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A quick addition, come on what can you report on a sea day? sitting next to Shushi on Five, theses two glass figures are in the glass cabinet. Yes we have glass blowing on the ship so I guess they made these. Cheers!

Another sea day, yesterday was quiet. Nothing to report. Today was Captains Celebration. It was held in the Sky Lounge because we have 30 mile an hour winds! you know I wasn’t a fan of Peter on the first cruise but all in all he’s doing a good job. You always see him in his 1970’s shirts. I texted my British friend and asked if he had any of these relics in the cabinet! 😂 he said he did! 🙄 Then the big event of the day was the slot pull! Great group of people organized by Mary. $15 per person and we had a total of $435 in the slot machine. Wheel of Fortune of course. this is Mary! The big pay out! Wait……$12 per person. Come on not that bad. My first pull I covered my $15 by hitting $20. here is the payout. After that it was off to Al Bacio for DW to get a tea and me, down to the passport bar for a double Tito’s! Don’t judge! 🍸 next up prepare for Chic Night! Cheers!

Morning from just off the coast of Cuba! Well after talking with DWI yesterday it looks like we have 400 more passengers this leg. The Sunset Bar was rocking! and as we were waiting to depart this baby came in! it’s the Ritz Carlton ship built in 2022. Water cannons were going off welcoming them to Ft Lauderdale. Our Friends Walt and Bev left yesterday to return to Dallas. we waived as they flew over! Martini bar was next on the list of things to before dinner. Here’s a question, why do they keep the music playing in the Martini bar when a band is playing one floor below? 🤔 and why are they vacuuming the floor in front of the elevators while people are trying to enjoy the music battle going on? Dinner was at Tuscan again with Ivas our waitress. The saxophone player which we saw last week was in the theater so we just went to craft social for an after dinner drink. one story I have to share, since it was just the two of us we sat by the window during dinner. They had the tail lit up which I enjoy. A lady sitting behind me made a comment to the waitress how nice it looked and asked her if they turn lights on to make it light up? 🙄🤔 two days at sea so card playing and relaxation. I pulled out the Eagles gear to start off this Super Bowl weekend! Cheers!

Catching up on some pics. heading back to Ft Lauderdale we passed our next ride after this cruise. Cheers!

Follow up one thing I forgot to share…….. this is something that cruisers just can’t wait for on a sea day near the end of your cruise,…….,.any guess? The $10 Pop Up Sale! 😂😂😂 people in line with velvet ropes to guide and keep you under control! Do we really need this stuff? they limit the number of people in the store at one time. Cheers!

Thanks!

Welcome to cruise 2! Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao! We attended the consecutive cruisers meeting last Tuesday. 260 B2Bers! A lot of “Senior” people with time on their hands! 😂 today we arrived in Ft Lauderdale and met 9:15 to do the turnover dance. One hour and 10 minutes later we were back on board. I really like the face recognition system, makes it easy. same cabin so no move, DW loved me for that one! Sail away is 4 PM check out the port Everglades webcam. Our cruise critic group will be the ones with red balloons! Tradition for us is to get a mimosa once back on board, DWI took this shot! Ok can’t turn it right side up! 😡 flip your device around! 😂 not a lot of excursions planned this loop. First two days are at sea then Bonaire. We will be doing a catamaran snorkel trip with Woodwind and then………..Super Bowl! Eagles!!! 🦅 More on that later. I will work on showing and commenting on the ship. Now back to my drink and sunshine! Cheers!

Let’s catch up! last two days we were at. Love sea days! Sitting at the Sunset Bar playing cards and visiting with friends! Sunset hasn’t been crazy busy and again a shout out to Ernesto and DWI! the first night was the Captains cocktail party for Elite and higher. Again a very nice event with music food and of course drinks! have to throw one of us in! 😂 Dinner that night was at Murano! Food was really good, but I have to say the place has lost its shine. Just not the experience we have had over the years. Not to be negative but just sharing my observation. We will dine there again two nights in our upcoming 9 night cruise. As said food is really good. last night was Tuscan “our MDR”. Service has been outstanding and food really nice. They have such a large menu of selections so never have the same thing twice. that is a quick overview of the last two days. oh, I have to say the pizza has been outstanding, entertainment good and the staff on this ship is amazing. Cheers!

Next stop Antigua! as we docked at Antigua there were three ships following us in. Now here’s a story, we met our tour company as we departed and was assigned to Marley. A very nice guy who started out well telling us about what we were seeing. We stopped at a church which was 353 years old. then It was in to the next stop Queen Elizabeth had visited in 1966 and planted this palm. we then went on a boat buying tour! 😂 of course you have to have a beer break after that. Carib I always like but never had a Blue Carib! We returned to meet Marley and there was something wrong. He didn’t look good and DW determined he was not well. He spoke very little and when he did spoke very low. We continued to the rain forest and back to the ship. Markey spoke about a black pineapple which he stopped to have us taste. ok back to Marley being quite and not looking good. My friend Walt asked if he was ok. Marley said his stomach was hurting and he didn’t feel well. Our other friend Bev offer some pepto chewable tablets to help. He took two and within a few minutes Marley was leaning out of the van throwing up! 🙀🤮🤢 now panic sets in on whether we were going to catch something or not!!! We were concerned he couldn’t get us back to the ship but he did and we said goodbye. Cheers!

It was onto the Pitons and our first view of them. when we arrived at the lookout they were local coconut milk! then we continued to a volcano. It is active but has not erupted since 1700. You had a choice Of mud baths or going to the volcano activity area where mud was bubbling. IMG_5407.MOV next was a waterfall IMG_5413.MOV The great part of this tour is that Clinton took us to a water taxi to head over to Sugar Beach which lies between the Pitons! Jason was our Captain. this guy was trying to hide between the palms! 😂 He was selling drinks and something about a food smoke! ok commercial time! Have to have Piton Beer when on the island! then it was back to the ship. Great Day great tour! Cheers!

Onto the Pitons o will say as Clinton drove he shared a lot of local information to help us understand life on the Island. We next arrived to a spot to see our first sight of the Pitons. sorry have to pause, “Premium” internet isn’t working! 😡 Cheers!

Ok, let’s try to get up to date! We are back in the cabin DW is getting ready for the last chic night. Bare with me the internet is questionable at best and that is with premium! St Lucia what an outstanding excursion! Clinton ( as he said like the President) picked us up and started a full day of experiencing his island. First stop was a view of our home for the past few days. Then it was off to learn about the Banana business. I was interested in this since I have to have a banana every morning. The Banana farms on St Lucia are all privately owned and the Bananas produced are shipped to the UK. the banana tree takes 9 months to grow and produce fruit then the tree is cut down and left in the field to fertilize the ground. The bananas are placed in a bag to protect them from insects and birds. Once the tree is cut down, there is already a new one starting to grow. then it was off to have a taste of the local food. Clinton made a call to who we found out later to be Claudia. Claudia lives with her mother in a home her father owned before he passed away. It was beautiful, with plants everywhere and fees to die for. We all said Air B&B! the view out of the bathroom had to be taken in! you get the picture, an amazing stop, tasting the food Claudia and Mom made for us. We all sat in the living room talking of the experience and how great the food was, including the banana ketchup. Now being from PA and Hienz Ketchup I was sold. Did I mention we were also provided a variety of rums to sip! 🍸 A nice tip and Thank you to Claudia and we were off to the Pitons! Cheers!

She was the best! Wait until you hear what happened on Antigua and our guide. 🙄 Cheers!

You have a great cruise planned! For some reason when we board we don’t want to leave! 😂 I understand about “football” my friends in England and I go back and forth a bit about it. Really enjoyed the World Cup! Cheers!

Morning from at Sea! Two days on our way back to Ft. Lauderdale. let’s see if I can wrap up Martinique. as I had shared our guide was fantastic, a former English teacher. At every stop she would offer us a bite of the island with traditional food or a sip of the island with different drinks. My favorite…..banana wine! she personally made all the tasteful bites. ok, that ends Martinique and onto St Lucia, but that will be a bit later. We have our B2B meeting this morning. Cheers!

thank you for the nice words. They have been very good, have performed twice. They were at the Sunset Bar at sail away yesterday and was able to tell them we enjoyed their great performance. Cheers!

Ok go figure it wants to work now! 🙄 Pics from the theater and jail. The volcano is just above it. This is where the only survivor was in the jail. He was burnt so bad he became a freak show with Barnum and Bailey Circus. Sad Orchestra pit Story of the survivor Alright have to get ready for Martini bar and Tuscan. Back in the Am. we have out B2B meeting at 10 AM. Cheers!

Ok I’m back! been a crazy two days of excursions. Early morning late back and then dinner. No time to post. Let’s finish Martinique. If I have said it already (not going back to read) our tour company was the best. Every stop we had a home made treat or something to drink that was local. After the rain forest we moved onto a Rum factory. When the volcano Pele exploded in 1902 54 people of this family that owned the factory died. This was the “driveway” leading up to the owners home. I’m going to take a moment and say that I have Starlink Premium Internet and while it is 5 PM people I am sure on it and it is very bad. If you have basic you have nothing I am sure. very disappointing. We then went into a town just below the volcano where the blast traveled at 1,000 miles an hour. The stories were amazing and sad. The pics following is the theater and jail which is just next door. Well As said the internet at the moment Sucks, so I will try and send the pics and continue tomorrow. Cheers!

What an Outstanding Day in Martinique! Our tour guide was fantastic! Just 6 of us touring together. We learned a lot about the Island and the history and devastation of the 1902 volcanic eruption. From Port to a beautiful church to the rain forest too the beach. The Port Area, very well done Our First Stop. This church was designed in France and brought over by ship then built here. We then headed up to the rain forest. Very Lush! It was a great day for a family swim! IMG_0082.MOV More to come of the day out and about! Cheers!

Good Morning to Day 6 We have arrived in Martinique! Will be heading out for our excursion soon, but some follow up pics from yesterday in Grenada. By the way I forgot to share that a gallon of gas in Grenada is $15!!! I complain about $3.64! As I shared it’s Independence Day Tuesday so these the of flags were flying all over the island. They say there is no bottom to this lake in the volcano We ran into this little guy Only tunnel on the island Of course you end the day with……. Another great time at Tuscan last night! Cheers!

Evening from Day 5! Before I start can I share that we woke up to the toilet not flushing! What a panic! 🙀 We called guest services and they said they would notify the correct people. It took a while but they got it fixed. That was the second time since boarding in our area. We didn’t notice it the first time. May not of hit us but the cabins around us. Guest services called us back when it was fixed and asked if everything was ok. Good follow up. Pics are not loading up to the IPad so fast tonight so may have to post some pics tomorrow, but a great day in Grenada! Last time we were here was 25 years ago for my BIL 40th birthday. We were tendered in. Today they have filled in an area on the other side of the hill from town and built a port. Our guide Clinton said about 15 years ago. Today was visiting a chocolate “factory” only three people work there, the lake in a middle of a volcano then a water fall. Our guide Clinton was great, his sister lives in Philadelphia, where we live north of and works at Children’s Hospital. He spent time in NY but came back to Grenada, sorry but I would have come back too! The island has changed a lot from 25 years ago. Clinton shared that China has been buying a lot of land and are expanding the airport. Ok, politics aside…. It’s a fact. There was an area that China had build a pavilion at the lake we went to and just recently they had it removed because it was too much influence on the island. In addition to that they just had elections and the government has changed from the current party to the other party. Promises of an improved quality of life. Tuesday they celebrate their independence of 49 years! There are flags all over the island to celebrate. I’ll post pictures. Anyway, I’ll post pics and more tomorrow. Need to get ready for dinner. martini bar at 6 (go figure) then Tuscan again ( our MDR) Great night to all! Cheers!

You will have to check on your sailing, each one is different. There is a seafood one and then there are steak and last night was a short rib. It’s a nice experience. There has been pros and con. Like I said in the beginning food is subjective but the experience is nice. Cheers!

OK I’m in relax mode! Thought we were meeting friends at 9:40 for the excursion but it”s 10:40. We don’t dock until 10 AM, how in H*** are we going to meet at 9:40 get off??? 🤔 Scratching head! Yesterday was just walking around the port and then back to the Sunset Bar for a beer and lunch. The shop people were very nice! The new trick to get you into the store is a free charm! No Thank you. Some shots of yesterday: The Old Gal is still looking good. I always Love docking in St Kitts. It s a green beauty! Reminds us a bit of Hawaii. Of course below pic is Nevis Here’s St Kitts Back on Board and hit the Sunset Bar for a beer and some great conversation. Ernesto was on it right away and then Dwi came along and assisted Ernesto. Were we drinking that fast??? 🤔 😜 Took two to handle us? Sail away was at 4 PM and we were off to Grenada and getting ready for dinner. First stop! Martini Bar! 🍸 I didn’t say you wouldn’t see drink porn! Then off to Le Petit Chef,,,,, I know once you’ve seen it, one and done, but this was our 4th time. Never have seen the Same show twice. The one from last night was debuted on the Beyond. Only one chef but fun anyway. Again good service and good food. 078965FA-D80A-4D52-8E80-0161217023D0.MOV Showtime! A really good magician. Ryan Joyce. I really liked his delivery and magic. I Love Love Magic and he delivered. How they do it I’ll never know. There was that one show on TV back in the day where the magician wore a mask and shared the secrets. After that it was off to bed to rest up for the tour in Grenada. Cheers!

Morning on day 5 of this adventure! heading off the ship in just a bit for our excursion in Grenada! A follow up later today. Cheers!