Wednesday, January 25 - Barbados

Welcome to Barbados…I’m sure this same photo is in the albums of many previous cruisers. The building behind the sign is full of little shops…the touristy kind you find at most cruise ship docks.

Today’s plan was to do a catamaran cruise with Shasa. The email directions said to walk through the shop area, go outside and someone will be there to meet us at at 9:30. At exactly 9:30 a van pulled up and off we went. There were two other couples from the ship with us in the van…and one other couple who was staying on the island that met us at the beach…a total of 12.

The van driver gave us a mini-tour on the way to the beach where we were to get on the catamaran. Here is our group waiting on the catamaran to pull up to the beach.

Can you believe the color of that water!

Within just a few minutes, the catamaran arrived…

Julian…the first mate…waded into shore and had us all remove our shoes and put them in a basket. To get on the boat we had to wade out a few feet and then “jump” up onto the back of the catamaran. The boat was bobbing up and down with the waves and by timing your jump to when the boat dropped, it wasn’t as hard to get on as I had anticipated.

The front part of the catamaran was shaded so I was glad I was the first to board. The six of us in our group took up the bench seats in the front of the boat along with one other couple. The other four sat…or rather laid…on the back of the catamaran in the sun.

In order to not waste any time getting to where we would snorkel with the sea turtles, Jason (the captain) used the motor on the catamaran. As soon as we were on the way, Jason offered drinks to any who wanted something…pop, beer, water, or rum punch. When we arrived there were only one or two other small boats in the area. Our group had our own snorkel equipment, but there was equipment available for those that needed it. Jason also had snorkeling vests which one of the other couples used.

The depth of the water where we snorkeled was maybe 15 feet…I have a hard time judging distance. In my mind it doesn’t matter if it is 6 feet or 60 feet…either way the water would be over my head! It amazes me how buoyant salt water makes a person (especially those of us with our own built in flotation devices…fat!) Even without a snorkel vest I was able to float with no effort at all.

Julian got into the water with us and as he chummed the water, more and more turtles showed up. They had no fear of us and were just interested in getting the food that Julian was throwing out. I was behind Kim and she actually had her foot on one of the turtles at one point! She said it surprised her because she knew the water was deep but yet was surprised that she could touch the bottom…not realizing that she was actually stepping on the turtle!

I am sorry that I didn’t take my Canon D10 camera in the water to get some photos of the turtles…I just wanted to enjoy the experience and not worry about the camera. Lowell had a disposable, but the photos aren't great.

Jason had put a ladder on the side of the boat and climbing it to get back in was just a bit of a challenge. (Remember I am an out of shape 50+ something lady.) If a person has any type of mobility issues this would be something to consider.

By the time we had finished snorkeling with the turtles quite a few other boats had showed up. In this photo you can see the Calabaza catamaran and others. 

I had checked into Calabaza prior to booking with Shasa. You can probably see from the photo that their catamaran is much larger and they still only take 12 guests. In the end the cost was what swayed me to book with Shasa…$80 each instead of $110. 

For the extra $30 each you would get more space, a nicer catamaran, steps into the water instead of a ladder, and nicer bathroom facilities I’m sure. (Jason had a marine toilet that required climbing down into one of the pontoons and closing the top over your head…this was very cramped and dark.) Having said that…we all enjoyed our day with Shasa very much and would book with them again.

Here is Jim going "down" to use the potty!

Julian and Jason

After leaving the turtles, Jason took us to a place where we could swim over a reef…and then circle back to swim over a ship wreck. 

He stayed on the boat and Julian once again got in the water and swam with us…chumming the water which attracted a LOT of fish. 

It was a windy day and Nancy became sick from all of the bobbing up and down. I won’t begin to describe what happens when someone throws up in the water full of fish <yikes>  but you can probably imagine. Poor Nancy. Julian came to her aid right away and helped her get back to the boat. 

Nancy back on the catamaran...

While the rest of us continued our swim, Jason looked after Nancy…even giving her sea bands to wear to help the nausea. The swim turned out to be quite a long distance…especially in the rough water…but fun and interesting.

One of the couples had just booked the 3 hour snorkel trip…the rest of us had booked the 5 hour trip that included lunch. Jason put up the sails as he made his way back to the beach to drop them off. Along the way he showed us the hotel where Tiger Woods had gotten married.

Back at the beach, Julian helped the couple get off and then returned with an insulated bag. From there we sailed to a small beach and Jason anchored the catamaran. From Julian’s bag, they set out a small feast! Our meal included salad, cole slaw, macaroni pie, rice, flying fish, and chicken…all of it absolutely delicious!! With lunch and throughout the day Jason was constantly asking if anyone needed anything to drink. The rum punch was so good…

After eating, Jason gave us a chance to get into the water and swim…or just wander down the beach. Snowy Minnesota seemed a million miles away as we enjoyed paradise! 

Our day ended back at the beach where a van was waiting to take us back to the ship. (All transportation was included in the price.) 

FYI…as we walked back through the terminal building with all of the shops there were people everywhere using laptop computers…apparently you can access free wi-fi. I debated about grabbing my iPad and going back, but it was getting close to 4:30…the time that everyone had to be back onboard.

The evening went pretty much as I described in a previous post…showers, nap, dinner, show, casino, etc. Here is a photo of Remesto entertaining us at dinner that night…

Tuesday, January 24 - A Day at Sea

This route on the Victory used to have a “port-a-day” schedule. Due to Dominica being dropped from the itinerary, now Tuesday is a sea day. Just having a single sea day was the one (although minor) downside to this cruise. I enjoy the more relaxed days at sea.

In the morning we walked around the ship a bit…

And while Bob and our friends played miniature golf…

…I went to one of my favorite places…the deck outside the lobby. For much of the morning I felt like I had the world’s largest private balcony…I was the only one there! I read my book…and enjoyed just watching the ocean go by. 

If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful place to spend a sea day...this was it. No loud music...no chair hogs. Eventually a couple of other people showed up...but for the most part the deck was mine...all mine!!!

After lunch at the buffet the afternoon was spent watching some of the activities by the main pool. The hairy chest contest…and the ice carving.

It was a beautiful day and the chairs around the pool were all taken…some by real people…many by flip flops and towels. 

We finally found two chairs together where Bob and I and Jim and Kim sat “tandem”. There were two chairs sitting next to us that went unoccupied for over an hour. After being unused for that long, we moved the towels and took possession. After another half an hour the couple showed up. They didn’t say anything...most likely since being gone so long they had no way of knowing “who” really had moved the towels in the first place!

Tuesday was the first of two “elegant nights” on the ship. I can’t even begin to remember all of the food that waiter, Sam, brought to our table that night…but it included multiple lobster tails for the guys!! The guys also discovered that they REALLY like the hot chocolate and demonstrated the proper technique of holding their cups. From that night on, Remesto would bring at least 2 cups for each of them. 

Trying to walk along the Promenade Deck (deck 5) any evening was complicated because there were so many photographers with their backdrops set up. Instead of having professional photos taken, we used one of the lighted mosaic art pieces as our backdrop. The idea caught on, because when we were all done, others were waiting to do the same.

Jim and Kim love to do ballroom dancing. As we walked through the ship, if they heard music they liked, they would just stop and start dancing wherever they were...the casino, the lobby, etc.

This photo is not the greatest, but this was in the disco on elegant night when they had music for "couples and lovers". 

Victory Nights

Rather than including our night time activities on each daily post, I thought I would just lump them all together here in a single post. (In other words...I can't remember the details very well!)

After dinner our group of six sometimes hung together...sometimes we divided up. Jim & Lowell enjoyed playing blackjack in the casino and although gambling isn't something we usually do, we enjoyed watching them lose their money! To be fair...Jim ended the week a little ahead, but Lowell went home with empty pockets. Nancy sometimes joined in, but preferred donating her money to the slot machines.

Each evening we all would go to the evening show in the Caribbean Lounge. Here is the schedule for each night.

Sunday – No show due to late sail away.
Monday (10:15) – Welcome Aboard Show. Pretty much the same as we have seen on every Carnival ship.
Tuesday (7:00 & 9:00) – (Elegant Night) “City Lights”
Wednesday (7:00 & 9:00) – juggler Victor Zuniga…included a lot of comedy as well
Thursday (8:15 & 10:15) – (Elegant Night) “Vroom”
Friday (7:00 & 9:00) – Magician Rand Woodbury
Saturday (9:00) – Singer Christina Alfred (the female half of the Carnival vocal duo)
Saturday (10:15) – Carnival Legends (guests impersonating famous singers)

The shows were all OK. I know we had seen Vroom before…can’t remember if City Lights was a repeat or not. I liked the juggler…a lot of his show was comedy based. The magician I could do without. Not necessarily because he wasn’t good…I just don’t like magicians in general!

A couple of nights we went to the Punchliner Comedy Club which was held in the Adriatic Lounge at the back of the ship on deck 5. The first time we saw Happy Cole. This was an adult show and I felt like Happy was going out of his way to inject as many four-letter words into his routine as possible. Many of the topics were not even “adult” in nature and he was pretty funny…but the constant barrage of swear words detracted from the humor (in my opinion.) Unfortunately we never did make it back for one of his family friendly shows. I can’t remember the name of the other guy we saw. It was one of the family shows but the guy was just not that funny.

We made it to karaoke a couple of times but I never did get to see Superstar Live (karaoke with a live band.) It was usually held pretty late at night and with the busy port schedule we just couldn’t stay up late! I was sorry I missed it.

The regular karaoke was held in the Red & Black Lounge and usually drew a big crowd. One night there was a very drunken girl who pretty much took over and made a fool of herself. I felt bad for those trying to sing because she was constantly running up on stage and grabbing the microphone away from them or trying to “dance” on stage. The karaoke host did very little to try and stop her and actually played along with her which just made the situation worse. Sorry Jessica…you were not funny or cute.

I really wanted to spend time in the piano bar but it was ALWAYS empty. We never stuck around long enough to find out how bad the guy really was. Also…according to the Funtimes, the piano bar was supposed to be non-smoking. However...the times we did go in there were usually 3 or 4 people total…and they were smoking…one more reason we avoided the place.

One night Bob and I finished the evening off in the hot tub. Our plan was to use the hot tubs in the Serenity Area…but the whole place was roped off with a sign that said “no entrance due to high winds”.

We made our way to the hot tubs on the Lido instead.

The last evening of the cruise we did check out the movie on the big screen. We didn’t stay for all of it, but how cool is it to be watching “Pirates of the Caribbean” when you are sailing on the Caribbean Sea??

Some of the activities that we normally attend on a cruise but not this time due to the heavy port schedule...tea time, the past guest party and the farewell party. This was definitely a go, go, go type of week and I missed some of the “down time” we usually enjoy on a cruise.

Lastly…there were some evenings where Bob and I took some time to just get away from the crowds. We walked on the open deck and also used the “secret doors” to stand at the front of the ship feeling the wind in our faces as we sailed through the darkness. The only thing that would have made our time better...a full moon!

Monday, January 23 - St. Thomas

Welcome to beautiful St. Thomas! Docking here made me feel like I was in an episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous"! So many yachts!! And along with the yachts were several other cruise ships...a busy day in port for sure!

Today’s plan…scuba diving at Coki Beach for all but Kim and I. Lowell & Nancy had just completed the classroom and pool portion of becoming scuba certified but this would be their first open water dive…Jim was diving for the first time ever. Bob is a master scuba diver (with many different kinds of certifications) and would be joining the others on their “discovery dive.”

I had taken care of the arrangements for everything we did at the ports for this cruise. Knowing that everyone would be tired after traveling, I scheduled the dives for 10:30 am. This gave us time to have a leisurely breakfast in the MDR before heading to the beach. As we exited the ship, a guy was there coordinating taxi service. He showed us an open air taxi that was headed to Coki Beach and we waited until it filled up.

The cost of the taxi was $9/per person. Others that were with us were simply taking an island tour and the driver would point out things of interest as we drove through the island. When we arrived at Coki Beach we got off and the others continued on with the tour.

The four divers quickly found Peter from the Coki Beach Dive Club and started filling out the paper work. 

Kim and I planned to spend the day doing a little lounging on the beach and some snorkeling. We had our own snorkel gear, but spent $5 each to rent chairs. Umbrellas were available for $10 each but after seeing that shade was available we decided it wasn’t necessary. 

We were at the end of Coki Beach near Coral World and the snorkeling wasn’t too bad. There were a lot of fish…but not a huge variety of types. With several cruise ships in port that day, the beach was pretty crowded.

The divers spent some time going through the basics and then suited up for the dive.

And into the water they went...

And while the others were diving, Kim and I snorkeled.

When we were ready to head back to the ship, there were taxis waiting. We hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast so we grabbed a bite to eat at the buffet. Bob, Kim and I then got back off the ship and did a little shopping in the stores by the pier. My only purchase was a small, over the shoulder purse that I used in the evenings on the ship to hold a few things…my other small camera, my S & S card, a comb, etc.

After our little shopping trip we returned to the ship, showered and took a nap before dinner. With so many port days, this became our ritual each afternoon.

Tonight was our first night having dinner at our assigned table (#634) at the back of the upper level of the Pacific dining room. I had checked our table location the night before and was pleased to find out that we were by a window. Unfortunately with early seating the sun was setting about the time we got to the dining room so for most of our meal it was dark outside. 

Being so far back on the upper level we missed out on some of the “action” when the waiters performed…but the great service we got from our waiters more than made up for that. Our headwaiter was “Sam” from Thailand and Remesto from the Philippines. Sam’s accent was such that we didn’t understand a single word he said all week…but he understood us well and never mixed up our orders. Remesto also served us well all week…and did so very cheerfully!

If anyone had trouble making up their mind on what to order…Sam just brought both items…or sometimes more! We usually ended up getting to try every appetizer because he brought so many extra to our table. It got to be a joke as the week progressed. We were sure he could read our mind and if we even “thought” about ordering something Sam would bring it!

Bob had tipped off the waiters that it was Kim’s birthday and when dessert time came they brought her a piece of cake with a candle and serenaded her with “Happy Birthday”.

But…they also brought many more desserts. I think she and Jim actually had six desserts that night!

Kim finished off the dinner by dancing with Remesto!