including me.

On the way back to the cabin I noticed a lot of vacuum cleaners capable of sucking up water (okay, any vacuum can suck up water, but these can do that and keep working property) were being used near my cabin. I could not understand why. I’m on deck seven, which is a lot higher than deck four and my cabin is dry. Later in the day I walked passed the cabin and while I did not hear much, what I did notice were to very unhappy passengers speaking to someone from the hotel department (I assume) complaining about the room being flooded. I don’t know how it got flooded, but it wasn’t from the rogue wave. I assume some sort of a plumbing problem.

At any rate, since going outside was not much of an option, and since today was Sunday, I decided to grab a late breakfast, work on this and then watch football.

Eventually it was time for dinner. Tonight is formal night. I wanted to have my picture taken with the Captain. After the picture I asked the Captain a question about the muster drill announcement that every mile we traveled it would get warmer. I asked, was that statute miles or nautical miles? He said nautical miles of course. So then I said, then that will take fifteen percent longer. He got the joke.

After the picture I went to the combination Connoisseur Club and Diamond Lounge, which is the Maharaja’s Lounge (just above The Palace Theatre, which is the main show lounge). This time I had the Jack Daniels Tennessee Whisky and the Jameson Irish Whiskey. I like the Jack Daniels Tennessee Whisky better than the Dewar’s White Label Scotch Whisky, but I think that the Jameson Irish Whisky is the best of the three.

Four people at our table went to Portofino for dinner tonight. The restaurant is on the starboard side of the ship, so it should be called Starofino. At any rate, our tablemates told us their plans last night, so we knew not to wait up for them. So tonight the head waiter shows up and asks about the four empty chairs. We told him where the four people were. Then I asked him, if he was a head waiter, how come he didn’t have on a red jacket. He wears a black jacket because he is a senior head waiter.

I then headed to The Palace Theatre for the first production show. However, since the ship was rocking too much the product show was changed to tomorrow and one of the headliners took the stage.

Though the guy was funny, it was not what I wanted to see and I was tired. So I sneaked out and returned to my cabin. Back at the cabin I caught the Sunday Night Football game and then went to sleep.

I thought the Mariner was the only one without a car ...

November 3, 2014 – Day at sea

Today we wake up to a mostly clear sky. The sun is shining and last night I didn’t spend half the night trying to keep myself from rolling out of bed. Life is good. So I get up to catch the sunrise, which I knew would be a bust. There are no clouds overhead, but there are plenty of clouds on the horizon. The exact opposite of what is needed for a picture perfect sunrise. The clouds on the horizon means the sun has to rise higher before making an appearance. The higher the sun, the more light there is which causes any colors to wash out. Of course there is no color because there are no clouds overhead. We are heading south south east and my cabin is on the port side, so I have a clear view of the sunrise. Since I knew it would not be a good one, I did not go up on deck. I did take a few photographs from my balcony just to prove I was up that early.

There is a welcome back party for C&A levels Diamond and up at 11:00am today. So I decide to sleep in and then get up in time to attend. The reason the group was broken up into two is that there are more Crown & Anchor members on this cruise than can fit in The Palace Theatre, which is the biggest lounge on board this ship. There are over two thousand C&A members on this ship. The Gold and Emerald members will have their welcome back party tomorrow. We were told that there are 667 Diamond members, 379 Diamond Plus members and a new record for this ship, 45 Pinnacle members. The person with the most points on this ship has over three thousand points. Even at two points per night that works out to fifteen hundred days at sea or more than two hundred weeks at sea. Wow! I understand the person with the most C&A points has over five thousand points. He is known as Super Mario and he travels solo, so I believe he is currently earning three points per night. I met him on the Allure in September 2013 when he had around 4200 points. So he has gained eight hundred points in about 390 days. That means he spent over 265 days at sea or over 35 weeks at sea. Even the captains don’t spend that much time at sea (the captains work half the year, or about 26 weeks per year).

After that it was time for lunch and then some picture taking. But first it was time for the Captain’s noon time status report. We are more than halfway to St. Maarten, our first port of call. This is good, because we are at the half way point time wise, so we are on schedule. The Captain mentions that the closest land is 479 miles away and there is over 16,000 feet (over 4850 meters) of water beneath the ship.

After the Captain’s status report I go get some good pictures of people actually enjoying the sun while at sea. Then it was back to the cabin to work on this and to catch up on the sleep I lost the first night.

Soon it was time for the production show that I wanted to see last night. Only this time it was at 6:45 instead of 10:15. Nonetheless, they did not change the Cruise Compass, which states that Brad Cummings, the guy from last night, would be on tonight. The production show is Fast Forward, featuring a VCR running at high speed. Oops, my bad, it features many of the dancing movie musicals that made it to Broadway, such as Dirty Dancing, Footloose, Flashdance and Saturday Night Fever. The show had lots of energy and I enjoyed it. They don’t allow flash photography or recording, but still pictures without a flash are allowed, and I took many pictures (as did someone sitting one row in front of me).

After the show it was almost time for dinner, so I headed over to the Aquarium Bar for some Bailey’s Irish Cream. The Captain walked by (and apparently recognized me) and said hello to me. Not wanting to pass up a golden opportunity, I mention that at his noon time status report he said that we were 479 miles from the nearest land. He nodded. I then said that we are only three miles from land (while pointing straight down). The Captain replied that he was not sure that was land. I said it is dirt, isn’t it? He said he didn’t know, as he had never been there. I figured saying that he wasn’t planning to visit during this cruise would have been in bad taste, given what had happened with the rogue wave, so I just said goodbye.

At dinner tonight the headwaiter showed up again and introduced himself to the four people who were not at the table last night. Soon we got to talking about things we missed. One person asked for the fake sugar that comes in the yellow wrapping (I don’t remember the name of it) and the head waiter went and got some for her himself. Someone else mentioned something else and the head waiter called some to find out if the requested item was available. So I decided to ask about Baked Alaska parades. The head waiter pointed out that there have been no Baked Alaska parades for eight or nine years. He even told us why. I thought it was because some drapes caught fire. He said no, that it was actually Cherries Jubilee and one of the waiters not only caught himself on fire when the stopper came out of the bottle, but the liquid (which is very flammable) also splashed on some of the ladies who were in formal evening wear and they received some burns to their exposed skin. This was quickly followed by an e-mail stating that there will be no more cooking (open flames) in the dining room.

So, after a dinner and the post dinner conversation it was off to the cabin for me so I could catch the Monday Night Football game.

There are several aquariums on board ...

Love reliving the cruise . . we had a super time. Sorry I didn't make the M&M - I didn't sleep all night and must have fell asleep around 6 am. When I woke the meeting was half over.

Thanks for your review . . looking forward to reading the rest and seeing all your great photos.

Maryann

November 4, 2014 – Day at sea

I woke up to skyless cloud. The Cruise Compass said it would be partly cloudy with chances of rain. Well, the only part that is not cloudy is the ocean. Yuck! However, I did open my balcony door and it is noticeably warmer. So the ship did not make a “U” turn during the night and head back to New York.

Nothing much happening today, so I head up to the Windjammer for breakfast. No reason to bring breakfast back down to my balcony, so I eat in the Windjammer and then try to get some good video of the thing (I don’t know what to call it) in the Viking Crown Lounge. The “thing” is one of those motorized things that brings balls up to the top and drops the balls down a track. The golf balls come to gates and go in whichever direction the gate directs the golf balls. From there the balls either ring bells, do loop-de-loops, bounce into a basket, or gather until the weight of the balls causes the bucket to spill. It is kind of mesmerizing, but very difficult to record on video.

Given the weather conditions, I decide to take a few more pictures of the Royal Promenade and then head back to my cabin to upload the pictures and bring this up-to-date.

At the Captain’s noon time status report he apologized for the weather, then blamed it on the National Weather Service. He assured us that we are heading in the right direction as the weather we are having today is basically the same as we had in New Jersey, except that it is warmer. It is about 72 degrees and it is expected to get up to 84 degrees tomorrow. We should also expect partly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers. The Captain reminded us that partly cloudy means mostly sunny (which is true – it actually does mean that). Hopefully it doesn’t rain, as I have a helmet dive scheduled and I don’t want to get wet.

Having brought this up-to-date and having backed up my pictures, I decide to relax for a while. Later in the afternoon I head up on deck to take some outside pictures. Nothing doing, it is raining too hard. Oh well, it has been a tough year for me and now that things are back to normal, a new normal, but normal nonetheless, I’ve been looking forward to this cruise for about three weeks (yes, things finally fell into place for me about three weeks ago) and I have two goals for this cruise. One is to get away and leave the bad memories of the prior six and one half months behind and two, to relax. So, with no other choice but to remain inside I go back to the cabin and relax.

Prior to dinner I head to the Aquarium Bar to try out the Bacardi Rum. Then I decide to use my Diamond free picture to purchase the picture with the Captain. When I do I am told there is a special for Diamond members, five pictures for fifty dollars. I posed in front of five different backdrops on formal night, so I choose one of each plus and album, which includes a picture of the ship) and head off to dinner. The album and free picture cost as much as an 8 x 10 photo, $22.95. I hide the album and pictures under my napkin during dinner. But once we are done, I take it out to look at it. One of my tablemates asks me if I am getting good reception. What??? She thinks I am looking at an iPad. I state the reception is good, but the picture never changes. Actually I am looking at a map of the cruise. From a distance I guess it could look like a leather covered iPad with a map of the Caribbean being viewed.

After that I head back to the cabin and check the TV for the results of the election. However, we are one hour ahead of the Eastern Time Zone (we did not move out clocks back when the rest of the US, except Arizona, changed from Daylight Saving to Standard Time) and only the results from the Eastern and Central Time Zones are available.

Finally I am tired and tomorrow we will be at our first port and my first shore excursion since January, so until tomorrow morning, good night.

Love reliving the cruise . . we had a super time. Sorry I didn't make the M&M - I didn't sleep all night and must have fell asleep around 6 am. When I woke the meeting was half over.

 

Thanks for your review . . looking forward to reading the rest and seeing all your great photos.

 

Maryann

I knew someone would post in the middle of the review (and we haven't even arrived at our first port yet). :)

November 5, 2014 – Saint Maarten

I wake up to good weather. It is 5:30 and the Cruise Compass says sunrise is at 6:15. Well, it is already light outside. The sun is arriving early and my camera is still inside the cabin. I keep my cabin as cold as possible. Even so, I still have to throw the comforter off the bed or I will over heat at night. The problem is that the camera is cold. When the camera is taken outside, the moist warm air quickly condenses on the glass surfaces, like the lens. Attempting to take a picture in this condition is like trying to take a picture in dense fog. It takes about forty-five minutes for the camera to warm up enough that the lens stays clear, meaning that the camera can focus properly and a good quality picture will be the result. So, a sunrise picture is not going to happen this morning.

After the failed sunrise photograph opportunity I went back to sleep, as my shore excursion is scheduled for 1:00. The Caption told us told us earlier that we would be meeting the pilot around 8:00am. At 7:30 I figure I have plenty of time until I remember that in Saint Maarten the pilot meets the ship just outside the harbor. Sure enough I look outside and realize we are cruising past the island. I quickly get dressed and got some pictures of the three ships already here (the NCL Epic, the Celebrity Reflection and the HAL Westerndam. The Oasis of the Seas arrives soon after us. There must be over 15,000 passengers here today.

I decide to take it easy (cool down) for a while in the cabin, then I go for brunch around 11:00. After brunch I head into town for a couple of shot glasses for a friend that collects them. Because of where we are docked, I must have walked close to a mile round trip for these shot glasses. He better like the two shot glasses I picked out for him.

Today I am doing the helmet dive. The helmet weighs seventy-five pounds on land and fifteen pounds in the water. The helmet is filled with air, and the wearer simply walks along the bottom, or at least that is the idea. However, in actual practice one cannot lean to far forward or the water level will rise inside the helmet. If one leans too far back (such as trying to look at the surface) large bubbles come out from under the helmet. Part of the mask is flat, and looking through the flat portion of the mask is normal. However, by looking left or right one is looking through the curved portion of the mask and the view is distorted. Finally the water is about twenty feet deep and it is not stationary. There is a current under the water and standing still to take a picture is not easy.

The ticket said to bring some money, which I did. But after everyone has made it to the staging point on the pier, and signed the waivers, we are told the pictures are thirty-five dollars. I’m not bringing that much, nor am I bringing a credit card. So I will not be buying any pictures. As it turns out, the three selfies I took match the quality of the pictures that were for sale.

One little hiccup did occur. The group was split in two. I was in the second group. While waiting we were allowed to snorkel. I was concentrating so much on getting my snorkel gear set properly that I forgot to keep track of my camera, which was now lying on the ocean floor, twenty feel below me. Perhaps in freshwater I could dive that deep, but not in saltwater without a weight belt. Fortunately one of the divers was able to retrieve my camera for me.

Upon my return to the ship I take a nice freshwater shower and then head up to deck eleven for a snack, some nice cold ice cream, which is free on the pool deck (or one can pay extra and get ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s on deck five). I grab a bowl and spoon from the Windjammer and go outside to get my ice cream. The machine is down for cleaning. Back inside the windjammer I settle for two cholate chip cookies and some watermelon and pineapple slices and a nice tall plastic cup of ice water.

After my snack I head back to my cabin to upload and view the photographs. I find that there is a mixture of good and not so good underwater photographs. But, since electronic photographs are free, I don’t mind the photographs that didn’t work as long as I get a few keepers, and I did. After viewing the photographs I update this. I check tomorrow’s schedule and realize I am doing another water activity. So I recharge the battery for the underwater camera. I only have one battery for the underwater camera, two batteries for the DSLR and three sets of two AA batteries for the point & shoot camera.

Then I decide to relax until dinner time. At dinner the topic of conversation is what each of did during the day. I had gourmet meatballs as an appetizer and New York steak for the main course. The steak was so good I considered ordering a second steak. However, I got caught up in the conversation and ended up with only one steak.

After dinner I return to my cabin. My early morning shore excursion was changed to an early afternoon shore excursion, so I get to sleep in. I stayed up until past midnight. So until later this morning, goodnight.

Fast Forward ...

Wild, Cool & Swingin ...

It is neat how they got the dancer's shadows to show up on the screen behind them ...

November 6, 2014 – Antigua

This time I put my camera outside before I went to sleep, so that there would be no fogging issues in the morning. However, with heavy clouds on the horizon and almost no clouds overhead, there is nothing worth photographing. I notice we are going really slow and figure that must mean we are getting close to our port. However, I quick look around reveals that we are not near land. Then I remember that Saint Maarten and Antigua are only about 85 nautical miles apart. A speed of seven knots will get us there. Sure enough, about an hour later I can see the island. Unfortunately we are headed directly toward the sun, so there is no reason to get the camera out. Looking at the island is like looking into a spot light. I’ll get some pictures after the sun is higher in the sky.

The next time I look out from my balcony I see many of the crew headed ashore with their lifejackets on. Are they afraid the island is going to sink? Is there something the Captain told the crew that he has not shared with the passengers? Apparently today is crew safety training day. While walking the deck to take some photographs I notice one of the life rafts (not a lifeboat) is in the pool and some of the crew getting instructions on how to enter the life raft from the water. The lifeboats are for the passengers (except for those in lifeboat twenty) and a few of the crew. The life rafts are for the rest of the crew, and if they are good tippers, the passengers assigned to lifeboat twenty.

Then I go outside to get some good pictures of the ship and lifeboat twenty, and a shot glass for my friend. First I found a Caribbean shirt for myself. Then would you believe it, I had to actually search for a store that sold shot glasses. I thought there was a law that at least fifty percent of the stores in the dock area had to sell shot glasses. Even the ship sells shot glasses.

With the administrative duties out of the way, I returned to my cabin to change into swim wear for my feed the stingrays shore excursion. This one is almost as good as Stingray City in Grand Cayman, and they provide more food. The water was a little cloudy but I got some good pictures and bought a couple from the Antigua Stingray City photographer. All in all a very good day, since I still have all my fingers. This is the fourth time I have done this shore excursion (plus three times in Grand Cayman) but it is the first time without some kids on the excursion (there are only about thirty kids on the ship). The combination of the strange shape and the name can scare the kids. Young kids do not do well on this excursion or the one in Grand Cayman. Don’t even consider the one on Pearl Island in Nassau, that one is a waste of money in my opinion.

Back on the ship it was time for a fresh water shower and just before leaving Antigua, an announcement from the Captain. Seems lifeboat twenty, with its bow on deck four and a crushed safety rail below it is not going unnoticed. The shore based safety inspectors have been inspecting the ship and have been satisfied with the steps that have been taken. So far the ship has been allowed to continue its cruise.

Just before leaving New Jersey the Captain said that this was a historic voyage for the Explorer, as it has been based in New Jersey for about fourteen years. Given what happened the first morning, I have a feeling that Captain Rick will remember this cruise for a very long time.

Like sunrises, sunsets can also be ruined by clouds on the horizon. The problem is the sun ends up setting while still fairly high in the sky which washes out any color in the clouds that are overhead. Sunset was a bust, so I went inside and uploaded my pictures, updated this, started the process of picking out the pictures I want to post with my review and then headed off to dinner.

Again the topic of conversation among my tablemates was what we did for today. As to the food, for dinner tonight I decided to try the Chops’ steak. The menu lists the price as $16.95, but it is actually $19.49 because they add in a $2.54 tip. It was good, but the free steak (more correctly, the included steak) I had earlier was just as good.

Since I have an early morning tour tomorrow, I decide to go back to my cabin and go to sleep. So, until tomorrow morning, goodnight.

Captain Rick decided to turn the tables and take a picture of us ...

The hotel director, Francois Wache ...

Captain Rick Sullivan ...

The ice show ...

Don't think that's Francois in the photo above. Looks more like a marine staff officer, maybe Chief Engineer?

Look at the color in the shadow ...

Don't think that's Francois in the photo above. Looks more like a marine staff officer, maybe Chief Engineer?

You might be right. I thought the chief engineer was called away for some reason, but perhaps it was the hotel manager that got called away. The chief engineer's name is Nicola Cerjan.