Solar Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Exotic Southern Caribbean

[MicCanberra]

I think it is great to catch up with fellow CC members on a cruise.

[Curly locks]

Our thoughts , prayers and sympathy go to the victims , families and people of London and the UK after this latest barbaric act of a terrorist . We hope that things will get better soon .

 

Thank you

[scubacruiserx2]

Thanks for the review we will be doing this cruise a week from Sunday.

 

We hope that you enjoy this cruise ( your first on Celebrity ? ) .

It appears that your first cruise was on the Carnival Victory , of which we have great memories . Our youngest daughter was married and honeymooned on that ship !!

They did a great job at a good price !!!

We love Carnival but we think that you will enjoy the Celebrity difference !!!

[scubacruiserx2]

Loving your review & was so surprised to see these pictures of Ireland. I've been to everyone of those places several times as my DMIL was from Co. Donegal, so we would take her home quite often. Brings back lots of great memories. Hoping to go back soon to visit all the cousins! Thanks for posting & your so right, the Irish are a wonderful people, I know, I married one!!

 

We're glad that you are enjoying the review and we really look forward to returning , and cruising from , this beautiful country ! :)

 

And although we don't have direct family in Ireland , my St. Patty has her Irish roots there . When we visited there we met, and toured with our dear friends Karen and Ron , who we met on a cruise in South America !

They live in the nearby Isle of Man and brought their vehicle over on the ferry to the Emerald Isle and arranged the tour !

We visited them last year on the IOM , which looks like a smaller version of Ireland .

Our favorite place that we stayed at in Ireland was the Ballenkeele House near Waterford . This place was exceptional in all respects !!!

[scubacruiserx2]

I think it is great to catch up with fellow CC members on a cruise.

 

You're so right Mic , we love hearing from you and Rosie and we hope that we can cruise together soon! :) :D

[MicCanberra]

Love the wedding pics, I haven't cruised on any Carnival ships but I like the look of that atrium, very modern feel.

[MicCanberra]

You're so right Mic , we love hearing from you and Rosie and we hope that we can cruise together soon! :) :D

We would love that. We are hoping to be in Europe around September or October 2018 although we haven't booked anything yet. We are waiting until we are safe to do so without having our plans disrupted by the arrival of another grandchild. We are looking at doing a western Mediterranean cruise, preferably with X but we are open to RCI, Princess, NCL or any other line that offers a good itinerary for a nice price.

[scubacruiserx2]

Meanwhile , back in Curacao .

The bridge was on the other side of the water . The red arrow is the pivot point and the blue arrow is pilot house for moving the bridge .

Seeing our demise we walked over to some closer photos of the Eclipse

There was a tug boat headed out to sea

who returned later with a friend

a very BIG friend , an Atlantic Reefer !

[scubacruiserx2]

Watching the Reefer pass

These ferries run when the bridge is open

Swinging the bridge back . The locals call it "The old swinging Lady" .

And at the sound of the bell they're off !

 

 

See the video :

 

[scubacruiserx2]

There's plenty to see , do and photograph here

There is a row of shops between the bridge and fort here on the waterfront

and a place to rest a sore knee in the fort

" An Eclipse on the rocks , please ! "

lots of free chairs near the pool

And a bird's eye view of the clear water

[Jon StroudUK]

Hey, give us a wave.

You're on the Aruba webcam [emoji41][emoji106]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[scubacruiserx2]

Love the wedding pics, I haven't cruised on any Carnival ships but I like the look of that atrium, very modern feel.

 

The Victory was launched in 2000 and so it is 17 years old . On the same week that our daughter and SIL got married it's sister ship , the Triumph , had an engine room fire which caused a loss of power and propulsion .

2013 engine room fire

 

The Coast Guard cutter USCGC Vigorous stands by to assist Carnival Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico on Feb. 11, 2013.

 

On Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 5:30 a.m. CST, the ship suffered a fire in the aft engine room. Although the fire was automatically extinguished and there were no injuries to passengers or crew, it resulted in a loss of power and propulsion. To make matters worse, raw sewage began to back up into passenger deck areas, creating a major health hazard. This caused the media to dub the event "The Poop Cruise."[13] While the emergency generator was providing some power, the ship was left adrift about 150 miles off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico. Carnival Triumph was originally expected to be towed to the Mexican port of Progreso.[14][15] However, after being carried north by currents while awaiting arrival of large, seagoing tugboats, she was expected to dock in Mobile, Alabama, instead. This was the fourth engine room fire on a Carnival-owned ship resulting in a loss of power, including Tropicale in 1999, Carnival Splendor in 2010, and Costa Allegra, owned by a Carnival subsidiary, in 2012.[16]

Wikipedia

We heard about it while on the cruise and fortunately we had no such problem . The Victory was the last Carnival ship that we cruised on when we did a family at Christmas a year later . We haven't been on any of their new ships but we did get a close look at one near the end of our cruise .

[scubacruiserx2]

We would love that. We are hoping to be in Europe around September or October 2018 although we haven't booked anything yet. We are waiting until we are safe to do so without having our plans disrupted by the arrival of another grandchild. We are looking at doing a western Mediterranean cruise, preferably with X but we are open to RCI, Princess, NCL or any other line that offers a good itinerary for a nice price.

 

Our current plans have us there in Spring of 2018 with a Iceland "make up " cruise to replace the one we missed with you and Rosie . Antarctica is also booked on January 20th 2019 , but as we have found out in the past , plans sometimes change .

 

 

B2B

[MicCanberra]

Our current plans have us there in Spring of 2018 with a Iceland "make up " cruise to replace the one we missed with you and Rosie . Antarctica is also booked on January 20th 2019 , but as we have found out in the past , plans sometimes change .

 

 

B2B

Best to keep being flexible otherwise you get too stressed when things may not turn out like they were supposed to.

BTW, I like that Antarctic cruise and I would love to do another one, not sure if I am able to persuade Rosie to do another one though for 2019.:D

[scubacruiserx2]

Best to keep being flexible otherwise you get too stressed when things may not turn out like they were supposed to.

BTW, I like that Antarctic cruise and I would love to do another one, not sure if I am able to persuade Rosie to do another one though for 2019.:D

 

That's a great philosophy Mic , we do try to make tentative plans and allow room for changes . And buy trip insurance , just in case ! ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

After lunch and a nap we returned to the city . If you've never been here you before you make a right turn after exiting the ship and follow the water , on the red paved walkway next to the rocks

You continue past the hotel toward the fort

The walkway is the blue arrow and you continue on the walkway toward the red arrow which is the fort entrance

The fort is filled with places to eat

and shops like the Delft Blue

[scubacruiserx2]

On top of the fort , East end

The thick walls are constructed of Fossiliferous Limestone and Coquina like that found in South Florida

The small picture

The big picture

The wide picture

[MicCanberra]

Insurance definitely is a must.

[scubacruiserx2]

Insurance definitely is a must.

 

We used to only get it with air fare based or long cruises . But after Pat's injury , we now we get for all cruises .

[scubacruiserx2]

A couple more photos while Pat was shopping

We never saw flowers like this on our Aloe plants .

but this one smells like plastic .

I wanted Pat to get the bull's eye hat , but for some strange reason - she didn't want it .

[MicCanberra]

I can understand not wanting to become a target while travelling.:p

[scubacruiserx2]

And while shopping opportunities abounded on shore

there was something missing in our cabin's bathroom that we couldn't find on shore - oi'et Tissue .

 

At the Delft Store we wanted to buy some shoes for the grandsons but we couldn't find the mate for this one

Inside the store we were lucky that they were having a sale

We loved the lion fish painting on the wall

The shoes for the kids

[chamima]

And while shopping opportunities abounded on shore

 

there was something missing in our cabin's bathroom that we couldn't find on shore - oi'et Tissue .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look carefully at the warning sign above your toilet.

Someone on our cruise pointed out that you aren't allowed to flush cars down the oi' et. ;p

[upwarduk]

 

Just love my Delft candle holder and child musicians from Aruba.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[scubacruiserx2]

Look carefully at the warning sign above your toilet.

Someone on our cruise pointed out that you aren't allowed to flush cars down the oi' et. ;p

 

I guess it's not a car wash . I wonder if you can wash dishes ?