Blount Grande Caribe New Orleans to St. Petersburg

[rafinmd]

I post to the wordpress version of this account via email, and copies go out by email to some family and friends. I got an email back from a friend who once lived in the Central Florida about the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. A span of the original bridge

was destroyed by a runaway barge, and she remembered crossing the remaining span of the bridge with an eerie abrupt break in the other span. My parents retired in Lakeland in 1969 and I remember crossing both the bridge in it's impaired state and the new span. I'm also linking to some video taken passing under the bridge on the Jewel of the Seas 17 months ago. Mary, I don't think I have the technical skills to do much with the Sea Scouts.

 

 

I woke at 5 on a very quiet Tampa waterfront. It was just a short final run to St. Petersburg, and we left about 6:45. There were just a few clouds, but tall buildings obstructed our view to the east. The rising sun did shine brightly on the scattered clouds overhead and finally appeared as we came to some clearings in the harbor.

 

We docked in the port of St. Petersburg about 9, next to the University of Southern Florida and the Salvador Dali museum. We were given passes to the "Looper" city trolley but I spent much of the morning looking at my arrangements for leaving the ship. I'm booked on an Amtrak bus to Orlando to meet my train and I wanted to find the actual location of the bus stop. It's in Pinellas Park, roughly midway between St. Petersburg and Clearwater, and the transit system got me close, but not quite there. It was a slow ride and it will be well worth it to use a cab when I have my luggage. My GPS took me down a nondescript street and I was wondering if I had the wrong address, when the sign appeared on a storefront. I will actually have quite a decent place to meet the bus in the morning.

 

In the afternoon I visited the St. Petersburg pier. It looks very nice and the inverted pyramid at the end is very attractive, but it's been a maintenance problem and will be permanently closed next week. It was probably busier than usual as people were taking a last look.

 

I returned to the ship about 4 and started packing. We had the Captain's farewell cocktail party and dinner with the crew called up for a final farewell. In the evening we had a game of "fact or crap" where we were given outlandish stories and had to guess if they were true or not. The closest thing I have seen to it is the liars club. My team won a closely fought contest.

 

As today's parting shot, this is the "real" Memorial Day, May 30, although we now celebrate it on a Monday for convenience. Since we are docked next to a bust Coast Guard facility it is appropriate to thank and recognize that somewhat forgotten branch of the armed forces for what they do to keep us safe.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I was up at 5 despite the alarm being packed away and took a morning walk to the pier and back. The morning started out comfortably warm but quite windy. My route took me past several parks and the Salvador Dali Museum.

 

While some people had to catch early flights, most of us got a final breakfast. We were expected to be out of our rooms by 9AM but those with afternoon flights had use of the lounge until noon. Jenn came on the PA about 8:45 to tell me my taxi was ready. I quickly packed up the remaining stuff and made my way to the street, finding my big bag was already loaded.

 

I was feeling a bit paranoid about the checking I did Thursday to find the bus stop. The cabbie told me about a fare he picked up at the St. Petersburg Greyhound station who went to the wrong place and had 20 minutes to get to the Amtrak stop 30 minutes away. The bus was a bit late and he barely made it. The kicker came when the cabbie noted that his wife and child showed up seconds later in another cab. I wonder how long that marriage lasted, and perhaps a bit of paranoia is not such a bad idea.

 

The station opened at 9 and I arrived about 9:10 for the 10:05 bus. I inquired about lunch and the station agent said they would stop serving promptly at 2. With a 1:35 train the odds were good but not assured. The bus actually arrived at 10:02 and after the 10 or so of us were loaded we left about 10:15. We remained 10 minutes late at Tampa and Lakeland but arrived in Orlando 15 minutes ahead of our 1:00 schedule.

 

The Silver Meteor was due to arrive at 1:23 and was about 10 minutes late. My car attendant told me to drop my bags in the room and go straight to the diner. As we left at 1:55 I had my drinks and my order was in process. We continued 20 minutes late through Florida, partially delayed by construction activity for what appears to be new commuter service for the Orlando area.

 

I enjoyed a steak dinner in the dining car and retired for the night about 9:30. When I woke, we were in Richmond, about an hour behind schedule. Soon after my pancake breakfast we arrived in Alexandria, less than 30 minutes late. We had an extended stop in Washington as the Silver Meteor transferred from diesel to electirc power and arrived in Baltimore at 8:41, 25 minutes late. My airport shuttle van was waiting at the station and I arrived home 9:25.

 

My final parting shot likely needs a bit of explanation. I have 2 favorite cruise lines. I first set foot on ships of Crystal and Blount (then American Canadian Caribbean) about 3 months apart in 1996. While the 2 companies are polar opposites I knew instantly when I stepped aboard that they would be favorites. A Crystal tradition is that on every sail away, What A Wonderful World is played. It was always bittersweet when I heard that song on other lines, and as a reminder that the glass was 25% or 1% empty it was more significantly 75% or 99% full I would rewrite a few lyrics of the song to fit the situation. That is not necessary on Crystal or Blount, where the glass overflows, but not necessary does not mean can't or shouldn't. So:

 

I see sands of white, dolphins play the seas

Lovely creatures carved from trees that used to be,

And I think to myself What a wonderful world

 

I see bayous lined with trees, eagles fly with pride

Turtles in the sun while gators gently glide

And I think to myself What a wonderful world

 

The shelter of the islands, the rolling of the sea

The spirit of the people. the flow of history

New friends we find with drums, bands and even their vans,

all in a chorus of welcome to you

 

Storms come by, old features go

We learn from experience, and use what we know

And I think to myself What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself What a wonderful world Oh yeah

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I'll post a link when it is published:

 

Background: Blount Small Ship Adventures(BSSA) truly marches to a different drummer in the cruise industry. A family owned company, the term family will come up often, and I typically use the term in the way real families actually work, not some stylized version of the term. Founder Luther Blount was the company's guiding influence for 40 years, leaving his mark right up to his death in 2006. His daughter Nancy is now President and has added some woman's touches but the family tradition still continues. Despite the company's minuscule size (it's 2 ships have a TOTAL capacity of 190 passengers), there are almost 2 distinct companies, and most passengers are fiercely loyal to one or the other with little intermixing. The Caribbean side centers on water activities, primarily swimming and snorkeling, while the North American itineraries center on scenic cruising and history. For those who have sailed with Blount (formerly ACCL) in the past, changes from recent years are that wine is included with lunch and dinner and there are now choices for both dinner entrees and deserts.

 

Embarkation: The ship was docked at the North end of the Port of New Orleans beyond the bridges and near the Port Administration Building and Mardi Gras World. As I approached the gangway a deck hand took my bags and headed for my cabin. Check-in is handled in the lounge where I gave a crew member my ticket and my choices for dinner and picked up a name tag. Normally one of the stewardesses will escort a passenger to the cabin and point out the features; I’m pretty much a Blount regular and that wasn’t deemed necessary.

 

Ship info: All of Blount's ships are designed to cruise New York's Erie Canal, which has several bridges with about 17 foot vertical clearance. They have a retractable pilot house which normally sits on the topmost deck but can be lowered to the deck below. One unfortunate consequence of the design for low bridges is that the ceilings are low (approximately 6'3") which would be a consideration for people over that height. The Grande Caribe, and near twin Grande Mariner, have 2 ½ inside decks, with 6 cabins and crew areas on the lowest deck, and cabins and dining room on the middle deck, and cabins and lounge on the upper deck. There is a walk around the outside of the upper deck, about 15 laps per mile, although walking is really better done ashore. An open upper deck is on top, except when transiting the Erie Canal.

 

Staterooms: The cabins are tiny, basic, and functional. Most are approximately 80 square feet, and have a small sink and toilet. The space between the sink and toilet serves as the shower, with the shower head mounted on the wall, and a curtain which comes into place on the other 3 sides containing the spray in the shower space. It's very nontraditional but quite functional. A few cabins now have separate showers. There are generally 2 beds sitting at right angles, cabinet space and a writing desk. One thing that may surprise newcomers is that the cabin doors do not lock from the outside. With the small, family atmosphere I've never heard of this causing a problem, but it is certainly unusual. Most of the Niagara Prince cabin doors face interior hallways and are sliding fabric, much like sliding room dividers. Each cabin has an individual heat-ac unit, much like a room air conditioner. Rooms are not equipped with television or phones.

 

Crew: Since these are US flag ships, the crew is all American, and generally young. We had a crew of 16: Captain, First officer, Engineer, Cruise Director, Hotel Director, Chef and assistant, 5 Stewardess and 4 deck hands. The entire crew from Captain on down is closely engaged with the passengers and will all typically address the passengers by name. We are much more on our own than on a typical cruise ship (for example, if we want a mid-afternoon cup of coffee we pretty much need to pour it ourselves), but the service is very personal and professional.

 

Dining: All meals are served in the dining room. In the tradition of real family dining, there are set meal times, generally 8am, noon, and 6pm. Also, as with real families, the chef sets the menu of the day, with a choice usually of a meat or seafood and 2 deserts for dinner. The menu is posted the night before in the dining room. People who see something on the menu they don't like will speak to the chef a meal in advance and a substitution will be offered. The tables are for 6 or 8, and at the appointed time we pick a vacant seat. In the course of the cruise I shared a table at least once with nearly every other passenger. Breakfast starts with a buffet line for fruit, milk, juice, and hot and cold cereal. Cooked entrees are served family style (large platters are passed around the tables). Lunch is also served family style, while dinner is served traditionally. Between meals there are snacks available in the lounge and dining room, self service soft drinks in the lounge and a coffee station in the dining room. Blount serves drinks on the Captains welcome aboard and farewell nights and wine with dinner. At other times the policy is BYOB. There is storage space, including a refrigerator, for passenger liquor in the lounge and drink setups are always furnished.

 

Activities and entertainment: Formal entertainment is fairly limited. The Cruise Director organizes a couple of games each day but the emphasis is on either ports or scenic cruising. An onboard naturalist gave presentations on environmental topics, and was out on deck pointing out wildlife. In the evening there is either a movie in the lounge or a local entertainer when in port. There is no casino and very little shopping. The ship's store with Blount items is opened once each cruise. Other shopping needs will have to be met on shore, and the cruise director will help find the right places at each port.

 

Children: Children are generally not encouraged. The policy is a minimum age of 14 years although I have seen younger mature children on a case-by-case basis.

 

Disembarkation: A breeze. Since there are few onboard expenses, we settled our bills the day before arrival in St. Petersburg, and the cruise director collected our departure information and arranged taxis/shuttles as appropriate. Luggage went outside our doors the morning we disembarked. After breakfast it was arranged in the lounge sorted by departure time. When we were ready we simply walked off the ship. I had a taxi to meet my Amtrak departure. It arrived a few minutes ahead of the reservation. I was paged, walked off the ship, and found the crew had already loaded my luggage in the taxi.

 

Summary: Blount is not for everybody. People who want a big menu of activities, those who want to be pampered in luxury and those who have a preset idea of what a cruise should be are likely to be disappointed. Those who are open to a new and intimate experience can have a wonderful time. Prices tend to be on the high side reflecting the lack of economy of scale and the fact that the crew is earning American wages.

 

Ports: Shore tours are not included in the fare, but are moderately priced. On this cruise they ranged from $29 to $85 with an average of about $60.

New Orleans: Blount sometimes allows embarkation a day early, and I was able to board a day ahead of time with dinner and breakfast included. There were no ship activities on the general embarkation day and I went for a cruise on the Natchez, a steam paddlewheel riverboat. It was very enjoyable with views of the waterfront, French Quarter, Algiers, and sites from the War of 1812 and Civil War. I did not partake but a lunch was available which looked quite nice.

 

The next day the ship offered 2 shore excursions. The morning tour was a city and Katrina tour where we visited cemeteries, various styles of architecture and toured the canal system and areas where the system failed. We had a refreshment stop at the Art Museum park. The afternoon tour was an airboat tour on the bayous where we saw lots of wildlife including closeup views of alligators and bayou cabins. It was excellent. A local R&B group entertained in the evening.

 

We were supposed to leave New Orleans at 7 the next morning but our departure was delayed until 8:45, probably because we had to pass through a flood control gate that would be closed until noon. I had time for a morning walk where I found excellent internet at a Starbucks near the most downstream cruise terminal.

 

Biloxi: We docked with yachts at a marina which may have been attached to a casino. We had a “train” tour which visited the main sites and stopped at the final home of Jefferson Davis. A highlight was the “Katrina Sculpture Park” where a chainsaw artist used some trees destroyed by Katrina to create beautiful sculptures of birds and sea life. The evening we docked a local historian told “Stories of Biloxi”.

 

Mobile: Our visit here was just a morning. The ship’s tour went to Bellingrath Gardens and Home, although I skipped it in favor of a visit to a local Laundromat. We docked behind the Convention center, right in the midst of the downtown area. A free shuttle hits the major downtown sites about every 15 minutes. Most Blount stops in Mobile spend the day there and a great option is the USS Arizona Battleship. That visit requires a taxi.

 

Pensacola: We docked at the Plaza de Luna, staying from about 9PM for a full day and overnight, leaving early the 2nd morning. We were greeted by a welcoming party of drummers in period costumes. The location was convenient to the center of town and museums. There were again morning and afternoon tours. I skipped the morning tour which toured the sites and museum complex. The afternoon tour visited the National Naval Aviation Museum, an astounding collection of historic military aircraft spread over 2 huge hangers. We also visited Fort Barrancas, one of several forts which protected the harbor entrance, and the Pensacola light house, where 177 steps provided a superb view of the area. A local music group performed that evening and we left early the next morning. Pensacola was a real gem. There are not facilities for large cruise ships but I think it would be a great alternative to Key West for ships like Silversea, Seabourn, or Azamara.

 

Panama City: This was essentially a rest stop for the officers as the crew size does not work well with multiple overnight cruises. We docked at the local marina around dinner time. Panama City appeared to be a nice, quaint small town, but it was pretty much closed up on a Sunday evening. A local blues singer came aboard to perform.

 

Carabelle: A first call for Blount, Carabelle was a bit of a disappointment. A tour was planned for a nature experience at Tate’s Hell State Forest, but the tour operator ended up with a capacity of only 4. A local historian gave an evening presentation, and offered his van for the afternoon to escort people to th local museums and shopping places.

 

Tampa: We docked at the Westin Harbor Island. I passed on the morning tour to the H.B. Plant Museum. In the afternoon there was a shuttle to local attractions on the waterfront, Tampa History Center, Florida Aquarium, or the American Victory. I visited the American Victory. Victory ships are a WWII upgrade of the Liberty Ship and was a very interesting ship. These attractions are all very close to the Tampa Cruise Port. We had an evening performance by violinist Leah Rothe who played mostly classical music but sampled several styles.

 

St. Petersburg: Our disembarkation stop was just a stone’s throw from Tampa. We docked at the port of Tampa and were all given day passes for the “looper” trolley. Points of interest there were the Dali Museum, the city pier (about to be demolished), Fine Arts Museum, Holocaust Museum, and a unique open air post office.

[Willow1686]

Thank you very much for your live reporting and your review; this company is completely new to me and it's opened up opportunities I didn't know existed!

 

It certainly seems to be a way of seeing parts of America in a very intimate way, and I can do without 'luxury' when the trade off is actually learning about the things I am seeing. The family atmosphere is also an attraction, so thank you once again for widening my horizons!

[wander]

About a year ago we went on a Blount cruise and I concur with almost everything rafinmd has said about the ship and the company. We had a wonderful time. Certainly different from a HAL cruise, but I loved them both.

 

On the same ship our cabin had a separate shower, actually with a separate door from the cabin right next to the door to the rest of the bathroom.

 

"Cozy" was a very appropriate word for the cabin but if compared to a train compartment it is very spacious! IF someone really wants to spend cruising time alone in their cabin - no problem, but it is really designed to be about the rest of the ship. The dining area is open all day and many folks settled there to use the tables for card games, laptop/tablet use, knotting, or just talking. There is a lounge up one deck that also accommodates all with seats more fit for lounging, viewing, talking, hearing speakers, etc. This is also where the bar area is. They encourage folks to bring their own liquor onboard. You can label it and store it in the bar area. At cocktail time they provide a variety of mixers, nuts or other munchies, glasses, etc. On our cruise I did not hear of anyone "loosing" any of their liquor (like others taking it) but that could happen. The way folks decorated/labeled their bottles made ownership very clear. (Important as bottles of Jim Daniels all look the same for example.)

 

There are different sized cabins but all are small. For me the varied bed configurations are more important than the size of the cabin.

 

We took the cruise that goes from Chicago to Rhode Island. Yes, it can be done by using the Great Lakes, Wellington Canal and several other small canals, the Erie Canal, the Hudson River and Long Island Sound. If someone is interested in that part of the country, what a great way to see it.

 

We are planning another trip with them next spring, just waiting for the schedule. This time we want to do the Inland waterway plus the Atlantic going from Florida to Rhode Island. In the meantime I will be on a real cruise ship for several weeks so you can see I enjoy both options.

 

Thank you for your interesting and informative review.

[Suitcasefull]

Thank you very much for your live reporting and your review; this company is completely new to me and it's opened up opportunities I didn't know existed!

 

It certainly seems to be a way of seeing parts of America in a very intimate way, and I can do without 'luxury' when the trade off is actually learning about the things I am seeing. The family atmosphere is also an attraction, so thank you once again for widening my horizons!

 

His review is wonderful and gives you an accurate idea of what the ships are like. You're right about them taking you new places. I was thrilled to find Blount since that's the only way we'd get to see much of the Great Lakes area. We did Lake Michigan and this year will be on Lake Superior and looking forward to that. One of these years hope to take the longer ones. I'll be anxious to see the 2014 schedule.

[MMDown Under]

Thank you so much for your enjoyable review, which has opened up some

Interesting possibilities.

 

Wander - Chicago to Rhode Island - who would have thought!

[rafinmd]

Thank you all. Wander, did you geel that the separate shower was worth the space it took from the rest of the cabin?

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

The published version of my review is out now.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=222437

 

Roy