The Disney Magic

So I was sitting at my desk when I heard it.  The first few notes of "When You Wish Upon A Star" played for all of New York Harbor to hear.  And there it was, the Disney Magic, sailing into the mouth of the Hudson River.

Love this poem

Sea Fever By John Masefield I must go down to the seas again to the lonely sea and sky And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a gray dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call That may not be denied And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying And the flung spray and the blown spume and the sea-gulls crying. I must go down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Tall ships!

Never mind our 21st century cruise ships.   The real romance of the sea is found in the tall ships of the 18th and 19th centuries.

It's Fleet Week here in NYC.  That means we get our annual visit from the US Navy.  And my office is on the Jersey City waterfront.   So we get to see what sails from NY Harbor up the Hudson.

Today we saw tall ships to honor the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

All I need is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.

Picture isn't great but you can just make out the ship.

how quickly they forget

If you go back and read my posts about our 2/2010 cruise on the Valor you will see me compkain vociferously about Carnival's Fly Aweigh program. We booked through Carnival on the advice of our travel agent. Once booked, our flight plan was written in stone. Carnival woukd not allow us to change to an earlier flight. We arrived at the ship so late that they were rolling up the gangway behind us. The photographer who takes the "Welcome aboard" photos was nowhere to be found. They wre announcing " muster drill in five minutes" as we were coming aboard, and we had to race to our cabin to dump our carryon bags before reporying to our muster station. Not a good way to start a cruise. Then there was the afternoon we killed trying to straighten out the boarding pass mess. And finalky there were the other Carnival passengers we met on the flight home, who missed their ship even though they were sitting on a Carnival bus from the airport. They spent two days in Miami and were flown to their first port of call. Pirate King just suggested we book Fly Aweigh for our upcoming cruise to save money. I told him it's non negotiable. I would rather cancel my cruise than put myself through that again.

It's a miracle

Or rather, the Miracle. I work in Jersey City, my office has a view of the Hudson and New York Harbor. Just before 5 my coworkers and I saw the Carnival Miracle sail down the river and into the harbor. And oh how I wanted to be on board!

puerto rico!

Booked our first excursion, a walking tour of Old San Juan. It's starting to feel real.