Live from Caribbean Princess 12/5-12

[cdamion]

Day 3 - Aruba (Part 2 of 2) (sorry fell asleep before I could get on line yesterday)

 

 

Well, despite the fact I was planning to go to bed early tonight because of a painfully early shore excursion tomorrow, I am still up at 1am to give you the latest update. My fiancee, K, will understand when I explain that today I discovered that Cruzan is one of the well rums for the 2.99 drink specials after 8.

 

 

Before I go any further, I want to explain myself more. Earlier I said that I was underwhelmed by Aruba. I do not want this to be interpreted as a complaint. I never thought that Aruba would be an island that I would like. Taking this cruise was an opportune time to go see it. I could happily book a week at Grenada or Dominica. The attractive thing about this “Southern Caribbean Explorer” cruise is that I get to see a couple of places I wouldn't otherwise spend time or money to go see. I am grateful that I got to spend a little time on Aruba. Bonaire I am looking forward to because of the fantastic snorkeling there. I am eager to see if it can compare to the reefs right off the coast of the Bay Islands in Honduras.

 

 

Dinner tonight was very good. I had the shrimp cocktail, pear and mango soup and a very good cod dish. Desert was pineapple creme brulee. After dinner I toured the lounges Explorers had a Latin band playing. Fusion had a 50's - 60's sock hop, followed by karaoke. Skywalkers had 80's music for an hour, then all request night after that. Wheelhouse had a group playing jazz/big band. Crooners had Chris Turner, I believe. I haven't really been that impressed by him. The rest of the bands are good.

 

 

At Skywalkers after the Latin band stopped playing downstairs, a big group of the Puerto Rican passengers came up. These guys can dance! I had to laugh because as I was sitting at the bar in there watching, I noticed that there was what I would describe as a “dance off” going on - although I don't think anybody dancing realized what was happening. Let me explain, since it was an all request night, the music kept alternating between Latin music and top 40 stuff. When the Latin music played, the Puerto Ricans got up on the dance floor and danced. They almost looked choreographed because they danced specific dances for some of the songs. If there wasn't a specific dance they were doing something that looked like the electric slide. Then, when the top 40 music came on, they would sit down and the other passengers would come up and dance. When the next Latin song came on they would all sit down and the first group would get back on the dance floor. It went back and forth like this for quite a while. Then they played a Gloria Estefan(sp?) song and everybody was on the dance floor. Somebody started a conga line that wound its way through the club.

 

 

Fun day.

 

 

Next up, Bonaire...

[cdamion]

Day 4 - Bonaire (part 1)

 

 

Ship docked at 7am. I booked a shore excursion through the ship on the Seacow 2 snorkel stop trip. I had to be down at the dock at 7:20 for the trip. When I got off the ship, I was amazed at how blue and clear the water was in port. You could see the straight to the bottom, fish swimming and all. HAL Noordam is pulling up right behind us.

 

 

Once on board the Seacow, we threaded the needle just inches between the CB and the Noordam passing inches underneath the mooring lines for the ships. We slowly chugged out to a snorkel spot of the coast of Klein Bonaire where we stayed for about 45 minutes. When we got back on the boat, the skies opened up and it started pouring on us. Only about 1/3 of the boat was covered - and I was not in that 1/3. As a matter of fact, where I was sitting was right under the roof where the water was pouring off right onto my. I just moved my things under the covering and stayed outside. I was already wet from snorkeling, why worry about the rain? It only lasted a few minutes, then it cleared to partly cloudy. We chugged slowly down to the next stop a little bit further down the island where we snorkelled for another hour. I have to say that this was among the best places I have snorkelled. The water here is a blue I have never seen before on any other island. The coral is in extremely good condition - and has grown to be huge.

 

 

I was very tired from staying out too late and drinking too much rum, so I came back to the boat after about 30 minutes and talked to one of the guys on the crew about Bonaire. They were very friendly, although I heard the woman who was running the boat get impatient with somebody about how they were using the mask. I stayed away from the mass of people (about 28) and snorkeled by myself so I wouldn't be bumping into anybody, so I didn't see if the person deserved it or not. I spoke to the woman later as she was cleaning gear and she was very very friendly also. We got to the ship at about 11. I would recommend Seacow, although you can take the water taxi to Klein Bonaire and go out on your own.

 

 

I quickly ran back to my cabin and dropped off my soaking wet backpack and towel (from the rain), and went back on shore where I joined 3 other people for a two hour tour of the island in a minivan. (I REALLY need to be better at remembering names). One person was a woman from Dominica who sat behind me and a couple from Minnesota in front of me. We got a fantastic tour of the north half of the island with a couple of stops. I wish I could remember the driver's name, because he was great. When we got back to the town we were docked in, I had the driver stop and let me out so I could spend the remaining 30 minutes before boarding to see the shops.

 

 

This port has been the surprise of the cruise. As I indicated yesterday, I do not tend to like the flatter desert-landscape islands. Bonaire is a fantastic exception. Where I was not excited at all about Aruba, I absolutely loved Bonaire. Small, quiet, fantastically clear water (visibility was over 60 feet today), friendly locals, and charmingly undeveloped with plenty of character.

Once back on board I got a tuna sandwich and the chicken salad at the International Cafe. The tuna salad was ok. The chicken salad was phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal.

 

 

It is now almost 3. I am going to rest for a while and then head to the dining room for afternoon tea.

 

 

More soon...

[u2cruiser]

I wish I could have seen the dance off.

I've enjoyed reading about Aruba and Bonaire as I've never been to either. You're tiring me out with all this dashing about :eek:. You are having 3 cruises in one (with just as many meals :D)

 

Enjoy the scones and cream.

[TLC535]

Thanks so much for the "live from" & glad to hear you are having such a good time - we also fell in love with Bonaire earlier this year.

mmmmmmmmmmmm....chicken salad...gooooooooood !!!:D

Thanks for the reminder (& tease:p) 99 days until we get that again...

continued smooth sailing....

[Minoushka]

WE will be on CB soon Could you tell me where the water taxi is for Klein bOnaire and Great snorkeling

We are REALLY looking forward to it

Also where is the Casino .Could you specify which penny machines are on board?

Anything else we should not miss on Cb

Sorry your Fiancee is not with you .I'm sure she will be next time

 

Michele

Are you doing BTB

[nabby]

I love reading this! You have quite a gift for writing, I feel almost like I am there with you.

 

I second the chicken salad at the IC. Can't wait to dig in (80 days, but who's counting?) :D

 

And yes, you NEED to take K someplace warm! It's like living in the freezer up here.

[ineptinmate]

Day 3 - Aruba (Part 2 of 2) (sorry fell asleep before I could get on line yesterday)

 

 

Well, despite the fact I was planning to go to bed early tonight because of a painfully early shore excursion tomorrow, I am still up at 1am to give you the latest update. My fiancee, K, will understand when I explain that today I discovered that Cruzan is one of the well rums for the 2.99 drink specials after 8.

...

 

C-

That's great about the Cruzan, but no so great for early port calls!;) I was so surprised (and happy) that you texted me today. I miss you so much and I've gotten over the Alsaka thing. I'm hoping you were just joking...right?

I remember in the Onyx room (I think) on Carnival when they had the latin band, there were some songs that barely anyone danced to and then some songs that had the floor packed. That had to be fun to watch (the dance off).

I'm glad you got to enjoy some good snorkelling on Bonaire and I hope you didn't get sick this time.

Hopefully you can call me tomorrow from Grenada. I look forward to hearing your voice again. :D

K-

[ineptinmate]

I love reading this! You have quite a gift for writing, I feel almost like I am there with you.

 

I second the chicken salad at the IC. Can't wait to dig in (80 days, but who's counting?) :D

 

And yes, you NEED to take K someplace warm! It's like living in the freezer up here.

 

I second that last remark!

K-

[cdamion]

CDAMION, we will be on the CB in January. Are you taking pictures of the interior of the ship? We would like to just see what it looks like. Since we have already been on the Emerald we know what the exterior looks like.

 

Thanks,

Steve

 

Yes. Several pics inside the ship.

[cdamion]

WE will be on CB soon Could you tell me where the water taxi is for Klein bOnaire and Great snorkeling

We are REALLY looking forward to it

Also where is the Casino .Could you specify which penny machines are on board?

Anything else we should not miss on Cb

Sorry your Fiancee is not with you .I'm sure she will be next time

 

Michele

Are you doing BTB

 

Water taxi is right at the dock. I will check the penny machines and let you know.

[cdamion]

C-

That's great about the Cruzan, but no so great for early port calls!;) I was so surprised (and happy) that you texted me today. I miss you so much and I've gotten over the Alsaka thing. I'm hoping you were just joking...right?

I remember in the Onyx room (I think) on Carnival when they had the latin band, there were some songs that barely anyone danced to and then some songs that had the floor packed. That had to be fun to watch (the dance off).

I'm glad you got to enjoy some good snorkelling on Bonaire and I hope you didn't get sick this time.

Hopefully you can call me tomorrow from Grenada. I look forward to hearing your voice again. :D

K-

 

Um yes(?) I was just kidding (this will be corrected if anybody I spoke to on board reads this).

 

Nope. Didn't get sick. I really wish I knew what happened that time in Vieques, maybe dehydrated or ??? it was after a very long Kayak against the wind, maybe just drained. Im glad it isn't a new glitch from aging. I still have at least a couple more times snorkeling on this trip.

 

Oops, 2 minutes to dinner. Gotta run.

[HelloHelloHola]

I am glad you snorkel with the SeaCow. Must have been a Moooo-ving experience. We snorkel with the Samur, the Thai Junk (boat).

 

Looking forward to you next report on Grenada.

[cdamion]

Day 4 - Bonaire (Part 2)

 

 

I want to expand on the Bonaire taxi tour because after reflecting further, it is something that was just great. They are at a fixed rate of $25 per person for a 2-hour tour that covers half of the island there is a northern and southern route. The northern one is apparently the better of the two, which is what we went on. From the ship we drove past the shopping area of the main town on the island. There is more colorful Dutch architecture here than in Aruba. There is also an open market on cruise ship days, which are 2 - 3 times per week during the cooler 6 months of the year. The guide on the boat earlier said that it is rare to have 2 ships here on one day - only about 6 times per year.

 

 

The shops and open market sell various concoctions of sea salt (Bonaire is a huge salt producer). There are also lots of different types of crafts, clothes, etc., all made by the locals. You will not find the jewelry shops, electronics stores, restaurant chains, etc. that you have in St. Thomas or Aruba. I HATE shopping, but wandering around this port was interesting.

 

 

Back to the tour, after passing by the shopping area, we headed along the coast, which is an unusual mix of cacti growing up to the rocky coast. All along the route we took, people were parked and doing shore dives. We did see one Iguana hanging out on a branch at the edge of the water. Next we headed inland to the town of Rincon, which was basically shut down today due to some religious holiday. There is nothing touristy here. It reminds me of the little towns on other islands or in Central America. Just a clean little sleepy town. Wild goats wander the streets here.

 

 

Next up was over the hills to another coastline that is just covered with two types of cactus. More cactus than I ever saw in Arizona. In this area, there are a few scattered houses - and wild donkeys, who are inland during the day, but go to the beach to sleep every night to avoid mosquitos. We then headed up to the top of a large hill (mountain to them) where there is a nice overlook of most of the island, including the giant cruise ships docked. Then back down to a marshy area not far from town where we got to see Bonaire's wild flamingos. The driver told us about history, government, current political issues (they are apparently voting to determine if they will join governments with Curacao or the Dutch. I will read more about that when I get back.

 

 

Bonaire is a very interesting little island. There are shades of blue in the water that I have never seen before, and I have been traveling regularly through the Caribbean and Hawaii since I was a child. Bonaire was an unexpected, pleasant surprise. Do note, there aren't really beaches here, this is more a place for snorkeling and especially divers.

 

 

I happened to meet a couple of cruise critic regulars at afternoon tea today who said that there have been several incidents with the Puerto Ricans aboard, such as the kids messing with the instruments in the Piazza between sets and interrupting the comedy show to the point the comedian had to stop it. When they return, I will let them give you the details in their review, which is sounds like will be pretty negative. I have not seen anything like this at all. I am having a fantastic cruise and really don't think I will travel on any other line. It is very interesting how different the same cruise can be for different people. This is especially true on the CB because of the number of small venues that are aboard. I have seen very few of the 180 kids on board, let alone seeing any being disruptive, but I am not frequenting the popular places. I am trying to unwind, so my cruise (despite very active port calls) is pretty quiet because I am heading to the quieter venues.

 

 

I will be really interested to see how the reviews come in for this cruise. I am thoroughly enjoying it. Not everything is perfect, but what ever is? Like I said, there are apparently 1600 Puerto Ricans on board because of a special Princess ran to fill the ship. One of the bartenders told me that last week the crew was told there were only 700 cabins sold for this sailing. The ship is sold out now. I have also met several people from Dominica, which is kind of interesting since that is one of the port calls. There are several Canadians I have met as well from both British Columbia and Ontario. I am really enjoying the international flavor this sailing has.

 

 

Tonight it is rainy and windy, so it is pretty crowded inside. Even so, there are still venues to go to that are quiet. This is a well laid out ship.

 

 

I am going to go find one of those venues to relax in for a little while before I come back with a quick update on dinner and the evening.

 

Oh, and the picture count? Approx 800 so far!!! (several duplicates with bracketing, etc.)

[cdamion]

I am glad you snorkel with the SeaCow. Must have been a Moooo-ving experience. We snorkel with the Samur, the Thai Junk (boat).

 

Looking forward to you next report on Grenada.

 

That boat passed right by us when we were in the water. It looked neat, but crowded. I chose the Moooo-ving experience because of the two stops. I wanted to do the Woodwind, but they were sold out.

[ineptinmate]

Um yes(?) I was just kidding (this will be corrected if anybody I spoke to on board reads this).

 

Nope. Didn't get sick. I really wish I knew what happened that time in Vieques, maybe dehydrated or ??? it was after a very long Kayak against the wind, maybe just drained. Im glad it isn't a new glitch from aging. I still have at least a couple more times snorkeling on this trip.

 

Oops, 2 minutes to dinner. Gotta run.

 

Dinner too. You are a riot, with the whole "foodie experience." I'll expect a larger C when you come home on Monday! ;)

I'm sure we'll have a run down of the dinner delights in a bit. You were always up at the crack of dawn to go have breakfast at the anytime dining. Me....well it is a vacation right? Someone should serve me breakfast. That is the most exquisite indulgence!

Thank goodness you got to enjoy the snorkel with out getting sick. I know you were worried about it before you left.

I love you-miss you

K-

[CrusinAgain]

We loved Bonaire also. If you like the rainforest type scenery, you are in for a treat tomorrow. Too bad you don't see Curacao also then you would have made it to the ABC's islands. That just means you need to go on another cruise to see it. I still have my bag of salt that I got with a purchase in Bonaire. It is beautiful water there and we were on the only ship and that was when the Crown was doing this run instead of the Caribbean Princess.

 

Regarding that chicken salad, are there huge chunks of apples in it now? It wasn't last year on the Caribbean Princess but it was on the Crown in October.

[cdamion]

Day 4 - Bonaire (Part 3)

 

 

Tonight was Italian night in the main dining room. I had shrimp cocktail, mixed green salad and veal (not marsala, but ______, stupid memory of mine) which was in a marsala sauce. The veal was just o.k. to me, but everybody else at the table really liked it. After dinner I relaxed for a while, then wandered from lounge to lounge. I stood in the back of the theater for the hypnotist show. He seemed ok. Ive seen hypnotist shows before and he did similar stuff in the few minutes I stood back there. The audience was enjoying it. In the Piazza, the Caribbean Princess orchestra played dixieland jazz, which sounded really really good. Latin Fever played to a packed Explorer's Lounge. Wheelhouse had steel drum/Caribbean music which drew several of the people on board from Dominica. Tonight was supposed to be the Tropical Night Deck Party, but wind and rain caused them to move it into Fusion. I stopped by here for a little bit too, but I was so wiped out from running around that I just ended up back in the Wheelhouse to listen to the Caribbean music. While I haven't spent a whole lot of time in there, I like the design of the Wheelhouse bar the best. It has a very nice nautical theme.

 

 

It is very very late. We don't arrive in Grenada until noon, so I can sleep in. Still have no plans for Grenada other than walking around. I think I will try to find a local tour operator. We'll see. I may just decide to stay in town and/or take the water taxi to Grand Anse beach, or to the underwater sculpture park. I dont know that I want to sit in a van for several hours for a tour and then do the same thing again in Dominica.

 

 

I have been mainly hanging out talking to the crew and learned a couple of things, first they are not saying that this voyage is not representative of how things usually are aboard. Also, there are rumors that Skywalkers will cease to be. They don't know what is going to replace it. The word is that it just is not generating the revenue they wanted it to.

 

As far as my take on cruising solo now... do it. I have met lots of great people, a couple odd ones. Conversations are always interesting and meeting people from all over the US, PR, Canada, England, Dominica, and (in Aruba) even people from another ship.

 

Princess' tag line is "Escape Completely" today for the first time in a very long time I did - I had to stop and try to remember what day of the week it is. I have not seen a single news story and have no idea what is going on outside of the ship, with the exception of this thread. Cant remember the last time that happened.

 

All right. Eyes are very heavy. Until tomorrow...

 

...oh, one more thing. At dinner when the waiter asked what we wanted for dessert, one of my tablemates said "nothing". When our dessert was brought to the table, he was given a plate with the word "nothing" written on it in chocolate. It is nice at dinner to see the same folks each evening and report back to each other on our daily adventures.

 

ok, goodnight for real now

[cdamion]

We loved Bonaire also. If you like the rainforest type scenery, you are in for a treat tomorrow. Too bad you don't see Curacao also then you would have made it to the ABC's islands. That just means you need to go on another cruise to see it. I still have my bag of salt that I got with a purchase in Bonaire. It is beautiful water there and we were on the only ship and that was when the Crown was doing this run instead of the Caribbean Princess.

 

Regarding that chicken salad, are there huge chunks of apples in it now? It wasn't last year on the Caribbean Princess but it was on the Crown in October.

 

Yes I am excited about both Grenada and Dominica. I have talked to several of the people on board from Dominica and they are very proud of what their island offers.

 

...and the chicken salad did not have apples in it. I will check it out tomorrow and let you know. I am going to have to sample quite a bit of it just to be sure - somebody's gotta do it.

[CrusinAgain]

Yes I am excited about both Grenada and Dominica. I have talked to several of the people on board from Dominica and they are very proud of what their island offers.

 

...and the chicken salad did not have apples in it. I will check it out tomorrow and let you know. I am going to have to sample quite a bit of it just to be sure - somebody's gotta do it.

 

 

Super! Dominica and Grenada both are very nice but the snorkeling the best at Bonaire. Grenada has river tubing that was fun and scenic you might want to check out. Its called adventure tubing. Have fun and thanks for taste testing the chicken salad we hope they haven't changed the recipe. :)

[u2cruiser]

I can almost feel the atmosphere onboard through your writing. Excellent about the 'nothing' dessert :D Even 'nothing' comes loaded with calories on a cruise, apparently!

 

We had a really nice walk in Dominica as we had done the rainforest ride and waterfalls last visit. We turned right at the dock to avoid the taxi touts and walked quite a long way into a little township. We had a beer at 'Sandy's Fancy Shop' ;) From there we turned left and walked to the Botanical Gardens. What a beautiful green space. The ruin of a coach, flattened by a massive tree in 1979 by hurricane David is quite a sight to see. There was a party in the park being set up for Independence day; very interesting.

 

Enjoy your day, and thanks.

[Cruiseboy86]

If you meet Glenn and Lynette Swinton from Iowa please say "Hi" from their son John. They are on their first cruise. They are with my brother and his wife and in-laws. They have never met a stranger and I'm sure they would love to hear your story and thoughts on the cruise. I'm enjoying your posts too. Please keep them coming as long as they don't interfere with your fun and activities.

[ineptinmate]

I'm so happy you have finally "escaped". I can't wait to meet the relaxed and happy C on Monday (at O'hare-where it will be below zero, yes your boots are still in the car!)

Enjoy Grenada today, it looks to be the last day of no showers for the rest of the cruise. Dominica should be a high of 84 with scattered showers tomorrow and St. Thomas will be a high of 80 with scattered showers on Saturday. I still think you should head up for some real rum ice cream by Megan's. MMMMMM.... And pick up some of those island spices we love too.

Miss you

K-

[tennisobo]

Cruiseboy86: I think we might have been on the same cruise as you in '05. I seem to remember the Nora Springs connection. My husband taught in Rockford many years ago. Anyway....happy sailings to you from a former Iowan. :)

[Liz54]

I'm so happy you have finally "escaped". I can't wait to meet the relaxed and happy C on Monday (at O'hare-where it will be below zero, yes your boots are still in the car!)

Enjoy Grenada today, it looks to be the last day of no showers for the rest of the cruise. Dominica should be a high of 84 with scattered showers tomorrow and St. Thomas will be a high of 80 with scattered showers on Saturday. I still think you should head up for some real rum ice cream by Megan's. MMMMMM.... And pick up some of those island spices we love too.

Miss you

K-

 

 

Oh K- Have a heart. Put the boots indoors till you go pick him up. Otherwise they will be icy!!!

[Cruiseboy86]

Cruiseboy86: I think we might have been on the same cruise as you in '05. I seem to remember the Nora Springs connection. My husband taught in Rockford many years ago. Anyway....happy sailings to you from a former Iowan. :)

 

Yes, that was me! Good to hear from you again. Small world.

 

John