Semi-Live Getaway: Feb 26 - Mar 10, 2023 NY - So. Caribbean ... 12 nights

[mking8288]

44 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Just announced we are skipping Amber Cove! Cruise critic detectives get to work please!!

Oh, no - Getaway lost a coin toss to the Getaway and spending a leisure day at sea ??  No chance for docking at Taino Bay ??   Maritime forecast for the route back to NY not showing any serious weather in play for next several days ! 

[GSfromCT]

1 hour ago, PistolPete13 said:

Just announced we are skipping Amber Cove! Cruise critic detectives get to work please!!

I don't know if this helps, but cruise mapper shows Carnival Horizon and Carnival Freedom are there now.  I don't know if Amber Cove can handle a 3rd ship or not.

[AwesomO]

Amber Cove can only handle 2 ships, but Taino Bay is NCL's port and can handle 3 or 4. NCL has been stopping there recently so not sure why they wouldn't today, if weather is cooperating. 

 

for what it's worth too-- our itinerary on the app showed Amber Cove but we were actually scheduled for (and stopped at) Taino Bay. If you try to check Cruisemapper and such, it's difficult but it's all just called "Puerto Plata" and doesn't differentiate between actual ports.

Edited March 6, 2023 by AwesomO

[DaisyGoldberg]

7 hours ago, GSfromCT said:

I appreciate your feedback and everyone else on the topic.    Does reporting bad or unsafe or unruly behavior require a 1 hour wait at guest services, or would any crew member be able to report a bad situation more efficiently?

 

 

Sadly, I wouldn't expect much reaction or action from anybody unless they're running around with machetes or actively damaging ship property. My sister was stuck on a fully booked ship with a room full of yahoos celebrating graduation in the next room. They whooped it up coming in and out of the room, which they did every 20 minutes all night long (must have had 10-20 people in there). Calling made no difference. Going to guest services made no difference.  

 

What seemed to make the difference was when they completely disrupted the comedian's show. She insulted them exquisitely, but I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back, and that night when they started up again security arrived and from that point on they were quiet (after they screamed all the way down the hall demanding to know who reported them).

 

We heard from other passengers later that they had similarly disrupted the muster drill, completely wasted within hours of boarding, but no action was taken then. Maybe after the comedian incident they canceled their drink packages (or threatened to?)

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by DaisyGoldberg

[Turtles06]

4 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

Just announced we are skipping Amber Cove! Cruise critic detectives get to work please!!

Amber Cove web site port schedule shows the Carnival Celebration and the Getaway there tomorrow (March 7), so it seems to be a mystery why you’re skipping it. 

 

https://www.ambercove.com/Port-Schedule.aspx

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, GSfromCT said:

I don't know if this helps, but cruise mapper shows Carnival Horizon and Carnival Freedom are there now.  I don't know if Amber Cove can handle a 3rd ship or not.

It can’t, but the Getaway’s port call was for tomorrow (March 7j; see Pete’s comment 168 above. 

[Rubybadu]

The captain said the reason was if we stayed in Dominican we would hit a bad storm with 7m high waves on the Thursday in the east coast. 
 

I’m no ship navigator but surely if you’re getting back to port at the same time you’re still going to hit the same storm. 
 

the fact the announced it the second they left port today makes me think it’s been known about all cruise and they just wanted to avoid the arguments 

[bluesea777]

11 minutes ago, Rubybadu said:

The captain said the reason was if we stayed in Dominican we would hit a bad storm with 7m high waves on the Thursday in the east coast. 
 

I’m no ship navigator but surely if you’re getting back to port at the same time you’re still going to hit the same storm. 
 

the fact the announced it the second they left port today makes me think it’s been known about all cruise and they just wanted to avoid the arguments 

I’m afraid to say but Windy Waves is saying so. Have a safe journey back to New York. Be safe and brace yourselves. 
 

 

[mking8288]

Hmmm, Getaway cruisers currently onboard her are going to spent the next 3 leisurely days at sea to return to NY ?? or go around this East Coast storm system ??  

 

Cruisemapper showing her on the move at 20 knots now with calm sea, 1 meter wave and gentle breeze at 77 deg F ... yet with an ETA arrival for NY, 10 am this Friday, March 10th    Is she making an unplanned stop in Charleston, SC (better than Norfolk, VA) for a day, perhaps - on Wednesday?  

 

Pete - no need to discuss this "semi-live" but can't help but wonder if some folks onboard might be chatting about this ... hopefully, few if any with private tours at Amber Cove or Puerto Platta, DR tomorrow got stuck unable to cancel.  How's MDR meal thus far for the 2nd half of the cruise, everything in stock and/or re-stocked ?  

 

Any words of getting a partial credit for skipping & cancelling the port(s) on this cruise & showing up as OBC ? 

 

"Windy App" forecast charts - 11 am Tuesday, Wednesday am and pm and Thursday am / pm ... wondering the tracks being referred to, I probably missed and/or overlooked something here.  

 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by mking8288

[JIMESOPUS]

8 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Hmmm, Getaway cruisers currently onboard her are going to spent the next 3 leisurely days at sea to return to NY ?? or go around this East Coast storm system ??  

 

Cruisemapper showing her on the move at 20 knots now with calm sea, 1 meter wave and gentle breeze at 77 deg F ... yet with an ETA arrival for NY, 10 am this Friday, March 10th    Is she making an unplanned stop in Charleston, SC (better than Norfolk, VA) for a day, perhaps - on Wednesday?  

 

Pete - no need to discuss this "semi-live" but can't help but wonder if some folks onboard might be chatting about this ... hopefully, few if any with private tours at Amber Cove or Puerto Platta, DR tomorrow got stuck unable to cancel.  How's MDR meal thus far for the 2nd half of the cruise, everything in stock and/or re-stocked ?  

 

Any words of getting a partial credit for skipping & cancelling the port(s) on this cruise & showing up as OBC ? 

 

"Windy App" forecast charts - 11 am Tuesday, Wednesday am and pm and Thursday am / pm ... wondering the tracks being referred to, I probably missed and/or overlooked something here.  

 

 

 

 

@mking8288Did you click the wave icon? Looks to me like around 20-foot seas all the way back, the screenshot is for Weds 0700 and it doesn't change for the next three days. Looks like the GA ( red circle ) has a wingman, Gem ( green circle ) was supposed to travel to Bermuda but it appears to be going north to NYC as well.

Edited March 7, 2023 by JIMESOPUS

[Laszlo]

Too bad your missing Amber Cove, looking forward to your video. I love helicopters tours. Best one ever was to the GC

[AwesomO]

12 hours ago, Rubybadu said:

The captain said the reason was if we stayed in Dominican we would hit a bad storm with 7m high waves on the Thursday in the east coast. 
 

I’m no ship navigator but surely if you’re getting back to port at the same time you’re still going to hit the same storm. 
 

the fact the announced it the second they left port today makes me think it’s been known about all cruise and they just wanted to avoid the arguments 

they did this to us too on the Gem out of NYC. We skipped our last stop Tortola, but they didn't tell us until we were back on the ship from what was now our last port day. Also blamed winds. I will say, it did seem like a last minute change since the dailies had already been printed and delivered based on a port day. We later got an updated version. Except for a couple hours one morning, the winds and waves didn't seem a whole lot worse than we experienced earlier in the trip. and even then it wasn't tooo bad.

 

during the captain Q&A, he noted that we'd have to travel at 23knots to make it back to NYC in time, and the wind would have made that impossible. I'm curious if 23knots in February is ever realistic. We were averaging around 20-21knots on our way down. And then on the way back, it was definitely under 20knots. sometimes as slow as 16knots, but we had all that extra time for skipping the port so it seemed we were just taking our time, because the wind and waves definitely weren't bad at that time.

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Gem ( green circle ) was supposed to travel to Bermuda but it appears to be going north to NYC as well.

No surprise as the Bermuda's weather service has issued a gale warning for Bermuda and its surrounding waters.. There's no way the Gem can make its scheduled port call in Bermuda.

 

[PistolPete13]

Good morning folks!  I’m back on the sundeck on a super windy bonus sea day.  It’s actually a bit chilly with the winds outside of the sun.

 

So as we were pulling out of the US Virgin Islands dock early yesterday afternoon, I heard a garbled announcement.  I was outside on deck 8 trying to get some photos because we pulled in before sunrise that the morning and it was too dark for any photos.  I felt like I was in a Charlie Brown cartoon trying to make out what was being said, but how important could it be right?  Probably just announcements for the Deal or No Deal game show times.

 

Well, eavesdropping Pete here eventually figured out we were going to skip out on the Dominican Republic stop.  While I was not totally surprised given the experience of the ships skipping this stop the last two months AND the fact that my excursion was cancelled last month, I was still disappointed.  I lost my chance for more social media flexing by checking into as many new places and I can in 2023!  Yup, post-middle aged man acting like a teenager here.

 

After my photos, I made my way past the Deck 6 atrium to see the riot in progress at Guest Services.  Man, those poor folks earned their pay and then some yesterday.  Meanwhile the shore excursion folks were hiding.  Now I’ve had my share of shore excursion cancellations and changes for this trip.  They way they do the math with the $50 Free at Sea discount is maddening and I won’t try to explain it here because I still don’t know how it works.  Add in any additional discount for Latitudes members and you need to hire an accountant.  It should be simple and straightforward but leave it to NCL to make it confusing.

 

I deal with figuring out esoteric programing issues for multiple offices with employees numbering in tens of thousands.  I can keep track of a lot of non-sensical data in my head and correlate their relationships and predict outcomes based on that data.  The refund policy and an NCL excursion?  I give up.

 

Already this morning I’m hearing grumbling about this folks are getting back LESS than expected.  Does anyone ever complain if they get back MORE than expected?  I don’t think so.  If I ran a company that deals with occasional refunds, I’ll give everyone back $1 more than expected to keep any complaints down.  That’s my self help advice for the day.

 

Now where was I, oh yeah, the US Virgin Islands port.  7AM to 2PM.  These short port stays are not very relaxing for a type A planner like me.  Boom boom boom, in and out.  Trying to keep things PG rated here folks.

 

I had an intro to scuba diving excursion that I was nervous about.  Remember my earlier post about how I tend to just sink in water.  The guy who met us at the dock was a Sam Kinnison type.  “Everyone knows how to swim right???  Cause we’ll find out, you’re going to be dumped in the ocean!!!”.  Good morning to you too bud.

 

Some background.  The first intro to scuba course I too in the Cayman Islands 3 yrs ago was amazing.  We learned how to use the equipment and the procedures needed in case of emergency in a nice pool.  This excursion takes us right out to the ocean piggybacking with an experience group of divers.  No calm pool for you!   Before leaving, we had to fill out a laundry list of confirmed we didn’t have certain medical conditions or else…

 

Looking at the group of certified divers, I have no idea how none of them could have at least one of the dozens of cardiac and pulmonary conditions listed on the sheet.  Never judge a book by it’s cover right?  Well I’m judging if you get out of breath walking from the dock to the excursion boat carrying a bag of rubber fins.

 

Anyhow, got on the boat and out to the dive site.  Had a 20 minute lecture on the equipment and safety then it was on with the tanks.  After putting on the weight belt and tank, it’s about 50-60 lbs of hardware on your back.  For some reason all of the snorkel and dive boats on this trip didn’t have the low platforms where you can ease yourself into the sometimes chilly water.  You basically have to yell Geronimo and jump 4 feet down into the abyss while remembering to hold you face mask and other giblets.   A few days ago a lady forgot to do that and got her mask ripped off and a nose full of salt water pushed into it.  Not a pretty sight!

 

For those of you that have never been too deep in the water, the amount of pressure felt on your ears is tremendous even just 10 feet down.  Our intro dive today went to 40 feet.  To release the pressure, you’re told to squeeze your nose behind the mask and blow out.  I instantly figured out this didn’t with for me but the act of swallowing did the trick.  Not the most natural thing to do with a hose struck in the mouth!  (Yes, PG rated folks…)

 

This is why it’s critical to not have any sinus issues or a cold when doing this.  Thank goodness I’m very antisocial and stayed away from any crowded venues for this entire cruise so far knowing my scuba event was at the end of the trip.  One of the participants unfortunately had to bail at this point because he was unable to clear the pressure on one of this ears.  I can’t imagine the disappointment.

 

With all that out of the way, the excursion was amazing.  The water was crystal clear and I finally got to see my elusive sea turtle.  I didn’t bring my GoPro with me because I’m not a good multitasker.  I didn’t want to be figuring out the scuba gear while also futzing with a video camera too.  Fortunately someone else had one so hopefully I’ll have some footage of myself pretending to be Jacques Cousteau.  All too soon the dive was over.  This is one of those things where you can’t linger because you run OUT OF AIR.  Duh.

 

Back on the boat I swapped out the tanks for my normal snorkeling gear AND a GoPro now while the second group of divers went in for their lessons.  I managed to get a lot of video of their training in the water and will post it here at some point.

 

Did I mention we have to take off our fins in the water and then climb a vertical 5 ft ladder up out of the boat with 60 lbs of metal on your back after 35 mins of kicking your legs under water?  Oh, and you only can use one arm because the other arm is holding the fins.  It was a little bit of a challenge for me but I managed.  I sat down on a seat to try and figure out how to unbuckle myself.  There are a lot of hoses and clips!

 

I look up and I see the older gentlemen behind me crawling on a fours on the deck like a dog looking to sniff out the best spot to pee.  My mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening besides thinking he had too much of the rum already.  Thankfully the crew noticed and went to help him up.  Apparently the weight of the gear at the ladder climb was too much for him to be able to stand up.  Thank goodness my regular gym routine paid off.

 

My right ear seems to have gotten a bit of water in it and was making strange popping sounds when I tried to swallow.  A few self smacks with my head tilted seems to have done the trick and I’m still feeling OK now 24 hrs later.  I had a bad ear infection as a kid that I’ll never forget so I’m always hyper aware of how my ears feel.

 

Wow, it’s windy enough on the top deck my sneakers just got blown a few feet away.

 

Dinner was at Taste and I’m afraid the very attentive manager is starting to realized I only have one shirt with a collar and I’m wearing that to dinner every day.  I’m traveling solo and can get away win basically 3 t-shirts for then entire 12 days.  Need the room for camera and video gear!

 

Sigh.  I’m on the top deck watching a guy do basically nothing in the pool and is able to keep his chin above water in a relaxed manner.  Meanwhile I’d be waving my arms at the speed of a motorboat and will still just barely keep my nose above the waterline.  One day science will figure out why I naturally sink in water…

 

That’s all for now.  Had to download another Kinda book this morning or else I will melt down with the lack of WiFi minutes on the rest of the trip.  The good thing is that I’ll have time to process the 5000+ photos I took into a” best of” and have them ready to upload by Friday evening.

 

Talk amongst yourselves now.  🙂

[GALSews]

6 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

 

 

That’s all for now.  Had to download another Kinda book this morning or else I will melt down with the lack of WiFi minutes on the rest of the trip.  The good thing is that I’ll have time to process the 5000+ photos I took into a” best of” and have them ready to upload by Friday evening.

 

Talk amongst yourselves now.  🙂

Roughly every 30 feet of depth is approximately 1 additional atmosphere of pressure on your ears. I certified to dive years ago. At the time, once they have your oney for a dive class, then they tell you all the ways you can die diving.  We didn't dive after we had kids and now they are adults. My "diving" now is snuba or snorkle. 

 

BTW, the reason I wrote is your positive attitude. If you don't have a port, you select pictures. What the heck, you are on a cruise. Enjoy!

[cruiseny4life]

47 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Sigh.  I’m on the top deck watching a guy do basically nothing in the pool and is able to keep his chin above water in a relaxed manner.  Meanwhile I’d be waving my arms at the speed of a motorboat and will still just barely keep my nose above the waterline.  One day science will figure out why I naturally sink in water…

You'd hate watching me float! I don't need to move my arms or legs and can float on my belly, standing up nearly straight with just a little flutter of the arms, or on my back with no fluttering needed. 300 pounds will do that for you...so my suggestion, dig into that buffet! 

[GSfromCT]

48 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

I deal with figuring out esoteric programing issues for multiple offices with employees numbering in tens of thousands.  I can keep track of a lot of non-sensical data in my head and correlate their relationships and predict outcomes based on that data.  The refund policy and an NCL excursion?  I give up.

My son and myself are numbers guys.  This is absolutely hilarious.  

[mking8288]

@PistolPete13  As your "free" WiFi minutes begin to run low on the meter, conserve - thanks for keeping us entertained and addicted to the cruise.  Since everyone is onboard for the next 66+ hours until you pick up 5G/LTE signals again under pilot escort into NY Lower Bay in sights of your home, portside - expect the satellite WiFi to be worst, except late, late night & early morning where you should be able to read (only) CC content like your thread/post - I've done this on prior cruises (logged out of your NCL "metered" account but remained signed in your CC account)

 

What a vivid & funny description (but serious) about the real life struggle to get into dive-ready mode with all the safety gears, hardware and others in fitness state to get into the ocean & climb up the ladder.  

 

It read like NCL/Getaway is going to issue some OBC as refund for skipping DR today, it should show up soon and your mission is to figure out how best to use it - maybe opt for a cash refund (oh, lord - the lines at Guest Services ... try being a sleepwalker & head there at 3 am, someone is always on duty and stop by O'Sheehan's to checkout the late night menu, tell us what you think of the "new" wings, etc.)   

 

Tomorrow looks to be rough seas, 15 ft.+ waves & wind expected - hold on to railings.  Enjoy another day at sea.   

[Rubybadu]

So I’m still none to wiser as to what’s going on. 
 

im no navigator but I can do maths. We’re travelling at 20 knots and have under 1000 nautical miles to go. Either we are going to hang out on the east coast for a day or we are on track to be in New York nearly a day early? 
 

First day I’ve felt the vibration on the ship and it’s very bad. 

[JIMESOPUS]

2 hours ago, Rubybadu said:

So I’m still none to wiser as to what’s going on. 
 

im no navigator but I can do maths. We’re travelling at 20 knots and have under 1000 nautical miles to go. Either we are going to hang out on the east coast for a day or we are on track to be in New York nearly a day early? 
 

First day I’ve felt the vibration on the ship and it’s very bad. 

Quick question, would you prefer 20 knots thru 20' seas or 15 knots thru 20' seas? The captain will adjust the speeds depending on sea conditions, also those last few miles back into NYC harbor is slow. 

 

[Laszlo]

34 minutes ago, JIMESOPUS said:

Quick question, would you prefer 20 knots thru 20' seas or 15 knots thru 20' seas? The captain will adjust the speeds depending on sea conditions, also those last few miles back into NYC harbor is slow. 

 

During out three day run back we were moving 18-20kts and arrived in NYC at 3am??

[JIMESOPUS]

14 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

During out three day run back we were moving 18-20kts and arrived in NYC at 3am??

That had to be the best cruise for us as far as the weather and calm seas. Unlike the time on the Gem with 30+ seas, truly amazing to see waves hitting the windows up at Spinnaker.

 

[mking8288]

9 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

@mking8288Did you click the wave icon?

Jim - yes, I did and checked out the charts again this morning ... Gem is skipping Bermuda and that's for sure with all the "red" graphics heading across the islands.  Probably not seeing 6 meters or 20 ft. waves closer toward the shore vs. near Bermuda waters.  Both ships heading for NY on its usual course/heading ... even if the Getaway went to Amber Cove or Puerto Plata today, not sure if it's going to make a big difference on the "rough" ride back to NY.  Still going to be a rough day tomorrow (all day) depending on where on the Atlantic these 2 ships are.  In the past, we pretty much can expect them to be hugging much closer to the coastal water for a better "ride"   They seem to have time to go easy, even with strong headwinds and gale force wind. 

 

# of random thoughts - find it interesting that the "smaller" Gem can consistenlty go faster at 21+ knots (twice before, on her, we're going 22 to 23 knots against inbound Nor-Easter, not fun & very rough with 30 to 35' plus waves & strong gale.)  GA did 21+ knots briefly, now down to 20 knots (headwind, gentle breeze) & we knew the Breakway & Escape have done 21-22 knots.  It does appear consistent with NCL's sail & sustain motto, skip ports and slow dance at sea - which isn't necessary good for the long haul.  It doesn't help it is very difficult to understand and hear the spoken English from this Greece captain, especially in noisy places onboard (we know ...) when communicating important announcements to all passengers & crews alike (as noted by those onboard.)   

 

Waves of 4 to 5 meters, 12 to 15 ft. aren't nice, rough & going to result in the outdoors being shut down on the ship but not the end of everything, just elbows to elbows indoor everywhere - luckily, this sailing was reported to be less crowded.  It's as if there is a winter hurricane/storm season this year.  Regardless of whether it's 10 ft. or 20 ft. waves, those prone to motion will feel the sickness at sea.  It looks like Thursday should be a "better" day for the 2 ships, especially if they stay close to the coastlines - probably can stay away from 20 ft. sea & large swell.   Safety of all rest - afterall - in the eyes and hands of the captain and the team on the bridge ... 

 

NCL's track record in making their stops for Bermuda this winter hasn't been very good - GA is scheduled to head there again this weekend, this is the new GSC in disguise, perhaps.  Mother nature isn't giving anyone a break.  

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by mking8288

[Wvshimmy]

5 hours ago, Rubybadu said:

So I’m still none to wiser as to what’s going on. 
 

im no navigator but I can do maths. We’re travelling at 20 knots and have under 1000 nautical miles to go. Either we are going to hang out on the east coast for a day or we are on track to be in New York nearly a day early? 
 

First day I’ve felt the vibration on the ship and it’s very bad. 

Under best sea and weather conditions,  20 knots would take over 2 days. 

There are some wicked winds churning on the Atlantic and farther south. 

 The Captain will adjust speed and course for safety and comfort. 

Enjoy the rocking! 🙃

 

 

[timcahill98]

8 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

Good morning folks!  I’m back on the sundeck on a super windy bonus sea day.  It’s actually a bit chilly with the winds outside of the sun.

 

So as we were pulling out of the US Virgin Islands dock early yesterday afternoon, I heard a garbled announcement.  I was outside on deck 8 trying to get some photos because we pulled in before sunrise that the morning and it was too dark for any photos.  I felt like I was in a Charlie Brown cartoon trying to make out what was being said, but how important could it be right?  Probably just announcements for the Deal or No Deal game show times.

 

Well, eavesdropping Pete here eventually figured out we were going to skip out on the Dominican Republic stop.  While I was not totally surprised given the experience of the ships skipping this stop the last two months AND the fact that my excursion was cancelled last month, I was still disappointed.  I lost my chance for more social media flexing by checking into as many new places and I can in 2023!  Yup, post-middle aged man acting like a teenager here.

 

After my photos, I made my way past the Deck 6 atrium to see the riot in progress at Guest Services.  Man, those poor folks earned their pay and then some yesterday.  Meanwhile the shore excursion folks were hiding.  Now I’ve had my share of shore excursion cancellations and changes for this trip.  They way they do the math with the $50 Free at Sea discount is maddening and I won’t try to explain it here because I still don’t know how it works.  Add in any additional discount for Latitudes members and you need to hire an accountant.  It should be simple and straightforward but leave it to NCL to make it confusing.

 

I deal with figuring out esoteric programing issues for multiple offices with employees numbering in tens of thousands.  I can keep track of a lot of non-sensical data in my head and correlate their relationships and predict outcomes based on that data.  The refund policy and an NCL excursion?  I give up.

 

Already this morning I’m hearing grumbling about this folks are getting back LESS than expected.  Does anyone ever complain if they get back MORE than expected?  I don’t think so.  If I ran a company that deals with occasional refunds, I’ll give everyone back $1 more than expected to keep any complaints down.  That’s my self help advice for the day.

 

Now where was I, oh yeah, the US Virgin Islands port.  7AM to 2PM.  These short port stays are not very relaxing for a type A planner like me.  Boom boom boom, in and out.  Trying to keep things PG rated here folks.

 

I had an intro to scuba diving excursion that I was nervous about.  Remember my earlier post about how I tend to just sink in water.  The guy who met us at the dock was a Sam Kinnison type.  “Everyone knows how to swim right???  Cause we’ll find out, you’re going to be dumped in the ocean!!!”.  Good morning to you too bud.

 

Some background.  The first intro to scuba course I too in the Cayman Islands 3 yrs ago was amazing.  We learned how to use the equipment and the procedures needed in case of emergency in a nice pool.  This excursion takes us right out to the ocean piggybacking with an experience group of divers.  No calm pool for you!   Before leaving, we had to fill out a laundry list of confirmed we didn’t have certain medical conditions or else…

 

Looking at the group of certified divers, I have no idea how none of them could have at least one of the dozens of cardiac and pulmonary conditions listed on the sheet.  Never judge a book by it’s cover right?  Well I’m judging if you get out of breath walking from the dock to the excursion boat carrying a bag of rubber fins.

 

Anyhow, got on the boat and out to the dive site.  Had a 20 minute lecture on the equipment and safety then it was on with the tanks.  After putting on the weight belt and tank, it’s about 50-60 lbs of hardware on your back.  For some reason all of the snorkel and dive boats on this trip didn’t have the low platforms where you can ease yourself into the sometimes chilly water.  You basically have to yell Geronimo and jump 4 feet down into the abyss while remembering to hold you face mask and other giblets.   A few days ago a lady forgot to do that and got her mask ripped off and a nose full of salt water pushed into it.  Not a pretty sight!

 

For those of you that have never been too deep in the water, the amount of pressure felt on your ears is tremendous even just 10 feet down.  Our intro dive today went to 40 feet.  To release the pressure, you’re told to squeeze your nose behind the mask and blow out.  I instantly figured out this didn’t with for me but the act of swallowing did the trick.  Not the most natural thing to do with a hose struck in the mouth!  (Yes, PG rated folks…)

 

This is why it’s critical to not have any sinus issues or a cold when doing this.  Thank goodness I’m very antisocial and stayed away from any crowded venues for this entire cruise so far knowing my scuba event was at the end of the trip.  One of the participants unfortunately had to bail at this point because he was unable to clear the pressure on one of this ears.  I can’t imagine the disappointment.

 

With all that out of the way, the excursion was amazing.  The water was crystal clear and I finally got to see my elusive sea turtle.  I didn’t bring my GoPro with me because I’m not a good multitasker.  I didn’t want to be figuring out the scuba gear while also futzing with a video camera too.  Fortunately someone else had one so hopefully I’ll have some footage of myself pretending to be Jacques Cousteau.  All too soon the dive was over.  This is one of those things where you can’t linger because you run OUT OF AIR.  Duh.

 

Back on the boat I swapped out the tanks for my normal snorkeling gear AND a GoPro now while the second group of divers went in for their lessons.  I managed to get a lot of video of their training in the water and will post it here at some point.

 

Did I mention we have to take off our fins in the water and then climb a vertical 5 ft ladder up out of the boat with 60 lbs of metal on your back after 35 mins of kicking your legs under water?  Oh, and you only can use one arm because the other arm is holding the fins.  It was a little bit of a challenge for me but I managed.  I sat down on a seat to try and figure out how to unbuckle myself.  There are a lot of hoses and clips!

 

I look up and I see the older gentlemen behind me crawling on a fours on the deck like a dog looking to sniff out the best spot to pee.  My mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening besides thinking he had too much of the rum already.  Thankfully the crew noticed and went to help him up.  Apparently the weight of the gear at the ladder climb was too much for him to be able to stand up.  Thank goodness my regular gym routine paid off.

 

My right ear seems to have gotten a bit of water in it and was making strange popping sounds when I tried to swallow.  A few self smacks with my head tilted seems to have done the trick and I’m still feeling OK now 24 hrs later.  I had a bad ear infection as a kid that I’ll never forget so I’m always hyper aware of how my ears feel.

 

Wow, it’s windy enough on the top deck my sneakers just got blown a few feet away.

 

Dinner was at Taste and I’m afraid the very attentive manager is starting to realized I only have one shirt with a collar and I’m wearing that to dinner every day.  I’m traveling solo and can get away win basically 3 t-shirts for then entire 12 days.  Need the room for camera and video gear!

 

Sigh.  I’m on the top deck watching a guy do basically nothing in the pool and is able to keep his chin above water in a relaxed manner.  Meanwhile I’d be waving my arms at the speed of a motorboat and will still just barely keep my nose above the waterline.  One day science will figure out why I naturally sink in water…

 

That’s all for now.  Had to download another Kinda book this morning or else I will melt down with the lack of WiFi minutes on the rest of the trip.  The good thing is that I’ll have time to process the 5000+ photos I took into a” best of” and have them ready to upload by Friday evening.

 

Talk amongst yourselves now.  🙂

 

So I'm curious Pete - when they cancel a port stop, in addition to getting any excursions refunded, have they told you they'll also refund the port fees and taxes you paid upfront?  I know Princess and Celebrity do, but I've heard that NCL doesn't.  Can you confirm that?  Otherwise, in effect, they're stealing money from every passenger when they cancel a port stop.