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Post by Whiterook on Mar 23, 2023 13:29:26 GMT -5
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Post by Whiterook on Mar 23, 2023 14:08:07 GMT -5
DAY 10 - Sunday, March 19, Sea DayI got nothing. It was a bit of a zoo, to be honest… it ended up being the last day the pool was open, but the temps were dropping as the day went on. People being bored, boozed… I mean, it was bad, with people doing endless loops of a Bar Crawl getting hammered. Entertainment got a bit lame and the ship personnel were basically trying to sell sell sell…I was seeing a LOT of $$$ flowing! We spent most of our time in the Spinnaker Lounge and later watched Armageddon in our cabin. DAY 11 - Monday, March 20, Sea DayI got less. People were basically bored out of their mind…the pool was closed, and entertainment was less. A lot of hungover people from the day and night before, that remedied the situation by boozing even more. There were empty liquor glasses EVERYWHERE! …the public restrooms left images in my mid that give me nightmares (no, really!). It was bad. I ended up buying myself a nice watch for my less than spectacular birthday  …but basically, we otherwise hid in out cabin, with brief forays for food. DAY 12 - Tuesday, March 21, Sea Day & New York City Arrival (Thank the Lord, Baby Jesus!). Port Hole Pics!    …those we’re among my favorite pics, as we sailed in around 6 am. Disembarking the ship was a little rough, but easier than embarking! We had a 2-hour wait (7-9am) to get our color called to get off the ship; we actually breezed through customs with no check (they made a big thing about declaring stuff, but I guess we looked harmless, haha). Trouble hit when we git to out bus pickup spot… the driver was supposed to be there at 9am (an hour earlier than scheduled, doe to the ship getting in early), but not only did he miss that time, but he did it by over an hour! …when he pulled in finally, he missed the TOTALLY OPEN space and had to exit out again, and go all the way to 5th Avenue to circle back (for those that don’t know, in NY traffic, that’s a shit long distance!). We had to wait in the freezing wind outdoors… I laid my suitcase on its side so Karen could sit down). Finally on the bus, we were sitting in the middle of the bus and a couple passengers in the back were hacking up their lungs…like continuously! I put my mask on, but Karen chose not too. Well. We got an email the next morning from the travel agent saying someone tested positive for COVID, so it’s a wait for thr weekend to see if we contracted it. Overall, there were some real beautiful moments at a couple ports… but the trip changed so drastically, TWICE, just before sailing that the islands we were most wanting to go to were cancelled… what was left was a bare hulk of what we signed up for. For us, it was a bit of a nightmare and a feeling of wasting a lot of money unnecessarily…but, we had an advent together without killing each other so, there’s that. Thanks for following along on this long post! These weren’t even all of the pics I took, but I tried to pick out the best ones.
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Post by mikeh on Mar 23, 2023 17:49:30 GMT -5
Sorry to hear your cruise was a bit of a dud. Those porthole pics are nice especially the ones of NY coming back into port. Sue and I are not drinkers either so I feel your pain with drunks everywhere. Tropical waters are beautiful, in Hawaii I would sit and just watch the water, I could sit for hours looking at not much in particular, just the ocean.
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Post by Whiterook on Mar 23, 2023 18:16:20 GMT -5
Sorry to hear your cruise was a bit of a dud. Those porthole pics are nice especially the ones of NY coming back into port. Sue and I are not drinkers either so I feel your pain with drunks everywhere. Tropical waters are beautiful, in Hawaii I would sit and just watch the water, I could sit for hours looking at not much in particular, just the ocean. Thanks, Mike… there were some very nice moments. One o forgot was the night we left the Aida behind in port… both ships’ passengers (including me) used our cell phone lights to waive Bon Voyage! …that was a very special moment. The stars at night are spectacular, with no light source obstructing. And gazing at the sea has always been magical to me, as I’m a Pisces and from an ocean State, so I dod a lot of ocean gazing… the Caribbean is just phenomenal to look at. Having Karen alongside me definitely helped, even when we got snappy at this or that, LOL! |
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Post by josta59 on Mar 25, 2023 11:01:32 GMT -5
Wow, that's a lot of ups and downs! Glad to hear it wasn't all bad. I can certainly understand the complaints, and you make me hope all my future cruises are as good as my past cruises. It does look like you had some really good times, too. You got to see places I haven't seen, and they look incredible.
My wife and I cruised to San Juan and Saint Martin a few years ago and had a great time. We've talked seriously about moving to Sint Maarten someday, the Dutch side. The Netherlands is one of the top ten freest countries in the world according to the Heritage Foundation and places far ahead of the good ol' USA, so I think I'd enjoy living in Dutch country.
I drink like a fish on cruises--I think it's half the fun--but I like to think I hold my alcohol really well. My mama taught me to clean up after myself, too.
I'll be flying to San Juan in a few weeks to meet my wife there for the weekend. Let me know if there's a place there I should really visit!
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Post by Whiterook on Mar 25, 2023 14:29:49 GMT -5
Wow, that's a lot of ups and downs! Glad to hear it wasn't all bad. I can certainly understand the complaints, and you make me hope all my future cruises are as good as my past cruises. It does look like you had some really good times, too. You got to see places I haven't seen, and they look incredible. My wife and I cruised to San Juan and Saint Martin a few years ago and had a great time. We've talked seriously about moving to Sint Maarten someday, the Dutch side. The Netherlands is one of the top ten freest countries in the world according to the Heritage Foundation and places far ahead of the good ol' USA, so I think I'd enjoy living in Dutch country. I drink like a fish on cruises--I think it's half the fun--but I like to think I hold my alcohol really well. My mama taught me to clean up after myself, too. I'll be flying to San Juan in a few weeks to meet my wife there for the weekend. Let me know if there's a place there I should really visit! Thanks! I do have some excellent memories and I try to always find the silver linings …I think this was also, a matter of a trip we weren’t ready for physically, and too many things going wrong. In San Juan, definitely should check out the big fort! A lot of history and from what I’ve read, a must see! The sunsets are some of t(e best I’ve ever seen in my life. Waiting to see if we caught COVID… some folks in the back of the bus were hacking up their lungs on the four hour ride from NYC to home. I wore my mask, but Karen didn’t wear hers…she woke up not feeling great this morning. “Roh Roh”, as Scooby would say! |
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McCoy
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Post by McCoy on Mar 25, 2023 16:05:56 GMT -5
So sort of "hell on the high seas" for you n' Karen. Those cruises is big tourist traps and it's plus if you're a heavy drinker on such a cruise, if not prepared to be bored to hell n' eternity as the waves roll by you one by one. I say "Always pack a suficient amount of books for any trip that you do!".
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McCoy
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Post by McCoy on Mar 25, 2023 16:08:20 GMT -5
Back to your normal self I see... |
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Post by Whiterook on Mar 25, 2023 16:27:36 GMT -5
So sort of "hell on the high seas" for you n' Karen. Those cruises is big tourist traps and it's plus if you're a heavy drinker on such a cruise, if not prepared to be bored to hell n' eternity as the waves roll by you one by one. I say "Always pack a suficient amount of books for any trip that you do!". …you nailed that, Urb! I think I had somewhere around seven or eight alcoholic drinks the whole week and a half, so I squandered my drink package of $15 free (they add 20% tip to everything, so all my drinks went a dollar and a half+ over that free amount!)! That was one Stella Artois beer and all the rest cocktails… I’m not a big drinker so, that was a lot! I did get to try about four of those as new ones I’d never had before, so that was cool! Yeah, there were times I was so bored, I wanted to jump overboard just for the excitement! I had my Kindle Oasis and a postcard game with me, but I was generally too annoyed to get much use from them. Luckily, I adore the ocean so, I did a LOT of stare and dreaming. Food was OK… I think the days of great cruise cuisine are long dead. The pool and hot tub definitely helped considerably… as too, the thongs! Back to your normal self I see... LOL, you got that right, hahaha! Actually, since retiring, I’ve found the old Goofy Em finding his way back into my life! …it’s a good thing! |
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McCoy
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Post by McCoy on Mar 25, 2023 17:01:25 GMT -5
LOL, you got that right, hahaha! Actually, since retiring, I’ve found the old Goofy Em finding his way back into my life! …it’s a good thing! That's what you need. Let the "idiot" in you roam free again... |
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…but basically, we otherwise hid in out cabin, with brief forays for food.
