Caribbean Capers- Part 1

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Trip start
February 4, 2023
Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Heading to Florida on AmTrak
February 4, 2023 in the United States
We arrived at the Lorton AutoTrain station, a bit before noon, having stopped at Jersey Mike's for train food. Our car was in queue for loading, and we hung out in the waiting area until 3:30 boarding.

I put in an upgrade bid for a roomette, but didn't get it, so we went to our seats in car 5310, seats 11 and 12. The seats are roomy, have enough room that reclining doesn't bother those behind, and there are leg rests and footrests that make coach sleeping possible.

We departed at 5. They had to hook up the automobile carrier cars.

W thought we could eat in the dining car. I was pretty sure that was only for the sleeper people. It was verified that we could buy food from the cafe. No dining car for us. We were happy enough with the rest of our sandwiches, and some chips. I also a had a protein drink before I went to sleep.

I slept pretty well. They had complimentary cold breakfast- coffee, apple cinnamon Cheerios for me- and I got a banana for the road.

We arrived a bit early in Sanford, then waited almost 2 hours for our car. We checked in to the AutoTrain early-- first in, last out?Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Fort Lauderdale and Underway
February 6, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Not much in the way of pictures today

We stayed overnight at a Hampton Inn in Ft Lauderdale. Dinner was eggs & bacon (and pancakes for W) at a diner across the street. We turned in pretty early because the train sleep wasn't the best.

This morning- breakfast in the hotel, load up the car, then off to the port to drop our bags. Finding out arranged parking was an adventure. GPS took us to some condo complex (looked nice, but no cruise parking there.). We found what we thought to be the correct lot, but it was locked, and no one was there. I called the number, and the guy hung up on me- called me back and gave me another address to go to. After doing some GPS-induced circles, we ended up at the Hilton hotel. The guy at their parking desk knew immediately what happened- "They must be full at the other lot." He gave us directions and summoned the shuttle for us. Now if the guy on the phone had told us to go to the Hilton, and gave the address, it would have been SO much easier.

Checking in for the cruise was probably the easiest we've ever experienced. Our stuff was x-rayed, then we showed our seapasses and passports, got our pics taken, and came aboard. No huge lines- safety check was already done online, and we went to our muster station. Done.

Had lunch in the Windjammer, and dinner in the MDR where we sat with a nice couple- Barbara and Paul.

Not up for nightlife tonight, so just in-room tv with my man- and unpacking.Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Sea Day
February 7, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
This was the most laid-back day I've ever had on a cruise. I spent most of it in our stateroom.

We slept late, headed to Windjammer for breakfast, and then I went in search of a quiet place to stitch for awhile.

I was frustrated. I find all the loud music and cruise staff yelling into their microphones to be really unpleasant and overstimulating. I went to the Viking Crown Lounge which seemed promising--only a few people there, nice light, and a pretty good view of the water--- for about 5 minutes until an arguing couple's (loud) discussion was sharply punctuated by their shrieking child. Exit, me. I found Wayne in the Solarium- an aerobics class was in session. I found a tiny area outside the Spa- a couple of ladies were loudly discussing their favorite ice cream.🙄

We went to the pool deck-loud Zumba class going on- but when that finished, not awful, and met up with another Cruise Critic couple- Frank and Diane from Michigan. We had a lovely talk, for about an hour, and then I headed to the stateroom for awhile. W and I went for a walk through the shops, where we didn't see anything we couldn't live without. I headed to the casino for a short time, and did pretty poorly.🤷‍♀️ Happens. Back to the room where W was taking a nap, and spent the rest of the afternoon resting and chilling .

It may seem strange to be enjoying my cruise in an inside stateroom- but for some reason today, I'm in a place where the overstimulation is uncomfortable. So staying in the room today has been perfect for me. I'm following my bliss. Tomorrow will most likely be different, and I'll enjoy the activity.

We had dinner with Paul, Barbara, Linda, and Pete. Great baked sole, and lemon tart.

Extra hour of sleep tonight.Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Sea Day 2
February 8, 2023, Caribbean Sea ⋅ 🌬 26 °C
This was a great, relaxing day. We had an extra hour of sleep, had breakfast in the dining room, and settled into the Centrum. W read a newspaper, and I stitched on a Nellys bookmark for a couple of hours. There was a hip-hop class with blessedly not ear-splitting music, and the leader wasn't yelling into the mike.

We hit lunch in the Windjammer, and had Naptime.

Time change threw us off- so we showed up an hour early for dinner. I took the opportunity to visit the casino, and came out ahead- doubling my plays from yesterday and today. I smartly quit.

Dinner in the MDR with Paul and Barbara.

A very satisfactory Sea Day.Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
February 9, 2023 in Costa Rica ⋅ 🌙 23 °C
Gathering for excursions was a bit of a mess. One huge long queue to get our stickers, THEN sit in seats. It seemed rather inefficient, but I'm not being paid to run excursions.

We did Rainforest walk, Tortuguero Canal & Limon Countryside. The canal trip was first, with a low-riding boat that got us close to the shore. Among other wildlife, we saw:
2 toed sloth
3 toed sloth
Howler monkeys
Yellow crowned night heron
Emerald basilisk

On our walk we saw many kinds of plants, and a lot more howler monkeys, who put on quite a concert for us.

We returned to the ship, rested a bit, got a bite to eat, hung out a bit more, and headed to dinner. Strange- Mexican night with Italian music. Shrimp, salmon, and chocolate ice cream for me. Caesar, carne asada, and double flan for W. Ok casino- ahead a bit.Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Colon, Panama
February 10, 2023 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Today's tour is "Panama Treasures- Just for You."

Tour guide Rosalba. She gave us a great overview of the History & culture in Panama. We started out in the museum in Old Panama. There was an exhibit on the "Crypto-Jews" who had to hide their faith for fear of persecution- this being time of Spanish colonization, and concurrently the Spanish Inquisition. We went outside and saw the remains of the Cathedral Tower- Cathedral of the Assumption-1519, Convent of St Dominic.

We went to the Reprosa studio where they produce reproductions of the ancient artifacts. We learned about the "lost wax" method of creating jewelry. (I got to sandblast a piece that contained quite a few jewelry elements- I was a designated Master Blaster😁). W got me a pair of gold-plated spiral earrings- quite lovely.

We had lunch at a cafeteria- fish, beans, platanos, Cole slaw. W and I shared, and it was just right. The 1-1/2 hours back to the ship.Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Cartagena- Mangroves and Canoes
February 11, 2023 in Colombia
We took a bus ride through Old Cartagena and stopped at the 1657 San Felipe Fort. Still an experience in very aggressive vendors.

Our guide gave a good cultural background- and mentioned authors Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Pablo Neruda- who the kids studied in their IB classes.

We went to the mangrove area, where our canoe guides poled our canoes through the mangroves. I was enjoying it a lot, but sadly, the lady behind me was not, and complained incessantly about the canoe wobbling, and asking, "how much longer do we have to do this?" I felt badly for her distress, but was somewhat ticked off, because it significantly degraded my experience.Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Aruba
February 12, 2023 in Aruba
We arrived in Aruba late in the day. We were berthed across the pier from Freewinds- the Scientology ship. I had a little fun placing Aftermath Foundation cards throughout the port gift shop areas. I posed my Mike Rinder bobblehead- trying to get the perfect shot.

A stroll around the port area of the town was fun- then back to the ship.

We ate dinner - very casually, although we did ask if they wanted us to change. Very few people at dinner- and most were attired as we were.Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Bonaire
February 13, 2023 in Bonaire
It was a fun day. We started out with a multi-disaster drill onboard, featuring a fire drill on our floor, replete with crew members in full fire regalia.

Snorkel day for me. We sailed a bit to the island. I did a current float- they took us down the island beach and we followed the coral sea wall back to the main beach. Water was a bit murky, because of sustained winds throughout the visit.

A lady from Portugal lost her hat overboard. One of the crew members hopped into the tender andretrieved it in seconds. The crew was great- and so was the rum punch.

Look who was waiting in our stateroom after dinner!Read more
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Caribbean Capers- Part 1 Traveler
Curaçao
February 14, 2023 in Curacao
Another great snorkel day. Our van took us to the Spanish Harbor area of Curaçao, where we boarded our boat. We had a nice boat tour of the island before arriving at the snorkel site. Kenley Jansen's home was one of the sites We traveled past.

We snorkeled near a sunken tugboat that had coral growing on it, and was home to many species of fish. Even better than yesterday!

It's Valentine's Day, and we took pictures with our sweetie waiters, Igusti and Yawen.Read more
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Trip end
February 18, 2023