Jamman54

Yes!

Like that's ever going to happen!

This is one of the Water Taxis….. The Spirit is approaching the pier….. That’s the security gate at the end of the pier….. We are almost in position….. It took a long time for the ship to be tied up as the lines had to be moved by boats a long distance to be moored….. To be continued…..

Soon, the Pilot Boat came to drop off the Pilot….. The Spirit is now sailing into Kralendijk harbor….. To be continued……

Day # 15 – (January 18th) – Kralendijk, Bonaire (9am – 10pm). Once again, we were up just as the sun was rising in the east….. The seas are fairly calm and it’s going to be a hot sunny day. Here is the view from our balcony…… Today we have all-inclusive day passes to the Plaza Beach Resort. You can’t buy these day passes in advance, as they are very strict about the amount that they sell which is based on the occupancy rate of the hotel on the day you wish to buy them. I emailed them about two months prior with the date we wanted, and they put us on the list and instructed us to email them one week prior to arrival for final approval. We did not have to pay a deposit up front. When we were in Fort Lauderdale, I emailed them, and they sent me an approval email to show to hotel security when we arrived. It seems like a lot, but it was worth it. We’ll be eating at the resort so no breakfast today again. As I did most days, I made my way down to the Fountain Café Coffee Bar for a coffee and today’s “Fun Times”….. Looking outside you can see that the Spirit is now approaching Bonaire….. To be continued…..

It was the birth of something!

Hi Laura! Thanks for reading and your kind words! I would highly recommend water shoes if you're going to use the beach at Margaritaville, or on the other side of the pier by the Beached Whale.

Now that you mention it, it did take a while for the food to be ready. There were three or four orders ahead of mine. My platter was delicious though. 😀

One more case!

I went to the early PG Comedy Show starring Tim Kaminski. I sat at my usual spot at the bar and Bendi immediately made me my Punchliner….. Comedy Club Host Roman gets the show started…… Tim Kaminski was very funny as usual, and had the audience participate….. After the show Patti met me up on the Lido at the Seafood Corner….. She decided to just have a salad from the Salad Bar, while I had the fried seafood Platter….. We were both feeling tired, so we got ourselves some ice cream and went back to the cabin for the night. Here is tonight’s towel animal….. Coming up next: Our return to Bonaire and some all-inclusive fun!

Of course, you need to get some clothes and accessories for them….. We both met back at the cabin where looking outside you can see and feel the seas getting rougher….. To be continued…..

After we left the Empire Restaurant, I went to play blackjack for a while, and Patti went to the Versailles Lounge to check out the Build a Bear….. They are cranking out those bears…… To be continued…..

Captain Bovo and Lars Juel are some of the Senior Officers visiting each table….. Captain Bovo stops at our table….. These are our bread plates….. Patti starts off with the lobster bisque, while I have the slow braised pork belly….. For our mains Patti has the seared Japanese sea bass, and I have the charred NY steak….. For dessert I have the hazelnut cake & melted chocolate, and Patti had the fruit plate….. To be continued…..

After the show Patti went up to browse around the shops, and I went to the Red Frog Rum Bar for a couple of Thirsty Frog Wheats. I met Patti back at the cabin and at noon we went to the Diamond Luncheon…… It was held on Deck 3 of the Empire Restaurant all the way aft by the windows….. This was our table…… This is the Diamond Luncheon menu….. Our server Pariana takes our order…… The drinks just keep on coming….. Here are our Cruise Critic friends Paul and Pat (quickrate)….. To be continued…….

Cruise Director Todd opens the show with a member of the Fun Squad, whose name I forget, and Marc who is the Playlist Cast Manager….. Todd interviews Fuzzy who is the Effy Ambassador on board the Spirit….. They are joined on stage by Fernando who is the Shopping Expert on board the Spirit. We’ve seen him before….. Todd’s version of “The Wave” isn’t even mildly entertaining, so we won’t be attending the last two sea days. To be continued…..

Day # 14 – (January 17th) – Fun Day at Sea # 3. We woke up just as the sun was rising in the east….. It’s going to be another warm and sunny day, and the seas are fairly calm. Here are the views from our balcony as the Spirit makes her way to Bonaire…… Because we are going to the Diamond Lunch later, we are going to skip breakfast today. I head down to the Fountain Café Coffee Bar for a coffee and to pick up today’s “Fun Times”….. At 9am we made our way to the Pharaoh’s Palace Theater for “The Wave” Morning Show……. Patti loves the curtain with the Egyptian Hieroglyphics on it…… To be continued…….

Hey Kathy! It's really a shame since the new owner(s) have fixed the place up nicely, which it needed. Now if they can fix their staff, we'll head back there again. I'll keep an eye on the reviews in Trip Advisor. Otherwise, we'll stick to our "vacation home" at Margaritaville.

That will be coming up in the next segment. Really, they are all the same with the same menu, which I understand is going to change every several months in the future. We did meet some Cruise Critic people this time which is always fun.

Thanks for reading Maryann! I was drinking Turks Head and I believe they were $6. By the bucket is probably cheaper. Enjoy your cruise on the Spirit! Hey Stephanie! I've been reading recent reviews online, and the biggest complaint by far is the service by the bartenders. One person stated that they waited for twenty minutes before getting up and leaving. The second biggest complaint says that per the website chairs are free and the umbrellas are $10. Everyone stated they were charged $23. We were too, but I didn't know about what was stated on the website. I didn't think that was too much, but they should change it on the website.

Patti loved the Egyptian décor….. We were hungry so we went up to Lido and made ourselves some plates….. From there I went to watch the Cowboys / Bucs playoff game on the Lido screen….. Patti walked around the ship taking pictures of all the musical acts before heading back to the cabin. The Art Shake Violin Trio is playing in the Spirit Lobby….. Danilo is playing his guitar at the Alchemy Bar….. Martin is holding court at the Shanghai Piano Bar….. Music Power is rocking the Red Frog Pub….. I watched the football game until halftime, and then headed down to the Alchemy Bar where Giovanni makes me a nightcap. Here is tonight’s towel animal and our Diamond Lunch invitations….. Coming up next: Another relaxing sea day!

We showered and relaxed in our cabin until sail away. Here are a couple of shots of the deserted Grand Turk Cruise Center…… The workers repairing the pier are done for the day…… We did have a couple of pier runners….. Tonight, we started with Deal or No Deal hosted by our Cruise Director Todd. As usual we got our 3 for $50 cards….. We didn’t get selected, but this contestant had the worst luck. We wound up winning a $25 bingo package….. To be continued…..

Once again I had to pull some teeth, but I was blessed to receive another beer. I was done when the two of them started drinking shots while other people were trying to get drinks. We don’t think we will return here unless we read some glowing reviews in the future. We decide to head back to the ship. Patti poses with the sign….. Here are a couple of views of the Spirit as we walked back to Margaritaville….. We still have three hours before we sail but Margaritaville is becoming a ghost town….. As we walk out on the pier Patti looks left and takes a couple of pictures of the beached whale….. We have made it back to the Spirit. Our cabin is on Deck 7 in the middle of the second picture….. To be continued…..

Patti gets me a beer and brings it down to the edge of the water to me. This process was repeated a few times over the next hour or so….. We noticed that the place was now pretty empty since the people from the Sunrise had to get back to their ship. We thought that this was a good time to order our lunch. The process here is to order your food at the bar, pay for it, and then you pick it up at the window. That seems easy enough, but this is where we began to run into a problem. Even though there were only a couple of people at the bar, the two bartenders were completely inattentive. I practically had to beg them to put our order in and get us a couple of drinks. Even with that, I gave him a good tip, which he never acknowledged or said thank you for. Both guys spent the whole time with their faces buried in their phones. Plates and glasses from people that had left a while ago were left on the bar. I had to clean two spots for Patti and I to sit at. Jack and Janet would not have put up with this! Anyway, here are the drink and food menus….. For lunch Patti had a cheeseburger and I had the jerked chicken and conch fritter combo. The food was very good…… While we were eating, the Sunrise backed away from the pier, spun around, and headed out to sea….. To be continued….

We have made it to Jack’s Shack…… Again, Patti took a multitude of pictures here six days ago showing all the improvements that the new owners have made here. They have really done a great job of upgrading the place. For a refresher see post # 203. We pay $23 for an umbrella and two loungers. We got settled in and immediately noticed that there were still dogs hanging around here….. Here’s a view looking down the beach towards Margaritaville….. Here we see the Sunrise and Spirit docked in Grand Turk….. The beach here is much nicer than by Margaritaville as there aren’t any rocks. Here I am enjoying the water….. Here are a few views of me and the ships….. To be continued……

Patti makes her way down to the Red Frog Rum Bar to retrieve me and we make our way back to the cabin. There we find that the laundry that Patti sent out yesterday has been returned…… We hung out for a while, and around noon we left the ship….. Patti had taken a gazillion pictures when we were here on the Freedom just six days ago, so she won’t be repeating that today. If you need a refresher, please go back to post # 195. As we passed through Margaritaville on our way to Jack’s Shack, she took this picture of our Grand Turk vacation home, which today is unoccupied….. Patti and I are heading down the beach to Jack’s Shack….. To be continued…..