Dreaming...

All of this snow and cold winter weather is making me think back to last March and the warmth of the Caribbean. Ahhhhh...I can be packed and ready in an hour. How about you?

Falmouth, Jamaica

Linking to Tricia's Watery Wednesday at Bluff Area Daily.

InSPIREd Sunday & Caribbean Cruise Week - Elmslie Memorial United

It may look gray and overcast in this photo, and for a time it was, but then the sun came out on the Wednesday I spent on Grand Cayman. This church was established in 1846.

Elmslie Memorial United Church - George Town, Grand Cayman

Caribbean Cruise Week - Heading Home

After departing Jamaica, our next two days were spent at sea. This is when I really learned to like at sea days. No rushing to get to your shore excursions and worrying about making it back to the ship in time for departures. Nope, you would be on a different kind of island time -- the floating island kind.

As I said earlier, there is plenty to do while at sea. The ship's cruise director and staff make sure guests are sufficiently occupied if they so choose.

Our first at sea day activity after Jamaica was to participate in Wishes At Sea that benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You purchase a t-shirt for $10 and then walk a mile with several crew members around the track on the upper deck. All of the proceeds are then donated to Make-A-Wish. On our cruise, we raised over $3,300!

Wishes At Sea

For lunch, we had a regular barbeque up on the pool deck. There were ribs, chicken and sausages along with plenty of fixins' to go with it. Oh, it smelled so good while they were cooking!

If Only You Could Smell This!

After lunch, it was time to continue exploring the ship. One thing I really liked was the variety of artwork on display. Some of it was simply amazing. There were sculptures, pottery, paintings, metalwork and more. The piece below was made of entirely of paper. I wish I got the artist's name but I forgot. I guess I was too enthralled by the details of this and two other companion pieces.

3D Paper Artwork

Later I got to watch another type of artistry in action - ice sculpting! The chef had to work fast in the heat and in short order the block of ice became a piece of art.

Ice Sculpture

One of the funniest things I saw was the belly flop contest. I think about eight guys were brave enough to participate. I didn't have the greatest of viewpoints to watch from, but at least I (and my camera) didn't get wet. I will bet the pool had to have some water pumped in after it was over.

Belly Flopper in Action

Dinner that night was our second formal dress of the cruise. And guess what? No pictures -- at least that I'm willing to share. I just hate having my picture taken. Maybe next cruise. One of the main themes for dinner was Surf & Turf. All you can eat, no less. I know a couple of people at our table had more than one plate of lobster. Actually, there are several menu choices to pick from each night in the main dining room starting with appetizers, salads, entrees, side dishes and desserts. Honestly, it can be very easy to gain weight while cruising if you are not careful.

Lobster Dinner

After dinner, there was always a show of some kind in the main theater. Music, dance, comedy -- all done by very talented performers.

The next day at sea was almost as busy as the previous day. We started off with another walkabout around the ship and found the peek-a-boo bridge where you can look in on the helm. Pretty neat although hard to take pictures of it.

Peeking in at the Bridge

Then it was time for a game of miniature golf up on Deck 12 at the stern. Talk about challenging. It was a bit windy even though there are glass partitions around you. Add in a little wave action while you are trying to line up a putt and things don't always go as planned. Still fun to play though.

I hope it goes straight!

We watched our Alaskan friends climb the rock wall. The ship provides the climbing gear including the helmet and shoes. Sharon made it to the top on one of the hardest routes and rang the bell.

Ding! Ding!

Just before dinner, there was a circus-type parade down the Royal Promenade. It was very colorful and noisy. There were performers on stilts, little bicycles and moving platforms. Some just danced in the "street". The little kid in me enjoyed watching the parade.

Royal Promenade Parade

After dinner, it was time for one last show aboard the Mariner of the Seas. But not before being treated to a beautiful sunset.

Last Sunset of the Cruise

When we awoke the next morning, our ship was already docked at the port in Galveston. To facilitate an orderly disembarkation, the ship assigns group numbers to passengers. We were not scheduled to go to our meeting area until 9:30. There was plenty of time for breakfast and to watch the activity at the port preparing the ship to sail out again later that day with a whole new set of passengers.

The semi trucks were lined up and the forklifts buzzing around moving the supplies the ship needed. Pallets of food and beverages, maintenance items, even new ladders were made ready to load onto the ship. In another area, luggage was being offloaded along with the recyclables such as paper, glass and cans. The picture below doesn't reflect the amount of activity going on, but it was super busy. In the midst of all of this action, a border agent and his dog were in high gear inspecting the shipments and the loading zone area.

Controlled Chaos

All too soon our cruise came to end and it was time to leaving our floating resort. My fears of being at sea away from the sight of land were greatly diminished. I was an experienced cruiser now, ready to go again.

Caribbean Cruise Week - Jamaica, Mon!

The next morning after departing Grand Cayman, we awoke to sights of Falmouth, Jamaica. Falmouth has built a new cruise terminal that will accommodate two ships although for once, we were the only vessel in port.

It was interesting to watch the captain back this large ship into what seemed a narrow berth and dealing with stiff side winds wanting to send the ship in another direction. Ahhh, but our Captain Flemming was most talented and we were safely docked in short order.

Arriving in Falmouth, Jamaica

Falmouth Pier

Since the pier is relatively new, everything was super clean and tidy. Lots of shops to browse around in and buy trinkets.

Our shore excursion for the day was a trip to the 2,000 acre Good Hope Estate Plantation for an ATV ride. Once out of the port area, the town of Falmouth itself is undergoing transformation and restoration. Not everything is hunky dory, but hopefully more of the tourists' monies will end up staying in Falmouth over time.

Upon arriving at Good Hope after a short 30 minute ride, we had brief disagreement with the tour operators about having to leave our back packs in lockers. Since we were not informed about having to leave our belongings behind, our little group of 8 demanded to speak to a supervisor. We were not about to leave our things there and felt it was a scam to get us to pay the $5.00 USD locker rental. Mind you, we have already ponied up a chunk of change to do this excursion to start with. We also told them if we had to pay for lockers, then no tips would be paid at the end. Money talks. The tour operators finally relented and off we went to the ATV area.

First we did the mandatory safety briefing and then took a short ride so they could see the experience level of all riders. We got moved up in the line to almost behind the guide with the less experienced riders at the back with the second guide bringing up the rear. Zoom! Zoom!

We were taken on a leisurely tour around the plantation and given some history about it. The plantation was built in 1774 as a sugar plantation but was in the process of switching to growing oranges. There were several old abandoned stone buildings on the plantation. We took a short break by one of them and got to eat oranges grown on the plantation.

Sally, George, Paul and Sharon at one of the ruins

Our ride continued on around the plantation, weaving among the orange groves and fields. I was surprised by how hilly Jamaica was. I don't know why but I didn't expect it. The scenery was beautiful.

View from up high on the plantation

Beep! Beep! Here I come!

At one point, we stopped by an old water wheel building. Beautiful tropical plants and flowers surrounded this area. There was even a banana tree here with a huge bunch of bananas on it.

One of our Guides at the Water Wheel

Iron Gridwork in the Wall

Tropical Flower - Hibiscus maybe?

Another flower - Variety Unknown

It seemed that our ATV ride was over too soon. It was time for lunch before returning to the ship. We ate Jamaican Jerk Chicken that was pretty tasty and washed it down with a delicious rum punch of some kind. After lunch, we checked out the pottery that was in an old building on the plantation while we waited for the bus to return.

Pottery Building

I enjoyed my time in Jamaica. With the exception of the locker issue, I found the people to be warm and friendly.  It was so cool when our ship pulled away from the pier, many of the workers came out and tooted horns and waved good-bye. Whether this is typical or not at other ports, I don't know. It didn't happen in Galveston or Cozumel. Of course we waved back from our balcony!

Good-bye from Jamaica!

Next - more "at sea" days and the return to Galveston.

SkyWatch Friday & Caribbean Cruise Week - Went to Hell and Back

After our ship departed Cozumel, we headed east to George Town, Grand Cayman. We would be there early the next morning. Our overnight voyage was a little on the rough side due to weather. In preparation for the crossing, the ship emptied out the pools up on Deck 11 and tied down the lounge chairs. By emptying the pools, it took away the potential for splashing of water onto the deck and kept it safer for passengers.

I was slightly concerned about being able to sleep that night. The ship has stabilizers to help with side-to-side motion, but you still get a little front-to-back wave action. Depending on where your cabin is on the ship, you could notice more or less movement. Our cabin was closer to the middle of the ship although slightly aft. The minor waves that I felt ended up rocking me to sleep and I awoke well rested to mostly cloudy skies in George Town.

In George Town, the ships are anchored out and passengers are taken via smaller boats (tenders) into shore. There were four ships at anchor here - two Carnival ships, a Disney ship, and us.

Carnival and Disney Ships at Anchor

After breakfast, it was time to go ashore to do some sightseeing before our day's planned bike excursion around the island. The clouds were clearing and the humidity rising as we headed in.

Leaving the Ship to Go Ashore

(Click on the banner to go see other SkyWatch Friday shots from participants around the globe)

The town of George Town was bustling with tourists and island residents. I wish I took pictures of it but I was too busy just seeing it all. We did a little shopping and then decided to eat lunch before our bike tour. Wow! Were things expensive on the island! Two chicken sandwiches and bottled water was almost $30 USD.

We found the rendezvous point for our bike adventure and about twenty of us were loaded onto a small bus for a short ride along Seven Mile Beach to our starting point. The bus driver was very knowledgeable and gave us quite the mini tour. Grand Cayman is known for being an international banking center and banking centers were plentiful. Real estate was very expensive there as the cost of living but it was a pretty island.

We arrived at our destination and soon had our bikes chosen and helmets on. We received a short orientation and safety briefing and then it was time to pedal on.

Receiving Our Safety Briefing

Our tour was scheduled to take about three hours. We would be riding along quiet country lanes, then along the coastline with stops at Dolphin Discovery and the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory, then we would go to Hell before returning to the country lanes and our starting point.

Dolphin Discovery was a good place to stop and refresh ourselves with sports drinks. The humidity was climbing and together with the biking, we were hot and thirsty. I wasn't interested in seeing much at this stop but did enjoy watching all of the crabs climbing on the rocks near the shore.

Small Crabs Everywhere!

Next stop was a short ride to the Tortuga Rum Cake factory. Here you could sample the a few flavors of rum cake. Meh, didn't particularly care for it. Not even the chocolate flavor. Shocking, I know!

One thing I noticed about Grand Cayman was the number of iguanas seemingly everywhere. On rooftops, in yards, even at near a water pipe next to the Rum Cake Factory.

Getting Some Sun

 
Back on the bikes, we made our way to Hell. Yes, Hell, Grand Cayman. We stopped at a bar/gift shop with a deck that overlooked a group of the strangest looking rock formations. Short black limestone rocks with pools of water apparently moved a local politican to proclaim that this is what Hell must look like.

Welcome to Hell

Limestone Rock Formations at Hell

Do you see the iguana?

Before we knew it, it was time to return to our starting point. Our tour was over. We had gotten a feel for island life but now it was time to go back to the ship. And just in time, too! A large rain cloud let loose on the tender ride back to the ship.

While we were waiting for the Mariner of the Seas to haul anchor and depart for our next port, the Disney ship sailed away. It was so comical to listen to their horn. Its worth googling it to hear.

Bon Voyage, Disney Magic!

Up next, Jamaica mon.

Caribbean Cruise Week - Cozumel

I awoke bright and early on Tuesday morning, early enough to watch us come into port at Cozumel. We had a 7:00 a.m. scheduled arrival.  One thing to note about keeping track of time on a cruise--at least this cruise. Whatever time zone it was when you left port, you keep that same time zone no matter where we would be.

Sunrise at Cozumel

We were scheduled for our first shore excursion - racing on original America's Cup 12 meter sailboats. Having previously worked for a sailboat builder and following the Cup many years ago, I was super excited about this opportunity.

Upon disembarking the ship, I was taken aback by the other cruise ship, RCCL's Liberty of the Seas, on the other side of the long concrete pier. Wow! What a feeling to be sandwiched between these two giant ships. It made you feel so small. Because you were.

Liberty of the Seas (left) & Mariner of the Seas (right)

Looking Back at the Ships

We were scheduled to rendezvous at a particular place on the pier at our designated time. Since we had an hour or so before the meeting time, we wandered around the shops at the pier. We didn't go into Cozumel itself.

We returned to our meeting location only to find two of our dinner table couples were also on the same shore excursion. Boy oh boy, would we have stories to tell at dinner later that night. Ummm...not quite.

The weather in Cozumel was very windy and overcast. I found out the port had been closed the day before due to severe weather. We wondered how our sailing adventure would be with the strong winds.

The tour host came over and told us the departure would be delayed about 30 minutes due to weather. I think they were hoping things would calm down a bit. So we wandered around the shops again and then met back at the tour area.

With the group assembled again, our tour hosts took our band of thirty or so sailors to another area and began the debriefing about our upcoming excursion. We learned a bit of history of the America's Cup, about the two yachts we would be sailing on - Stars and Stripes 87 and True North IV, and what to expect on our excursion.  Then we divided up into teams and from there decided on what roles we would be doing while sailing. You didn't have to be an active participant but we were definitely into it. Some people would be "grinders" on the big winches, winchers on the small winchers, line handlers - no shortage of duties available.

Finally it was time for our hosts to call the tenders into port to take us out to the boats. We waited as messages were sent exchanged on the radios. We knew things were amiss by the some of the bits and pieces we could hear. We could see the boats tacking back and forth several hundred yards from shore. After a few minutes, it was confirmed that our excursion was being cancelled due to weather. The waves were just too high to safely transfer passengers from the tenders to the yachts. The crews themselves had trouble earlier and that is why we were delayed 30 minutes. Talk about disappointment, but safety comes first.

America's Cup 12 Meter Yachts

At this point, we didn't feel like going into Cozumel itself so we opted to go back to the ship. On port days, the scheduled activities are very limited since most people go ashore. We ended up in one the large whirlpools up on the pool deck and being entertained by several people who were feeling little to no pain. I remember at some point we did have a brief period of rain.

Around 4 p.m., the ship departed for her next port of call.

Tomorrow - George Town, Grand Cayman.

Caribbean Cruise Week - At Sea

Ahhh...this is the life. Maybe.

View from the Balcony

Okay, I admit. I'm still a little anxious about not seeing land. But I am getting better about it.

I took my morning cup of coffee out on the balcony and sat and watched water and more water. The glass bottom of the balcony provided a even wider view of the endless water.

The night before during turn down service, our room steward, Bertino, left a booklet called the Cruise Compass on what would be happening on Day 2.  Activity schedule, dress code for dinner, Headliner show information and other fun little tidbits about the cruise. There is a plethora of things to do while at sea besides lounging poolside.

Take in a movie. How about a Spanish lesson? Ballroom dancing any one? Not into the foxtrot? How about learning Michael Jackson's Thriller dance moves? Learn to make a cocktail. Or play a game of adult dodgeball. If you get bored, it's your own fault. There is no lack of things to keep you busy. Or do what I did and take a nap. Relax...you are on vacation!

Dinner on our first full day at sea called for formal dress code. Yep, fancy dress and suit and tie type of dress code. Our tablemates included our friends from Alaska and three other couples from Texas and Minnesota who also had their seating mixed up. We had ten people seated at a table for eight. Let's just say it was cozy. The food was excellent however, with impeccable service from our server, Jovita and her assistant, Marcus. Our new dinner companions were very friendly and I think we all enjoyed each other's company.

You want pictures of us all dressed up for dinner? Too bad. I didn't take any.

Tomorrow - Cozumel, Mexico.

Caribbean Cruise Week - The Ship & Departure Day

I had never been on a cruise before so on that Sunday in March, departure day, I was excited, anxious, and even scared. My biggest fear was not being able to see land. How would I ever cope at sea? I would soon find out as I embarked on a seven day cruise to the Western Caribbean aboard the Mariner of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship.

The itinerary was as follows:

Sunday, 4:45 pm. - Depart Galveston, Texas
Monday - At Sea Day
Tuesday - Cozumel, Mexico
Wednesday - George Town, Grand Cayman
Thursday - Falmouth, Jamaica
Friday & Saturday - At Sea Days
Sunday, 7 a.m. - Arrive back in Galveston


The Mariner of the Seas is one of their Voyager class ships. While it is not one of the largest ships in their fleet, it is not the smallest either.

Mariner of the Seas (from the Royal Caribbean website)

Some basic facts about the Mariner of the Seas:
Length: 1,020 ft (310.9 m)
Max Beam : 157.5 ft (48 m)
Draft: 29 ft (8.8 m)
Cruising Speed: 22 knots
Max Passengers: 3,11
Captain: Captain Flemming Nielsen (from Denmark)
Cruise Director: Mitch Merucci (from Canada)

15 Decks, 10 Pools and Whirlpools, 17 Bars, Clubs & Lounges, Spa, Rock Climbing Wall, Ice Skating Rink, Mini Golf Course, Basketball Court, Broadway-style Theater, Casino, Shopping, the list goes on and on.

The kitchen staff prepares over 105,000 meals every week to feed both crew and staff. As part of this, 300,680 desserts, 234,000 appetizers, and 69,000 steaks are consumed per week. (per Wikipedia) Now that's a lot of food!

We arrived at the port around 11:30 a.m. Talk about coordinated chaos! But the crew at the pier were very efficient and before long our luggage was dropped off for loading onto the ship and we were inside the main terminal checking in and getting our SeaPass cards. Passengers were allowed onto the ship in large groups and the time seemed to go very quickly before Group Six was called. Like cattle being herded, we made our way onto to the gangway and on board the Mariner of the Seas.

Our First Glimpse of the Ship from the Gangway

Once on board, all passengers are encouraged to head to the Windjammer Cafe on Deck 11 to enjoy lunch before the cabins are ready for passengers. Many people did just this as the cafe was very crowded and you had to wait for an open table. Others strolled around the Promenade (Deck 5) or went up to the Pool Deck (also on Deck 11).

Pool Area

After lunch, we headed down to the Guest Relations Desk. When the reservations for the cruise were made, we had requested to be seated in the main dining room with friends from Alaska. We found out that not only were we at separate tables, but separate dining times, too. Yikes! Not sure if it was our travel agent at fault or the cruise line. At any rate, we were instructed to talk to the head waiter to see about getting this corrected.

All I can say is WOW! I was totally impressed by the main dining room. Three levels of opulence with gold and crystal everywhere.

Main Dining Room (first and second levels)

Replicating the Sound of Music with a bronze statue of Maria and Captain Von Trapp

Our dinner seating arrangements fixed, we located our cabins (we were on Deck 7 and our friends on Deck 9) and then participated in the mandatory muster drill. After the disastrous wreck of the Costa Concordia in Italy two months earlier, the cruise lines made sure this was done before the ship even left the pier. Definitely a relief to this passenger! Then it was time to head up to the pool area for the Sail Away party.

Bye-bye, Galveston!

Passing the Ferry Terminal on the way out of Port

The Carnival cruise ship you see above left about thirty minutes before we sailed. It was turning around and then sat off to the side of the main channel as we passed by. We later learned from a crew member that they had a medical emergency and needed to evacuate a passenger. What a bummer. Hope the passenger was okay.

And off we sailed into the sunset!

Tomorrow - Day 2, At Sea

InSPIREd Sunday & Caribbean Cruise Week - Galveston

This week I will be sharing photos from a cruise I took in March, back when I wasn't in the mood to do any blogging. Maybe this was the start of me getting back to photography. Who knows. But I sure did enjoy myself.

Since the cruise left from Galveston bound for the Western Caribbean, I will start the week off in Galveston. We had a day to ourselves before the ship was set to sail and we took the opportunity to explore downtown Galveston.

This set of spires is from St. Mary Cathedral Basilica on corner of 21st and Church Streets. It was built in 1848 and in 1884, these towers were heightened to eighty feet to bring them into proportion with a central tower on the church and the crosses were added.

St. Mary Cathedral Basilica - Galveston, Texas