Our Caribbean Cruise 2009: 2009

Saturday, February 21, 2009

2.19.09, Antigua

Guess what they sold in the store in Antigua? And this sign was too good to pass up.

2.17.09, Phillipsburg, Sint. Maarten,Tuesday

Fort Lauderdale, Pelican Landing

Friday, February 20, 2009

Grand Buffet last night was busy and might have been more enjoyable if we weren’t already stuffed to the gills from six days of eating. We brought our plates back to our cabin and could not even finish them. We got up this morning and began the horrible task of packing after another fantastic breakfast with John and Julie from Williamsburg, and Lynn and Bob Mack from North Carolina. I don’t know how we accumulated so much in one week, other than inches around our waists, but we managed to stuff most of it back into the bags…including using the vacuum hose to suck the air out of our space saver bags. Grandpa has lost the most weight of all, but perhaps that is because he has decided to measure it in metric. After the great packing morning of ’09, as DJ put it, we were back off for more food. We finally arrived in Nassau and had to wait to disembark and were lucky we didn’t get trampled by the impatient crowd. The Nassau port is at security level one so we needed passports and picture I.D.’s. We kept Grandpa out of the sun and DJ, too. In fact, Grandpa bought a hat at the Straw Market. We missed our People to People guide but visited the Tourism Office. Then DJ, Brittany, and Peg went on a horse-drawn carriage tour of Nassau. The horse was named Bahama Mama and our driver was Freddy. He even took our picture at the end of our tour. We saw Key lime trees and avocado trees. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the ship for dinner. Tonight’s attire was informal. We had a wonderful lamb dinner, and boy did Brittany clean her plate…and started on Grandma’s…but she did ask politely. It would have been a quiet meal, except for DJ’s screaming when he got a mouthful of what he thought was innocent enough, but turned out to be a pile of wasabi for his sushi California roll. (He thought the roll was nasty, too.) You should have see his face and eyes when the wasabi hit. He made the mistake of drinking water, rather than milk. He learned something new about quenching fire in his mouth. Milk works better than water! The big surprise tonight was when the waiters sang Happy Birthday to DJ and brought out a fantastic Italian whipped cream cake to make his special day. It was a pleasant day. We followed up with the final packing and it was bags out by 930pm. We were even early! That’s all for tonight. We’ll write tomorrow from the airport and post pictures.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

2.19.09 At Sea, Second Formal Night

2.19.09, At Sea
We’re a rockin’ ‘n’ a rollin’ at sea. It started last night and has calmed some but sure hasn’t cut down on our eating. We’ve seen a lot of Indians, Grandpa said. I said that I didn’t see any. He said, “Yes, A-patch-ee.” He was referring to the Dramamine patches that people were wearing behind their ears. We had no such trouble and let the sea rock us to sleep…several times today, actually. We awakened for first breakfast of coffee and rolls delivered to our cabin and proceeded to second breakfast in the dining room. DJ told us we should eat breakfast like kings, lunch like princes, and dinner like paupers. He was okay until he got to dinner. Today was a catch up on sleep day and see how sunburned DJ could get. Actually it was not planned but he did get his first sunburn on his shoulders and back of his neck. Thank God (and Colleen) for the Aloe gel. Grandpa is happy we have it too because his forehead is still fried. Grandma checked out the spa today. The hot tubs up there were not crowded, and the Turkish steam room was both beautiful and toasty. After lunch some of us napped. Britt and DJ went to the pool. We dressed for second formal night and had a formal picture taken. The men were handsome in their ties and suits, and Brittany was gorgeous in her green sundress and white shawl. Dinner was shrimp cocktail, manicotti, risotto, duck a la orange and lobster. The dinner show included Flaming Baked Alaska by our waiters. Tonight’s theater show in the Covent Garden Theater was Celtic Spirit. The dancing and music were wonderful. As we walked in, four of the entertainers followed Grandma and mimicked her. Everyone had a good laugh. As if it wasn’t bad enough with nude beaches and Chippendales, tonight they watched a pole dance. Granted it was a maypole, but DJ reminded us it was a pole dance. Britt got her Game Boy back. DJ finally got a plate of red grapes after three tries today, but Romi took good care of him at dinner. Brittany ate the broccoli, we think, because her bed is vibrating. The coffee has been excellent and the eggs Benedict have been wonderful. Brittany is fascinated with the confetti and streamers they shot into the crowd during the show tonight. As she said, it takes little to entertain her. No one was awake long enough to take pictures today LOL. Tomorrow, Nassau! Oh, my! We almost forgot about the midnight buffet. We’ll have to report on that tomorrow…if we ever get repacked.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

2.18.09 St. Johns, Antigua

Today started out very early for us cruisers. We woke up at seven in the morning as we landed in St. Johns, Antigua! We went to breakfast that early in order to ensure that we would get enough time to enjoy St. Johns. There, DJ had a big plate of red grapes that were gone by the time he brought them back to the room with him! He really does love those grapes. Anyway, Grandpa and DJ took off for St. Johns as Grandma and Britt sat and enjoyed breakfast. The guys went up to the old Cathedral in St. Johns in order to investigate. There were tombstones older than Grandma there! After that, the boys walked the town, examining all the unfinished sidewalks and streets and discussing where Grandma was going to take Britt today. (First a Chippendale show, then a nude beach, what could be next?) They then decided to give DJ’s wallet a good workout. They bought a souvenir for his dad, his stepmom, his mom and his stepdad. Now he just needs to get something for himself. (Grapes, perhaps?) In another store, they met up with Grandma and Britt, met an old man drumming and singing for money, taped Grandpa dancing with the singer of a band outside our ship, and boarded our ship. For the next two hours, Grandpa and Britt napped while Grandma and DJ sneakily went off to lunch. They both had wonderful carbonara. It was so good DJ went back with Grandpa and Britt when they got up for another helping! Grandma said, “It’s the best I’ve ever had.” After that, Grandma napped while DJ and Brittany, feeling so full to the bursting point, raced up to the 13th floor via stairs, ran around the deck a few times and ran back downstairs to see who got there first. Naturally, DJ, being older and wiser, won the race. The kids then sat down to a game of golf, where Brittany cheated yet DJ still won! After that, if you’ll believe it, it was time to sit down for dinner! Our waiter, who knows what Grandpa likes and dislikes, ordered for Grandpa tonight, as well as for Grandma and DJ. Brittany had the clear beef soup and salmon fillet. The other three had tomatoes and cheese for an appetizer Insalata Caprese, which the grandparents liked but DJ wasn’t a fan of, a pretty good salad with avocado, and some wonderful veal cordon bleu. For dessert, we all had a simple ice cream sundae. ..and D J rounded it off with another plate of grapes. Grandpa is severely sunburned on his head. His shins are not much better. Those darn kids, Grandma said, will they never learn? We played Hearts until grandpa was winning and everyone wanted to play golf instead. Brittany cheated again. She dealt and got 4 kings. Hmmm. Only two were in the deal so maybe she only looked like a cheater, but…Grandma took Britt to the local grocery store to fondle the potatoes…just kidding it was the plantains and the chicken feet and turkey necks. Needless to say, we didn’t buy anything to eat in THAT store. Our drink bottles have been a big asset on the trip, and DJ has found the best place to fill them. Tomorrow is a Sea day and formal night. The men will suffer through the ties again for us. Britt can wear her pretty dress. In town Britt and Grandma got their new charms for their bracelets. Dj has a new trick. He laughs until cranapple juice spurts out his nose. It is one of his finer table skills. Just kidding. Both children have excellent table skills and we have been very proud to have them with us. Many people have commented how well behaved our children are…and it is fun to say, “No. They are our GRAND children.” Tonight Britt and Grandma suffered tremendously through some very bad karaoke to fetch sandwiches for the men. We just put our breakfast order in for room service for the morning. The clocks go back tonight so we get an extra hour of sleep…which we sorely need. Having fun is very tiring. Time to go…they want room service before bed….

Phillipsburg, Sint. Maarten,Tuesday

D J and Grandma snuck out of the cabin and went to breakfast in the Villa Borghese dining room and left the sleepyheads behind. Grandpa caught up with us as we had Eggs Benedict and visited with John and Julie from England. Britt was a little under the weather with travelers discomfort, but Grandma fixed her up with yoghurt and dry Rice Krispies and convinced her to eat a tablespoonful of black tea leaves dry…followed with water to keep it down. It is a cure Grandma learned in Turkey, and it did the trick. (Horribly, Britt said.) Grandpa and D J were off on their own adventure watching the approach to St. Maarten, passed the remains of the Fort, and the second fort, and watched the docking and the way the crew was able to back this 94,000 ton ship into a spot makes one wonder why a person can’t parallel park a car. Meanwhile, Britt and Grandma snoozed like ladies of leisure. The kids got to try Baba Ganoush and pita chips. Brit and Peg split a cheeseburger with fried onions made just for us. D J had a tuna sandwich and Grandpa loved the fish and chips. Soon the boys were off to sail on the Canadian Racing Yacht KC2, an Americas Cup yacht, against the Stars and Stripes, the American Racing Yacht. I understand their yacht won, because Grandpa was the timekeeper, and DJ was back up wincher. They thought he was on steroids he did such a good job. They threatened to test him! No one got any sun today, either, and my nose is growing again…Grandpa’s head looks like a shiny beet after the aloe was applied (Thank you, Colleen!) Brittany and Grandma hit the shopping strip and got our diamond bracelet charms at Diamonds Internationals. After we wore out our wallets we went to the beach and Brittany found a million seaweeds, a nice tan, and more shells. Then Grandma and Brittany went looking for a taxi. We found Iva who took us to Orient Beach so Brittany could see nude men, opps! The idea was to see the beautiful beaches on the French side, but she got to see some other beauties. As we pulled up to the beach in the taxi to let Britt dip her toes in the water, Britt turned to Grandma and said, “There are nude men here Grandma!” Sure enough, in all his glory, there was a very tanned gentleman walking the beach. Iva said, “oh, they aren’t supposed to come down here that far.” Then we saw the second man. They didn’t have any tan lines, and Britt saw a woman with her Bikini top off. Ewwwww! I missed that one. He was definitely tan all over, with no Coppertone lines like Brittany had by the end of the day. We road back to the ship and met up with the boys at the Duty Free store. For dinner they tried frog legs. Britt had Bolognese sauce on pasta and Pasquali fetched chocolate milk for her…and smacked Dj when he drank one of her three cartons of milk. I think he is taken with her. She came back and Gameboy-ed as she was still not up to a seven course meal and was feeling guilty after slamming Grandpa in Golf yesterday, coming from behind. As Grandpa was about to taste his fruit soup, it was swiped from out of in front of him by Pasquali…who then supplied a fantastic dish of pasta because he thought the soup was not that good. You should have seen the look on Grandpa’s face! For dinner we had lamb! It was fantastic. D J really liked it. For dessert they had white chocolate mousse. D J loved the little red champagne type grapes. They are much sweeter than the green grapes here. All the produce on St. Maarten is shipped in from the Dominican Republic. After dinner, Grandma finally got the computer to post the pictures. It has been very slow. To put it mildly. I think I may not send any more pictures until the airport. When Grandma was doing this, Grandpa tried to regain his honor from the trouncing he got from Britt yesterday. They said it really wasn’t a trouncing, it was a sneak attack. Today was a trouncing by D J. Last night Grandma had a reaction to the fermentation of the Pasta Fazolli and as we were trying to go to sleep, the gas attack caused us all so many giggles that we were afraid we would wake the neighbors. Britt supplied her own hot air contribution. In fact, Grandpa had the Pasta Fazolli, too. Poor innocent D J. The worst was when Britt asked Grandma if she could use her breathing machine. I told her it only trapped the gas and we giggled some more. As Grandma Gawne would say, we always get around to it! Antigua, St. Johns, tomorrow!