St. Thomas

Breakfast in the main dining room, where another passenger recognized us and joked with us about last night's trivia game.

And then it was time to head to shore.  Our adventure today began with a ferry ride to St. John.   What's interesting about the Virgin Islands is how close most of the islands are to each other, while we were headed to St. John, another group from our ship was headed to Tortola, a part of the British Virgin Islands, which we could see from our boat.

We also saw celebrity homes -- Michael Jordan, Alan Alda, Kenny Chesney and Madonna all vacation in the Virgin Islands.    And the owner of the White Castle chain has a home here -- a white castle.  Go figure.

And, of course, there's Pillsbury Bay, where the Carribean Sea meets the Atlantiv Ocean.

Music: a reprise of "La Isla Bonita". 

2/3 of St. John is pristine parkland owned by the National Park Service.  The rest appears to be modern luxury resorts.  We took a safari bus ride up the mountain, stopping frequently at lookout points for views of white sand beaches, blue waters and distant islands. 

Interestingly, although this is an American protectorate, they drive on the left side of the road -- the islands used to be British. 

Our tour guide told us you need a passport to travel to the British islands.

The highlight of the tour was the ruins of a sugar plantation.  I've seen many old forts and churches and etc., but this was my first sugar plantation.

And as I was walking back to the bus I saw a mongoose!  The sugar cane planters imported mongoose from India into the islands of the Eastern Caribbean, hoping the mongoose would control the rat population in the cane fields.  The mongoose have made themselves at home in these islands.

Now, I'm sure I've seen a mongoose in the zoo, but to encounter one on the road . . .and this one gave me a look, as if to say "This is my home, but what are you doing here?"

Before long it was time to ferry back to St. Thomas, where we headed for the shopping mall.

Music:  "Mermaid", by Train

There's a lovely sculpture in Denmark, it sits in the harbor in Copenhagen.  It's Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid. 

In the shopping mall in St. Thomas there's a fountain with a scaled-down replica of the famous statue.  It's pretty.  But it's the only sculpture in the mall and I don't know why they chose it. 

A word about security, customs and travelling to other countries.  Before the ship sailed from Miami each passenger had to provide Carnival with a passport or birth certificate, and those over 16 had to produce photo i. d. That was apparently sufficient for the governments of Grand Turk and St. Maarten, all you needed to show was your ship i.d. card to return to the ship.

But Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are different.   You need to show your photo i. d.  As we returned to the ship we saw a whole group of people who'd forgotten to bring their photo i.d., and were having a difficult time of it.

Music:  "Grapefruit, Juicy Fruit" by Jimmy Buffett

The evening's entertainment was a magician named Bob, who did 45 minutes of sleight of hand laced with comedy.   When he asked for a volunteer, the pirate king's hand went up.  He had to give a $20 bill to another audience member, who placed it in a sealed envelope, which she held for the duration of the show.  In exchange, the pirate king was given a grapefruit.  Periodically Bob would ask "Who's got the grapefruit?" and the king woukd stand up and reply "I've got the grapefruit!"  At the end of the show, the $20 wound up inside the grapefruit.

I expect  to hear grapefruit jokes from fellow passengers tomorrow.

Dinner in the main dining room, as usual.  Could barely keep my eyes open -- until the waitstaff danced to "Moves Like Jagger".  That certainly woke me up.

But we did call it a night right after dinner . . .

The voyage home

Music:  "It's Been a Lovely Cruise", Jimmy Buffett

Debarkation went very smoothly.  One of my complaints during our Valor cruise was that we spent far too much time in the lobby, waiting yo get off the ship.  Way different getting off the Breeze.

Public service announcement:  pay attention to your zone number.  Pirate king spent 20 minutes at the wrong luggage carrousel before I found our luggage.

Thank goodness the ride to the airport was short, the bus driver had to turn off the a/c to keep water from a broken pipe dripping on the seats.  And we had a bad moment at the airport when the TSA agent told the pirate king his carry on bag was too big and had to be checked. . .until another agent took a second look at the matter.  Took the Sky Train to our gate and settled in . . .got there before noon for a 4:00 flight.

What's good about Miami Airport -- because the terminal is so large, you have lots of choices for a quick bite.  Pirate king got hot dogs from Nathan's and I wound up with food-court Chinese.  We were both able to charge our cell phones at the Verizon charging station at our gate.

What's not so good?  They charge for wifi.  Not an issue for me, I have a data plan on my tablet . . .but after a week of paying for wifi on the Breeze and using my minutes sparingly . . .it would have been a major disappointment . . .

"Interesting" encounter as we were about to board the plane. 

During our sea days on the Breeze we spent a lot of time in the Tides pool.  Remember, the pool is very small and very shallow, and gets very crowded. On our second day in the pool we encountered so really rude behavior from a couple in their 20's.  I will call them Rude Couple.  The first time we noticed them was when Rude Guy cannonballed into the pool.   Really, I think everyone in the pool noticed him.  There was a lot of horseplay after that, including Rude Girl climbing onto Rude Guy's back so that he could drag her across the pool, shouting "piggyback rides 5 cents" over and over again.  He bumped into several people, never apologized.

The two hot tubs by the Tides pool are elevated, you have to climb a flight of steps to enter the hot tub.  And there's a bench under each hot tub where you can sit with your feet in the pool.  When Rude Couple bought drinks from the bar, he decided to sit on that bench. . .  But there were children playing in that hot tub.  They'd taken some cups from the beverage station and were using them in the hot tub to splash water on each other.  The water came out of the hot tub and over the partition . . . Rude Guy wound up with salt water from the hot tub in his pina colada.  He drank it anyway!

Anyhow, at the airport, it's time to board the plane, and who should be standing next to me but Rude Girl!  Rude Guy is behind me.  As the crowd moves forward, she moves in front of me.  Then she reaches behind her and takes his hand, and tries to pull him forward.  Only problem is, I'm standing where she wants him to stand.  If he'd said "excuse me", I  would have let him step in front of me, but I have a bit of a stubborn streak when someone tries to push me out of the way, so I didn't move. Some words were exchanged -- he told me I was being rude, I told him I didn't appreciate being pushed,  and she told me she could feel my bad breath on the back of her neck . . . wasn't worth escalating . . . He got off the line and walked around everyone else and met up with her at the door where you habd your boarding pass to the airline employee.

We got onto the plane, and guess who was sitting directly in front of me and the pirate king?  We could have made their flight pure misery . . .but we're adults. 

So it was an uneventful flight home.  And I am already depressed, because today is Monday and I have to go to work.

Sea Day . . .

So we called it a night right after dinner.  Or, rather, I did.  This morning I found evidence of the pirate king's midnight pizza run.

This morning we went to the Punchliner brunch.  Honest impression?  Not so good.  I mean, the food was good, the menu very different from the usual offerings in the main dining room.  I had a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese, he had steak and eggs.  But the comedy?   They do a five minute routine every hour on the half hour.  The comic we heard as we were being seated was Valerie Storm, very funny and I'd love to see her show.  Scooty K, the comic who went on just before we left . .  . bombed.  Partially because he didn't bring his best stuff, partially because a huge dining room is not the best place to interact with your audience.

Music: "The Tide Is High" by Blondie

Next up, the Tides pool.  (You knew I'd have to put on a bathing suit sooner or later!)  We chose the Tides pool rather than the Beach pool because it is quieter and less hectic.   If you think you're actually going to be able to swim in this pool, think again.  It's only about 4 1/2 feet deep and very crowded.   There's nothing like floating in warm salt water.  But bring shoes, the deck area is too hot to walk on!

We sat on lounge chairs for awhile, reading our books and watching the ship's wake.

Lesson of the day:  sunscreen doesn't work if you leave it in the cabin.  Good thing lobster wasn't on tonight's menu, else I'd be afraid someone would mistake me for tonight's dinner.

Dinner in the main dining room again.  Finally tried the fried chicken I'd seen on the menu all week . . .meh.  But the warm chocolate melting cake . . .heaven.

Music:  "Vogue" by Madonna

Tonight's show was "Divas", featuring music by Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Madonna, etc.  I have to admit I wasn't familiar with a lot of the songs.  Chief complaint, as always, is that the show was too short.

Then we raced from the Ovation to the Limelight to catch the comedy show.  It was Scotty K, who bombed so miserably during brunch.  He was much better in a more appropriate venue.  I liked his show, actually.  His "adult" material isn't pornographic or laced with expletives.  It's more political and social commentary.

We were so disappointed when we got back to the room.  For the first time all cruise, there was no towel animal on the bed.

Turns out the towel animal was . . .elsewhere.  I was a bit startled when I opened the bathroom door . . .

St. Maarten/St. Martin

Our arrival at this island was very early in the morning, and our tour (such as it was) started almost immediately upon arrival.  So we opted to skip breakfast in the dining room.  We ordered muffins and etc.  from room service.  Meh.

Music:  "Volcano" by Jimmy Buffett

What you first notice about this island is that the mountains come all the way down to the sea.  St. Maarten was formed by volcanic activity.

We arrived on the Dutch side of the island and boarded a bus for our excursion.  Our journey took us through an international border crossing to the French side of the island.  Easiest border crossing in the world -- if you didn't see the flags along the side of the road as the bus passed through, you'd never know you entered a different country.

Since the glass bottom boat was out of commission, we spent our time in Marigot.  Shopping.  It was ok, but not terribly exciting.Frankly, without the boat ride. . .it just wasn't worth the trek across the island.

Music:  "Cheeseburger in Paradise" by Jimmy Buffett

Back in Phillipsburg, we had lunch at the Greenhouse, an open air bar and grill.  Frozen drinks.  Conch fritters (first time I tried them.  They're ok but conch is a bit chewy.)  And, of course, cheeseburgers.  Nice restaurant.

Major shopping in Phillipsburg.  I bought jewelry.  The pirate king bought a very expensive lens for his very expensive camera.  And, of course, he could not resist the tee shirt that proclaims he is a member of pirates local number 5.

From the ridiculous to the sublime.  Took the water taxi back to the ship. . . Small boat vs. big ship. . .

Music:  "My Generation" by The Who

Dinner in the main dining room, then on to the British Invasion show.  One of the assistant cruise directors is British, so she did a pre-show trivia contest -- she'd play a British Invasion song and you'd have to finish the lyric.  The pirate king  and I each  answered a question correctly.  No prizes, but it was a lot of fun.

The show itself?  It's a combination of live action and animation -- Peter Max style artwork and scenes right out of those old Beatles cartoons. The show relies too heavily on the animation and not enough on the talents of the performers, and it's way too short.  But it's a fun show.

Next up, our last port -- St. Thomas.

Puerto Rico!

Breakfast in the main dining room.   Food is much better here than on the Lido.  I had pabcakes, he had piached eggs.  Place was very busy and service was a bit slow, but overall a satisfactory experience.

Music:  "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna.

We arrived in Puerto Rico around midmorning.  If you like old forts, be on the port side of the ship when you arrive.  Our balcony was the perfect place for the photo opportunity.  The retaining wall extends way past the fort, and it's weird to see the modern city behind ancient walls.

We cleared US customs fairly quickly.  And then it was time to start our Puerto Rican adventure.  We spent a few minutes expliring the streets of Old San Juan.  Narrow streets, lots of traffic, restaurants, artsy shops, Starbucks, signs in English and Spanish.  Just like lower Manhattan, but with palm trees.

Then it was time for our tour.  We boarded a bus and headed for el Yunque.  On the eastern tip of the island, high in the mountains, our national park service has preserved a rainforest. 

Music: "Africa" by Toto

Our tour guide explained that the rainforest formed as a result of weather conditions in Africa and on the Atlantic.  Dust from the Sahara gets blown across the ocean, and when it hits the mountains of Puerto Rico . . .rain.

You drive up narrow roads to the visitor's center, where you can learn all about the ecology.  (And where I bought yummy tostones -- fried plantain patties.)  We continued our drive through the forest, passed a beautiful waterfall and up to the observation tower.  There are incredible views here, and if you actually climb to the top (as Drew did) you can see where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean.  On our way back down the mountain, we stopped at the waterfall to take pictures.  In the pouring rain, of course.  What do you expect, it's the rainforest.

Then it was on to Castillo de San Cristobal, the fort we'd seen as we arrived in San Juan this morning.  The fort was built by the Spanish to control not only Puerto Rico, but also the Caribbean and South America.  The English tried to take it several times, without success.  The Americans succeeded in taking the fort, and the island, in 1898, during the Spanish-American War.  The visitor's center, a modern facility at the base of the fort, was built when this place was known as  Fort Brooke during WW II.

An interesting tidbit.  San Juan was a walled city until late in the 18th century, and no one was allowed to live outside the walls.  Tearing down the walks to allow the city to expand was apparently a major controversy.

Back on the ship, and all I wanted was a hot shower.  Just before I turned on the water. . . There was an announcement from our cruise director.  No hot water!  Don't worry, it was fixed before 8:00 that evening.  You just have to roll with it, I guess.

Dinner in the steakhouse is an experience not to be missed.    I loved the shrimp cocktail, so much better than the version in the main dining room.  The pirate king loved the lobster bisque.  Hearts of iceberg salad was boring.  I loved the brioche and he loved the foccacia.  We both chose surf and turf -- petite fillet mignon and lobster tail.  The Yukon gold mashed potatoes are incredibly creamy -- the chef said he strains them three times before adding a ton of butter and cream.  Easily the best meal we had aboard ship.  Too full for dessert, we took it with us for later.  I have to say, it was a bit of a disappointment.  We are used to a thick, dense, creamy New York cheesecake, and this was light and airy -- like they used ricotta instead of cream cheese.

The evening's entertainment was a juggler named Edge.  He incorporates a lot of humor into his act.  He's an expert at Chinese yo yo.  He performed for a full hour and he was very entertaining.

Back up to the cabin . . .and messages from Guest Services.  First, we were informed that the balconies would be cleaned starting at 9:00 - no big deal, since our shore excursion was scheduled for 8:00.

But about that shore excursion . . .no, not cancelled.  Not entirely.  We'd still get ti see the island.  But no ride in the glass bottom boat!  Mechanical difficulties.  If we'd known that, we would have taken a similar excursion in Grand Turk.  So disappointing.

Grand Turk

Music:  "Margaritaville", Jimmy Buffett.

When we woke up this morning the beautiful island of Grand Turk was just outside our window.    Beaches, boats and palm trees, and the largest Margaritavillle in the chain  (I'm still a bit annoyed -- as soon as we picked this week to cruise; I knew that when Jimmy announced his touring schedule he'd be playing Jones Beach while we were away.)

Breakfast in the main dining room.  Much more civilized than on the Lido deck, and the food is better, too.  I started with cantalope, had a small apple danish and french toast -- very thick slices of bread that were sweet but not cloying.  The pirate king had his favorite eggs benedict, something he'd never prepare for himself at home.

Background music:"Rocket Man" by Elton John

Although the Turks and Caicos are part of the British West Indies, in the past the United States maintained an Air Force base and a naval base on Grand Turk.   When John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth, he cane here after splashdown.  There are monuments to that occasion in the cruise center and in front of the international airport.

Our adventure today was called "Coast to Coast Grand Turk Safari."  We rode in an open-air safari bus and got a brief tour of the island.  We learned that the island has no source of fresh water except rain.  Vegetation is not lush, I even saw cactus growing!   The historic district is in Cockburn Town, built by Burmudians during the salt-raking era.    Would have liked to explore some of the old homes.  Later, at the lighthouse, in addition to seeing an incredible view, we learned that Columbus' first landfall in the New World may have been at Grand Turk.

The island is very rustic -- hard to believe it is the capital -- but there are sattelite dishes EVERYWHERE.  And no, I'm not just referring to the airport and the former naval base.  Every house, even the poorest looking shacks, seems to have a dish.  Tour guide said something about a hurricane a few years ago -- the island lost electricity for two months, and television was out for 7 months.

There are no traffic lights on the island.  Seems many people opt to travel by horse or donkey.  The animals are allowed to wander, untethered.  Occasionally during the tour we had to stop to let horses or donkeys get out of the road.

And about riding in an open-air vehicle:  I fought the wind, and the wind won.    I had my hair pulled back in a headband, and it was so windy the headband blew out of my hair.  I'm glad the ship's photographers take pictures before you leave the ship, not after.

We briefly visited Margaritaville, but didn't stay long.  Very commercial.  Jimmy is busy selling the rest of us a phony adventure so that he can go on real ones.

Lunch on the Lido.  With "all aboard" at 2:30 and sailaway at 3, everyone came back from the various shore excursions and headed to the Lido for lunch.  We had deli sandwiches and pizza.  Pizza is excellent, but small slices of thin crust puzza will not fill you up.  The deli sandwiches are NOT New York style and the meat is a bit too fatty, but the sandwiches are good.  Mini cupcakes were a bit dry and not sweet enough.

So far the best food on the Lido has been Guy's burgers, pizza and the Mongolian Wok.
 

Lazy afternoon on the balcony for me while the pirate king explored the ship, and came back with some jellybeans from Cherry on Top.

Our before-dinner entertainment was the Hasbro Game Show.   Our cruise director Butch pretends to be a game show host.  He selects members of the audience to come up on stage to play the games.  There's Connect Four, where contestants throw basketballs  and try to get four of the same color in a row.  Simon, where participants wear light up cubes and have to get themselves  in the right order.  The pirate king says it reminds him of that old tv show, "Beat the Clock."  Very family-friendly entertainment, but I will say there are adults on this cruise who take this game far too seriously -- especially when you realize the "grand prize" is a few Hasbro games.

Background music: "Tequila Sunrise"

Did a little more exploring  before dinner.  The pirate king's very expensive camera decided to pay a visit to guest services when we left it in the theater, so the king had to retrieve it. (I blame that mishap on the tequila sunrise he drank in the theater.  Mostly tequila, very little "sunrise".)

Dinner in the main dining room.  Service was excellent, as usual.  The waiters danced tonight, to "Low", the same song our staff on the Valor danced to 3 years ago.  The food, however, was disappointing.  I really didn't care for my appetizer or entree.  But we loved the cheesecake dessert.

After dinner we wandered over to the Limelight Lounge and got on line for the comedy show.  We got there 1/2 an hour before show time and were at the back of the line.  They warn you, several times before the show starts, that this is an adults-only show (they do family-friendly shows earlier in the evening).  So we laughed our way through half an hour of filthy but very funny stand-up.

Deck party on the Lido interfered with our stargazing, so we decided to call it a night.

Ahhh, spa

The schedule says Sunday is a fun day at sea.

Our personal schedule reads "SPA"

So, after a quick solo breakfast on the Lido deck, that's where I went.

We'd visited the Cloud Nine Spa yesterday, but today we became clients.  The spa is on Deck 12, at the bow of the ship, and the "relaxation room" (a fancy term for "waiting room") has beautiful windows with an "I'm the king of the world" view.  Color scheme is blue and white, very cloudlike.  Soothing.

My first treatment was a massage/foot massage and facial.  So relaxing.  Then I had a cup of tea in the relaxation room, just around the time the pirate king arrived for his hot stones massage.  Then I went to the salon for a manicure/ pedicure.  I succumbed to the hard sell and bought a few of their overpriced products. The lavendar-scented oil is amazing.

Between the two of us, we spent an obscene amount of money at the spa.  But I came away from it feeling pampered and relaxed. 

We finished up at the spa around noon, then headed to Ocean Plaza for trivia.  We watched a game that was already in progress, then played a game based on tv theme songs.

Next up: lunch on the Lido.  He had Mongolian Wok (again), I had a variety from the buffet.  He had the better deal.

Afternoon on the balcony.  It's hot and sunny by the Lido pool, but cool and shady on our balcony.

I am really loving our balcony.

Musical cue:  "Putting On The Ritz", Fred Astaire

It's elegant night.  We're all dressed up, of course.

We had our photo taken with our captain and cruise director, then had a drink at the bar before dinner.

Our dining room staff entertained us with "Finiculi finicula" and "Amore".  Our waitors danced with each other . . .

Music:  "Rockin' Robin".  Tonight's show was a Motown salute called "The Motor City."   Eight singer/dancers entertain us for 30 minutes.  The sets are not elaborate, the show relies heavily on lighting effects.   Very good show, but very short. . .the shows were better three years ago.

I should mention two things . . .

Although we have been enjoying warm, sunny days, it's also been very windy.  You might not notice so much by the Lido pools, but on the upper decks, especially at night. . .My hair looks like I styled it with an egg beater.

And we definitely feel the motion of the ship.  More so at night that during the day.  I feel it in the dining room and the theater, and I really feel it in our cabin late at night. 

Next up: Grand Turk.