Live: Amazon River, Caribbean, Many Pix’s, Terry/Ohio

[TLCOhio]

The 3rd one Terry, as it is completely natural. It's not often nowadays that you can get a shot without any 'interruption.' BTW, you were so lucky to see Carnival in Bonaire, as today is actually Shrove Tuesday ( Carnival day) However, if I remember correctly, it can be celebrated in the ABC islands, any weekend from mid January. We were in Aruba, Jan 19th 2002, on a cruise ship visit. My son and family came to meet us in Oranjestad and didn't take us to their home in St Nicholas, due to traffic problems, as that village were celebrating Carnival.

 

Appreciate these good thoughts on the sunset pictures, plus the added info on our fine fortune with the Carnival experience in Bonaire. Keep it coming with input from others. Don't be shy!!

 

There is a chance today that we might get a little of the finishing Carnival action in this port in the upcoming afternoon. Am doing a "tubing" excursion on this very natural and scenic island.

 

Had a great dinner in the main dining room last night and below is some of the photo "proof".

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here are some of my visual samples on the wine, wonderful rack of lamb, dessert, plus we had wonderful service from Ricardo, Cherry and Christopher. The staff works so hard morning, noon and night, deserving great thanks and so much appreciation. Cherry has six months left on her eight-month contract. She has been with Silversea since 2008. Christopher is very good on his wine knowledge and help. Also, we had nice live music performed during our dinner last night. Great start for a nice evening yesterday.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

Last night was one of the four main programs done by the "Voices of Silversea". We had missed this specific program earlier in our Amazon River sailing. Fortunately, we caught it last night. Of the four presentations that the full group does, this one is clearly the "BEST" in the ratings by both me and my wife. Will try to share more details later.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Here are just six samples from the fine work last night by the six "Voices of Silversea". Excellent costumes and classic program that weaved in some great Broadway/West End songs, etc. The energy, spirit and style for these six singers is wonderful, both with what they do on the stage, plus around on the ship hosting tours, being available to chat with passengers, etc.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[patnlcc]

Am sitting on the fence, Terry, I like all three of your sunset pix. I love the lighting effects in one and two, and the sheer beauty in pic three.

[Nigella]

I like the 3rd pic best. Nature at her finest with no distraction of us humans.

[fairbourne]

Another vote for number 3 Terry!

 

But a part of me wishes I had been the lucky lady taking the shots in number 1 and 2! Especially if my DH were waiting with a glass of champagne for me! ;):D

[brimary]

Definitely number 3 for same reasons as Nigella,pure natural beauty.A close second were the appealing dinner pics! Thoroughly enjoying your journey.

[WesW]

Thanks again Terry for the wonderful pix (cuisine, staff, entertainment, ports). Cherry is one the most outstanding Silversea employees--when we are fortunate to dine with the Captain--Cherry is selected to serve.

[Carmen 2]

Hello, I am really enjoying this travelogue of your back to back voyage on the Silver Cloud. Would it be possible to post a photo of the daily ship's activities newsletter (assuming such a publication comes to you daily) ?

I am thinking of taking this ship from Capetown to Mombasa, and your blog is really helping out with showing life on board. Wonderful photos of your port stops and on board! Thanks.

[drron29]

well now I am officially jealous.Having such a wonderful time and being served by Cherry!Also one of favourite SS staff.Just hope she is on board the Cloud in June.

And a vote for number 3 as well.

[TLCOhio]

Hello, I am really enjoying this travelogue of your back to back voyage on the Silver Cloud. Would it be possible to post a photo of the daily ship's activities newsletter (assuming such a publication comes to you daily) ? I am thinking of taking this ship from Capetown to Mombasa, and your blog is really helping out with showing life on board. Wonderful photos of your port stops and on board! Thanks.

 

drron29: well now I am officially jealous.Having such a wonderful time and being served by Cherry!Also one of favourite SS staff.Just hope she is on board the Cloud in June.

And a vote for number 3 as well.

 

Appreciate ALL of these very kind and nice follow-ups' date=' comments, etc. Glad to get the helpful feed-back on the three sunset photo options. Christopher in the main dining room had the same type of viewpoint on liking the third, sunset-only view.

 

YES, can [b']post more from the daily Chronicle[/b], but will need to do that in a week or so. It is a busy, busy wrap-up time today and tomorrow with our final two port stops, plus getting packed, off in San Juan, having time there, getting home and being very busy with work during the next week.

 

We just arrived in St. Maarten. It is easy to see that this port is busier than ever, with its main town of Philipsburg getting so many of the biggest ships. Our ship flipped the final schedule of time here and St. Barts in order to avoid a day being tendered, having seven ships and 20,000+ passengers arriving at this location. Today, there might "only" be 14,000 passengers here. But, we avoid competing with a 5,400-passenger "whale", among others that will be here tomorrow. This area has, as I understand, shopping and beaches as the primary attractions. Neither of those fit our needs that much. We will be a sailing on one of the America's Cup ship here at this island. Would like to see the French side, but not enough time to make all of that work in an easy, simple manner.

 

This port, along with neighboring St. Martin, makes up the world's smallest island inhabited by two countries.

 

St. Maarten, like many other Caribbean islands, was spotted by Christopher Columbus in 1493. But the island's real history began with French and Dutch settlers who divided the island in 1648. They have lived side-by-side ever since. St. Maarten, governed by the Netherlands Antilles until 2010, is now a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (along with Aruba, Curacao and the Netherlands), while St. Martin is part of the French West Indies. It is potentially great fun that you can easily swing back and forth from the Dutch to the French sides and enjoy the best of both. Tonight and tomorrow, we can sample that "French-style" in St. Barts. BUT, no massive crowds or other ship for that next stop.

 

Below starts lots of fun and exciting pictures to share from Dominica yesterday.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 98,253 views for this posting.

 

 

After being on very dry and river-less islands in the Dutch ABC's, we got to enjoy river fun yesterday in Dominica. Maybe I have too many pictures here to share, but it was nice to see some the wonderful trees, mountains, etc. No, I did not take my good Nikon D7100 camera on this trip. Had a Nikon water and shock-proof model that worked very well . . . and survived. I was the first to tumble out of my yellow tube and get stranded in this wild and rocky river. For the sixteen of us, there were four very agile staff members to help us, keep us from serious injury, etc. Yes, we needed these protective helmets and vests.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

Here is the second phase to prove our "adventure skills" from this type of wild river fun. The water was wonderful and very refreshing.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 194,587 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Yes, we made it safely through this wild river fun!! This was a first for both my wife and me. She was ready to go and do it again as it takes a little learning to figure out how to navigate your yellow tube "craft" through all of these rocky rocks.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spinnaker2]

Tubing in a river! What fun. It looks exhilarating, lots of very genuine smiles.

I vote for photo number three. Agree with the consensus that the composition is better absent human interference, that way the photo is timeless.

Enjoy every moment of the remaining days. Your wife looks relaxed and rested, that is the measure of a perfect cruise.

[TLCOhio]

Tubing in a river! What fun. It looks exhilarating, lots of very genuine smiles. I vote for photo number three. Agree with the consensus that the composition is better absent human interference, that way the photo is timeless. Enjoy every moment of the remaining days. Your wife looks relaxed and rested, that is the measure of a perfect cruise.

 

Appreciate these great follow-up comments from our South Florida friend. Is your weather improving there?

 

Now to the highlight of yesterday . . . Carnival in Dominica!! So interesting, loud music, people having fun, certain drinking, food to come later in the day after the parade.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 172,025 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here are a few of my photo samples from Dominica's wonderful Carnival parade and celebration yesterday. One of the super big pluses was having it done and twisting in and around their old, historic area of their downtown. So much unique history to bring back there from the "old days" feel that was apart of this island's past.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spinnaker2]

Ok, since you asked. It's rainy and chilly. Another cold front moving through. Temperature is in the 60's Fahrenheit. The kind of day one just wants to curl up in bed under the covers or sit in front of a fire, and eat grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.

However, the weather will change soon, and all will be sunny again.

[TLCOhio]

Ok, since you asked. It's rainy and chilly. Another cold front moving through. Temperature is in the 60's Fahrenheit. The kind of day one just wants to curl up in bed under the covers or sit in front of a fire, and eat grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. However, the weather will change soon, and all will be sunny again.

 

Appreciate this weather update from south Florida. Clearly much better weather here right now in St. Maarten. From central Ohio, here is the headline from the mid-day Columbus Dispatch website: "Morning snow delays, closes some schools amid tricky commute". Here is the details from their news story: "It was a slow commute this morning as powdery snow continues to pile up on central Ohio roadways. It's not deep, but it's slippery. The snow came this morning at about the same time traffic started to pick up, making it difficult for road crews to keep the highways clear because of all the traffic. Dozens of school districts across central, southern and southeastern Ohio are delayed or closed today."

 

Our only "commuting" challenges here was having five other, much-larger ship here in this port at the same time as we seek to enjoy the sights and activities here in St. Maarten. Most of our port stops over the past three-weeks plus have been relatively uncrowded. Today's "traffic" was definitely "congested".

 

More later on our grand America's Cup sailing adventure this morning. Fun visuals to be posted soon.

 

BUT, first, below are the rest of my pictures from Dominica yesterday.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here are three more examples for the "action" from yesterday's fun Dominica Carnival parade and festivities. The steel drum band was one of the most entertaining parts from these activities. This parade segment really had that super Caribbean "music feel" to keep the wonderful memories fresh and alive in our minds for the future.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found the architecture and character of Dominica to be totally fascinating. Loved its style, the people, etc. Much of this island, as described by our destination expert Corey Sandler, is like the Caribbean from three decades back before things got too development and so overly commercialized. Here are three examples for certain of their buildings, balconies, roof lines, a church, etc., from Dominica.:

 

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

In the late 1990's, Dennis Conners was the Captain for the efforts that won back the America's Cup in the 1987 competition off the coast of Fremantle, Australia. The "Stars & Stripes" ship was one of the three participating today along two other sailing craft used in those competitions.

 

As hopefully the below visuals reflect, it was fun and exciting. We had to do the "work" under proper direction. It was a "photo finish" with our ship being narrow nosed out to finish a sold second place.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here are the first six views from our late-morning action while in St. Maarten doing an America's Cup racing adventure. The twelve of us from the Silver Cloud, plus UK singer Duncan from the ship's staff, were on the "True North". Duncan is one with the muscles who had the great "look" to which those of us older might aspire! My wife is the one with the pink hat doing lots of hard work, cranking, along with me and two others, the sails up and down on the front of the ship.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

The Silver Cloud just did its sail-away from St. Maartens. It's only a distance of 12 miles to our next stop, celebrity-famous St. Barts. In fact, from the top deck, that next stop is now visible. We should be there in about an hour and ready at 7 pm for folks to go, by tender, ashore. More excitement!!! Under the revised schedule, we will be in St. Barts until 5 pm tomorrow. Then, arriving Friday in San Juan, PR, early that morning.

 

Below is the rest of the America's Cup morning action while visiting St. Maartens.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here are the final five views of our crew from the Silver Cloud passengers making this happen in our exciting and close-finishing race. In background, you can see some of the big cruise lines in port today at St. Maartens.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this final picture, here is one of the luxury, private yachts sailing past our sea position as we were doing our America’s Cup competition. Pretty sleek and contemporary yacht, right? Lots of glass and a very unique style, look! In port today, there were two other super luxury yachts. One with its own helicopter. The other with smaller boats that could be stored and popped out from the rear of this custom craft. Are not all of your personal boats at home so designed and configured?:

 

[TLCOhio]

It's just after 7 am and we are sitting off-shore of the island of St. Barts. This famed location is known for its chic French ambience and cuisine and white-sand beaches. St. Barts has gain attention as a favorite getaway spot among celebrity jet-setters. Now we are the ones here!! Hope we do not ruin its image.

 

Last night our Silver Cloud arrive here around 6:30 pm and we enjoyed a small, preview sampling of this stony, volcanic, eight-square-mile island. As background, St. Barts has no fresh water and little workable land. It is named for Christopher Columbus' brother, Bartolomeo, St. Barthelemy. It is located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles group in the West Indies, 12 miles east of St. Maarten.

 

Many St. Bartians are descendants of 17th-century settlers from Brittany and Normandy. In the 18th century, France leased the island to Sweden in exchange for trading rights to the Baltic. Almost a century later, locals voted to restore rule to the French. Today, St. Barts, with its population of about 9,000, is a dependency of the French overseas department of Guadeloupe.

 

The island's beaches lend themselves to water sports, from windsurfing, scuba-diving and snorkeling to jet-skiing, sailing and deep-sea fishing. Whales pass by during migration periods, and dolphins are frequently spotted -- and might even frolic near the bows of ships.

 

Last night we got a little sample for why the claims are correct that this is a place where conspicuous consumption is on display in the form of mega-yachts, elegant designer boutiques and fine dining. But, lunch or dinner at one of the island's top restaurants can be a major hit to your credit card. More Frequent Flyer points anyone???

 

It is easy here to imagine you've been transported to the south of France (Antibes or St. Tropez). YES, it is *"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" here. * This is also where Jimmy Buffet wrote his famous*"Cheeseburger in Paradise” song. See one of my pictures below. *That event was on the cantina patio of 'Le Select. St. Barts is supposed to be Jimmy Buffet’s favorite Caribbean Island. *He wrote this song while drinkin' a cold one there.

 

Below are a few of my photo samples from last night on St. Barts. Many more sunny examples to come from today when we are there during the daylight hours.

 

Early this am, I noticed a large Carnival ship sailing towards St. Maartens. Glad that this ship and all of the rest of the large ships are going to be there (about 20,000 passengers expected there today). We are better off being far from the "maddening crowds" of St. Maartens. One of the 5,400-passenger ship will be there and our Captain was wise to flip the schedule times for how we would be in these final two ports.

 

It be a high of 83F in St. Barts today, super sunny and with strong breezes. Much better than back in Columbus where schools are closed again with the cold, snow and ice.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here just two samples of the "crowd" from St. Maartens that we got depart from yesterday afternoon. Glad to be in St. Barts and away for so many big, big ships crowding for space and oxygen!:

 

 

 

 

 

Now, here are two of our samples of the night views at Shell Beach on St. Barts. This is where they had the beach burning conclusion for their Carnival activities. We will be back at this famed beach today.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went back to the main part of this town to catch up with where the final parade/activities of their Carnival period would conclude. Lots of super loud drums and seeing the straw-made statute being readied that would be carried to the beach to be an "ending" final ceremony for this pre-religious holiday.:

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

Below are the rest of the evening visuals from St. Bart's last night. Many more interesting visuals to be coming from today. We are finishing "SUPER STRONG" with our 26-day Silver Cloud sailing adventure.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Here are a few more items of photo proof for the loud, loud drum action as the parade/procession was starting with the "straw statute" to go to the beach. It was great fun and a super experience to capture samples from these different Carnival examples at three different Caribbean islands. Each varied and very special in their own ways.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my picture/memory from standing on the outdoor patio at this location celebrated as the place where Jimmy Buffet came up with his famed "Cheeseburger in Paradise" ballad. Cool signage?:

 

 

 

And luxury ships? We lots lots of them last night, both tendering in from the Silver Cloud and in the port. Lots of mega sail boats for the rich were anchored off-shore in this high-end port. This one yacht shown below has a unique name. If you want to be "Incognito", then why have the name lighted up in bold, loud lettering with dramatic lighting?:

 

[spinnaker2]

Terry, your captain seems to have had the correct baseball cap on! GO BLUE.

Surprised you didn't try and Photoshop the image to say OSU.

I am truly jealous of the sailing experience, although you all had no spinnaker up, it looked like a great time, the boat was heeling over, but not too much.

Loved it as I could almost imagine being there too.

Suggest you find an excuse to stay in the real tropics, quite chilly today here in south Florida. I wore my Silversea expedition parka outside to walk the dog, who thought it was much too cold to be out and quickly dragged me back home.

[jpalbny]

I wore my Silversea expedition parka outside to walk the dog, who thought it was much too cold to be out and quickly dragged me back home.

 

That's funny! We have South Florida friends who cruised with us to Antarctica in 2009. They never use their red parkas... Here in Upstate New York, we have used them like crazy this winter. Expecting 20 below wind chills this evening.

 

Terry, the sailing trip looked like lots of fun. Sorry to hear that your voyage is almost at an end. Enjoy San Juan and looking forward to the pictures.

[spinnaker2]

JP, stay warm. That's crazy cold. Being from Connecticut originally, I do remember those temperatures, and walking to school in the snow. It hurts to breathe in that kind of cold without a baclava. It's going to be colder here tonight and that means we will have iguanas falling out of trees, and possibly dying, which is sad. The cold also may kill some of the pythons in the Everglades, which is not unwelcome by conservationists.

Terry...stay where you are! You can purchase the Incognito for a mere eleven and a half million dollars and charter her out!

[tripperva]

Enjoy the 83 degrees in St Barts. It is 45 in Palm Beach this morning.

[57 varieties]

Terry, going to miss your updates which have rebooted our Amazon memories and warmed a cold and wet February in London. Thank you.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[fairbourne]

Hi Terry - just wanted to say thank you for taking us along on your AMAZON-ING journey! Really enjoyed the photos.

 

(I was happy to see one of our favourite ships, the Oceania Riviera, tucked in behind the much larger Celebrity! Brought back many happy memories of sitting on our verandah, and made me wonder just who was enjoying it on this voyage!).

 

Safe travels home and keep warm when you get there. Not too bad here, a balmy sunny 10C today - could almost be Florida! LOL! ;)