Shadowmeboy's 2022 Encore Christmas and New Year's Southern Caribbean Cruise Adventure

[shadowmeboy]

 

First glimpse of Downtown Willemstad

 

 

Seaborn was small enough to fit inside the Harbor.

 

 

 

I had always looked forward to visiting Curacao because of the colors!

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way up onto the Queen Juliana Bridge.

 

 

 

There is a better picture!

 

The Queen Juliana bridge is the only vehicle bridge to cross the natural harbor. You would have to go completely around the harbor to get to the other side without the bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

There is the Queen Juliana Bridge

 

 

It was about this point where our tour guide got a phone call. The phone call was letting her know that her niece has passed away. I admire her perseverance, because she did not let it affect her ability to lead the tour. Susan and I felt for her though, and knew it had to be tough for her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the South side fort. Both the North and South sides of the Harbor had forts to protect the natural harbor from attack.

 

 

 

We got dropped off on the south side of the harbor to begin the walking tour of downtown Willemstad.

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

Looking North across the harbor

 

 

 

Our tour guide is the lady holding the blue flag. She is the one who lost her niece. 

 

Also notice the four people closest to to the man with the same shirt as our guide. Those are the people also from Washington State that we met onboard at lunch. Jason and Beck along with their daughter Emily (white shirt that say Aruba) and Jason's Dad Gary. They were a blast to meet and hang out with the rest of the trip.

 

We also got told a bit about the history, and were given an explanation that we are walking through and there is to be no "stoppy for shoppy." 

 

 

Curacao Governmental Buildings

 

 

See the hole up the building just to the right of the tree? That is where a cannon ball got stuck in the building.

 

 

 

 

So Curacao is part of the Dutch Commonwealth. This is where the representative of the crown has their office.

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by shadowmeboy

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

 

 

 

This is the walking bridge across the harbor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can imagine that Willemstad is much like what Amsterdam is like on a smaller scale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our guide was very informative.

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

Green Iguana Bar

 

 

Can you guess why?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really liked these hand painted signs. But remember "No Stoppy for Shoppy"

 

 

Susan is my Dushi!

 

 

The artwork was amazing.

 

 

 

So this is the oldest Synagogue in continuous use in the western hemisphere. You wouldn't think this would be in Curacao. I didn't.

 

 

We did not go in.

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the small draw bridges that are in town that go over the fingers that come off of the harbor.

 

 

Open air market

 

 

 

 

We then walked through another market. Remember "No Stoppy for Shoppy"

 

 

 

 

hand mixer

 

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

Plasa Bieu is a multi-stall restaurant. Locals buy a kitchen stall and run the restaurant out of it. 

 

 

 

It smelled amazing. Remember "No Stoppy for Shoppy" 

 

 

 

 

We then hopped back onto the bus to head to the next stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

We made our way to the Bon Bini Distillery which makes Blue Curacao Liqueur 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They even had samples!

 

 

We had a little time to hang out. You could get a drink at the bar or explore the gift shop.

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

I spent my time stalking the small green iguanas 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see the iguana? It is almost dead center of the photo.

 

 

the shade of the tree was nice!

 

 

 

 

It was finally time to head out.

[shadowmeboy]

 

We made our way to Mambo Beach, where we were having our included lunch.

 

 

Susan had to get a picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan liked the elephants

 

 

 

So the meal was a traditional meal from Curacao. I got the beef and Susan got the chicken.

 

 

Both were really good

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

 

We made our way back to the bus and we headed back to the port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruiser52forever]

Love your reviews.  My husband is a model railroader (n gage with dreams of garden scale) and our family are big railroad enthusiasts!  I remember reading in one of your reviews about you having a railroad magazine with you.  that made me chuckle as my husband  always has a railroad magazine with him.  He has boxes of magazines from more than 30 years, that my father in-law had for years. Great job on the review and loving all the RR info.  Keep up the good work!

[shadowmeboy]

 

 

 

 

So the dock we were docked at was the furthest from the walking path to downtown. They did have a golf cart shuttle to deliver you down to the other end of the port area.

 

 

I had never seen one of these cruise ships before. My research shows its a British cruise line part of the TUI group.

 

 

 

It was a bit windy, and the waves were rocking!

 

 

 

They have a huge shopping complex, and the have incorporated the north side fort into it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved these wooden houses!

 

 

 

 

 

The Rif Fort is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

Standing on the sea wall at the entrance to the harbor.

 

 

 

I was dodging the spray from the waves coming in!

 

 

 

 

 

It was gorgeous this day!

 

 

We walked across the bridge to head to the sign shop.

 

 

Curacao is not that far from Venezuela, so there is oil in the area.

 

 

 

 

Window display of the harbor!

 

 

We made our way to the sign shop and they personalized a sign for us!

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

We started wandering back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

I was hoping to see the bridge open, but no dice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is another look at the sign for our travel wall.

 

 

We sat in the shade and people watched!

 

 

Those shoes seem a little big for you Susan!

 

We took the shuttle back to the boat and got back on board.

[shadowmeboy]

We decided to hit the pool since we were warm after walking into town and back.

 

 

Susan bellying up to the bar for poolside drinks!

 

 

 

 

Susan getting ready to go down the slide!

[shadowmeboy]

Once we finished at the pool, we headed back to the room to get ready for pictures and dinner.

 

 

 

 

Time for dinner in the MDR

 

 

 

 

Shanghai Pork Potstickers

 

 

Cheddar, Roasted Corn, and Crab Chowder

 

 

Roma Tomato Salad

 

 

Pasta E Fagioli

 

 

Bruschetta

 

 

Asian Noodle Salad

 

 

Lemon-Pepper Shrimp

 

 

New York Steak

 

 

Dessert menu

 

Nothing jumped out at us, so we decided to head to Coco's to get our milkshake and recreate a previous picture!

 

 

 

[shadowmeboy]

 

Menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ordered the Fudge and Cheesecake Milkshake

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract picture

 

 

We ended up in the observation lounge for a night cap

 

 

 

 

It was nice and quiet up here.

 

 

 

We headed back to the room and called it a night. Tomorrow is Bonaire and an early arrival.

 

--

[FlGoodShips]

Loving your review. Always so informative and helpful for others.

Thank you soooo much.

Do you use NCL excursions or private?

Like in Curacao...was that an NCL excursion?

[shadowmeboy]

8 minutes ago, FlGoodShips said:

Loving your review. Always so informative and helpful for others.

Thank you soooo much.

Do you use NCL excursions or private?

Like in Curacao...was that an NCL excursion?

You are most welcome! 
 

Shore Excursions - for this one, we booked NCL excursions since it was booked later than I normally book cruises. Plus the excursions in the Caribbean are cheaper. Curaçao was NCL’s Taste of Curaçao excursion.

 

When we go to Alaska in a few months it will be a mix of private and NCL excursions. I price compare and it will also depend on where we are at and what we have done in the past and what we want to do this time.

 

Each cruise is different, so the approach will vary.  The Spirit cruise last July, had 3 NCL excursions and 2 private excursions. Icy strait point had all 3 NCL excursions, Juneau and Ketchikan were both private. Victoria would have been NCL if the port wasn’t cancelled on us.

 

we do what fits our budget the best!

[shadowmeboy]

9 hours ago, cruiser52forever said:

Love your reviews.  My husband is a model railroader (n gage with dreams of garden scale) and our family are big railroad enthusiasts!  I remember reading in one of your reviews about you having a railroad magazine with you.  that made me chuckle as my husband  always has a railroad magazine with him.  He has boxes of magazines from more than 30 years, that my father in-law had for years. Great job on the review and loving all the RR info.  Keep up the good work!

thanks! I brought like 5-6 train magazines on this cruise and would read them out on deck in the morning waiting for Susan to join the land of the living. My dad does N Scale model railroading. I don’t have the space nor the funds to do model railroading. I prefer to film trains, so you will see lots of train videos mixed in with the cruise videos on my YouTube channel. I would love to have a garden railroad but somebody I know says no.

[FlGoodShips]

4 minutes ago, shadowmeboy said:

You are most welcome! 
 

Shore Excursions - for this one, we booked NCL excursions since it was booked later than I normally book cruises. Plus the excursions in the Caribbean are cheaper. Curaçao was NCL’s Taste of Curaçao excursion.

 

When we go to Alaska in a few months it will be a mix of private and NCL excursions. I price compare and it will also depend on where we are at and what we have done in the past and what we want to do this time.

 

Each cruise is different, so the approach will vary.  The Spirit cruise last July, had 3 NCL excursions and 2 private excursions. Icy strait point had all 3 NCL excursions, Juneau and Ketchikan were both private. Victoria would have been NCL if the port wasn’t cancelled on us.

 

we do what fits our budget the best!

Thank you. You are a real gem. I don't think you know how much you help others with your reviews, but they are extraordinary. And so much info for those of us that need a little extra help.

Thank you again🤗

[FlGoodShips]

8 minutes ago, shadowmeboy said:

 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by FlGoodShips
Sorry duplicate.

[jimbri]

Another wonderful review.  Your photos are great!

[justhappy]

Great photos as always, along with the descriptions. A cruise to the ABC islands is on my bucket list!

[shadowmeboy]

On 4/8/2023 at 4:09 AM, jimbri said:

Another wonderful review.  Your photos are great!

 

Thank you!

 

On 4/8/2023 at 7:09 AM, justhappy said:

Great photos as always, along with the descriptions. A cruise to the ABC islands is on my bucket list!

 

We were really excited to go to the ABC's