Last day, and the over all atmosphere is not brilliant, think it's just all the minor complaints and disagreements all coming to a head.
Don't think we'll ever do a cruise of this length again, but if we did I'd hope and pray for better entertainment staff.
I came second in the morning quiz, and I'm not doing the last battle of the sexes, but will do the last syndicate quiz tonight.
Came second in the progressive quiz.....bridesmaid again....lol
Here are one or two point to note if you ever decide to book this ship which is the Oriana, don't book a forward cabin on deck 8 as you can hear the theatre rehersals every afternoon, as it right below on deck 7.
Dont book deck 6 forward for same reason, and also on deck 6 forward on port side the noise from the launderette can be a problem.
Make sure your resturant is the Peninsula and not the Oriental, as I've been told the Oriental suffers very badly from vibration off the engines as it's situated directly above the engine room.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Day Thirty Four
Still sailing, not a lot planned for today, just the usual quizzes etc, except for the battle of the sexes, I'm giving that a miss for the rest of the cruise, all the banter and fun has gone out of it.
Some people take it far to serious, so I think I'll stay away, because I might say something I'll regret......
Just an ordinary day, except today was the day to fill in the customer satisfaction questionnaire, I filled mine out in what I think was a very honest fashion. I also included a hand written A4 sheet of paper pointing out the things , that in my humble opinion need to be addressed.
In the syndicate quiz tonight the questions were asked by Emma who has been great for the whole cruise, and the marker was deputy cruise director Karen who has been a complete misery arse the whole cruise, except for last night when she was the life and soul of the party.
We are all certain that the entertainment staff have been told about the comments made by everyone on their comments forms and I'm sure the letter I included with my form will not have been the only one sent in......
Some people take it far to serious, so I think I'll stay away, because I might say something I'll regret......
Just an ordinary day, except today was the day to fill in the customer satisfaction questionnaire, I filled mine out in what I think was a very honest fashion. I also included a hand written A4 sheet of paper pointing out the things , that in my humble opinion need to be addressed.
In the syndicate quiz tonight the questions were asked by Emma who has been great for the whole cruise, and the marker was deputy cruise director Karen who has been a complete misery arse the whole cruise, except for last night when she was the life and soul of the party.
We are all certain that the entertainment staff have been told about the comments made by everyone on their comments forms and I'm sure the letter I included with my form will not have been the only one sent in......
Day Thirty Three
Sea day once again, we are coming to the end of the cruise just two more days after today. It's been a strange cruise in many ways.
It's been one of the best because of the people we've met, as I've said before though, we always seem to meet some lovely people. There have also been some miserable cranks on board too.
Anyway tonight the star turn is Sam Kane, he used to be on Brookside and is married to the sexy Linda Lusardi, I'm not sure if she's on board with him, I'll let you know...... Oh yes and today is the next round of Battle of the Sexes, it will be interesting!! to see if the women turn up.
I'll keep you informed about that too....... Bet you can't wait..... "Yawn yawn....lol"......
The men easily won this round of Battle of the Sexes by 10 points to 5, so as I sportingly told the ladies team “justice had been done”. I obviously said this whilst running away from them. Anyway most of them took the whole thing sportingly, except for one who wrote a letter of complaint about Big Dave's, so called cheating, to the cruise director.
Dave was asked to see the cruise director about the matter and so I accompanied him as a sort of a witness. Anyway the outcome was that the complaint was petty, but as the cruise director explained, he had to be seen to investigate any written complaint.
On a lighter note Sam Kane was amazing, he's one of the best singers I've seen and I would recommend you go and see him if the chance ever ariseses......
It's been one of the best because of the people we've met, as I've said before though, we always seem to meet some lovely people. There have also been some miserable cranks on board too.
Anyway tonight the star turn is Sam Kane, he used to be on Brookside and is married to the sexy Linda Lusardi, I'm not sure if she's on board with him, I'll let you know...... Oh yes and today is the next round of Battle of the Sexes, it will be interesting!! to see if the women turn up.
I'll keep you informed about that too....... Bet you can't wait..... "Yawn yawn....lol"......
The men easily won this round of Battle of the Sexes by 10 points to 5, so as I sportingly told the ladies team “justice had been done”. I obviously said this whilst running away from them. Anyway most of them took the whole thing sportingly, except for one who wrote a letter of complaint about Big Dave's, so called cheating, to the cruise director.
Dave was asked to see the cruise director about the matter and so I accompanied him as a sort of a witness. Anyway the outcome was that the complaint was petty, but as the cruise director explained, he had to be seen to investigate any written complaint.
On a lighter note Sam Kane was amazing, he's one of the best singers I've seen and I would recommend you go and see him if the chance ever ariseses......
Day Thirty Two
Funchal, Madeira today, after breakfast, six of us, that's Jen, John, Hazel, Peter, Sheila and myself decided to get off at 8.30 and take the free shuttle bus into town. We then got the City Sight Seeing opentop bus to get a good look at Funchal and the surrounding area the most interesting part of the trip besides the lovely views, was the fishing village of Camara de Lobos where Winston Churchill went to paint. We also saw the famous Reid's Hotel where he apparantly stayed and which does tradittional afternoon teas that are supposed to be good, but very expensive. In the evening Sheila and I went to see Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, his talk was interesting and full of nostalgic tv clips from yester year. He also did a "yes no" competition which I and three other people took part in, I think I may have set a worlds record, because I lasted less than 1 second and was out on the very first question. But it was a laugh which was the main thing.....
Day Thirty One
At sea, just been to the morning quiz, the subject was pubs, so everyone thought I'd do well, but as you can probably guess I bombed out and only scored eleven out of twenty.... You can see how exciting sea days are on here lol.
Went to the talk inthe theatre, it was by Philip Hayton the ex BBC news reader and reporter, it was facinating and very interesting, but it over ran by about fifteen minutes, so I missed most of the Battle of the Sexes quiz. I was lucky I did tbough because the women said that the men were cheating and a row broke out and most of the women walked out in protest.
I walked in at the very end of it all, so I wasn't directly involved. I can't believe how serious tbe quiz is taken, after all the prize is only the glory of winning nothing else, not a bottle of wine, or even a keyring, just the glory...... Lol It was quite exciting really, I'll keep you informed, the next round (if the women turn up that is.....lo is the day after tomorrow.....)
Went to the talk inthe theatre, it was by Philip Hayton the ex BBC news reader and reporter, it was facinating and very interesting, but it over ran by about fifteen minutes, so I missed most of the Battle of the Sexes quiz. I was lucky I did tbough because the women said that the men were cheating and a row broke out and most of the women walked out in protest.
I walked in at the very end of it all, so I wasn't directly involved. I can't believe how serious tbe quiz is taken, after all the prize is only the glory of winning nothing else, not a bottle of wine, or even a keyring, just the glory...... Lol It was quite exciting really, I'll keep you informed, the next round (if the women turn up that is.....lo is the day after tomorrow.....)
Day Twenty Nine
Sea day again, just been informed that the wearther is going to turn bad again this afternoon :-( It was a very rough day at sea, sick bags on every staircase.
Otherwise a very uneventful day, except maybe for the evening. Sheila and I went to see the show in the theatre, it was a mind reader. He managed to get Sheila to get up on stage,
he walked up to the front row seats where we were sitting. He managed to ignore my thoughts of "pick me, pick me" and went straight to Sheila who, after a lot of pushing and shoving from me and another Dave in the next seat, agreed to get up on stage. He did manage to read her mind and drew exactly what she had on the piece of paper in her hand. It wasn't a set up so I've no idea how he did it. I just worry about the poor guys mental state after rummaging around in Sheilas mind..... LOL....
Otherwise a very uneventful day, except maybe for the evening. Sheila and I went to see the show in the theatre, it was a mind reader. He managed to get Sheila to get up on stage,
he walked up to the front row seats where we were sitting. He managed to ignore my thoughts of "pick me, pick me" and went straight to Sheila who, after a lot of pushing and shoving from me and another Dave in the next seat, agreed to get up on stage. He did manage to read her mind and drew exactly what she had on the piece of paper in her hand. It wasn't a set up so I've no idea how he did it. I just worry about the poor guys mental state after rummaging around in Sheilas mind..... LOL....
Day Twenty Eight
At sea still, did not get a great nights sleep, the sea was quite rough and kept getting woken up as the ship did not slow down for any of the Atlantic speed bumps, we hit every one with a bang.... Some people tried to tell me that it was the waves hitting the side of the ship, but unless the waves had great big sledgehammers, I'm sticking with the speed bump theory.....lol.
Can't see a lot happening today as the weather is bad and most of the passengers will be inside in scowling mode. But you never know something exciting may happen, I'll keep you informed..... Nope nothing exciting happened.....
Can't see a lot happening today as the weather is bad and most of the passengers will be inside in scowling mode. But you never know something exciting may happen, I'll keep you informed..... Nope nothing exciting happened.....
Day Twenty Seven
Water water everywhere, not a drop to drink.... Well it's not really that bad, I was just trying to find a more interesting way of saying it's a sea day.
The weather is wonderful today, so after a much needed breakfast (I'd not eaten since one o'clock yesterday afternoon don't forget and thats 13 hours...lol) Sheila and I are relaxing on the promenade deck, she's reading and I'm doing this blog.......
I know I'm probably starting to sound like a professional moaner, but the entertainment on here is just about the worst I've seen on any ship, and I've seen some bad stuff on a couple of Italian cruise lines.
The highlight of this afternoon is a garden fete on deck 12, consisting of Hook a Duck, Hoopla, throw a wet sponge at an officer in the stocks etc, another highlight being guess how many coffee beans in a jar and the Piece de Resistancé, Guess the weight of the cake competition.My heart could not take the pressure so I've come back to the promenade deck for a lie down.....LOL.
Did well in the progressive quiz again today, we're still leading.
Roy Walker was the headline act in the theatre tonight, he was funny, better than I expected after the comments about his first show last week, which we missed.
Won the Syndicate quiz again, a few of the posher teams weren't very happy and we took great delight in celebrating.......
The weather is wonderful today, so after a much needed breakfast (I'd not eaten since one o'clock yesterday afternoon don't forget and thats 13 hours...lol) Sheila and I are relaxing on the promenade deck, she's reading and I'm doing this blog.......
I know I'm probably starting to sound like a professional moaner, but the entertainment on here is just about the worst I've seen on any ship, and I've seen some bad stuff on a couple of Italian cruise lines.
The highlight of this afternoon is a garden fete on deck 12, consisting of Hook a Duck, Hoopla, throw a wet sponge at an officer in the stocks etc, another highlight being guess how many coffee beans in a jar and the Piece de Resistancé, Guess the weight of the cake competition.My heart could not take the pressure so I've come back to the promenade deck for a lie down.....LOL.
Did well in the progressive quiz again today, we're still leading.
Roy Walker was the headline act in the theatre tonight, he was funny, better than I expected after the comments about his first show last week, which we missed.
Won the Syndicate quiz again, a few of the posher teams weren't very happy and we took great delight in celebrating.......
Day Twenty Six
First of four days at sea today, so probably wont have much to report, but we'll see how it goes..... Big discussion about one of the teams cheating in the Syndicate quiz last night, I personally think its sad when people cheat, I mean the prize is only a bottle of P&O plonk for god's sake.
The thing is it's the principle, cheating at the best of times is wrong, but when the prize is rubbish it's a sad thing to do and when it's spoiling other peoples enjoyment it's a bad thing too...... I'm going to have another moan here.
This time it's about the Captain, who you never see around this ship saying hello etc, which on other ships you see quite often. As I'm writing this I'm the only passenger sitting in Tiffany Court, when along comes the Captain, he's going to the bar to ask one of the staff something and he walks right past my table, without a glance at me never mind a quick hello.
That has been one of the many faults about this ship, the lack of communication or friendliness of any of the staff above the rank of waiter.... All the cabin staff, bar staff and resturant staff are lovely. But none of the senior staff say hello and as I've mentioned before most of the entertainment staff need personallity transplants.....end of moan......for now.....lol.
On a lighter note I've just won the individual morning quiz again, which surprised me as this morning it was on football and thats not a strong subject for me. But given the average age of the passengers on here, most of those taking part were probably asleep or have Alziemers so didn't know where they were..... Lol..... That joke was probably in bad taste but it's true...lol. Not much else to report today as Sheila and I are turning in early, as we're both not feeling 100%. And besides tonights entertainment is abismal, in the theatre it's a classical pianist, in Harliquins lounge it's ballroom dancing and in the other main caberet lounge the Pacific, its a classical guitarist, what a rock'n'roll night it's going to be on the ghost ship, oh yes I nearly forgot, the movie on in the cinema was the Black Swan, which just happens to be about ballet. So on that note goodnight, see you tomorrow...LOL
The thing is it's the principle, cheating at the best of times is wrong, but when the prize is rubbish it's a sad thing to do and when it's spoiling other peoples enjoyment it's a bad thing too...... I'm going to have another moan here.
This time it's about the Captain, who you never see around this ship saying hello etc, which on other ships you see quite often. As I'm writing this I'm the only passenger sitting in Tiffany Court, when along comes the Captain, he's going to the bar to ask one of the staff something and he walks right past my table, without a glance at me never mind a quick hello.
That has been one of the many faults about this ship, the lack of communication or friendliness of any of the staff above the rank of waiter.... All the cabin staff, bar staff and resturant staff are lovely. But none of the senior staff say hello and as I've mentioned before most of the entertainment staff need personallity transplants.....end of moan......for now.....lol.
On a lighter note I've just won the individual morning quiz again, which surprised me as this morning it was on football and thats not a strong subject for me. But given the average age of the passengers on here, most of those taking part were probably asleep or have Alziemers so didn't know where they were..... Lol..... That joke was probably in bad taste but it's true...lol. Not much else to report today as Sheila and I are turning in early, as we're both not feeling 100%. And besides tonights entertainment is abismal, in the theatre it's a classical pianist, in Harliquins lounge it's ballroom dancing and in the other main caberet lounge the Pacific, its a classical guitarist, what a rock'n'roll night it's going to be on the ghost ship, oh yes I nearly forgot, the movie on in the cinema was the Black Swan, which just happens to be about ballet. So on that note goodnight, see you tomorrow...LOL
Day Twenty Five
At Tortola today, still sailing in vat the moment, I think we arrive about 8am. Will probably do an island tour, so I'll be able to let you know a bit more about this island than just how good the beer is...... Another beautiful sunrise... 
.
We've docked at Road Town and decided to definately do an island tour, Jennifer has vowed to keep off the beer today, we'll have to wait and see how good her will power is.......
Did the island tour in an open sided bus, it cost $20 each, this seems to be the standard price on most of the islands. It was quite a good tour, the guide was friendly and informative.
The island hasn't got a lot to see as in historical places, forts, churches etc. As far as churches go the really ornate ones are on the predominantly Catholic islands and Tortola is a predominantly Methodist island so any churches we saw were quite plain and only dated from about the 1930s. What it does have to offer though is beautiful beaches and spectacular views, in fact on this tour we went over Sage mountain which at about 1700ft is the highest peak on the island. And around every corner was another wonderful view of a bay with a sandy beach, each more beautiful and spectacular than the last.
If I had to pick a favourite it would be Long Bay, which naturally was long and gobsmackingly (if thats a word) beautiful. All in all in my humble opinion Tortola was the most beautiful island we visited
. We've docked at Road Town and decided to definately do an island tour, Jennifer has vowed to keep off the beer today, we'll have to wait and see how good her will power is.......
Did the island tour in an open sided bus, it cost $20 each, this seems to be the standard price on most of the islands. It was quite a good tour, the guide was friendly and informative.
The island hasn't got a lot to see as in historical places, forts, churches etc. As far as churches go the really ornate ones are on the predominantly Catholic islands and Tortola is a predominantly Methodist island so any churches we saw were quite plain and only dated from about the 1930s. What it does have to offer though is beautiful beaches and spectacular views, in fact on this tour we went over Sage mountain which at about 1700ft is the highest peak on the island. And around every corner was another wonderful view of a bay with a sandy beach, each more beautiful and spectacular than the last.
If I had to pick a favourite it would be Long Bay, which naturally was long and gobsmackingly (if thats a word) beautiful. All in all in my humble opinion Tortola was the most beautiful island we visited
Day Twenty Four
St Maaten today just walking around the town of Phillipsburg. Well there you go, another boozy day....lol. We walked in to the town which is about 15 minutes from the port.....
Today we four where joined by Marilyn and Terry, a lovely couple I'd met earlier on the cruise.
It turns out that Marilyn wanted an electronic e-reader, similar to my Sony pocket reader. S
o I'd made arrangements to go to Phillipsburg with them to help her choose one. It's supposed to be quite cheap for duty free electronics there, but as with most places around the world the price of electronic goods has evened out.
o as it turned out the exact same model as my e-reader was only £3 cheaper, so Marilyn decided to wait until she got home to buy one. Having walked almost the full length of Phillipsburg main street, we all decided to walk back along the harbour promenade...... Big mistake....lol....
Stopping at the first bar that advertised CHEAP BEER we ordered our first round, which ee proceded to do at various other CHEAP BEER bars along the water front. T
his continued until we'd had about nine rounds, then we headed back to the ship for lunch. And with it being the last half hour of "Happy Hour" at the ships pool bar John and I had one last drink.... It turned out to be once again my one last anything for the day. Because on returning to our cabin at about 5pm for a "quick nap", before the evenings frivolity I promptly fell fast asleep and here I am at 6am the next morning writing this......LOL... I think I'm getting to old for all this partaaying, (the spelling is correct). As even Sheila is out lasting me :-). But purely for this blog I'll soldier on.....lol :-P
Today we four where joined by Marilyn and Terry, a lovely couple I'd met earlier on the cruise.
It turns out that Marilyn wanted an electronic e-reader, similar to my Sony pocket reader. S
o I'd made arrangements to go to Phillipsburg with them to help her choose one. It's supposed to be quite cheap for duty free electronics there, but as with most places around the world the price of electronic goods has evened out.
o as it turned out the exact same model as my e-reader was only £3 cheaper, so Marilyn decided to wait until she got home to buy one. Having walked almost the full length of Phillipsburg main street, we all decided to walk back along the harbour promenade...... Big mistake....lol....
Stopping at the first bar that advertised CHEAP BEER we ordered our first round, which ee proceded to do at various other CHEAP BEER bars along the water front. T
his continued until we'd had about nine rounds, then we headed back to the ship for lunch. And with it being the last half hour of "Happy Hour" at the ships pool bar John and I had one last drink.... It turned out to be once again my one last anything for the day. Because on returning to our cabin at about 5pm for a "quick nap", before the evenings frivolity I promptly fell fast asleep and here I am at 6am the next morning writing this......LOL... I think I'm getting to old for all this partaaying, (the spelling is correct). As even Sheila is out lasting me :-). But purely for this blog I'll soldier on.....lol :-P
Day Twentyt hree
St Kitt's today and I'm up early again, it's dark and the approach to the island is very beautiful and dramatic looking with the lights shining on the black looking island and the orange dawn breaking behind. The few clouds there are, add to the effect... 
The photo shown was taken a bit later so it's not quite as dramatic, sorry.... I will probably get off for at least a walk around the town, but I'm definately having a day off the beer today....
I never turned out last night as I felt quite ill again, so Sheila and I ordered room service (first time we've ever used room service on any ship) and stopped in the cabin and watched a movie.
The extra long sleep seems to have worked as my cold seems to be clearing....
So hoprfully I can tell you a bit more about St Kitts or at least as I said, Basseterre which is the town we dock at..... Instead of walking around the town or doing the island tour, we decided to get the ferry over to St Kitt's sister island of Nevis.
We were told by the local taxi drivers that either we'd missed the ferry or that the return ferry would be around four o'clock which would have been cutting it fine as the journey was 45 mins and the ship was leaving at 5.30.
But being the intrepid explorere we are we decided to give it a go any way.....lol.
The journey did indeed take 45 mins but the return ferry's were about every hour so no problem making the ship sail time..... I have a sneaking suspicion that the taxi drivers were just after our business.....LOL.
Anyway the trip to Nevis was great the ferry was a real bone shaker, but the weather was wonderful and the scenery beautiful
. The town of Charlestown it's self was even more laid back than the mainland, if that was possible.... If we had more time it would be a great island to explore.
The photo shown was taken a bit later so it's not quite as dramatic, sorry.... I will probably get off for at least a walk around the town, but I'm definately having a day off the beer today.... I never turned out last night as I felt quite ill again, so Sheila and I ordered room service (first time we've ever used room service on any ship) and stopped in the cabin and watched a movie.
The extra long sleep seems to have worked as my cold seems to be clearing....
So hoprfully I can tell you a bit more about St Kitts or at least as I said, Basseterre which is the town we dock at..... Instead of walking around the town or doing the island tour, we decided to get the ferry over to St Kitt's sister island of Nevis.
We were told by the local taxi drivers that either we'd missed the ferry or that the return ferry would be around four o'clock which would have been cutting it fine as the journey was 45 mins and the ship was leaving at 5.30.
But being the intrepid explorere we are we decided to give it a go any way.....lol.
The journey did indeed take 45 mins but the return ferry's were about every hour so no problem making the ship sail time..... I have a sneaking suspicion that the taxi drivers were just after our business.....LOL.
Anyway the trip to Nevis was great the ferry was a real bone shaker, but the weather was wonderful and the scenery beautiful
. The town of Charlestown it's self was even more laid back than the mainland, if that was possible.... If we had more time it would be a great island to explore.
Day Twenty two
Donminica today, not sure if I'm going off today as I've still got a bit of a cold, it's full blown flu really, but I'm hard and not one to complain so I'll just call it a cold....LOL. I
felt well enough to have a walk off into the town of Roseau, which was luckily where we were docked...lol. As
we got on to the quayside, which is about fifty yards from Roseau's main street, we could hear the very very loud beat of that wonderful Caribbean music. On
further investigation, which involved walking a hundred yards down the main street, we found out where the fantastic music was coming from, it was a local radio's roadshow wagon that was there for a carnival that started that morning and that was due to continue for three day's..... It
turned out that there was an upstairs bar, with a completely open front, right along side the roadshow wagon, the only people in there were some young locals, so naturally we went in....lol... Al
l I can say is what an afternoon we danced and drank local beer ($2 a bottle ) for about the next three hours.... My
cold disappeared while we were in the bar...lol. It came back when we got back on the ship though... I can only put it down to the music and probably the Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I suppose the beer could have had something to do with it...LOL. So to conclude on today there's not much I can tell you about the island except that the beer is good (and cheap) the prople are beautiful and friendly and last but not least the music "rocks".....
felt well enough to have a walk off into the town of Roseau, which was luckily where we were docked...lol. As
we got on to the quayside, which is about fifty yards from Roseau's main street, we could hear the very very loud beat of that wonderful Caribbean music. On
further investigation, which involved walking a hundred yards down the main street, we found out where the fantastic music was coming from, it was a local radio's roadshow wagon that was there for a carnival that started that morning and that was due to continue for three day's..... It
turned out that there was an upstairs bar, with a completely open front, right along side the roadshow wagon, the only people in there were some young locals, so naturally we went in....lol... Al
l I can say is what an afternoon we danced and drank local beer ($2 a bottle ) for about the next three hours.... My
cold disappeared while we were in the bar...lol. It came back when we got back on the ship though... I can only put it down to the music and probably the Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I suppose the beer could have had something to do with it...LOL. So to conclude on today there's not much I can tell you about the island except that the beer is good (and cheap) the prople are beautiful and friendly and last but not least the music "rocks".....
Day Twenty One
Isla Margarita today, we're all going to do an island tour, not a ships tour though, they're far to expensive... Going to get a local minibus.... I'll let you know how it goes.....
Great tour, $20 each in a 20 seater bus, we went all round the island, though there's not a great deal to see, the trip was very enjoyable and good value for money as we were out for over five and a half hours, only got back to the ship with thirty minutes to spare, scary, scary....lol.
We visited a light house which once you had climed the one hunderd and forty three steps had some spectacular views,
I showed Sheila the pictures, no way she could climb that many steps...lol.
We visited L'Aciuncion the capital, and the guide explained the story of, Louisa c. De Arismendi, who was the pregnant wife of the revolution leader Juan Bautista Arismendi, she was kidnapped and held captive in the fort Castillo de Santa Rosa, above the town and interogated for the plans of her husbands revolution, she never divulged anything and in the process she lost the baby. There is a lot more to the story so if you ever come here its worth investigating, especially if you're a saddo like me...lol.
We also visited a fishing village where they fish the old fashioned way in traditional and very pretty boats, although the boats do have outboard motors nowadays. I got some really good photos of the colourful boats pulled up on to the beach. In fact one of the best things about the trip was the spectacular views around the island. As usual the best value for island tours was not the ship, but the local travel company which normally have booths just as you come off the ship, and as usual are open to bargaining...... I personally didn't do anything after the Beatles show in the theatre as I took to my bed with the dreded lurgy, or as it's more commonly known as a cold...
Great tour, $20 each in a 20 seater bus, we went all round the island, though there's not a great deal to see, the trip was very enjoyable and good value for money as we were out for over five and a half hours, only got back to the ship with thirty minutes to spare, scary, scary....lol.
We visited a light house which once you had climed the one hunderd and forty three steps had some spectacular views,
I showed Sheila the pictures, no way she could climb that many steps...lol.
We visited L'Aciuncion the capital, and the guide explained the story of, Louisa c. De Arismendi, who was the pregnant wife of the revolution leader Juan Bautista Arismendi, she was kidnapped and held captive in the fort Castillo de Santa Rosa, above the town and interogated for the plans of her husbands revolution, she never divulged anything and in the process she lost the baby. There is a lot more to the story so if you ever come here its worth investigating, especially if you're a saddo like me...lol.
We also visited a fishing village where they fish the old fashioned way in traditional and very pretty boats, although the boats do have outboard motors nowadays. I got some really good photos of the colourful boats pulled up on to the beach. In fact one of the best things about the trip was the spectacular views around the island. As usual the best value for island tours was not the ship, but the local travel company which normally have booths just as you come off the ship, and as usual are open to bargaining...... I personally didn't do anything after the Beatles show in the theatre as I took to my bed with the dreded lurgy, or as it's more commonly known as a cold...
Day Twenty
Another sea day, I quite look forward to them, as you can relax without bothering about getting off the ship to explore.....
Think its a sign of getting old..lol. L
eft Sheila up on deck sunbathing while I've come inside to do yet another quiz.... I'll let you know the result in a while.....bet you can't wait...lol. Th
e quiz was a TV quiz which I won all on my own....what a sad life I must lead....LOL. Of
f to battle of the sexes soon, I like the game because we can hurl abuse at the women for half an hour, without getting told off..... God I really need to get a life...LOL.. The men won the battle of the sexes, it's getting to easy, but then again they're only women....lol. Ou
r group of six have mated up with one of the headline acts, a Beatles tribute act called Beatles Celebration, great bunch of lads. They always come over and chat when they see us around the ship. Last night we all ended up in the Crow's Nest bar with them, listening to the jazz band. It was a great night, one thing I do like about the lads is if you buy them a drink, they stand their round :-) and thats important to me, it shows they are not full of themselves, as some acts can be, you know the kind of thing, “I'm a star so you should buy me drinks” nothing like that from these lads. And they're brilliant on stage too, if you ever see them advertised on a ship go and see them.....
Think its a sign of getting old..lol. L
eft Sheila up on deck sunbathing while I've come inside to do yet another quiz.... I'll let you know the result in a while.....bet you can't wait...lol. Th
e quiz was a TV quiz which I won all on my own....what a sad life I must lead....LOL. Of
f to battle of the sexes soon, I like the game because we can hurl abuse at the women for half an hour, without getting told off..... God I really need to get a life...LOL.. The men won the battle of the sexes, it's getting to easy, but then again they're only women....lol. Ou
r group of six have mated up with one of the headline acts, a Beatles tribute act called Beatles Celebration, great bunch of lads. They always come over and chat when they see us around the ship. Last night we all ended up in the Crow's Nest bar with them, listening to the jazz band. It was a great night, one thing I do like about the lads is if you buy them a drink, they stand their round :-) and thats important to me, it shows they are not full of themselves, as some acts can be, you know the kind of thing, “I'm a star so you should buy me drinks” nothing like that from these lads. And they're brilliant on stage too, if you ever see them advertised on a ship go and see them.....
Day Nineteen
Aruba today and I was up late and a little worse for wear.....
We had a walk off the ship for a couple of hours, but none of us fancied doing a tour, so we just walked around the town, which was nothing special, just your usual Caribbean town.
As I'm writing this I'm sat on a sun lounger on deck 7 the promenade deck in 80° temperarures so it's not all bad...lol
As I think I said in an earlier post, the ship is a bit sedate and the entertainment leaves a lot to be desired, as do some of the entertainment staff. But once again we've met some cracking people and that makes a cruise for me.
We had a walk off the ship for a couple of hours, but none of us fancied doing a tour, so we just walked around the town, which was nothing special, just your usual Caribbean town.
As I'm writing this I'm sat on a sun lounger on deck 7 the promenade deck in 80° temperarures so it's not all bad...lol
As I think I said in an earlier post, the ship is a bit sedate and the entertainment leaves a lot to be desired, as do some of the entertainment staff. But once again we've met some cracking people and that makes a cruise for me.
Day Eighteen
At sea today, so just the usual onboard things today. If anything exciting happens, you'll be th
e first to know..... Nothing happened during the day. But in the evening Jennifer and J
ohn had booked to renew there marriage vows on board. They had the full hit, wedding dress and everything, she looked stunning and John scrubbed up ok too lol.... After the ceremony in the captains quarters they had a bridge tour ( lucky buggers...) the
n they had photos taken on various parts of the ship. After that we met them for drinks for an hour before they went for their meal in the very posh Oriana Roades resturant, which was three hours of a job.... Then after that we all met up with a few other people including Karl the singer from the Beatles Celebration group and had a good drink, Sheila and I lasted till about 12.30 then turned in. But I'm reliably informed the party went on till turned 2am. So one or two didn't make breakfast the next morning...lol.
Day Seventeen
In Limon today, weather overcast but bloody warm...sounds like I'm moaning lol but I'm not. It was so humid at the Panama Canal yesterday and it feels like it's going to be the same today...... We're off exploring what I thought in my complete ignorance was an island. I now find Limon is a town in Costa Rica. We're going with four of the friends we've made, thats Jennifer and John who I've mentioned before and the couple they are travelling with, Hazel and Peter, who are also a brilliant couple. I just love peters accent he's got to be the poshest sounding person I've met...lol. Anyway off for breakfast.... I'll keep you informed of events today... Instead of the usual steel band on the quayside, today we have a band playing wooden zylophone type instruments. I'm not sure if they are peculular to Costa Rica, but they do sound very unusual. Maybe they are decended from instruments the Caribbe Indians used to play, it's just a thought but I'll try and find out..... Didn't find out about the wooden instrument, but did have a brilliant trip in a small bus. There ended up with 17 of us going, the guide was amazing we stopped lots of times to see various animals, among them were howler monkeys, sloths both 3 and 2 toed varieties, various birds and he explained the various trees such as cashew nut, bread fruit etc. Then he took us for a boat ride were we saw more animals and birds. Then we were taken to the obligatory gift shop and bar, we had local beer and some of us were courageous enough to try the food. All in all a wonderful day and only $20 each.....
Day Sixteen
Panama Canal today, only doing a partial transit, first three locks which are called the Gatun locks, took about two hours to get through, then we entered the Gatun lake which is a massive man made lake that sits between the locks on the Atlantic side and the locks on the Pacific side. As I said we are doing a partial transit, which means we spend about six hours anchored in Gatun lake till our alotted return time comes then we go back through the Gatun locks to the Atlantic side and then on to our next port which is Limon.
The feat of engineering it took to dig the canal out is amazing, yet so simple, it's just like the locks on say the Leeds and Liverpool canal but on a far far bigger scale and there are two canals riunning side by side. It was fantastic to see this huge container ship transiting the opposite lock to us. They have small railway type engines called mules that pull the ships through the locks, a minimum of one either side and up to four either side depending on the size and weight of ship. Even though we are just anchored in Gatun lake, there is still plenty to see, there are cargo ships of all shapes and sizes passing us going both to the Atlantic and the Pacific, we are quite close to shore and have a great view of the rain forest. We've had various birds flying past the best of which was a group of about six pelicans which flew within about twenty feet of us, quite an amazing site really. On the return transit one of the lock gates got stuck, so we were waiting about half an hour while they fixed it.
So I can say we went to the Panama Canal and it was broken....lol.
The men won the first half of the battle of the sexes.... Round two will be on the return leg of the cruise, I'll keep you informed of every exciting round...lol
The feat of engineering it took to dig the canal out is amazing, yet so simple, it's just like the locks on say the Leeds and Liverpool canal but on a far far bigger scale and there are two canals riunning side by side. It was fantastic to see this huge container ship transiting the opposite lock to us. They have small railway type engines called mules that pull the ships through the locks, a minimum of one either side and up to four either side depending on the size and weight of ship. Even though we are just anchored in Gatun lake, there is still plenty to see, there are cargo ships of all shapes and sizes passing us going both to the Atlantic and the Pacific, we are quite close to shore and have a great view of the rain forest. We've had various birds flying past the best of which was a group of about six pelicans which flew within about twenty feet of us, quite an amazing site really. On the return transit one of the lock gates got stuck, so we were waiting about half an hour while they fixed it.
So I can say we went to the Panama Canal and it was broken....lol.
The men won the first half of the battle of the sexes.... Round two will be on the return leg of the cruise, I'll keep you informed of every exciting round...lol
Day Fifteen
Up early again today, needed some washing done and wanted to beat the crowds at the launderette......thats one of the big plus points on P&O ships, the free launderette, all you pay for is the washing powder, machines and dryers are free, which is very helpful on longer cruises like this.....anyway must get on as my washing calls and I don't want to cause a riot with the people waiting to use the machines.. which has happened with some passengers, almost full scale fights over washers and dryers....I kid you not...LOL.
Sea day today, so probably wont have much to report.....we'll sea how it goes. W
ent to the individual quiz in Tiffany Court this mourning and now wish I hadn't. T
he young girl who did it Laura Jane was in a foul mood, when any of us taking part tried our usual friendly banter, she would be very off with us. A
nyway as it turned out I won the quiz and when I went up to pick up the prize, I asked her if everything was ok? S
he turned on me and started saying things like you'll go to far and say things to the wrong person one day.
can honestly say hand on heart that I or anyone else at the quiz said nanything out of order and definately nothing offensive to her during the quiz.
And these comments hurt.
As she passed the other Dave on our table, he, not having heard what she said to me, asked her if she was ok, to him she replied “oh I'm just having an off day” aparently it turned out she had had a row with her boyfrient.
Anyway the up shot was one of the other entertainment staff, Anthony, later on asked me why I was so quiet. And so I told him, I know it may seem like talking out of school as they say, but her comments really hurt, and I definately didn't deserve them.
The upshot was later that morning Dave and I were chatting on deck 7 when Laura Jane came up and hugged Dave and said sorry she was a bit off but she'd had a row with her boyfriend and she was fine now, but she said not one word to me, which hurt me again. I know I probably sound like an old woman complaining, but she was one of the entertainment staff I'd immediately taken to when we came on board, because quite honestly, from the cruise director John Bartram down, most of them, not all but most of them need a personality transplant and that is truely NOT sour grapes.
On a lighter note the women won todays Battle of the Sexes so its 5 games each.....the tension is building...god I'm sad..... LOL
Sea day today, so probably wont have much to report.....we'll sea how it goes. W
ent to the individual quiz in Tiffany Court this mourning and now wish I hadn't. T
he young girl who did it Laura Jane was in a foul mood, when any of us taking part tried our usual friendly banter, she would be very off with us. A
nyway as it turned out I won the quiz and when I went up to pick up the prize, I asked her if everything was ok? S
he turned on me and started saying things like you'll go to far and say things to the wrong person one day.
can honestly say hand on heart that I or anyone else at the quiz said nanything out of order and definately nothing offensive to her during the quiz.
And these comments hurt.
As she passed the other Dave on our table, he, not having heard what she said to me, asked her if she was ok, to him she replied “oh I'm just having an off day” aparently it turned out she had had a row with her boyfrient.
Anyway the up shot was one of the other entertainment staff, Anthony, later on asked me why I was so quiet. And so I told him, I know it may seem like talking out of school as they say, but her comments really hurt, and I definately didn't deserve them.
The upshot was later that morning Dave and I were chatting on deck 7 when Laura Jane came up and hugged Dave and said sorry she was a bit off but she'd had a row with her boyfriend and she was fine now, but she said not one word to me, which hurt me again. I know I probably sound like an old woman complaining, but she was one of the entertainment staff I'd immediately taken to when we came on board, because quite honestly, from the cruise director John Bartram down, most of them, not all but most of them need a personality transplant and that is truely NOT sour grapes.
On a lighter note the women won todays Battle of the Sexes so its 5 games each.....the tension is building...god I'm sad..... LOL
Day Fourteen
Another early rise for me, Sheila still in bed, I'll call her bout 8am. It's Curacao today part of the Dutch Antillies, never been here either, so may have a run in a taxi to see the island, Jennifer and John have said to join them if we like, as they're planning to do the sa
me thing. Anyway off to breakfast....
Late morning I did a trip around part of the island, went with Sheila, Jennifer and John. It was quite interesting, but nothing really different to any other Caribbean island. And thats not putting the islands down, quite the contrary, all the islands are beautiful, its just that once you've seen one Caribbean island you've in all honesty seen them all.
God I completely forgot about the stop at the Curacao Liqueur factory! How could I forget that when you could drink as much of the stuff as you wanted? Thinking on it that's probably the reason....LOL. There were four different flavours and if you mixed them all together in one glass it was beautiful, it knocked your head off but made you feel beautiful...lol
After the trip we came back to the ship for lunch, then ventured out on foot to explore the town, which is called Willemstaat. It's a very pretty town with the sea front looking very
Dutch, well the island is part of the Dutch antillies so that really shouldn't be
a surprise. The buildings are the usual Caribbean blaze of multi-colour.But very Dutch looking in design. We crossed the floating bridge to get to the main part of town and were very lucky to see it put into action, as a couple of small ships needed to pass through. As facinating as it was, the health and safety aspect left a lot to be desired as all that happens when a boat needs to pass is a bell rings and the bridge immediately starts to move, everybody has to run and jump the gap.....quite exciting really and very funny in some cases watching the panic by the tourists who don't quite know whats going on...lol. We moved on and exploerd the town which has a really interesting floating market. We even had a cheap beer in what i can only describe as a Dutch Barn type food hall for the locals. It was a very authentic way to have a drink and pass half an hour.....but definately NOT! the place to have something to eat......lol after an hour or two wandering round the town, we came back on board for happy hour on the ship......the cold beer was very welcome....enough said....lol
me thing. Anyway off to breakfast....
Late morning I did a trip around part of the island, went with Sheila, Jennifer and John. It was quite interesting, but nothing really different to any other Caribbean island. And thats not putting the islands down, quite the contrary, all the islands are beautiful, its just that once you've seen one Caribbean island you've in all honesty seen them all.
God I completely forgot about the stop at the Curacao Liqueur factory! How could I forget that when you could drink as much of the stuff as you wanted? Thinking on it that's probably the reason....LOL. There were four different flavours and if you mixed them all together in one glass it was beautiful, it knocked your head off but made you feel beautiful...lol
 |
| See how beautiful it's made John and I...LOL |
Dutch, well the island is part of the Dutch antillies so that really shouldn't be
a surprise. The buildings are the usual Caribbean blaze of multi-colour.But very Dutch looking in design. We crossed the floating bridge to get to the main part of town and were very lucky to see it put into action, as a couple of small ships needed to pass through. As facinating as it was, the health and safety aspect left a lot to be desired as all that happens when a boat needs to pass is a bell rings and the bridge immediately starts to move, everybody has to run and jump the gap.....quite exciting really and very funny in some cases watching the panic by the tourists who don't quite know whats going on...lol. We moved on and exploerd the town which has a really interesting floating market. We even had a cheap beer in what i can only describe as a Dutch Barn type food hall for the locals. It was a very authentic way to have a drink and pass half an hour.....but definately NOT! the place to have something to eat......lol after an hour or two wandering round the town, we came back on board for happy hour on the ship......the cold beer was very welcome....enough said....lol
Monday, 21 March 2011
Day Thirteen
Up early again, day at sea today, the weather is fantastic.
Spent 30 minutes after breakfast watching some Gannet's diving into the sea for fish, just like dive bombers they were, they must have fantastic eyesight to spot the fish from that far up......
After that went to the sun deck and Sheila got a nice place in the sun to subathe, I found a nice place in the shade to shadebathe....going down stairs at 10 for yet another quiz...lol.
If you like ballroom dancing and quizzes this is the ship for you....personally I like quizzes, which is lucky, as there's not much else to do.....the entertainment on board really does need giving a bit of a kick up the backside.
The quiz was a sports quiz and I came a creditable 2nd, which is good for me considering my sports knowledge is virtually nil...lol.
I'm back shadebathing on deck 13.
God this weather is so hot its got to be 90°
Just come out from lunch we both had a salad thats how hot it is today,
I couldn't face a hot meal. Although I did succumb to the steamed pudding and custard for afters
I'm seriously thinking about lodging a complaint at the pursers desk over the steamed pudding and custard deserts of an afternoon, if the chef keeps putting them on, I'll end up being winched off at Southampton.....LOl.
Nice evening again, good show on theatre, a Queen thing. Good fun in Syndicate quiz again, we all try not to miss it purely out of divilment..... I checked with Jemma the entertainments officer who runs it if we were to much of a disruptive influence. She said catergorically not, its supposed to be fun and we were fine and she loved having someone to bounce off......once again a close second bridesmaids again, but we've still got 20 odd days to go so fingers crossed.
Spent 30 minutes after breakfast watching some Gannet's diving into the sea for fish, just like dive bombers they were, they must have fantastic eyesight to spot the fish from that far up......
After that went to the sun deck and Sheila got a nice place in the sun to subathe, I found a nice place in the shade to shadebathe....going down stairs at 10 for yet another quiz...lol.
If you like ballroom dancing and quizzes this is the ship for you....personally I like quizzes, which is lucky, as there's not much else to do.....the entertainment on board really does need giving a bit of a kick up the backside.
The quiz was a sports quiz and I came a creditable 2nd, which is good for me considering my sports knowledge is virtually nil...lol.
I'm back shadebathing on deck 13.
God this weather is so hot its got to be 90°
Just come out from lunch we both had a salad thats how hot it is today,
I couldn't face a hot meal. Although I did succumb to the steamed pudding and custard for afters
I'm seriously thinking about lodging a complaint at the pursers desk over the steamed pudding and custard deserts of an afternoon, if the chef keeps putting them on, I'll end up being winched off at Southampton.....LOl.
Nice evening again, good show on theatre, a Queen thing. Good fun in Syndicate quiz again, we all try not to miss it purely out of divilment..... I checked with Jemma the entertainments officer who runs it if we were to much of a disruptive influence. She said catergorically not, its supposed to be fun and we were fine and she loved having someone to bounce off......once again a close second bridesmaids again, but we've still got 20 odd days to go so fingers crossed.
Day Twelve
It's Grenada today.
Got up early, 6am in fact, I had a walk out on deck and it was pitch-black and I'd estimate, that with all my seafaring exerience...lol..it's about 70° so god knows what its going to be later.
It's 6.30 now and quite light, so I'm able to see the dark grey storm clouds.....might be a day for staying on board ship, although it is as I said very warm, so you'd dry quickly....there's a least one other ship here today, but were to far away to make out who she is.
ItCan see it now, 's RCCL's Serenade of the Seas and its a beautiful looking ship.
9 oclock and we're sitting outside on deck 7 the promenade deck, looking at the island it looks really beautiful but you can see the rain approaching across the mountains behind the town.
9.30 and here it is and it's quite a heavy downpour, looking at the skies I think this rain is going to last a while. It will be a shame if I cannot at least get off for a quick look around.
Wow 9.45 and the rain has gone, the mountains behind the town are clear and bright.....might get off after all.........
Had a walk into town and went up to St Georges fort for a panoramic view of the area.... The walk nearly killed me...lol.... The gradient was 1 in 5 i'm certain...lol. But it was well worth it.
Came down to the town and walked around the spice market
which was interesting. Got back on board just before the rain started again...
Got up early, 6am in fact, I had a walk out on deck and it was pitch-black and I'd estimate, that with all my seafaring exerience...lol..it's about 70° so god knows what its going to be later.
It's 6.30 now and quite light, so I'm able to see the dark grey storm clouds.....might be a day for staying on board ship, although it is as I said very warm, so you'd dry quickly....there's a least one other ship here today, but were to far away to make out who she is.
ItCan see it now, 's RCCL's Serenade of the Seas and its a beautiful looking ship.
9 oclock and we're sitting outside on deck 7 the promenade deck, looking at the island it looks really beautiful but you can see the rain approaching across the mountains behind the town.
9.30 and here it is and it's quite a heavy downpour, looking at the skies I think this rain is going to last a while. It will be a shame if I cannot at least get off for a quick look around.
Wow 9.45 and the rain has gone, the mountains behind the town are clear and bright.....might get off after all.........
Had a walk into town and went up to St Georges fort for a panoramic view of the area.... The walk nearly killed me...lol.... The gradient was 1 in 5 i'm certain...lol. But it was well worth it.
Came down to the town and walked around the spice market
which was interesting. Got back on board just before the rain started again...
Day 11
Barbados today, the weather is the usual 80° sunshine... I'm getting a bit blasé about this weather don't you think....lol.
There are three cruise ships in port at the moment, P&O Oriana, Carnival Mercury and the Celebrity Equinox. So I'm thinking it's going to be busy.
Took a walk to the Kensington Oval cricket ground, only took about 25 minutes at a slow strolling pace, it clouded over a bit which was ok because it kept us cool.
When we got there we decided to do the tour of the ground, which was very interesting and at $10 each was also very reasonable.
-We are back on the ship now after getting a soaking walking back, but the soaking was welcome because of the heat, they call the rain liquid sunshine here... having learned my lesson from yesterday, i'm drinking coffee...lol
Went to the formal resturant tonight as it was the 54th wedding annivarsery of Marion & Alex a couple on our table and knowing that we don't usually go there, we usually use the buffet for dinner, they'd asked us if we'd join them, both the meal and the company were wonderful.
Didn't bother with the theatre this evening as the act was a classical pianist, not really my cup of tea.
Did the quiz in the Lord's Tavern instead and once again the bridesmaid, same result in the Syndicate quiz in Crighton's.
Although in Crighton's we got a few snobbish looks because our team and a couple of others have got a friendly rivalry going and a few of the more aloof and serious (can you believe serious on holiday) teams think we are to frivolous...... (can you believe, me frivolous!!) Lol. Anyway bridesmaids at that quiz too.......the prize is a bottle of completely undrinkable wine btw.....lol
There are three cruise ships in port at the moment, P&O Oriana, Carnival Mercury and the Celebrity Equinox. So I'm thinking it's going to be busy.
Took a walk to the Kensington Oval cricket ground, only took about 25 minutes at a slow strolling pace, it clouded over a bit which was ok because it kept us cool.
When we got there we decided to do the tour of the ground, which was very interesting and at $10 each was also very reasonable.
-We are back on the ship now after getting a soaking walking back, but the soaking was welcome because of the heat, they call the rain liquid sunshine here... having learned my lesson from yesterday, i'm drinking coffee...lol
Went to the formal resturant tonight as it was the 54th wedding annivarsery of Marion & Alex a couple on our table and knowing that we don't usually go there, we usually use the buffet for dinner, they'd asked us if we'd join them, both the meal and the company were wonderful.
Didn't bother with the theatre this evening as the act was a classical pianist, not really my cup of tea.
Did the quiz in the Lord's Tavern instead and once again the bridesmaid, same result in the Syndicate quiz in Crighton's.
Although in Crighton's we got a few snobbish looks because our team and a couple of others have got a friendly rivalry going and a few of the more aloof and serious (can you believe serious on holiday) teams think we are to frivolous...... (can you believe, me frivolous!!) Lol. Anyway bridesmaids at that quiz too.......the prize is a bottle of completely undrinkable wine btw.....lol
Day Ten
St Lucia today weather beautiful once again.
The place is closed for Independence day holiday, so not sure what we'll do. Also they had a bad hurricane in October that blew away all the beaches and devastated the islands infrastructure. I'm not really sure how far they've got with the repairs......we'll just see how it goes. The worst that can happen is that we have to stay all afternoon on this beautiful luxury cruise ship....lol Spent a couple of hours exploring the town of Castries with Sheila, John and Jennfer and was very surprised how run down and unsafe it is. I am used to going around these towns and exploring the out of the way places without any trouble but twice today we where told not to venture into certain places, once by the police, who were very polite but said we would be better not venturihg wbere we were headed and once in a different part of town by a local barber who saw us wandering past his shop and came out and said we would be better turning back towards the ship as where we were headed was not a safe place.
We obviously took the advice both times.
I was just so surprised that St Lucia was that bad.
All four of us went back to the ship for a drink and as it turned out Duncan McKenzie joined us on deck for a chat and we had a great afternoon, 5 hours spent drinking in beautiful sunshine. The only problem was the evening....after a few pints in the afternoon as I've said, I had a sleep for about an hour, then went for dinner still feeling a bit worse for wear.
After dinner Sheila went straight back to bed and I went to see Brian Conley on the theatre....but try as hard as I could I couldn't bring myself to get another pint, so admitting defeat and realising old age was catching up with me, I went quietly to bed.....lol
The place is closed for Independence day holiday, so not sure what we'll do. Also they had a bad hurricane in October that blew away all the beaches and devastated the islands infrastructure. I'm not really sure how far they've got with the repairs......we'll just see how it goes. The worst that can happen is that we have to stay all afternoon on this beautiful luxury cruise ship....lol Spent a couple of hours exploring the town of Castries with Sheila, John and Jennfer and was very surprised how run down and unsafe it is. I am used to going around these towns and exploring the out of the way places without any trouble but twice today we where told not to venture into certain places, once by the police, who were very polite but said we would be better not venturihg wbere we were headed and once in a different part of town by a local barber who saw us wandering past his shop and came out and said we would be better turning back towards the ship as where we were headed was not a safe place.
We obviously took the advice both times.
I was just so surprised that St Lucia was that bad.
All four of us went back to the ship for a drink and as it turned out Duncan McKenzie joined us on deck for a chat and we had a great afternoon, 5 hours spent drinking in beautiful sunshine. The only problem was the evening....after a few pints in the afternoon as I've said, I had a sleep for about an hour, then went for dinner still feeling a bit worse for wear.
After dinner Sheila went straight back to bed and I went to see Brian Conley on the theatre....but try as hard as I could I couldn't bring myself to get another pint, so admitting defeat and realising old age was catching up with me, I went quietly to bed.....lol
Day Nine
Early up again and watched the ship pull into Antigua still amazes me how the drive these huge ships into these tiny ports. The weather isn't brilliant at the minute, we've got the Caribbean Liquid Sunshine... we know it as rain... But it is warm and going to rise to around 80° according to the weather forcast. Anyway I believe the weather at home is rubbish at the moment....so that helps....LOL.
Boy has the weather changed its 10am ish and its topping at least 80°.
Just going to have a walk around the town, which is normally all we do at these ports, unless there's something we really want to see.
The ship and the getting there is the best part..in my humble opinion anyway
..... First impressions of St Johns, which is where we are in Antiguia, are, good people seem really friendly as normally is the case in the Caribbean. Even the taxi and minibus drivers are very polite when you refuse them. The reply from them is always "have a good day sir".
Had a look around the old cricket ground which I must have seen on tv 70s or 80s, right across the road is the fire station with its two immaculate fire engines
Then just around the corner is the prison, which was built in 1735 and is still in use and has 300 inmates.
After about an hour or so I took Sheila back to the ship and I went exploring, looking for a local bar. I don't like the tourist type bars they have by the ship in any port you go to. They are not really authentic. Anyway I found what I was looking for...it was called "Vics Place" and I was the only white face, I had a brilliant hour or so watching cricket on tv with the locals.
The evening consisted of a quiz (again)... a brilliant singers and dancers broadway show. And chatting with some great company we've met.
Boy has the weather changed its 10am ish and its topping at least 80°.
Just going to have a walk around the town, which is normally all we do at these ports, unless there's something we really want to see.
The ship and the getting there is the best part..in my humble opinion anyway
..... First impressions of St Johns, which is where we are in Antiguia, are, good people seem really friendly as normally is the case in the Caribbean. Even the taxi and minibus drivers are very polite when you refuse them. The reply from them is always "have a good day sir".
Had a look around the old cricket ground which I must have seen on tv 70s or 80s, right across the road is the fire station with its two immaculate fire engines
Then just around the corner is the prison, which was built in 1735 and is still in use and has 300 inmates.
After about an hour or so I took Sheila back to the ship and I went exploring, looking for a local bar. I don't like the tourist type bars they have by the ship in any port you go to. They are not really authentic. Anyway I found what I was looking for...it was called "Vics Place" and I was the only white face, I had a brilliant hour or so watching cricket on tv with the locals.
The evening consisted of a quiz (again)... a brilliant singers and dancers broadway show. And chatting with some great company we've met.
Day Eight
Not a lot gone on today, just the usual stuff..isn't it surprising how blasé you can get on these cruises..lol.
Mick Miller was on the theatre again this evening, he had a completely different show and was very good, his drunken childrens radio presenter was hilarious... Apparently its going to be at leasr 25° again today, the heat my god the damned heat....lol I believe the weather at home is awful....shame...he he he.
Mick Miller was on the theatre again this evening, he had a completely different show and was very good, his drunken childrens radio presenter was hilarious... Apparently its going to be at leasr 25° again today, the heat my god the damned heat....lol I believe the weather at home is awful....shame...he he he.
Day Seven
Now for the daily weather report.... It's beautiful again.... :-)
I've come upstairs to the Al Fresco cafe for a coffee this morning it's a mini version of the Conservstory buffet.... Far more civilized no elbowing the crowds out of the way to get the last piece of bacon on the planet.... Well it's not really that bad, I only said that for comic effect... Lol. But it is a tiny place thats nice and quiet and you can get most of the same things in here.
Btw yesterday the captain announced that there dolphins and a couple of whales on the port side of the ship....well the rush to see them was so great I could have sworn the ship listed......lol I was among the seething mass of people but never saw a thing.....
Then again I got to tickle a dolphins chin in Sea World in Florida a few years back so I wasn't to disappointed...lol Saw a flying fish earlier this morning.
Did the battle of the sexes again, it was a blood bath...all because us men won again, you'd think theweomen would be used to losing by now, but obviously not....then again having the men singing “its all gone quiet over there” while doing a lap of honour around the room, couldn't have helped their mood...lol.
Had a very quiet evening just did a couple of quizzes and then had a drink with a few friends.
There was supposed to be a deck party tonight, but it was rained off and brought inside to the pacific lounge..... Never went to it....
I've come upstairs to the Al Fresco cafe for a coffee this morning it's a mini version of the Conservstory buffet.... Far more civilized no elbowing the crowds out of the way to get the last piece of bacon on the planet.... Well it's not really that bad, I only said that for comic effect... Lol. But it is a tiny place thats nice and quiet and you can get most of the same things in here.
Btw yesterday the captain announced that there dolphins and a couple of whales on the port side of the ship....well the rush to see them was so great I could have sworn the ship listed......lol I was among the seething mass of people but never saw a thing.....
Then again I got to tickle a dolphins chin in Sea World in Florida a few years back so I wasn't to disappointed...lol Saw a flying fish earlier this morning.
Did the battle of the sexes again, it was a blood bath...all because us men won again, you'd think theweomen would be used to losing by now, but obviously not....then again having the men singing “its all gone quiet over there” while doing a lap of honour around the room, couldn't have helped their mood...lol.
Had a very quiet evening just did a couple of quizzes and then had a drink with a few friends.
There was supposed to be a deck party tonight, but it was rained off and brought inside to the pacific lounge..... Never went to it....
Day Six
Up early again 6.30, glad I did though, the sunrise was beautiful. The weather is lovely, but looking to the south ( all my cruise training enabled me to suss the direction out)....lol there are some very black clouds, but hopefully they'll go, fingers crossed anyway.....This is ten minutes later and the sun has turned those grey clouds white as the song almost says. I know it should be grey skies blue but that didn't fit as it was only the clouds that were grey not the sky.....ok, I'll shut up...lol and just say that it looks like its going to be a lovely day, lovely day, as the song does say....lol.
-This is what we signed up for, beautiful sunshine.....Sheila's sunning herself while reading her magazine, I'm as usual sitting in the shade I'm not really a sun sitter..... I'll get my sun when we get to the islands and I can have a walk.
Just come inside for the Battle of the Sexes, another half hour of chauvenistic mayhem....we won again...4 games to 2 the men are winning....we've all agreed that the women should stick to cooking cleaning and ironing...he he.
Off for lunch now...god more food !!
Brian Connolly was the theatre act tonight, very funny, I think hes a latterday Tommy Cooper.
Came second in the syndicate quiz, I think I really need to get a life.....lol
-This is what we signed up for, beautiful sunshine.....Sheila's sunning herself while reading her magazine, I'm as usual sitting in the shade I'm not really a sun sitter..... I'll get my sun when we get to the islands and I can have a walk.
Just come inside for the Battle of the Sexes, another half hour of chauvenistic mayhem....we won again...4 games to 2 the men are winning....we've all agreed that the women should stick to cooking cleaning and ironing...he he.
Off for lunch now...god more food !!
Brian Connolly was the theatre act tonight, very funny, I think hes a latterday Tommy Cooper.
Came second in the syndicate quiz, I think I really need to get a life.....lol
Day Five
Nothing very eventfull today, just the usual Transatlantic chill out, been to a talk and a couple of quizzes, (you may have guessed that I like my quizzes)...
I'm now just having a quiet minute on the promenade deck, enjoying the sunshine and the calm deep blue sea....and it is a beautiful dark blue.
Went to the singers and dancers production show tonight, it was excellent. Maybe not as big and bold as on the bigger ships but very entertaining and professional. You could tell at a lot of work went in to it.
Also went to a couple of quizzes again, with people we've met on board, and its different people for different quizzes, its all a good laugh, although as usual there are some stern and miserable faces around the room.
Maybe i'm a tad to loud and to forward for them, then again i'm not the only old bugger enjoying himself and having a laugh, there's another Dave who's from Scarborough who's determined to enjoy the cruise too, we'll probably be chucked off at the first port....LOL.
I'm now just having a quiet minute on the promenade deck, enjoying the sunshine and the calm deep blue sea....and it is a beautiful dark blue.
Went to the singers and dancers production show tonight, it was excellent. Maybe not as big and bold as on the bigger ships but very entertaining and professional. You could tell at a lot of work went in to it.
Also went to a couple of quizzes again, with people we've met on board, and its different people for different quizzes, its all a good laugh, although as usual there are some stern and miserable faces around the room.
Maybe i'm a tad to loud and to forward for them, then again i'm not the only old bugger enjoying himself and having a laugh, there's another Dave who's from Scarborough who's determined to enjoy the cruise too, we'll probably be chucked off at the first port....LOL.
Day Four
Lovely calm seas again this morning, I've even been for a walk around the deck outside...:-) Plenty of afternoon stuff to do, ie deck games, line dancing, bridge lessons, a couple of speakers, one on films the other on women in mortor racing, didn't go to either... There is a decent cinema on board prob holds 100 or so, has a different film each day and they're quite modern movies.....anyway off to lunch.......this compulsary eating is going to kill me.....lol . Played the battle of the sexes this afternoon, great laugh, very chauvanistic and the men won, needless to say...lol Evening much the same as last few, quizzes etc.. Magician on theatre but didn't bother going.
Day Three
Weather better today, sun shining and the sea a lot calmer, been for breakfast and then went to see Duncan McKenzie in his one man talk, again very funny and interesting. Going for a quiet chill and read in the Thackeray room, which is a lovely quiet room with big comfortable seats, just off the library on deck 7. That is a good thing about the ship, there are lots of quiet places to sit. Great female singer on in the theatre tonight Tracy Quinn, if you see her about she's well worth a look. Off to do a couple of quizzes this evening...
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Day Two
Up early again, just having a coffee in the conservatory, the seating area runs down both sides of the ship with the service area across the middle, I suppose it could seat about 500 people there is more seating outside, but to cold to use it at the min. Roll on the Caribbean...lol.
The stop at the Azores has been cancelled due to bad weather, sailing further south to avoid the worst of it. Went to see the talk with Duncan McKenzie this aftrernoon, seen him before but he's interesting and very entertaining. Evening entertainment is a bit samey at the min, after the commedian in the theatre, who was Mick Miller, it just seems to be ballroom dancing in the caberet lounges. We'll see how it goes as the trip goes on. :-)
The stop at the Azores has been cancelled due to bad weather, sailing further south to avoid the worst of it. Went to see the talk with Duncan McKenzie this aftrernoon, seen him before but he's interesting and very entertaining. Evening entertainment is a bit samey at the min, after the commedian in the theatre, who was Mick Miller, it just seems to be ballroom dancing in the caberet lounges. We'll see how it goes as the trip goes on. :-)
Day 1
First impressions of the ship are good, seems a nice classy ship, people had told me it was a bit tired and needed a refit, but I disagree, its lovely. Theatre is nice, if on the small side. The bars are good and varied in style. Went to the resturante last night and the food and service could not be faulted. Got up early again this morning, to see the storm...lol. The ship is rocking quite a bit, and some very big waves are hitting the side. Just been for breakfast in the buffet, lt's called the Conservatory on this ship....quite empty, very easy to get a seat...so the rough seas have a good side in this case...lol. Going to have a quiet read somwhere, then there's a "meet & mingle" type thing I'm going to later. Btw, the average passenger age on board is quite old, so I'm expecting quite a sedate cruise....lol. Woo hoo just won my first on board quiz all on my own.
Monday, 7 February 2011
Almost there
Last few days of countdown before cruise.
Just using this post to test my new phone for uploading to the blog.
Just using this post to test my new phone for uploading to the blog.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
On Countdown !!!
On countdown now....only 12 days to go. Visiting Mo and Joyce this weekend, they are lovely friends we met a while back on a Baltic cruise on the Jewel of the Seas.
That's the best thing about cruising....meeting nice people :-).....more to follow....
That's the best thing about cruising....meeting nice people :-).....more to follow....
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