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Washey! Washey! Washey! Indy Cruise 10/25

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Goodtime Cruizin

Goodtime Cruizin

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After our dinner at Chops we went to the Production Show, 'Once Upon a Time'. This show offers two showtimes, 9:00pm & 10:45pm, Alhambra Theatre, Decks 3 & 4. It was entertaining. Nothing over the top great, but a boring show either.

 

After a stogie and some sips of Whiskey, it was time to retire for the night.

 

Day 3 Tuesday.

 

San Juan here we come! Our first Port day. But, we don't arrive til 4pm so we have some time. The Pool Deck chair hogs are in full force. But no biggee. DelRoy fixes me up a nice Bloody Mary and we grab a spot and slowly let the morning come to us. After awhile, Ron Don & Jenell join us. Ron has some fun news! He tells us that his Conceirge, Raj has extended to us an invitation to join them in Chops for a special Brunch for suite guests. To be honest, I'm a bit reluctant after spending 2 1/2 hrs there last night, but he assured me that it was a very nice brunch, with no menu, but a rather very nice spread of many different foods. Plus many of the officers would be there in a meet & greet format. We didn't hesitate as we joined them. It was very nice. We of course met Raj. This Conceirge is on top of his game. He knew our names, first & last, as well as adressing most in attendance by their names. He made us feel very comfortable. We met the Capt, several officers and multiple Directors of various depts. We sat with a nice couple from California and had a great conversation about RCL's absence of cruises on the West Coast. In addition, the spread of food was amazing. The wife snapped a pic of her plate. Sushi, Desserts, Bloody Mary's & Mimosa's are served and all of it was delicious! We enjoyed this event and as such, it allowed RCL to re-establish our faith in Chops after last night.

 

Chops Suite Brunch gets 9 Goodtimes out of 10

 

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The Slot Pull was next. Another event organized by the TA Group. Eighty entries @ $20 each on two machines. When it was all said & done. We all made $1. It was another opportunity to mix & meet with others in the group and we visited w/ our Amazing Race buddies as well.

 

Next up...our first visit to San Juan!

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Goodtime Cruizin

Goodtime Cruizin

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Finally we get to the Port Days and first up is San Juan. As mentioned earlier, we planned to do a self-guided visit while in Old San Juan. Our plans were to basically stroll through the city streets, grab a beer or two and take in the few sights and buildings along the way while making our way to El Morro Fort in time to catch the sunset for some pics. As with most Forts, they are built on some of the highest ground possible. El Morro was no different. So the stroll was uphill. But it was enjoyable as we stopped a few times to shop and beer up! After less than an hour we made it to the Fort. But there was still a long walk to the Fort itself. We noticed a tram going to & from, so we jumped on and made our way to the base. The fort closed at 6pm and we did not have the time to tour the Fort so we just walked to the farthest left as we could. The setting was nice. The sunset was great. We hung around for awhile, took our pics and now dinner was on our mind.

 

RonDon found a few restaurants on Trip Advisor. One stood out to both of us, http://www.cafepuertorico.com/intro.htmlHe had a buddy that lived in PR a few years back and reached out to him. It was confirmed the Cafe' Puerto Rico was near the port and had been a round along time and was a nice place. So we head back to the port. Our return to the port area was via the tram that carried us close to where we started. I whip out the iPhone, open the Maps ap, type in Cafe Puerto Rico, set it to walking, and we're off. It was less than two blocks away. Along the walk, I found a great cigar stand & grabbed a few stogies. I look up, and boom, Cafe Puerto Rico was right across the street.

 

When we arrived, there was only one couple sitting on a small patio. Perfect as we were quickly seated w/ menus in hand. Within a half hour, there were about 30 people lined up outside for a table. The place was now rocking and we knew why as the food was excellent. I enjoyed the Seafood Stuffed Mofongo. Umm, good stuff.

 

There are many things to see & do while in Old San Juan. If you don’t want to do a walking tour, the tram is free (donations accepted) and offers multiple stops. Perhaps the tram ride to Fort El Morro and then walking back as this would allow for you to walk downhill. But it wasn’t too bad really. Old San Juan was a nice stop. Arriving at 4pm didn’t allow for the time to fully explore. We have had a cruise planned in Oct 2016 out of San Juan since this past May. I'm thinking it would be nice to arrive a couple of days early.

 

We’ll see you then San Juan!

 

Old San Juan gets a 9 out of 10 Goodtimes!

 

View of Old San Juan from the ship

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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Kerry, you may want to look at the method you are using to post pictures, it's kind of hit and miss depending on which device I am looking at. On Win 7, with Chrome, they just show up as links. On my Android, using the CC app, not Tapatalk, they show up most of the time, and they usually appear to have [/img] in addition to the picture. Just a heads up.

 

Edit, actually the links now seem to show up on my desktop, maybe it was a delay. The IMG thingy is still there though

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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John, I've noticed the IMG thing as well. To be honest, I'm not sure why. I'm using photo bucket to store and then transfer the images. Hmmm. Not sure which way to turn at this point though.

 

Anybody w/ any suggestions, I'm all ears!

 

I use shutterfly, so I'm no help. Your pictures appear much larger than mine when on the pc.

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Who Cares?

Who Cares?

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I use shutterfly, so I'm no help. Your pictures appear much larger than mine when on the pc.

 

That's based on the resolution they were initially taken at compared to the resolution your monitor is set for on your PC or other device.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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That's based on the resolution they were initially taken at compared to the resolution your monitor is set for on your PC or other device.

 

This is 4.7 MB, fairly large. Hosted on Shutterfly, added to CC by clicking on Insert Image then pasting the URL from Shutterfly

 

ry%3D400

 

Does not look near as large as Kerry's, plus this method does not allow you to click on it and go to the hoisting site and the original image. must be a Shutterfly thing.

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Goodtime Cruizin

Goodtime Cruizin

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Day 4, St. Maarten

 

Gotta love a cruise ship alarm clock. Hang out your menu the night before, and receive a wake up phone call the next morning stating your coffee is on the way!

 

Today is St. Maarten day! In addition, we have a nice full day & night scheduled.

Guided tour of St. Maarten with multiple stops.

Mystery Dinner at Giovanni’s Table

Quest

Mix in a few beverages in between them and we’re going to have a great time.

Let’s get started.

 

With the ship not arriving until 10am, we have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the morning. After a WJ breakfast we make our way down to meet our guide Joyce. She was born on Nevi Island and as a young child moved to St. Maarten. She is the owner of her own guide service, actually Personal Services. This is exactly what we wanted. A personal guide. By use of the Roll Call, we extended an invitation for one or two additional couples to join us, but there were no takers. Which was just as well as Joyce allowed us to basically establish the sites we wanted to visit and then she set about determining the best route. We wanted to see both sides of the island, French & Dutch, do some shopping for trinket, and jewelry made from the locals and not imported. We also wanted to stop at Maho Beach to catch a few jets landing. Once the plan was established, we load up into a nice A/C van & take off we go. I highly recommend Joyce. She knows the island in & out. She knows the culture, the locals and they know here as well. She doesn't operate with a pre-determined route etc. She catered to our wishes. Stopped when we requested etc. Her fee for the (4) of us was $300. You can contact her direct via joyceprince.com

 

Our first stop was for a great view of the Indy docked in St.Maarten.

 

IMG_4643_zps8i9zdo7v.jpg

 

Within a few moments, she dropped us off for a bit of shopping. She directed us to a few shop owners that she knew. We picked up a Christmas Tree ornament... and found a street vendor selling a local lunch and beer. We passed on the lunch but could not resist the Red Stripe for $2. :D

 

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We loaded back up and was dropped off for some more of shopping. Not long later, she suggested that we head over to Maho Beach to catch a few of the bigger jets landing. As you can see, the large KLM jet was to arrive a few minutes after Noon, but she found out that was going to be around 45 mins late. As she dropped us off, she told us, "if you want to go to the Sunset Bar, enjoy. But if you're just headed to the beach, you can get a beer here for $1.75 ea." Pointing to a small, almost hidden, Asian grocery store about 3 or 4 business to the left of Sunset. I quickly head that way, as the gang make their way to just the right side of Sunset.

 

IMG_4648_zpsmyxxhauu.jpg

 

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After KLM landed, we head over to the Sunset Grill, beer up and grab a couple of T-Shirts.

 

FYI.... The restrooms at Sunset were not working. They had set up a couple of Port-a-Cans across the road. They weren't pleasant for the ladies. So they passed til the next stop.

 

We head over to Marigot for you guessed it, shopping. We wanted to go to Sarafina's Bakery but is was closed for remodeling/expansion. So we walk around a bit and eventually grew hungry so Joyce tells us of a spot she thinks we'd like. We did. We went to a small, family owned, local spot that served creole food. Our meal was great! As was the cold Carib. It was late afternoon and we were the only group being served. The meal was cooked to order and served w/ a smile. We enjoyed this spot very much. We are now the farthest away from the port as we'll be. A small town named Grand Case. A town known for some of the best food in the Caribbean. The setting was nice. Villa Royale is located on the main street. Most of the shops, stores, and restuarants have the owner & family housing directly above their business. Villa Royale was no different. http://restovillaroyale.com

 

 

 

20151028_151311_zpslz5yjzuq.jpg

 

A quick note, right across the street from the Villa Royale (where I snapped the above pic) were a few of shops. At one end was an villa w/ a carport below. In front of the carport, a 7 yr old boy set up an orange juice stand. He had his lil sister, 4 yrs old assisting. The DW wife & I had a boy & girl 4 yrs seperated and it was easy picturing their Lemonade stand back in the day when they were about the same age. We went over said hello and gave him a $1 for some feast squeezed OJ. Joyce asked him, "How you doing today?" He replied with, "I've sold 23 glasses so far." A cute enterprising kid w/ Momma peeking out the window.

 

Joyce then took us to a great lil shop. I picked up a few Cubans, a bottle of local rum and local BBQ Grilling sauce. The wife picked out a beautiful opal ring for her birthday!

 

BBQ%20Rum_zps14k2y9na.jpg

 

Onto Orient Beach. We didn't spend alot of time here as we were not planning any beach time. St. Kitts will fill that bill tomorrow, but we walked the beach a bit. Nice beach!

 

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20151028_153327_zpslbq6ldun.jpg

 

20151028_153405_zpsojs8vpbe.jpg

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We eventually head back to the port, settle up and tell our Good Byes to Joyce. We enjoyed St.Martin/St.Maarten. The contrast between the two are strikingly different in culture, government, and food. We enjoyed learning about each of them as we visited the island.

 

It's time to return to the ship to relax a bit before the Mystery Dinner at Giovanni's Table. The two sister ships Independence & Liberty look grand side by side.

 

SisterShips_zpskt6qu8ht.jpg

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When we returned to the cabin, we found a note telling us to meet at the Pyramid Lounge @ 5:45 as opposed to 6pm at Giovannis.

 

Washey, Washey as we're headed to dinner! When we arrive, we're greeted w/ Champagne although I notice I have 15 mins to kill, so I jump over next door to the Cigar bar, and fire up a stogie for a quickie.

 

The first scene started with about 60 people in attendance. The opening scene of the plot takes place in the Pyramind with a 'Who done it?' closing. We then break up and move to Giovanni's and the feast starts. We were offered a limited menu but the choices were excellent. Service was phenomenal. Actually, the best servers we had all week. In between the Appetizers to Entree, another scene takes place. After the entree', the cast of characters went from table to table to answer any question regarding their character in an effort to determine 'Who done it'. The goal was to guess who was the murderer between (7) different characters. It was entertaining, fun in that it allowed all of us to interact with one another. The cast consisted of the Royal Dancers. Although they followed a script, a lot was also impromptu. Eventually, the cast came clean and told us "Who done it". If you want to know who done it, book this on your next cruise! It was a nice dinner w/ personal entertainment that put us all in a relaxed environment. The cost was $50pp. and worth it at least once!

 

Mystery Dinner @ Giovanni's Table gets a strong 10 out of 10 Goodtimes. I loved the service we received mixed with entertainment and served some great food.

 

Next up is Quest. I'll cover this quickly. It was our first time attending Quest. It was truly a hoot. Jennell convinced me that I should be one of the group leaders. I had no idea what I was in for, but quickly found out. I had an excellent partner. She was solid, sharp as a tack, and her first time to attend Quest as well. We did very good as a team. We cheered up our group to earn some bonus points, finished all tasks but one. Many tasks we were either first or second to complete the task. Although some told us all week we were robbed, we didn't even place. I learned that I can't do the "worm" dance. Thak goodness that someone jumped out there to rescue us! And no one in our group either had false teeth or they wouldn't pass them down! LOL Having said this, it's difficult as one of the leaders to determine how the other groups are doing because you're so busy, but I had a great time embarassing the hell out of myself (that sounds bad) and we didn't complete all the tasks, so there was no way that we should have won.

 

Quest gets a 8 out of 10 Goodtimes. I can't give it anything higher as we didn't even place, but it was indeed fun and I'm sure that the crowd had a great show. I suggest that you attend if possible.

 

Tomorrow we head to St.Kitts for a nice Catamaran, Snorkeling and Beach day on Nevi's Island.

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Cupcrazy

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Hi Alex, right before you enter into the WindJammer, there is always a greeter! Typically they stand right by or in front of one of several hand santizer dispensers. In our past cruises, the attendant did little but say Hello, Good morning, and so forth. On the Indy, the attendants, one in particular, actually sing songs to remind you to wash your hands, hence, "Washey, Washey" She uses quite a number songs to accomplish her request. It's a fun, pleasant greeting while at the same time, it delivers a great message. She mixes up pretty good as she does a little jive and actually has people dancing w/ her and mixing up. It's very innovative.

 

Hope this helps!

 

This was one of the things about the we will remember for a long time. My 2 young nieces loved going to Windjammer every day and seeing the Washey, Washey girl.

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CruisinBarb63

CruisinBarb63

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I have a pretty good video of the KLM Jet landing but I'm struggling to get it posted. The instructions from CC is not the best. So let's move on, as we still have more of St. Maarten to see!

 

You got me! The lady with the big, floppy hat is me! LOL It looks like we had close encounters and didn't even know it.

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Goodtime Cruizin

Goodtime Cruizin

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I have a pretty good video of the KLM Jet landing but I'm struggling to get it posted. The instructions from CC is not the best. So let's move on, as we still have more of St. Maarten to see!

 

You got me! The lady with the big, floppy hat is me! LOL It looks like we had close encounters and didn't even know it.

 

Close encounters of the St.Martin kind. How 'bout that!

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