Caribbean Cruise 2013

We are posting this blog post a year late.

This cruise was taken in April of 2013. We are getting ready for the next cruise and I thought I'd better get this posted first.

Caribbean Cruise       March 27, 2013

We are going on another Caribbean Cruise to chill and relax. We will be visiting St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Antigua and Princess Cay. We have done this itinerary before, but want a cruise where beaches and relaxation are our primary goal. We missed Barbados the first time around because I got a cold and needed to go to the medical dept. for treatment.

We will be cruising on the Emerald Princess.  This will be the fourth time that we will be on the Emerald.

Fort Lauderdale Inlet

March 27, 2013

We arrived at the ship at 1:00 and embarkation was very fast despite the long lines of people waiting to take their first Princess cruise. We put our carry ons in the cabin and promptly screwed up the safe while trying to load it. Security came up to the room and problem was solved. 

We were so pleased to find the old comfy furniture on our Caribe deck balcony.

We lunched at the International  Cafe and got a new coffee card, compliments of our travel agent.

We came back and unpacked after the muster drill. We watched sail away from our balcony this time. It was a beautiful day but chilly.

We dined in the Michelangelo dining room for dinner. I had prime rib and Joe had Hawaiian pork. We ate with 2 women from Toronto and a couple from Florida. We enjoyed their company and the service of our waiter and assistant.

We went to the welcome aboard show and then came back to the cabin to call it a night.

Seas are very comfortable.

March 28, 2013

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day with nice seas but the temp hovered around 70. We had breakfast at the International cafe. We had mcmuffins(their rendition):)We did some shopping but nixed the t shirts. We went to the cruise sales office and booked the Royal for a 26 day TA covering the Baltics.

Had  lunch on deck from the buffet and then went to see Argo. Excellent movie.

After cookies and coffee, we sat on the balcony and relaxed.

We had dinner in Michalangelo dining room. I had coq au van and Joe had beef medallions. 

We saw a comic named Al Katz. He was enjoyable. 

March 29,2013

We had breakfast in the dining room with a couple from Tennesee and a couple from Edmonton Canada. 

We went to trivia in Club Fusion and only got 5 out of 20 correct. 

Today is overcast and cool. Not a pool day. We watched activities in the piazza and then had lunch in the dining room. It is a great help for portion control. 

We saw the movie Lincoln today since the weather was a bust.Very moving story. 

Tonight was formal night and we sat with people from Texas and Naples Fl.

We had French onion soup, crab quiche appetizers and roast lamb for dinner.

Afterwards we went to see I Got The Music in Me. We have seen it before, but enjoyed the leads much more than last time.

Tomorrow we are in Antigua and if the weather cooperates we will have a beach day.

March 30, 2013

RAIN- Antigua

Most tours were cancelled. We were on one that was for the beach and they refunded the cost. We are now on the balcony waiting for the weather to break so that we can explore the shops. The last time we were here, we toured the island and saw the sights. It is a pretty island and the beaches are nice. We are happy that we already experienced the island and that the only thing left to do is browse the shops.

We have been spoiled by great Caribbean weather on all our past Caribbean cruises so we are not letting this bit of weather ruin our day.

The rain finally let up so we went out to the shops by the dock. We bought a Caribbean plate for the kitchen and headed back to the ship. I caught up on some reading while Joe catnapped on the balcony.After lunch in the Horizon, we went to the aft pool and froze our butts in the super cold water. Of course it started raining again, so we sat at the pool bar undercover from the weather and had a Piña Colada and a Frozen Strawberry Daquiri. 

We had dinner at the Crown Grill tonight and they brought us a little anniversary cake. The waiter and his assistant sang to us. They really had good voices.We then went to vigil mass conducted by FR Shawn Smith.

We went to see  What a Swell Party and then saw a comic musician . His imitation of Elton John was pretty good.

Storm Clouds

Picture stop while shopping

March 31, 2013 Easter Sunday

We had glorious weather in St. Lucia today to make up for yesterday's rain. We took a tour of a Batik shop, St. Marks estate with lovely views of the harbor and Marigot Bay. Our last stop was a rum distillery tour with samples:)

When we returned to the ship, we ate at the grill by the pool and then took a dip in the Terrace pool.

We dined in Michalangelo and then went to listen to some jazz.

Then we were entertained by the fab faux 4 Beatlemaniacs. Once again the show had everyone up and singing and dancing. I swear we moved the ship.

Emerald Princess in the harbor

Marigot Bay

View from St. Marks

Carnival costumes

April 1, 2013

Arrived in Barbados today to beautiful weather. We went to Carlisle Beach for the morning. Lovely sand and clear blue water. It was an easy walk  in and out with no drop offs or rocks. We ate lunch in the International Cafe and then I did some laundry. Had dinner in dining room and the went to see a comic named Scott Harris. His jokes were based on the past and the way it is different today. made some good points.

Afterwards, we went to Club Fusion and sang along with the Beatle Maniacs.

Carlisle Bay Barbados

Chillaxin

April 2 ,2013

Today we are in St. Kitts and the weather is once again delightful. We took a short sightseeing trip to Timothy Hill and it still is a breathtaking view. Then we went to a beach far from the ship and civilization called Cockleshell Beach. The view of Nevis across from the beach was worth the trip. The beach however was not to our taste. The sand was coarse and the walk in to the water had a drop off and was rocky and shelly. 

We ate in the Horizon tonight and  went to see Boogie Shoes.We then went to see Snow White and the Huntsman on Muts.

Nevis looking across from St. Kitts

St. Kitts

St. Kitts Pier

April 3,2013

Today we are in St. Thomas. We have been here many times but this is the first time we are docked in Havensight. We decided to take a tour of the island and Blackbeards fort and take some pictures that aren't 8mm.That's how long it has been since we took pictures on St. Thomas. We always repeat St. Johns when we are here.

It was one helluva roller coaster ride! The driver was insane!! We got great shots and then we toured Blackbeards by walking down hill 99 steps back to town. We stopped in RJ's for a cold drink and then caught our boat ride back to the dock.

We ate in the dining room and went to see the Canadian comic again with a new show.

Lights out early tonight!

New way to jet ski

Wishing this was Johnny Depp!

View from the top of Bluebeards Castle

April 4,2013

Another sunny day and good seas.We slept in, went to the chefs show and went to the pool.

Tonight was formal night and our dinner partners were interesting.

We went and saw Disco, Blame it on the Boogie.

April 5, 2013

We are anchored off Princess Cay on a mostly cloudy day. We went ashore for a half hour. The water has lots of rock and we didn't go in. They started using the clam shell covers through out the beach and if you use the provided shade, your view of the water is obstructed.

Came back to the ship and swam in the pool, had virgin Pina Coladas and Strawberry Daquiris then went to lunch. The time had come that all cruisers dread.....the luggage pad was on the bed. Time to pack.

We are deciding to walk off the ship with our luggage this time. Joe can piggy back the two large suitcases.We can leave at 7:30. If we waited for our deck to go, it would be close to 11:00.

After dinner, we went to see the crew show. It is always a fun event and tonight had some great entertainers in the crew. 

Paris, France

                                                                                        

June 18, 2012  Paris, France

Today we arrived in Le Havre to cloudy skies but mild temperatures. We chose to return to Paris for the second time and picked an excursion that would take us to the Cathedral of Notre Dame. On our first visit, we took a trip down the River Seine on a  boat that was a dining room for lunch. We were not near windows and the glass top had shades drawn to keep out the sun. It did not have a deck to walk around and take pictures, which was a major disappointment. This time, we made sure we would see Paris.

The bus tour of the city was excellent with picture stops. If we could not stop in some places, the driver found a way to slow down and then go back the other way for the people on the  other side of the bus. Our guide was very good and spoke English very well. We had a delightful lunch at Chez Jenny and then went to Notre Dame.

The cathedral is huge!  There are many gargoyles on the roof line and majestic stain glass windows in the two towers on the front of the church. There was a  choir concert going on as we toured the interior and they set the mood for our tour.It was a fantastic end to our cruise.

The British Isles shined bright on this trip despite the clouds and cool weather. The cruise itself was not one of our best . Problems with the dining room both food and service and the lost ports, were a disappointment. We still had good entertainment and enjoyed ourselves. 

Now back to reality……laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning and planning the next cruise :)

                                                                                            Notre Dame

A view through the base of the Eiffel Tower

                                                                       

June 16, 2012 

This is the day we had to miss Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a tender port and it was too rough to load the tenders to take us to shore. This was our second missed port and made for some unhappy campers. But safety of the passengers trumps any disappointment we may have. 

We watched two good movies. One was "My Week with Marilyn" and the other was "The War Horse". Today is another sea day and we will start packing. We will be touring Paris tomorrow and it will be a long day.I don't want to worry about packing when we get back. We fly home the next morning. I will finish my blog from home.

June 15, 2012  Invergordon, Scotland

After a lazy day at sea, we arrived in Invergordon, Scotland. Our weather continues to be cloudy with peeks of sun and temperatures in the upper 50s. So far, the showers do not fall until we are on the bus headed back to the ship.

The scenery today is as lovely as yesterday and we took an excursion to Cawdor Castle, the ruins of Urquhart Castle and the legendary Loch Ness.

The Cawdor Castle is the seat of the Earls of Cawdor and the home of the Countess Cawdor. We saw a documentary about this castle on the Travel channel prior to this trip. It is in marvelous condition, not only as a residence, but as a fortress. We had a nice lunch in a hotel in Inverness and then went on to Urquhart  Castle. This castle was plundered by the MacDonald Clan and later destroyed  during the Jacobite Rebellion. There is a legend that a cave below the ruins is the home of Nessie" :)

Did we see Nessie? Of course!! :)

The ride back to the ship was uncomfortable because the driver put a fan blowing warm air on when the passengers requested air. When we arrived at the pier, there was a long line waiting to go through security. The winds were in excess of 35mph and it was no more than 50 degrees. The crew only had one entrance open for boarding in this weather. On other days there are always 2. 

                                                                                 Cawdor Castle

Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness

June 13, 2012 Glasgow, Scotland

We brought the luck of the Irish to Scotland it seems, for the sun greeted us as we crossed the River Clyde on a ferry to Holy Loch. A loch is what the Scots call a lake.

It was a partly cloudy day with just enough sun to make the day comfortable for sightseeing. The Scottish Highlands are awesome and our tour along the Loch provided a day filled with wonderful sights. 

We visited Inverary Castle which is the home of the current Duke of Argyle. He lives on the third floor with his wife and children. He opened the doors to the public to raise funds to maintain the exquisite  antiques and paintings dating back to the 1700s.

Some of the people on our tour met him in the gift shop. He must be quite the charmer because they were quite taken with him.

We did not go in the shop because we wanted to get some exterior photos of the castle. We were not permitted to take interior pictures so I'll just say the rooms were beautiful.

After lunch we drove to Loch Lomond and visited a town called Luss, where residents come on holiday to enjoy the loch.

                                                                        

                                                                                   Crossing the River Clyde

                                                                                  

The Bonnie Banks  of Holy Loch

Inverary Castle

View from Inverary Castle

Bonnie banks of Loch Lomond

June 12,2012  Belfast, North Ireland

Today we took an excursion to Londonderry, the only walled city remaining in the British Isles. We learned a great deal about the conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants and although things appear to be peaceful at this time, there are signs of tension still visible.

The Irish country side is absolutely beautiful in North Ireland as well as the south. Londonderry,or Derry as the locals prefer, is in a valley beneath the Donegal Hills.They don't call them mountains here. We walked the walls steeped in History and visited an Anglican church called Columbs Cathedral. The tour ended with lunch and shopping.

The Wall of Londonderry

gate to the wall

Londonderry from the wall

Columbs Cathedral

June 11, 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Today we visited Dublin under sunny skies and comfortable temperatures.It was quite a contrast from our countryside tour yesterday. We took a city tour with visits to Trinity College and St. Patrick's Cathedral. 

St. Patricks is an Anglican Church and is the National Church of Ireland. The writer

Jonathan Swift was Dean of St. Patrick's in the 1700's and is buried in the church. Although we visited Trinity College, we did not get to see the Book of Kells. The book is an 8th century text of 4 gospels written in Latin and illustrated by the Monks at the Kells Monastery. 

Samuel Becket Bridge

Statues representing the Great Famine

St. Patrick's Cathedral

                                                      

Trinity College

View of Dublin