What a difference a couple of degrees in latitude makes. Two days ago we were in a virtual desert in Bonaire and today we reach lush and wet Grenada. We are scheduled to arrive by 8:00am but it would seem we arrive somewhat earlier. Regardless, the much larger P & O Cruises ship Azura has preceded us into port, and we dock on the other side of a long finger dock from them.
Apparently it’s a
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After three straight days of touring islands, we welcome a quiet, tranquil, nothing-to-do Sea Day. Except that Oceania offers many interesting things to fill the day, so real tranquility wasn’t to be had.
Of course, we started the day at the Waves Grill. It has become a preferred way to begin the day for several reasons: 1) it’s virtually outside as it is located right next to the pool in the open air, 2) it is
Oh my. Another day, another beautiful Caribbean island. This one is Bonaire, the third of the southern Netherland Antilles islands that lie only fifteen miles off the coast of Venezuela. As we start our day at Waves with tea and coffee, we are watching Insignia make its way slowly into port. The pilot and captain make maneuvering this 600-foot vessel look easy. We share Kralendijk harbor with Mein Schiff 3, a 2000-passenger German cruise ship owned
There are many good reasons why Cathy and I are so intrigued by islands, the most prominent being that each is a distinct culture unto its own. While Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire share a similar history, geographic location and colonial heritage, each is unique and the guides we encounter are anxious to provide a view of that uniqueness.
Curaçao is very much one of those. The ship arrives at the Mega Pier at 8:00am as scheduled,
The ship arrives at 10am Saturday. The weather is, of course, beautiful. We had “slept in” until 7am. Well, Steve did. Cathy was up at 6, so she went up to Waves on Deck 9 for a cappuccino while I get my act together. We ate breakfast in the main dining room, sort of planning our day. Our tour didn’t leave until 1:15pm, so we had the morning to do whatever. We decided to go into
OMG, looking at how much minutiae was contained in the previous post, I have promised anyone who has slogged it out thus far and read all this stuff that brevity shall be the driving force in this and, hopefully, subsequent posts. Rather than farfarfrom06492.com, if I don’t start getting more comprehensive, it’ll have to be renamed farfarlongerthannecessary.com. I promise, I’ll get better at this.
The next morning, Steve went to the fitness center again for another
The first night aboard as we sailed south was an education. Neither of us slept all that soundly, partly because of the excitement of starting our adventure, and, especially for Steve, because we had not yet adjusted to the rolling motion of the ship. We are newbies to cruising, and, as cruise ships go, this is a small one. It weighs less than a third of the hugantic Oasis-class ships of Royal Caribbean, so ocean action
We stepped on board the ship right around 3:00pm with a suitcase and three carryons. Immediately we were invited, as around-the-worlders (in typical American fashion, reduced to ATW), to a welcome cocktail party to meet the captain of the ship and the president of the company. At that moment, we felt like pack mules with all that stuff, so we temporarily declined and went to the room to drop all the stuff.
Hurrying back to the
Well, we left Wallingford at 6:15am on Tuesday, January 2nd, heading to JFK Airport via Liberty Limousine Service. Our driver Ed was actually someone with whom we shared a mutual friend in Jon Walworth. He and his wife were very active travelers, most recently to China, so his stories about his journeys were of great interest to us and the trip – which, as we all know, can be a nightmare because of traffic, was quite
Going on vacation is one thing. Leaving your home for six months is quite another. As I mentioned in the previous post, 90% of the preparations were done by Cathy. She is a master organizer, admittedly obsesses about every detail, keeps lists, and lists of lists, follows up on everything, rides herd on Steve, and generally thinks of everything. Steve pretty much does what Cathy asks him to do.
Let’s start with the details of leaving
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Husband and wife from Wallingford, Connecticut USA
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