The world stayed home

We booked this cruise for the friends who had already booked. We haven’t had good experiences on the previous 2 NCL cruises but due to the friends and itinerary we went for it.

The staterooms on NCL are smaller than those on Royal or Princess so we upgraded to a mini suite which is about the size of a regular balcony on other lines. This particular ship has a European design to the rooms where the toilet is on one side in a plastic chamber and the shower/tub on the other. The sink is out in the room itself…so you gotta step out of the shower into the room…odd. I understand they stopped designing them this way.

Our embarkation was a breeze as we arrived for check into the port about an hour before we were supposed to. There was absolutely no line and we got straight onto the ship. There was the usual back up at the elevators of course but otherwise pretty smooth getting on.

Our rooms were open within a few hours and our bags were delivered very quickly. We have a late sale and our muster drill was delayed by 30 minutes so there was quite a bit of confusion as a muster station that was a dining room needed to be cleared out for the diners it was hot it was crowded and tempers were starting to flare.

Our first day on the ship and everyone is up at the pool; the buffet was very crowded in the morning and the pool extremely crowded the elevators although you have to wait a bit or not too bad.

#Aruba

There were rain showers the morning we took an open air bus to our catamaran snorkel trip. We got some nice rainbow photos 🙂  This was our second time on this same excursion. They start right by the Hyatt and the first stop is a deep water ship wreck snorkel. It was windy and the water choppy so I didn’t bother snorkeling on this stop. The second stop was shallow and near a reef, so I took my brothers go-pro out. It was a bit cloudy, so not all that clear – but I did capture the school of fish that surrounded me

The boat had a rope swing and slide that I watched others emjo. They served rum punch and little chicken salad or tuna sandwiches – I took a bite and threw the rest in the garbage… I noticed there was a line of folks for the garbage.

We dined at Cagney’s Steakhouse – a specialty restaurant with an upcharge with 40 of our cruise friends.  We spread out across multiple tables and the whole experience took about 3 hours.  The filet tasted good, but I was exhausted by the time it arrived and no longer hungry from the bread and starters.

#Curaçao

We started out to taxi over to Mambo Beach.  The taxi drivers quote you a price for a shared ride, but you need to wait for others.  I was willing to pay extra for a private taxi, which they were reluctant to give – just then some people from our group showed up and we filled up a mini van and headed out from the port.  The beach at Mambo was crowded as usual, and we found our group way down at the end.  I was disappointed in the “nachos” which seemed to be chips with a can of chili dumped on them.  The food on the ship had been tasteless and I was hoping for a fish taco but alas…. no.

Mambo Beach

View from bridge

Mambo Beach bar

Mambo Beach Bar hammocks

Curacao

Video of ship leaving Curacao

We headed back to the ship early for the NFL Playoff games.  I had intended to watch my SF 49ers vs Green Bay Packers with a bunch of friends, but the earlier AFC Game had all the available public area seating already taken, so we watched it from the comfort of our oh so small twin beds – situated exactly 2 inches from each other in an extremely lame curved built in “bed” area which makes traveling with a non-romantic room mate very uncomfortable.  The 49ers won and I went to sleep one happy girl.  I updated the dollar store magnetic white board on my stateroom door with “Quest for Six” – referencing that the 49ers already have 5 Super Bowl Championships.

#Bonaire

We were only in port from until 12:30 pm, so we booked an excursion through the cruise line.  We went on an aquaspace adventure.  A glass hulled vessel which Jacques Cousteau had used to film 2 documentaries.  It was originally built to track whales, but it was discovered that whales go faster and deeper than the vessel could go.

History of Aquaspace

We all made our way down below for a view of the reef.   It made for a nice way for elderly people who could not snorkel or scuba to enjoy the marine life.  The reef wasn’t very active when we went out – it was very windy and the water choppier than it was normally.  The glass was a bit scratched up, and it was hot downstairs, so I went up top with the crew and enjoyed some alone time while we sailed along “Baby Bonaire” where the good snorkeling is… apparently you just need to take a ferry over.

Video while sailing along:

We had only 16 people on board and most of them didn’t care to snorkel, but I brought my stuff so decided to jump in.  There were pretty blue fish and it was really clear – but too rough and I kept getting water in my snorkel and couldn’t catch my breath.  Once I realized I had jumped in without the go-pro, I decided to climb back on board. I’ve had a history of getting sea sickness when attempting to re-enter a boat during choppy conditions.  I was grateful I was back on board without incident.

We had planned to see the Priscilla Queen of the Desert show but the cruise line had cancelled it for “technical” reasons and rescheduled us to another time where we were already busy.  Another NCL disappointment.

#St. Lucia

We were late getting into St. Lucia and I was meeting my friend who was also vacationing there.  I made friends with the Shore Excursion guy who was near the stairs for disembarkation so that he didn’t make me stand in a line… a line that had formed a good 10-15 minutes after I had already been standing near the stairs.  I was indeed one of the first of the 4000 passengers off the ship to meet my excited friend who had a day all planned out.

First stop was Marjories’ at a remote beach – they served us Rum Punch and BBQ Chicken. I was so excited to eat real food!  We watched people ride horses in the water and had a great time catching up with my friend.

Link to Marjories Restaurant on Trip Advisor

We went to see the beach where my friend’s boat had recently sunk, a very nice bay at Gross Islet with a view of Rodney Bay resorts as the sun was going down.  It was a bit too cold in the shade… all a result of our late arrival.

We were stuck in rush hour traffic in transit to my friend’s time share… we took a little ferry and then up a funicular lift to the top for a beautiful view of Marigot Bay – where they have a perfect hammock.

My friend’s friends were extremely gracious hosts and prepared us a sunset dinner on the beach, which of course we had missed the sunset. They made fish with a wonderful sauce, some rice and fried bananas.  It was delicious… we barely had time to finish before the nicest taxi driver ever waited for us on the other side of the and drove us back to the port.  We looked at pictures of his incredibly cute baby and were given genuine, loving hugs good bye.

If you find yourself in St. Lucia and need transportation

Nigel’s Taxi Service Link

St. Lucia Hospitality

#Barbados

Another rainy day – we had planned a front row chair with umbrella at Harbor Lights – complete with a turtle snorkel trip.  I signed up for the very first snorkel trip.  They take you out in a boat for about 10 minutes and then ask you to go off the slide to snorkel.. they say they will take you to the turtle spot next.  Before everyone on the boat had a chance to get in the water, they called folks back in out of the way of a pirate boat that was arriving full of tourists.  Off to the next stop, they hurried too many people off the boat for the snorkel with turtles, which meant they started feeding the turtles from the back of the boat where everyone was trying to get into the water creating a traffic jam.  It was chaos and I felt sorry for the turtle.  I saw a stingray on the bottom and hoped it would stay there.  I managed back through the crowd to the boat and back to my front row chair to leave behind my snorkel gear.  I bobbed up and down in the incredibly warm water for a while in the rain before deciding to go back to the ship and take a nap.

Harbour Lights Barbados

#St.Kitts

We traveled by “Party Bus” to Friar’s beach, which was of course, very choppy. Much more choppy than normal they say.  The party on the bus was just that they play music and serve sticky rum punch.. exactly one cup.  If you want another you bounce your way to the back of the bus and spill most of it before you return.  Most people were singing along to the music and in a party mood on the way to the beach.  Every once in a while the driver would interrupt the music for some facts .. which nobody cared about and talked over

Party Bus Link

Once at the beach, I allowed a man to put a diapered monkey on my head and gave him $10 to take a picture of it, with my own camera. 

I put my stuff on the chair and headed directly for the water – I knew I would not be able to manage a rum punch and jump over waves at the same time.  I was grateful for my water socks – St. Kitts typically has rocky beaches.

I had a 20 minute aloe massage on the beach which was perfect relaxation.

The party bus on the way back was much more subdued and crowded due to some folks missing their earlier bus.

Bob & Elvis Party Bus

My friend said her daughter wouldn’t believe she was here so here’s video proof:

We enjoyed the Cirque Dreams and Dinner – another specialty dining with an upcharge.  We had premium seating but were seated up above the action – circus actors came around for photos during the dinner course, which was a fixed menu with filet mignon.  They had acrobats and a guy balancing a bunch of glasses on a knife on his teeth.  It was cool, but you only need to do this once.

Link to NCL photo of acrobats

#Tortola, BVI

The original plan was to take the cruise line excursion to Jost Van Dyke, Home of the Soggy Dollar Bar.  Our friends were all excited about this highlight of our vacation.   We received a notice of cancellation on our first day of the cruise – due to the tour provider – we heard it was wind related.  So, no problem… I booked a snorkel tour to Virgin Gorda that included a swim into Virgin Gorda.  I waited around all morning for the excursion -to find out at 12:30 that there is a red flag warning and there’s no swimming allowed at Virgin Gorda.  Ok, darn… well, I could go to a beach, after waiting a considerable time for our driver we realized we wouldn’t get much time at the beach – so it turned into a port people watching drinking day.

#St. Thomas

Our final stop.  We took a taxi to Coki beach, which was of course choppy.   The taxi driver hooked us up with his lady who sells chairs/umbrellas and then of course her lady that does the drinks/food.  We have learned that things are very territorial at Coki Beach.  There was quite a rip tide and so I was getting out of the water in order to travel back down the beach and let the tide carry me back down again, when I got knocked over by a wave and got into the whitewater, just like when I was a kid and used to body surf… only this time, I hit my head and didn’t hold onto my hat and prescription sunglasses.  I enlisted the help of a nearby snorkeler to search for my glasses, but they are long gone – into the Caribbean sea… thankfully on my last day of vacation.

Coki Beach Video:

Disembarking in San Juan was pretty easy.   We did the Cruise Transfer to the airport.  The confusion was in getting the transfer letter and luggage tags to the customers rooms.  A call to member services suggests that you wait till 7 and then come stand in line if they are not received.  I stood in line anyway, and then they gave me the letter for someone else.. wrong name!  I went to the front of the line the next time.  They had a lot of frustrated people in the line for various reasons, but many were there for confusions on transfers and late luggage tags.

Overall, the NCL Epic food was horrible.  It was tasteless… over cooked and then served cold.  In the main dining room, I attempted to get a shrimp cocktail appetizer when it wasn’t on the menu, something that other cruise lines do with a smile – they acted like I was ridiculous.  I was, however – able to get a baked potato instead of mashed.  In the buffet there were the same choices every day.  The scrambled eggs didn’t taste like eggs at all.  The oatmeal was good… as was the individual yogurts.  Lunch choices were standard pizza, burgers and hot dogs in the garden café.  The other venues were acceptable but not spectacular.  Everyone was raving about the Asian noodle place, but when my chicken came (way later than everyone else’s entrée) it was grey and didn’t look like chicken.  The fried chicken was good in the “Taste” restaurant and the BBQ Chicken wings were ok at “O’ Sheenans”.



Our family trip up to Yosemite was planned to avoid the Memorial Day crowds, but we ended up with Fathers Day weekend.  It is rare, but we were able to reserve the same camp site for 3 nights.    The waterfalls were very full, and our favorite spot for tea in

Happy Isles was next to white water rapids which we have never seen so full

Mariposa Grove is about an hours drive from Yosemite Valley.  It has undergone massive improvements since our last visit.  The parking lot was moved with shuttle access into the grove.  This will give the roots a chance – tourists were picnicking on top of these beautiful old growth shallow roots – the parking lot itself was destroying the trees.  It’s really a great improvement with walkways to keep the foot traffic raised up above the root structures.

The Mariposa Redwoods are massive

Bridalveil Fall as seen from across the Merced

Half Dome from Upper Pines Campground

Lower Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls

We opted to fly Southwest for this trip, as we had credit on the airlines.  There is no direct flight, and no assigned seats – but you get 2 bags to fly for free while boarding in groups. It wasn’t too bad – on one leg I had a young man around maybe 11 who was riding alone who fell asleep on my shoulder

Our pre-cruise meet up party was at the Hard Rock Café and Casino – The did a pretty good job accommodating the crush of 100 single cruisers over 50.

We stayed pre-cruise at the Crowne Plaza in Ft. Lauderdale, as we had been there for a prior cruise and the beds were comfortable.  They offer a shuttle to the pier but I’m pretty sure an Uber is cheaper. Our uber driver got lost on the way to the pier

The Caribbean Princess is a Medallion Class ship and we were sent our medallions which are used instead of card key for room entrance, ordering drinks etc.  They have an Ocean Ready application for the smart phone and you can order drinks from anywhere on the ship and the staff can find you with your medallion.  (Yes, they can track you)  I ordered the premium drinking package and internet package so that I would not feel deprived.

We booked a balcony stateroom aft on deck 14 – close to the Terrace Pool and Bar at the back of the ship.

Princess Cays, Bahamas was our first port of call.  I had pre-reserved a clam shell just to be sure I had a reserved lounge chair with shade based on past experiences at private islands.  I didn’t want to have to rush off the ship to be the first ones grabbing chairs.

Monday was a sea day and time for a poker crawl. We were part of a fun group with four balconies in a row.

Tuesday the ship docked around noon in St. Thomas and a group of us took Taxi’s to Coki Beach where they serve tropical drinks in the water. I brought my snorkel gear and really enjoyed the beautiful fish along the reef. No turtle sightings but there was an iguana on the beach

We took the Tram up to Paradise Point for a good view of the sunset, since the ship was late in dock. They are famous for their mudslide type frozen drink the bushwhacker… I only made it half way through, likely due to the earlier libations at Coki beach

Wednesday we called on St. Maarten with it’s beautiful blue water.  The group excursion was a snorkel trip on a Catamaran. The drinks were flowing and snorkelling was good but not great – our guide was feeding the fish and I prefer natural reef to sunken objects and man made reefs.

We had 2 days at sea before returning to Fort Lauderdale. One day was my actual birthday so I took 2 naps before formal night. The final sea Day we hosted another party on our combined balconies and had a lot of fun.

When we disembarked the Caribbean Princess we signed up for an excursion with the ship.

We toured the everglades in Ft. Lauderdale

We stayed at the Riverside Hotel in the heart of town, and expected to Enjoy the water taxi to have a stop nearby. The weekends that we were enjoying Fort Lauderdale. There was also a spring break music festival so the water taxis were all busy. Since we were already in the wonderful tourist area we enjoyed walking through the shops and drinking tropical drinks near the river. We even managed to find ourselves a wine bar, go figure.

10 day Southern Caribbean from Miami

Curacao

Mambo Beach in Curacao

Bonaire salt flats

7 days out of San Juan, Puerto Rico

St Lucia – we took a dolphin safari

Antigua – we drank rum punch at the beach.

St Kitts – we swam with dolphins

St Thomas – we went to Trunk Bay, St John it had been hit hard by Hurricanes