Cruising into Twenty - Twenty two : Something old and something Nieuw

[scubacruiserx2]

Lunch is served

The beer is pronounced I ain't gonna lie

 

 

Conch fritters

 

 

Fried shrimp

 

 

The lobster was as big as my wife's hand

 

 

 

The lunch , the view and the company was the best I've ever had . 

 

I-Ain-Ga-Lie

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately the Key Line Pie wasn't fresh and came from a freezer and had a little cold spot and some melting in other parts . If we had the Key Lime cheesecake that we had at the Cheesecake factory the other day with our daughter - it would have been  Perfect !

 

 

 

Due to user error, it keeps giving me an additional free lobster dinner and view. Do you mind if we share it with you ?

 

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[ottahand7]

Thank you for all of your food photos, especially the food porn.  We are on the NS next month in a NS and like to order room service to dine on our balcony enjoying sunsets and islands disappear as we go to our next destination.    How have the winds been?  Were you able to enjoy your cabana?  Your family cabana probably adds a lot more protection.  I booked one on our last pre covid cruise on the Zuiderdam and it was so windy I had to pull a chair right up against a wall to get any sun.   I used it for a total of probably 20 hours on our 10 day cruise.  

 

You are in a NS if I recall - do they allow you to order from the CO menu for room service with the additional entree?   Thanks so much for your report! 

[scubacruiserx2]

5 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Thank you for all of your food photos, especially the food porn.  We are on the NS next month in a NS and like to order room service to dine on our balcony enjoying sunsets and islands disappear as we go to our next destination.    How have the winds been?  Were you able to enjoy your cabana?  Your family cabana probably adds a lot more protection.  I booked one on our last pre covid cruise on the Zuiderdam and it was so windy I had to pull a chair right up against a wall to get any sun.   I used it for a total of probably 20 hours on our 10 day cruise.  

 

You are in a NS if I recall - do they allow you to order from the CO menu for room service with the additional entree?   Thanks so much for your report! 

 

You're welcome and more food to come . The winds were fine for us as we had a corner and there wasn't much breeze in the aft . We didn't normally use the retreat much more than a couple hours a day but the sun can be brutal in the Caribbean and we normally stay out of the 11 Am to 3 Pm sun except on a tour . We did love the Retreat and always got the 2 free bottles of water there and carried it in a Tevis water bottle everywhere . We had a couple of windy days but only when the ship was moving or in a storm . We started to order the club Orange menus from the Concierge but most of dinners we're in the specialty restaurants so we didn't but we did request escargot for all our dinners except in the Tamarind thru the Neptune Suite . Congratulations on your cruise , may we ask where you are going ? All the best, Pat and Joe .

[scubacruiserx2]

We called for a taxi back to the port and the Queen Bee a lady older than I showed up . We were the only ones and we asked Miss Bee to stop at the airport sign . There was a mock up of John Glenn's capsule , and a Turk's head cacti at the sign .

 

 

 

The red cap that tops the cacti is where it got it's name as it resembles a Turkish fez hat . And it's where the Turks islands derives their name .

 

 

The walk away and the ships .

 

 

 

 

The Blue Glow beneath the Nieuw Amsterdam

 

 

 

The island lived up to it's T - shirt

 

 

We went up to the Retreat to watch the Magic sail away

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The Magic was gone

 

 

Another sunset

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Our dinner was at the Pinnacle Grill

 

Escargot

 

 

Hail Caesar

 

 

Lamb Lollipops

 

 

King Crab

 

 

Asparagus and Hollandaise

 

 

Surprise ! 

 

 

Back in the stateroom , move the clock forward 1 hour . Good news for me , bad news for Pat .

 

 

[ski ww]

Brings back memories of our stop here, thanks for posting.

[scubacruiserx2]

5 hours ago, ski ww said:

Brings back memories of our stop here, thanks for posting.

 

We love it there .

🙂😊

[scubacruiserx2]

About 70% of the earth is underwater and most people don't know what they are missing . As SCUBA divers we get to see much of it face to face and GT is one of our favorite places to dive . The blue line on the horizon in this photo is where the water drops as deep as 7000' .

 

 

We won't show any of our dive photos or videos but this card some many of the colorful and diverse critters that we have seen there .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Sunday January 2nd 2022 Amber Cove Dominican Republic

 

 

 

Breakfast 

 

 

The view from the Pinnacle

 

 

Sites entering the port

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The sail in to Amber Cove video

 

 

 

The map of Amber Cove

 

 

When exiting the ship we had to walk from the aft corner to the mid ship stairway . It's almost a mile walk from there to the front gate at the bottom of the photo where it says local guides . We tried to get the tricycle to take us there but he stopped at the half way point at the Alamo car rental . From there it was about a half a mile walk to get to front guide where we met our guide Henry .

 

 

 

We each carry about 20 pounds in gear and water and we stopped part way to look back and take a photo of the ship

 

 

The pico de gallo

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We met Henry and our driver promptly at 9:30 which felt like 8:30 due to our spring forward  clock resetting . We headed out to our first stop about 20 minutes away and Henry told us a little about the DR . It is one of the islands in the Caribbean occupied by more than 1 county . Hispaniola contains the Dominican Republic which occupies 5/8 ths of the island and Haiti the rest .

Saint Martin is occupied by the French and Sint Maarten by the Dutch . The main part of the economy is based on tourism and agrobusiness with most of the fruits and vegetables in Grand Turk and the Caribbean coming from there .

  Our first stop was at the Macorix House of Rum .

 

 

While waiting for our tour to begin Pat waited in the high chair 

 

 

There was a short video that mentioned that the sugar cane grown there was imported from the Canary Islands

 

 

The short tour ended with about numerous pours of different rums . It was about 10 AM on a Sunday morning .

 

 

 

The tour ended with the opportunity to purchase some Rum across the street which we did for some friends .

 

 

The bottle was scanned when we re boarded the ship but not collected .

Edited January 18, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[ottahand7]

Thanks for the information about room service - great we can order from the CO menu and the wind questions.  My first two HA cruises the upsell fairy hit me at the right time and I had an aft corner Neptune on the Noordam for Alaska and then again for an aft NS on the Oosterdam for the Panama Canal.   They are wonderful - especially for whale watching and watching the working of the locks and then ducking back in to cool off.  We are in a regular one this time.  We are going to the ABCs, St. Lucia, St. Kitt's, Amber Cove, Grenada (new switch as of this morning from the Grenadines), Grand Turk, St. Maarten and HMC times 2. We leave on 2/13.  

 

Where did you go to the rum distillery?   Did you have your driver pre-booked?    I think it was Amber Cove.  By that point in the trip we probably would like a drive through the country.   Our only excursion is the St. Kitt's to Nevis tour.   It is a rare place for a company to offer sales award trips but I lucked out and won it the only two times they had it there.   I can't wait to get my feet back in the sand at Pinney's Beach.   

 

One final question for today.  Escargot - is that on the menu at the PG?   I think DF likes that dish.  We have found them accommodating  requests.  John asked them to take the shrimp cocktail, grill it in butter , chop and put it on top of his lobster bisque.  Much more tasty than the lobster bits.    Thanks so much for your pictures of the sunny Caribbean while we get ready for our road trip to Fort Lauderdale soon.    

[scubacruiserx2]

The next stop was the downtown Independence Square in Puerto Plata

 

 

 

 

 

 

As it was a Sunday , church was having services . We wanted to go into the Philip the Apostle Cathedral to see and photograph it and Henry asked and they said that we would come back later when the services were over .

 

 

There was a Nativity Manger scene there in the square

 

 

Henry wanted us to try the green coconut water and the soft coconut scooped out from inside the coconut . With a couple of swipes of his machete the top flew off revealing our drink and snack and at $ 1.00 - it was the bargain of the day . 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 Wow , what a great Valentines Day ! We really liked diving in GT ,Grenada , Bonaire , Aruba and St. Lucia . 💕

 We went to the distillery in Amber Cove and in Curacao where we had pre booked guides ( also in Aruba ) so we could tour the island . We had escargot in the room , in the Pinnacle Grill and at Canaletto . It was only available at Rudy's  on the menu . The other times that we had it was previously requested thru the concierge with a minimum of 24 hours notice . The wind ( and sun ) may be a little more of a challenge on a side balcony Neptune but we only went out when it was manageable . We only had side facing Neptunes twice . Once in Alaska and once in Antarctica and we were usually outside when we were in a slow cruise mode with beautiful scenery/wildlife . We may have asked before but where are you in Mi ? Pat grew up in Saginaw and her sister still lives in Bay City . We met in 1976 in Mt. Pleasant where she was finishing her 2 nd year and the rest is history .

[scubacruiserx2]

Trip tip # 7 Binder clips . We used these to keep papers together , close bags and keep curtains together in the room and the tent flaps in the Retreat .

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TLXWY19/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We next walked to Pasa de Dona Blanca aka Pepto Bismo alley

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Next up was Umbrella Street

 

 

Where there was a chocolate shop with Cacoa pod , some dried beans and a free shot size sample of hot chocolate 

 

 

 

 

Of course there was an opportunity to shop

 

 

When we tried to make a purchase our card was rejected . Thinking that we had enough petty cash in a camera bag we found out that $ 50.00 wasn't petty enough and walked away . At our next stop the card worked and we found some extra cash and returned to almost empty Umbrella Street and completed our chocolate purchase with cash since the card still didn't work at the shop .

 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Our visit to the Amber Museum

 

In our correspondence with our guide we were told that we would go to the Amber Museum . We have just found out that where we went was a amber museum called the Amber Factory and not The Amber Museum .

 

 

 

 

We were told that the dinosaurs teeth were made from amber

 

 

 

The man conducting the tour spoke to the young man about our grandsons age and he went to work cutting and grinding . I wish that he was wearing a dust mask respirator to protect his lungs .

 

 

Once again we had an opportunity to shop and we did buy some earrings but No cigars . When our charge card worked here , we returned to the chocolate bar and picked up some gifts for family and friends .

 

 

 

We think that this drawing was of a Taino who were an indigenous people of the Caribbean .

 

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Fortaleza San Felipe is a historic Spanish fortress located in the north of Dominican Republic in the province of Puerto Plata.

Is also known as El Morro de San Felipe and was used to protect the City of Puerto Plata from pirates and corsairs. The Fort was the scene of one of the few land battles in the Quasi War, against the United States in May, 1800. The Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor saw American forces overwhelm both the French and Spanish forces.

Wikipedia

We were greeted immediately by a jewelry salesman as soon as we exited the van . Fortunately No gracis worked .

 

 

 

 

The most exciting view was of the new Taino Bay cruise port that leaves you within walking distance from the Park Central instead of a 20 minute ride from Amber Cove . 

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[tuolumne couple]

Thank you so much for this.. it is the most comprehensive documentation of a trip that I have ever seen and such a welcome delight to wake up to. It clearly has taken a lot of time to unpack the images, thoughts, and put them into a thread that is so detailed that it makes me ache to be on board. Thank you for sharing, and wishing you and your wife the best. I will check back to see what is next, as I am sure more is coming...

[ottahand7]

Thanks for the tip.   It has been so long since we have been on a cruise that I took the binder clips out of my suitcase when I began to pack.   They are right back in now.  We are enjoying your photos and we may want to book a tour,   I will check TripAdvisor for some recommendations.  We had a port change as of yesterday where The Grenadines were switched to Grenada and I read elsewhere on CC that a poster on the NS said they were unable to leave the port area unless on a HA tour or a government approved taxi.   Your photos make that look like a fun option for DR.   

We are from SW Michigan.   I grew up in Portage and now live in Allegan County.   I spent 5 years in OH, 4 in NC and 24 in MD before returning home to MI.    

We are prepared for Valentine's Day with a reservation at Tamarind and a bottle of Aubert Pinot Noir to have with our special dinner but not quite the level of your 2010 DP for NYE!   We are driving to FL so are coming fully loaded with vino.   We love to enjoy our dinners on the balcony when not in the specialty restaurants especially now we are trying to stay distant.    

Thanks for the insight in getting the escargot!   

 

[scubacruiserx2]

4 hours ago, tuolumne couple said:

Thank you so much for this.. it is the most comprehensive documentation of a trip that I have ever seen and such a welcome delight to wake up to. It clearly has taken a lot of time to unpack the images, thoughts, and put them into a thread that is so detailed that it makes me ache to be on board. Thank you for sharing, and wishing you and your wife the best. I will check back to see what is next, as I am sure more is coming...

 

Thank you for your kind words , they are much appreciated . 😊🙂

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Thanks for the tip.   It has been so long since we have been on a cruise that I took the binder clips out of my suitcase when I began to pack.   They are right back in now.  We are enjoying your photos and we may want to book a tour,   I will check TripAdvisor for some recommendations.  We had a port change as of yesterday where The Grenadines were switched to Grenada and I read elsewhere on CC that a poster on the NS said they were unable to leave the port area unless on a HA tour or a government approved taxi.   Your photos make that look like a fun option for DR.   

We are from SW Michigan.   I grew up in Portage and now live in Allegan County.   I spent 5 years in OH, 4 in NC and 24 in MD before returning home to MI.    

We are prepared for Valentine's Day with a reservation at Tamarind and a bottle of Aubert Pinot Noir to have with our special dinner but not quite the level of your 2010 DP for NYE!   We are driving to FL so are coming fully loaded with vino.   We love to enjoy our dinners on the balcony when not in the specialty restaurants especially now we are trying to stay distant.    

Thanks for the insight in getting the escargot!   

 

 

You're welcome . We used Tours by Locals for tours in DR , Aruba and Curacao . It sounds like ya'll moved around a bit and welcome home to Mi. We had diner in the Tamarind the evening coming up soon . Hopefully most of that wine and you will make it safely to the ship ! We do love our balcony diners but ate there a lot less than normally this trip . The Restaurants we're not crowded and the staff were fantastic . We have been busy booking our next trip today and we will be jumping ship to Princess with $4800 in credit that we have to use before the end of the year .

[scubacruiserx2]

After having had breakfast early we only had split the coconut and had a tangerine to eat . One thing that we had noticed on the ship was the lack of a fruit bowl and we had picked up an apple and a banana that was kept refrigerated in the Neptune lounge . The bananas don't like refrigeration and we always let them ripen at room temperature . If they get soft we freeze them and Pat makes Banana Bread . Unfortunately the one from the lounge had turned to mush . When we mentioned this to Henry ( akaTiger Woods ) he picked us up a nice ripe one for the ride to Mt. Isabel de Torres . The cable car that take you from the city to the summit was not operating probably due to the virus . Quite frankly we had no plans to be in a box with a bunch of people full of cooties ( even if they were wearing their cootie catchers ) and had requested a ride up and down before we knew that the cable car wasn't running .

 

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by scubacruiserx2