Thanksgiving & Black Friday At Sea

Friday, 28 November 2014 
At Sea — Atlantic Ocean
Hi Temp: 73F (23C)

Forgot to mention in the previous post that Wednesday was our anniversary — 33 years of togetherness makes us old hands at this marriage thing ;-)  Mui arranged for a cake to be delivered to the dinner table … sans the usual hoopla that accompanies such celebratory events.  We shared the special treat with our group and everyone got a bite size taste of the small, but tasty cake.

I love sea days … if only they didn’t go by so fast!  But I’ve said that before, haven’t I?  Bears repeating IMHO ;-)  At least there were two of them to enjoy on the northbound leg back to Miami.  One of those days is history already; the other one will be soon.

We really didn’t do much — and the proof is in this combined post for the two days.  The camera stayed in its carry-case for the most part, so not many photos, either; just a mish-mash from around the ship.

Thursday, 27 November — Happy Thanksgiving …

With the windspeed matching the ship’s speed, there were no stiff breezes to battle on the jogging path on deck 15.  I added the areas fore and aft of the deck and created my own longer, less-dizzying walking path.  I managed to get in three laps before I had to stop to join Mui and Keith for breakfast.

The iPad/iPhone sessions we attended on the sea days heading south wrapped up with a third and final session this morning.  We’ve picked up some very nifty tips; the true test will be to remember them.  If they offer the same seminars on Infinity, I think I might attend them again to pick up what I didn’t pick up this time ;-)  After all, as Norman Vincent Peale once said, “Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.”

2,189 NM (2,520 miles/4,054 km) roundtrip out of Miami.

Between the iSession, and walking up and down the stairs and around the ship for exercise, I didn’t get to spend much time on the veranda.  When I pick which side of the ship I want to be on, I gauge it by the direction we will be heading and the number of days at sea.  Since mornings tend to be busier with more time away from the cabin, I prefer a veranda that gets the morning sun.  That way, by the time I am ready to settle down for a quiet afternoon on the veranda, it’s in the shade.  On this cruise, with two sea days bookending the ports of call, port or starboard was a crapshoot.  One way or another I was going to get the afternoon sun.  Today proved just how hot it can get in the Caribbean when there is no shade.  Oh well, the enforced time indoors gave me a chance to process photos, so the blog posts for this cruise should go up pretty quickly once we’re back in Miami and I have speedy internet.

Looking forward from deck 5 towards the aft port side bump-out and our cabin.

For Thanksgiving dinner we gave the big table to the Lee clan so they could celebrate as a family, and shared the small table with the Todds.  In addition to the traditional turkey dinner, the menu included ham, lobster, beef wellington, and a few other choices.  All good — but I have to say that I think Celebrity did a better job with the Thanksgiving turkey on last year’s westbound transatlantic aboard Constellation.  We’ll see how Infinity does with the Christmas turkey this December ;-)

Back to today — Friday, 28 November …

The seas have been moderate today, but we paid for it with a stiff breeze.  So much so that it was difficult to walk on deck 15 this morning without taking flight ;-)  I managed eight laps before it was time to join Mui and the Todds for breakfast at the Oceanview Café.

Oceanview Café

I remembered to use my pedometer today … 14,380 steps by the time I sat down to write this post tonight.  That number is a fair representation of my daily activity level on the ship this week; days in port, I’m estimating close to 20,000 steps … I done good ;-)

Around Reflection at night.

Although the sun was on the portside of the ship this afternoon, I actually managed to sit out there for quite a bit.  Now that we are further north, the temps have dropped a bit, the humidity has disappeared, and with the breeze adding a slight chill factor, the warmth of the sun was welcome — when it peeked out from behind the clouds, that is.  I’m thinking Celebrity special-ordered the overcast to make it easier for us to want to disembark the ship tomorrow ;-)  Or maybe it was so that passengers would be more apt to visit the shops for the Black Friday Sale — yes, there was a sale aboard Reflection today; yes, it was choc-a-bloc with people purchasing their hearts out; no, I didn’t go … and neither did Mui ;-)

Our room stewards welcomed us from dinner each night with a towel animal. The
relaxed guy in the middle seems to have confiscated one of the chocolate-covered Oreos
delivered to the cabin on the last formal night; they replace the nightly pillow chocolates.

Speaking of disembarkation — our bags are packed, and one of them is sitting outside the door — well ahead of the requested 11:00p deadline.  We’re keeping the small bag to pack our toiletries and overnight stuff tomorrow morning and will carry it off the ship ourselves.

Dinner was a bittersweet affair.  We enjoyed a very nice meal, but it was tainted by the knowledge that tomorrow we will all be going our separate ways.

During his 10:00a address today, Captain Peppas said we should be alongside in Miami by 6:00a tomorrow.  The navigation channel on the TV points to being on track for doing just that.

Short though it was, we had a very nice getaway cruise to the Caribbean.  Since we prefer smaller ships, I wasn’t too sure about cruising on one of Celebrity’s “S” Class ships.  It’s bigger than the other ships in the fleet — by about a 1,000 passengers, and several thousand tons.  And, of course, much bigger than the expedition ships we’ve sailed recently by almost 3,000 passengers.  But Reflection grew on me as I got to know the ship.  I would sail an “S” class ship for the right itinerary — but I’ll be packing my reading light the next time ;-)

Next up … a few days in Miami.

St Maarten: One Last Beach Day

Wednesday, 26 November 2014 
At Sea — Caribbean Sea
Temps: Hi 83F (28C) / Lo 78F (26C)

Mui’s gone with his friends to see the illusionist performing in the Reflection Theater.  If you guessed that I am on the veranda — you would be right.  It’s so peacefully quiet — the moon is a lovely crescent, shedding just enough illumination to create a path on the surface of the sea.

When we stepped out on the veranda this morning, the ship was quietly sliding along the coast of St Maarten/St Martin — the smallest land mass on our planet that is shared by two countries: the Netherlands and France.

It was early; the sun was just rising above the horizon and there was a light mist in the air.  Within minutes the mist burned off, and the pinkish hue of the sky and clouds was gone.  The scenery invited us to dally on the veranda, but we had a 7:30a breakfast appointment to keep with our friends, so we locked the sliding door and headed up to deck 14.

As the ship maneuvered into the Dutch port facilities in Philipsburg, St Maarten, plans for the day were solidified.  Some would be taking a short ship’s excursion to tour the island; the rest would be joining Mui and me for a day at Great Bay Beach, which fronts the waterfront promenade downtown … with the added bonus of convenient shopping for those inclined to contribute to the economy.

Welcome to Philipsburg, St Maarten!

Our group of six was off Reflection around 8:45a.  Tour guides and cab drivers were hawking their services, but we needed neither.  Mui and I knew where we were going and how to get there.

Docked on either side of the pier, Reflection (left) and P&O’s Azura, form a man-made canyon.

Taking the pedestrian path that hugs the outside edge of the port facilities, we walked into town, cut through the purpose-built shopping area, and headed to the strip of sand fronting a promenade lined with shops, and restaurants, and bars … and more.  Hawkers from the various beach bars vied for our business, calling out offers to rent loungers and umbrellas.  The guys settled on a deal to rent six loungers and three umbrellas from Oalichi for $40 ($13/couple), with a bucket of beer for $10 (down $2 from the menu price).  Free wi-fi was included and available on the beach, but the signal strength was iffy.  I had no problems getting and staying online, but a few people in our group ended up walking across the road to sit on Oalichi’s terrace to get a strong enough signal.

In recent years, St Maarten dredged Great Bay to create a deeper port so that the bigger ships can call here.  Great Bay Beach was replenished with sand from that dredging operation.  It is promoted as being the longest and widest beach on the island.  On previous visits to St Maarten, we went to Orient Beach — specifically to Kakao — on the French side of the island.  My recollection is that the sand there is finer and more sugar-white.  On the other hand, the water here was much calmer, making for great swimming conditions — something Mui really appreciated and took advantage of today.  With the water colder than it was at Trunk Bay yesterday, I was content to lounge and read in the shade.

The beachgoers!
(L to R) Jane and Keith; Ilka and Dick; and Mui … sans Erin, who is behind the camera ;-)

Great Bay Beach is in sight of the cruise ship piers.

In the four hours we were on the beach, we polished off two buckets of beer and a pizza.  Not bad considering there were six of us ;-)  Before we knew it, the mid-day heat was upon us.  With no breeze to moderate the temperature, the sun reflecting off the white sand quickly became uncomfortable.  Some went shopping; Mui and I stuck it out until 1:00p, and then we too left to walk back to Reflection — but not before making a stop to get some excellent gelato from an ice cream shop overlooking the promenade.

Cheers to a great Caribbean getaway!

With P&O’s Azura blocking the sun, we were able to spend what was left of our day in port on the balcony.  Reflection was the first to set sail at 5:00p amongst much tooting of ships’ horns and waves exchanged between passengers on the two ships.  Soon, we were heading into the sunset — literally.

Say goodbye to St Maarten, Mui.

Drained from the heat today, we skipped the Captain’s Club Social Hour and stayed on the veranda where we enjoyed the changing colors of the sky as the sun set on a very nice day in St Maarten.

Dinner was back to our normal 7:00p reservation — and was enjoyed by all.

Tomorrow is the first of the two sea days it is going to take Reflection to sail the 1,080 NM (1,243 miles/ 2,000 km) back to Miami.  Good weather is in the forecast!

St Thomas, USVI: One Port of Call; Two Islands

Tuesday, 25 November 2014 
At Sea — Caribbean Sea
Temps: Hi 82F (28C) / Lo 79F (26C)

Mui’s gone with his friends to see Center Stage, the production show that was postponed from when it was scheduled on formal night due to the seas being too rough for the dancers.  If I have to decide between a show that holds minimal attraction for me and reading on the veranda, there’s really no choice to make — the veranda will win every time.  I have the light on at the desk in the cabin, and there’s enough of it coming through the sliding glass door that I can actually do some reading.  But for now, I am going to write today’s blog post.

We were up around 6:30a this morning — making progress with getting back to our normal routine ;-)  The ship was on approach to Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas, the US Virgin Islands when we went up for a light breakfast at our usual spot on the deck aft of the Oceanview Café.  By the time we were finished with our meal, the pilot was onboard and Reflection was minutes away from docking at her berth at Havensight.  This is our preferred port facility in St Thomas.  Not because of the multitude of shops within easy walking distance, but because it is more convenient for us to make our way to the ferry in Red Hook from here than it is from the docks at Crown Bay.

Welcome to Charlotte Amalie!

View across the bay from the aft deck behind the Oceanview Café.

The Todds and Lees had plans to do a Celebrity shore excursion, so we were on our own.  With the forecasted 70% chance of rain reduced to 40%, we decided to proceed with our plans to go to Trunk Bay on St John, another one of the US Virgin Islands.

Off the ship around 8:45a, our plan was to get to Red Hook to catch the ferry that runs between the two islands every hour on the hour.  In St Thomas, you can’t just hop in a cab and go where you want to go — at least not while you’re in the port facilities.  The cabs are either shared vans or safari trucks, and you are directed to the appropriate vehicle by the dispatcher.  Knowing this from past visits, we gave ourselves plenty of time to make our way to Red Hook — current fare: $10/person each way.  As it turns out, there was a large party going to a marina near the ferry terminal, so our wait was minimal.

Panorama shot of Charlotte Amalie from our veranda.

St Thomas is a very popular cruise ship port.  It’s not unknown for 6 to 7 ships — or more — to be in port at one time.  The bad news when this happens — traffic is horrendous … another reason to give yourself extra time to get where you are going.  As the Caribbean season has not kicked into high-gear, however, we were sharing the port with only one other ship today — Carnival Glory — which wasn’t even in port yet, so traffic was a piece of cake on the twisty-turny narrow road to Red Hook.  By 9:30a, we were buying our ferry tickets — $14/person R/T.

We’ve seen great improvements in the ferry facilities in Red Hook over the years.  Since
our first visit to the Island in 2001, what used to be just a dirt field with a rickety ferry
landing has been upgraded to a real terminal with a passenger lounge and facilities.

Our wait was short, and fifteen minutes later we were on the boat — a newer, faster one that made the crossing to Cruz Bay on St John in about 10-15 minutes.  Sea conditions were fairly rough, so it was a bumpy ride; but it could have been worse.  Even the rain cooperated, and the light showers en route ended by the time the boat was tied up and we were ready to disembark.  By this time, we had left the overcast behind and the sun was out as well — a good omen for a morning at the beach.

  The bars are artistically bent ;-)

The cabs on St John work the same way they do on St Thomas — shared safari trucks that passengers are dispatched to based on destination.  The fare is based on destination as well, and for us it was $6/person each way.  There were several people heading in the same direction as us, so again, we lucked out with a minimal wait before the taxi was on its way.

A passing shot of one of the many beautiful bays on St John.

Most of St John is part of the US Virgin Islands National Park.  Trunk Bay is included in the grounds that fall under the protection of the USNPS, and there is an admission fee charged — annual park passes aren’t valid, although the senior pass will discount your admission by 50% from $4/person to $2/person.  Since we don’t qualify for the latter, we paid the full admission.  We could have picked one of the other beaches that don’t charge admission, but frankly we don’t mind paying the fee — the USNPS can use all the help it can get to maintain the facilities.

Welcome to Trunk Bay!

One of the reasons Mui enjoys Trunk Bay is because there is an underwater snorkeling trail here.  Today, however, visibility was posted as being poor, so he didn’t even consider renting equipment.  Perhaps that was a good thing as he later reported that from what he glimpsed, there was some colorful tropical fish, but very little left of the beautiful coral that once abounded here.  A shame as this seems to be the story around much of the world these days.

The view from my alcove shaded by sea grape trees.

From the concession we rented a couple of chairs — pricey at $8/chair with a $25 deposit for each.  I can’t sit in the sun for long, so we also enquired about an umbrella, but the lady at the concession stand suggested there would be plenty of shade under the sea grape trees.  She was right.  In fact, we found a nice big patch of shade that even accommodated the rest of our group when their excursion plans fell through and they followed in our footsteps to Trunk Bay about an hour after us.

 

Despite the lack of snorkeling, Mui really enjoyed swimming in the beautiful, calm, warm Caribbean waters.  Even I was tempted to join him for a long dip before seeking the shade shelter of the sea grapes.  We had two or three passing showers while we were there, but they didn’t last long.  Mui didn’t care since he was in the water when they came through, and I was protected from the rain under the trees.  And when I went off to walk the beach a few times, I had nothing but beautiful sunshine.

How the heck does this selfie thing work ;-)

We left our friends to enjoy Trunk Bay for another hour, and left around 1:15p for the 15-minute ride back to Cruz Bay.  With the ship’s departure scheduled for 5:00p, we wanted to take the 2:00p ferry to St Thomas, putting us back at Reflection around 3:00p.  Yes, two hours before sailaway!  What can I say, we are risk-averse when it comes to shore excursions.  We would rather return to the ship a little early than be left standing on the dock waving goodbye to it because we encountered unexpected delays returning from a do-it-yourself excursion ;-)

View of Cruz Bay, St John from the top deck of the ferry.

The top deck on the ferry was open this time.  With sunshine and blue skies overhead, we opted to sit up there for the crossing even though there was a fair amount of breeze and I had to hold on to my hat the entire way ;-)  Following waves meant we had a smoother ride this time — certainly none of the pitching the ferry crossing to St John was experiencing when we crossed paths with it about halfway into the ride.

Farewell, St John … until another time.

We arrived at the Red Hook ferry terminal in no time.  The sun was out to welcome us — a nice change from the morning weather.  Our public transportation luck held and the taxi we were dispatched to filled up quickly.  Two minutes after getting off the ferry, we were on the road to Charlotte Amalie.

The Red Hook Ferry Terminal and the boats bobbing at anchor in the bay look
so much nicer in the sunshine than they did when it was overcast this morning.

By the time the ship was ready to weigh anchor at 5:00p, we had eaten a light snack, showered and changed into our dinner attire, and checked emails using our free-minutes to connect to the Celebrity wi-fi — 90 minutes each as an elite perk.  With time to kill before dinner, we went to the Sky Observation Lounge for the Captain’s Club Social Hour, where a glass of wine and a view of the ocean off the bow of Reflection wrapped up our day in St Thomas.

With the changing light, the ambiance of the bay changes, too!

Practice makes a perfect selfie … we still have a ways to go.

Farewell St Thomas … until another time!

Dinner was to have been at one of the specialty restaurants, but the group decided it was going to end up being on the pricey side for at least one family.  No problem; we canceled those plans to return to the Opus Restaurant instead.  The dining room manager was able to accommodate us by moving up our standing reservation by 15 minutes to 6:45a.  It worked out just fine.

I have to say that the food on this cruise has been consistently good, so the specialty dining room would have been an unnecessary splurge.  On our upcoming back-to-back Infinity cruises, however, we will welcome a change from the main restaurant once in a while as the menu on the second leg will be a repeat of the one on the first leg.  And the first week of each of those cruises will probably be a repeat of the menu on this cruise.  Yes; we will definitely be looking to add some variety.

Mui’s back from the show — says it was a decent one.  Glad he enjoyed it!  Time to call it a night — we have a “Two to Travel enforced” 7:30a breakfast tomorrow for those who want to join us on shore for one last beach day at our next and final port of call.

We’re Still On Hiatus, But …

Monday, 20 February

… you can go on a virtual cruise if you please.

In December 2007, we decided to exchange the wintry conditions of the DC area for warm, tropical breezes and plenty of sunshine.  Our itinerary aboard the Coral Princess took us on a round-trip cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Oranjestad, Aruba … Cartagena, Colombia … Panama Canal … Limon, Costa Rica … Ocho Rios, Jamaica — these were our ports of call.  We swam in Aruba and Jamaica; we explored the historic walled city of Cartagena; we communed with nature and wildlife in Costa Rica.  And, even though we’d traversed the length of the Canal on a previous voyage, we were up at daybreak to enjoy every minute of our partial transit on this cruise — from the ship, as well as from land.

The cruise pre-dates our blog, so there are no words to tell the story of our ‘fun in the sun’.  But you can see and experience what we saw through the videos Mui recently finished editing.

We’ve organized the clips into an album to make it easier to find them all in one place.  Click here to go to the Coral Princess 2007 album.  Once you get there, you can click on any thumbnail to view the video.  And when you’re finished with a clip, you can select another one by scrolling through the sidebar on the right side of the screen.

If you’d like to continue your virtual cruise with some still images as well, my online galleries are here.

Bon Voyage!