San Juan Puerto Rico

We just left San Juan Puerto Rico after spending three days here. It was turnover time again so there are 700 or so new faces. Having been here several times before, there wasn’t much in the way of excursions that I was interested in doing. I’ve walked the old town, I’ve gone out to the countryside but I have not gone to any of the beaches here. And it was a wise decision not to go because there was quite a bit of rain this visit.

Our first day here Michael and I went to the large mall, Plaza Las Americas, to go to Walgreens to pick up a prescription, get a pedicure and manicure and buy some new shoes.  Michael bought a new sports jacket that somehow was discounted down to $26 from $180!  He also bought a new pair of dress shoes to replace the ones that he brought; why in the world did he bring a pair of shoes that were falling apart? He claims he didn’t know they were falling apart. I was looking for a new pair of walking sandals because mine are sort of tight; and believe it or not, even in the tropics they have seasons – – and it is out of season to buy sandals here in this hot climate.

The other item on our list to buy was a pool noodle. Apparently, no one in the Caribbean has ever heard of a pool noodle. We even went to Walmart to find a pool noodle, but again, it is out of season. Our quest for a pool noodle continues.

The next morning as I was leaving my room, there is one of the Viking staff standing there in front of my room with a pink pool noodle with my room number on it! One of the passengers that I had met and was one of my knitters had brought a pool noodle with her from home, and I had lamented the fact that I could not find one. I think she took pity on me as she was leaving the ship – – it was so kind of her to think of me and leave her noodle 😀

Michael went on a walking tour of the old city and I went looking for a shoe store in the old city, which happens to be right where the ship is docked. I never found any shoes, but I did find a shoe rack for Michael’s shoes and that makes him very happy.

Final day, I spent on the ship knitting sleeves for the sweater I hope will be done by the time we get to Ushuaia. I also went out to their version of the dollar store looking for Halloween decorations, but the store was loaded with Christmas decorations and absolutely nothing for Thanksgiving. Michael went to a coffee plantation and did not enjoy it. 

The view as I was knitting on Deck 7

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We had trouble finding Halloween decorations so I printed some off the computer and cut them out.

St. Thomas

We’re in St. Thomas, docked at Charlotte Amalie, the capital city of this US Virgin Island.  It has been very interesting in the Caribbean so far; we have been the only ship in port when these islands can get up to 6 to 8 cruise ships at one time.  So there have been no crowds!

Michael took a city tour and did not enjoy it at all. 

I, on the other hand, went to the beach again. The weather was not optimal for beaching, but it is what it is.  We went to Secret Beach at Smith Bay, a tranquil lagoon with white sand and turquoise waters.  While bobbing around in the water, it started to rain; but no worries, I was wet anyway. It was cooler today and less humid with more cloud cover.  I thought the beach from yesterday was much nicer, but it was still an enjoyable experience.

Saw this guy. He was about 2 feet long.

Upon returning to the ship in time for lunch, it started to rain and rain very heavy. So Michael and I decided to spend the afternoon relaxing in our room. 

Antigua, Dominica, St. Kitts

This is day three of our Caribbean stops. We have been to Antigua, Dominica, and today St. Kitts. It has been nice not to have to wear sweaters and jackets, but then again the heat and humidity when you’re not used to it is kind of brutal. These islands have been battered by hurricanes time and time again and some of them have been able to recover faster than others. It’s heart wrenching to see the amount of poverty in these islands. 

In Antigua, we took the included tour which took us on a tour of the island and saw some of the ruins from the British military era and then saw Nelson Dockyards, an upscale marina for the mega yachts.

In Dominica, Michael took the included tour and I took a tour that took us 1,200 feet up the mountain side on a narrow, scary steep and wildly winding road to see a lake.  We spent 30 minutes at this lake wondering why we were there. And of course, we had to go back down the same way we came up. It’s a good thing our driver was very good.

I then went to a hot springs resort to soak in the natural hot springs. It was quite lovely; I wish we had some more time there instead of going to the lake

In St. Kitts, I took a two hour catamaran ride along the coast and then took a two hour train ride through what used to be sugarcane fields. This is a narrow gauge track and going over some bridges was spooky because it was so narrow. It was a double decker train with the lower level enclosed and air-conditioned and the upper level open but covered. There was no way that one could see anything on the lower level because the wild grass has grown up so high, so it was to the upper level I went on a very narrow winding staircase. The train rocked and rolled so much at one could not stand up to take a picture without falling over; you had to hold on for dear life. And as someone with neck issues, I came off the train after two hours really feeling it.

Michael was very pleased with his excursion today on the island of Nevis.  He took a short bus ride from the cruise terminal over to the other end of the island. He then caught a water taxi for a 5 mile trip (which only took seven minutes) over to Nevis.  He was met by another bus which drove him and only five other people about 1000 feet up a mountain to begin about a 2 mile hike.

The guide, who was very good, pointed out a lot of the flora and fauna, and of course the many green monkeys that he saw on the way. He must've seen 30 of them.  The group stopped at an old sugar plantation that employed slaves and a lot of the structures were still there. They continued on down to the beach. This was followed by a delicious spare rib lunch with lots of beer and then two hours on a beautiful beach where the water was 90°

Hamilton Bermuda

Upon leaving New York it didn’t take long for the seas to become lumpy. There was a storm off the coast and the captain decided to try and go around it as best he could. The evening and the next day we’re not the most pleasant of sea days. I have to be on the top deck to do my knitting classes and walking around like a drunk makes it difficult when you’re trying to set up all the supplies that I put out. Michael, on the other hand, is down on Deck 1, which is right at the waterline and has a much better ride. In any event, both of us had extremely small classes due to mal de mar. 

It was a welcome sight to see land when we arrived in Hamilton Bermuda. The day was beautiful, warm and sunny and it was a real treat to change out of long pants and sweaters into shorts and short sleeves.  We arrived around 5 PM and docked right downtown. There was a food festival going on right in front of the ship, but unfortunately they were blasting music at some ungodly decibel that made it very uncomfortable to walk around and enjoy the festivities.

We had made previous arrangements to meet friends for dinner. We met Dianna and Charles on a previous cruise.  They came to pick us up and gave us a short tour before going to the restaurant.  Being English, dinner was scheduled late. We had an enjoyable meal with very enjoyable company.

The next morning we slept in and decided not to do a tour but went walking around town to pick up recommended seasick pills and yarn for baby hats. Quite by accident, I discovered that there is a yarn shop in town. I need more yarn like I need a hole in my head, but I had an enjoyable visit with the owner. We then went back to the ship and spent a very enjoyable time at the pool.

Tonight I was interviewed by the cruise director for the daily report that is shown on TV every morning. I had a preview of it tonight and I was able to video it off of the TV.

New York City

We arrived in the Big Apple to this magnificent sight:

I am humbled and grateful that I am an American and that I live in the greatest country in the world. When I see her standing in the harbor it just reinforces those feelings.

Our first chore after docking was to Uber to Costco. We went with another couple. Since the city is quite crowded and we suburbanites are used to lots of room to spread out with lots of parking, it was quite a shock to see a multi story Costco/Target/ PetCo/Old Navy shopping center with an adjacent multilevel parking garage. It was raining heavily as we made our way through the rain and traffic. Mileage wise it wasn’t very far, but traffic wise it takes forever to get anywhere in Manhattan.

We did our shopping and came home with six bags filled with all sorts of stuff we need for the next seven months on the ship, including potato chips, pretzels, shampoo, vitamins, deodorant – – you get the idea.

We had lunch at Applebee’s and then headed back to the ship to unpack and find homes for all the stuff we brought back.  We stayed on board and watched a movie in the evening. 

DAY 2: 

We planned on meeting our friend, Beverly Kostrinsky, for the day. She asked what we wanted to do and we suggested playing bridge 🙄🤩. Honors Bridge Club in Manhattan is the largest bridge club in the country and of course we wanted to check it out.  We Ubered from the west side to the east side of town, which should not have taken that long, but then again this is Manhattan and it took forever to get to the bridge club, and even at that we had to get out a couple of blocks early because the traffic was so bad and it was faster to walk. We finally found the building and there is a line in the lobby – – a line in the lobby to get into an elevator! I have never had to wait in line in a big building to use an elevator.  

We finally got up to the 14th floor and met Beverly and we were overwhelmed with so many people milling around. I don’t know exactly what we were expecting except that it was supposed to be fancy (in my mind) because after all this was Manhattan. It turned out to be pretty ratty looking with tables and chairs and small accessory tables everywhere – – hardly any room to move and maneuver. 

We paid our fee, which was an exorbitant $35 per person —– $35 to play bridge; well, they did throw in lunch for the price. For comparison, we only pay $7 a game at our home club. We then got in line for lunch and were quite surprised to find an extensive buffet of cold salads and hot dishes, which turned out to be pretty darn good. Michael and I were both pleasantly surprised that the people were nice and pleasant and not like the folks in Boston who weren’t quite rude, but weren’t very friendly. I had expected the ”New York mentality” of rudeness. 

You are only seeing one portion of the room. It takes up the entire 14th floor of the building plus another floor for the under 750 bunch

We played very well together today and actually came in the money with a 56% game! Both of us were very happy so that was the icing on the cake for us. Beverly K. decided that she was tired so she went home.  

We took a walk down Lexington Avenue to see what we could see before we hailed another Uber to take us back to the ship.  I wanted real pizza and Michael wanted a haircut. But both of us were quite tired and we were carrying some packages and really were not in the mood to continue walking.  My knee was hurting and Michael had already walked four miles this morning. We called for another Uber and made the slow trek back to the ship where we decided to crash for the night. Pizza tomorrow come hell or highwater!

DAY 3: 

The final day in New York City was a very busy one. We took a city tour and visited the 911 Memorial and went through many of the neighborhoods that you have heard of such as Soho, Chelsea, and Greenwich Village.

After returning to the pier, Wr walked to 10th Street and went to Sal‘s Pizza for a slice of New York style original pizza. Michael got a haircut and I got a haircut and Michael made a trip to the post office to mail a couple of packages and then back to the ship we went.

The final day in New York City was a very busy one. We took a city tour and visited the 911 Memorial and went through many of the neighborhoods that you have heard of such as Soho, Chelsea, and Greenwich Village.  

After returning to the pier, Wr walked to 10th Street and went to Sal‘s Pizza for a slice of New York style original pizza. Michael got a haircut and I got a haircut and Michael made a trip to the post office to mail a couple of packages and then back to the ship we went.

We were anxiously waiting confirmation that the four boxes we shipped to the port agent this summer actually showed up.  At 9 PM tonight we actually got the boxes, went through them and found everything was there. What a relief as on the last cruise one of the boxes took two months to catch up with us. 

We were anxiously waiting confirmation that the four boxes we shipped to the port agent this summer actually showed up.  At 9 PM tonight we actually got the boxes, went through them and found everything was there. What a relief as on the last cruise one of the boxes took two months to catch up with us. 

Not a very exciting day, but sometimes you have to do maintenance.

Boston

Beantown Boston — home of the tea party, lobster rolls, and pilgrims.  We had quite an ladventure on our first day in Boston. Friends that we made on the last World Cruise, Matt and Preeti, came to pick us up about 8:30am and took us to breakfast and then to play bridge —real bridge.  PI am embarrassed to say that we had a really lousy game, but we had a good time playing.

We then went to Lexington and Concord, the site where the first shot was heard around the world. 

Today was the first day on the entire trip where we actually went in short sleeve shirts and no sweaters! The weather was a bit on the humid side and I think all in all I would rather have it cool than hot. Then it was on to downtown Boston for drinks at Legal Seafood while we waited for the rest of our group to show up. There were 10 of us getting together for dinner and all of us were on the previous World Cruise.  We had an extraordinarily good time and everyone enjoyed catching up and visiting. I really enjoyed my lobster roll; it was outstanding.

Halifax Nova Scotia

We had a terrific excursion in Halifax. Peggy’s Cove and the surrounding area is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. It was cold and very windy, but the clear sky was awesome. We also went to the Titanic section of the cemetery where we paid our respects to those that lost their lives.  The botanical gardens were still beautiful even though the flowers were starting to fade.

Here are some pictures from Peggy’s Cove:

Our next stop was to the Titanic memorial and cemetery, where many of those that lost their lives were laid to rest.  These markers are numbered as the remains were never identified, nor claimed.