Jan 16 San Juan, Puerto Rico

Founded in1521 by Ponce de Leon, San Juan is the oldest city within U.S. territory and the capital of Puerto Rico. It is also known as the rum capital of the world.

We were already docked in San Juan when we woke up. The girls got ready to visit the city on their own and i stayed in bed and out of their way as 3 women in a cabin getting ready all at once can get pretty crowded. Soon they were off and i showered and went to the Lido for breakfast. Afterwards i wanted to check out a secret passageway I had found a few days ago that i thought would shorten our walk into the Lido. I couldn’t figure it out to go in reverse as the elevator that i remembered seeing there now wasn’t there.....where the heck could it have gone.....it was bizarre and crazy! So i went the regular route thinking if i go out this passageway again this time i’ll pay attention and be able to figure it out both ways. Well, bah humbug, the elevators there took me to only the lower decks and that wouldn’t work for us but for today i decided to go wander around those lower decks again since i was there anyway. I’m glad i did as i saw some different awesome art, however it was again way too empty and spooky and cold down there so i found my way to get back to civilization and to hell with forging some new route as it was way too confusing for me. The real reason i was hoping it would work out for us was because our usual route took us through a blast of wind from a fan just before entering the Lido. This meant that everytime i went to eat my hair was all dishevelled. I guess that blast of wind was to keep flies from entering the restaurant which was a good idea but it didn't seem to bother anyone elses hair but mine! Now how can that be?

Later i went back to the Lido and had a nice lunch and then found myself a spot to crash for awhile with my IPad. Eventually it too became too cold just sitting so i went back to the Lido and got some dessert and coffee and because the lunch crowd had gone there were lots of places to sit in the warmth of the sunshine now beating through the windows. I was playing my IPad game when a man named Peter sitting nearby started a conversation with me. I enjoyed his company and his smarts, he and his wife had been on tons of cruises and with many different cruise lines and they now only cruise on the Carnival Sunshine. He was so full of cruise and ship knowledge and some of what he spoke i knew to be true and so i believed all of which he said. Peter and his wife have now been cruising only Carnival for so long that they actually get calls from Carnival to come and enjoy a free cruise on some misc. cruises. They live in Florida so it isn’t even a big deal needing to fly to a port, they simply drive down from their home nearby. We talked about the Jones act, the pros and cons of the mega ship cruises, about how the captains of ships move around to a lot of ships in their careers, what their real duties consist of and he answered my question of why a pilot from the country a ship docks at is always a local who takes the ship out of the port and is then picked up by a little tug boat and taken back to the shore. I’ve always enjoyed this little tradition or maybe it’s not so much tradition as it is necessity so i knew some of what he explained but he gave me more info and it was cool to learn. He did add that he thinks with technology this will all end and probably not too far in the future pilots won't be needed as a computer will do the honours. Peters info has made me rethink whether or not i really want to cruise a 6000 passenger ship as i’ve always said i wanted to do. One thing he pointed out was the sheer size means a lot more walking and of course i knew that but as i always choose a cabin midship i didn't think it through and therefore didn’t think it would be a big problem. But he explained that half way on a mega ship is the full way on a 3000 passenger ship and that hit home because these buggers are big longggg ships. Also he says the real biggest problem is the cruise ship Norvo virus and with double the people it’s easier-to catch and twice as severe. He also told me that’s why it’s so cold on this ship and even colder on a larger one because the germs don’t survive in the cold as well as they do on a warm ship. It all made perfect sense and now i’ll have to give this issue more thought before i jump into a reservation on RCC’s Oasis of the Seas or Anthem or any other mega ship. I’m real glad I had this little talk with Peter who was very wise and a nice man. Already i’m thinking that 3000 passengers is probably going to be tops for me and maybe as i get older and weaker i’ll be content on a ship with 2000 or less passengers.

The girls returned shortly after i got back to our cabin just as the ship was pulling out of San Juan. We then all went down to check out the shop sales before the girls left to attend the ventriloquist show. I didn’t feel like doing the show so i hung out in the casino for awhile, ate ice cream and then returned to the cabin which was freezing so i set the thermostat on full bore heat. The girls come in and found it too warm so i said ok, turn the acon as because by then i was in bed and nice and toasty warm. Until tomorrow!

                                              OOOhh I just loved this piece of apple art

 

I must add a little addendum here re what Peter,the fellow in the Lido had told me re the reason why they kept the ship so cool and well air conditioned. He said the virus doesn't like the cold but spreads like wildfire in warmth......I've googled this and turns out Peter was wrong and it's actually quite the opposite. Who knew?













 

Jan 15 St. Maarten Plane watching and snorkling

St. Maarten is one exotic island and two colourful nations. Split down the middle centuries ago with a French side and a Dutch side, today it is known as the Gourmet Capital of the Caribbean.

Our day started at 7:45 and we were already docked so a quick shower and with no time for breakfast we rushed off of the ship. Soon we were on a shuttle to the excursion boat and climbed onboard. We found seats in the center front section and soon we were sailing away into a beautiful aqua green sea. The captain spoke of Hurricane Irma and pointed out some of the damage she did. Their airport was severely damaged and employees were still operating from some blue tents nearby. Maho Beach was stripped of sand and just rocks had remained but sand had been brought in and from our boat in the ocean it looked like a lovely beach. We all had seen the YouTube video of the lady who died after a strong blast of turbo wind from a jet had tumbled her into a cement wall because she wasn’t strong enough to hold herself. I am weak like that also and it was the main reason that we chose to see the planes from a boat. It wasn’t long before our captain announced that a plane was coming and everyone took notice as plane watching was one of the points of this excursion along with snorkeling. The first plane wasn’t a big deal as we hadn’t quite reached our destination as of yet and anyhow it was a small aircraft. Eventually other planes came in for a landing and they were much closer but nowhere near as close as the travel brochure had shown but i think we all were aware that it wasn’t going to be. It was all small planes that we saw landing there and it wasn’t clear but I guess on occasion sometimes there’s some larger ones. It would have been cool if there had been some bigger ones for our timing but it was ok as it was a perfectly beautiful hot summer day relaxing in the Caribbean Sea.

I had a good time watching my daughter and granddaughter snorkeling at Maho Beach and having fun and although i had planned to hit the water with them when the time came i just couldn’t; the water was choppy, the boat was rocking and i plain and simply chickened out. I had worn my swimsuit under my jeans and top and had really planned on jumping in so it was a surprise to me too that all of a sudden i just wasn’t comfortable with attempting it. I sometimes feel like a weakling and have to go with my gut feeling and today it was telling me to not go in the water. So i had my fun watching everyone else having fun and i was content with that and have no regrets. I guess i’m older than i thought i was and that too is all right with me because i wasn’t going to let perfect strangers goad me into doing anything i wasn’t comfortable with. My only regret is that i didn’t go there a long time ago when i was younger and not scared of losing my balance on the slippery deck or not being strong enough to hoist myself back up out of the water and be able to climb up the ladder onto the boat. Maybe the time i almost drowned at Waikiki Beach was in the back of my mind, i don’t know. I was probably the oldest person onboard and i just knew i would break an arm or my back or whatever and yes, the water looks calm in the pics but honestly, it was choppy! I didn’t think anyone would have noticed or even cared or thought something was wrong with me for not getting in the water. Now that i’ve recognized my limitations i know enough to not return there. In the future i'll cruise to places that old folks cruise to and i won’t make any plans to do things that most people my age don’t even attempt or think of doing. I’ll go on seniors bus tours, shopping for new knitting patterns or just sight seeing and stay within my limits and not have to tell anyone my reasons. So there!

Eventually it was time to leave and the ride back to shore was uneventful. There wasn’t a shuttle waiting there on the pier so i started walking. It was so hot and seemed like a long long walk with nowhere to sit along the way until finally i spotted a curb just off the pier and sat there for a few minutes in the beating sun hoping the shuttle would come and it did but it was full. By then i had started worrying about snakes or spiders being in the shrubbery where i was sitting especially since i had seen the big iguana near there on our way in so i forged on for another half mile or it seemed like 20 or so until a shuttle came along with one seat left and you better believe i grabbed that seat gratefully. Back in the cabin i showered and changed clothes and when the girls didn’t return from their shopping enroute i went to the Lido for lunch. Afterwards i went to the trivia game “one hit wonders” from the 80’s and it was so hard i didn’t get many if any answers. I returned to our cabin and saw the girls had been there but were gone again so i redid my manicure and watched the activities involved in getting the ship ready to depart. Our next door neighbours were on their deck taking pictures when all of a sudden I heard the woman cry out and then I heard something smash. I got up and quickly looked over the edge of our balcony and there, eight floors down was the ladies phone laying smashed to bits on the wharf. OMG I felt so bad for her. It began to get a little dark and it happens very fast there. Just as the ship was backing up it began to pour rain and the sound it made hitting the water was like music, tinkling and awesome. I decided to go for a coffee and took my IPad with me and played my game while listening to another trivia game in the Ocean Lounge. It was so cold in there with the ac on too high for me so i went to the casino and wasted a few bucks before bumping into the girls in the Lido eating their dinner so i joined them for dessert. We then all returned to our cabin and that was it for our day in beautiful St. Maarten.

                                                         yeah, photo from Google..........

                                         
                                         This is the iguana near where i sat resting. It really
                                          was beautiful and harmless i know but i was still a
                                          little scared

Jan 14 Groove for St. Jude day

Slept in a little later today as it’s a sea day, thank goodness as i need to get some rest. Ate breakfast in the Lido then went out by the pool where there was a very large gathering to raise money for St. Jude’s Hospital. Carnival Cruise lines supports the hospital every year and today Lee the cruise director offered to shave his head if a certain level of donations were raised. If it failed then he would wax his chest publicly for a smaller amount. The captain also agreed to dive into the pool if a certain amount was raised and some other crew members joined him. We all bought St. Jude t-shirts to support the cause and some passengers were very generous. The total amount raised today was $10,364.00.  It wasn’t enough to see Lee shave his head but he did wax his legs and armpits. It was way too hot and crowded for me at this point so I went into the cooler ac ship for the art auction. I saw some awesome art on display but couldn’t stick around because it was way too cold in there. Go figure. I will never be happy i guess. dropped by the guest services to see if Sabrina’s lost ankle bracelet had been found and turned in but it wasn’t so i walked around some more until lunchtime and then pigged out on Virginia ham, molasses mashed sweet potato and strawberry froyo. I then met the kids to make a team playing 80’s trivia in which i had no answers but Corinne got some. Cruise trivia is very hard and for some strange reason I like that about it!  A magician then taught us some awesome card tricks which my daughter picked up easily but i couldn’t remember all the steps involved.

The casino was open all day being it was a sea day and so i played my new favourite game of four poker hands in one and It was interesting but i didn’t win much on them. Maybe it was because i liked the option of being able to play a side game to double your win. We don’t get that option at home and it’s a good thing because i wasn’t very good at it. I watched a guy doing it and it was uncanny how he seemed to win most of the time. I should probably stick with the regular games but the smoking in there has really gotten to me and i don’t appreciate the headache it gives me. I returned to our cabin and the girls had just arrived back as well so we got ready for the formal evening dinner. I had a bowl of cold strawberry soup, some sort of mushrooms, a mixed salad, lobster and prawns and baked Alaska and everything was delicious. We played some more in the casino then turned in as we have an early excursion in the morning.