The Last Days at Sea........for now

Royal Caribbean has several levels of "achievement", which pretty much says how tenured you are at the cruising experience. You start out on your first and subsequent four cruises with "Gold" status. That's generally accompanied by learning that the least expensive trips are by taking an inside cabin. Basically, it's a dark cave, with a bathroom so small that you hardly can change your mind, let alone your socks.

After starting off "on the cheap", by my sixth cruise I decided that now I was "Platinum" level, I should at least try an outside cabin. The distinction, other than a higher daily cost, was a window [portholes were further down in the bowels of the ship]. My wife really liked the cabin with a window, but on cruise number 7 I fell back into my default setting (cheap) and went to an inside cabin for a four day cruise. Big Mistake, and when momma ain't happy, nobody's happy. On cruise number 8, I found jewelry would cure almost anything provided I would NEVER again select an inside cabin.

Cruise number 9 (for me, 7 for my wife) was going to be our longest together in a confined space. I threw caution to the winds, and purchased a balcony cabin. This was also the first time we were not on either deck 4 or deck 5, in fact we moved up to deck 7 in one swell foop. She loved the balcony, and I did too. We'll go back to an outside cabin for cruise number 10 (already planned) but that will be a short cruise just to wrack up the last point necessary to reach "Diamond" status. Now, the nice thing about being a "Diamond" is that whenever you go on a sister cruise line, you'll automatically be treated to their equal level of accommodation and services. Since we got terrycloth robes at Platinum, I'm expecting a silk kimono at least. We also get more "on board ship credits", and you'd be surprised just how much they sell on board.

How does this get us to the picture above? Well, Royal Caribbean has cut "deals" with select merchants in each port of call. One of them is Diamonds International, and to get you into their stores, they give you a free charm for your (first cruise) free charm bracelet. Now we've collected a number of these charms, even though my wife hardly ever wears the bracelet - except into their stores. On Grand Cayman, we walked in and naturally the charm is free.....but, at the back of the store. You must walk past all the show cases of "sparkling" rings, earrings, drops, pendants, etc. to get there. Diamonds International has a line of jewelry trademarked "Circle of Light" and one ring in particular drew my dearest in. Adding insult to potential injury, once out of the case, it slipped on her finger perfectly. The Royal Caribbean "ambassador" was also in the store, where they offered an "additional $100 discount" for passengers. The ring in question had 1.01 carets, with the primary stone being .59 caret, circled by smaller stones. It was magnificent, and "only" $2,750 - their "best price". Fortunately, my wife does not easily spend my money, so despite the come on and encouragement by the lovely blond saleslady [she was Polish of all things, on a Caribbean island], we left with the understanding that they'd hold that price (even if the RCCL "ambassador" was not present later) for the rest of the day.

Much as I often complain, and who doesn't after 38 years of marriage, my wife is truly my better half. We went down the street, and found a purse we'd seen on an earlier cruise. It was only sold in this one shop and during the last cruise they didn't have the size she wanted. I had set aside the money specifically for this purchase, and they had her color and size. On the way back to the ship, we found a second Diamonds International store, with the same ring but a smaller stone for less money - but the stone looked out of proportion for the setting. I did learn a bit more about size, clarity, color and we looked in perhaps six shops before finding what you see in the picture. The shop was NOT affiliated with the cruise line, and we got more carets for less cash, and a really unique and contemporary design. So, momma ended up VERY happy, and when momma is happy EVERYBODY is happy. I need one more cruise (10) to reach Diamond - she did it in 7. This ends my travelogue of five nations in ten days, on a happy note shared by all.

Oh, one final note or two - when we departed, we left from Terminal F, and parked in the garage at Terminal G (the closest). When we returned, nobody on the ship made an announcement that we were coming into Terminal C. The closest garage to it was across from Terminal D, and I went lugging our suitcases down there to find "oh shit, somebody stole the Corvette". So, I marched back across the wide street to where a Miami Dade Sheriff's Deputy was parked. Meanwhile, three other families descended on the garage to find their cars not where they left them - and simultaneously also remembered the terminal garage was not OUR garage. I went back to the deputy, and begged a ride down to the correct garage where I found my car exactly where I left it. So I came in a Corvette, and briefly left in the back seat of a police car.

I also learned one additional thing - when you get off the cruise ship, you'll enter a warehouse where rows and rows of luggage are lined up. There is also a police officer with a dog walking down those endless rows. Should the dog stop at YOUR bag..................pray that he lifts his leg.

My favorite island, Part 4

This (below) is actually dead coral, in an area of Grand Cayman Island that once was under the sea.

Over time, the land rose (these islands are created that way, you know) and the sea drained away.

Ancient mariners, and of course the ubiquitous Pirates of the Caribbean, decided that this is what Hell must look like, and hence the name stuck.
This area is over an acre in size, and this photograph only captures a small part of the landscape (which was once a vibrantly colored seascape).

My stop in Hell coincided with my mother's 90th birthday. Suffice to say, I wasn't thinking about that when we booked this cruise. My mistake, big time.

Now, I doubt that many people understand my sense of humor, but you've got to agree that the irony of this situation comes through loud and clear. I suspect for the next 20 years she'll be holding a grudge that I didn't come to see her on her 90th, and had I shown up later with such a lame excuse as "I was on a cruise" she'd probably tell me to "go to Hell". Anticipating that, I decided to beat her to the punch and I even sent her a postcard from Hell, discovered to be near Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island. I have yet to talk to her following my return to Florida. Frankly, I'm afraid of the woman. Wouldn't you be?

Oh, this photo has not been altered - I really do have sexy looking legs for a 62 year old, and I even still have my hair. Following this Kodak Moment stop, and time to purchase and send a postcard, I mounted my bike and quickly made like a bat out of hell to return to the ship.

My favorite island, Part 3

OK - for starters I've "stretched this photo" to better fit the space. I am NOT that chubby as it would appear. Neither is my little friend, a Green Sea Turtle, who when turned away from the water calms down long enough to snap his picture. Rub him on the underside of his head, and he'll actually fall asleep. Rub me on the underside of my chin, and you'll just find I forgot to shave.

Green Sea Turtles are native to the green sea, but can be found in blue seas, high seas, and occasionally even middle C. You'll all remember "Happy Together" by The Turtles, right? On that sour note, I'll move on.

Our guide at the Turtle Farm informed us that 90% of the turtles were raised for domestic consumption. Cayman Islanders love to eat turtle, but these are now protected species, so they cannot eat those caught in the wild. Ten percent of the turtles on this breeding farm are released into the wild, with GPS chips for tracking. A small number of Kemp's Ridley sea turtles are also bred here, all of whom are released into the neighboring sea. The Kemp's Ridley is considered critically endangered and grow only to just under 100 pounds.

The Green can often grow to 700 pounds, and several of this size in the breeding pens reached this weight. Females have short tails, males have long tails, but on formal night a white dinner jacket can be substituted for white tie and tails. Oh, the green name comes from the color of fat underneath their shell. For the record, no turtles were injured in the making of this blog.

Oh yes, the young man who flipped his bike suffered only road rash, which the Jeep driver treated from the first aid kit on board. I told him, just like in NASCAR, "rubbin is racing". His much older friend probably didn't find me funny, as he seemed very upset over this accident which came from following too close. My spouse and I have learned to ride far apart when on bicycles - gravel does not discriminate when you wipe out, and at our age bruises develop quickly.

My favorite island, Part 2

Apparently, Pirates are really big news in the Caribbean, as you tend to see them everywhere. So, naturally one gets out the camera and observes another Kodak moment.

This was at the Rum Cake Factory, however I didn't see much in the way of heavy machinery other than the pump station (seen in the background) next door. I did see a lot of rum cake, and of course I could not resist tasting many samples of the rum cake. Interestingly, I discovered that on this "shore excursion" there was to be found another "freebie" - rum cake samples.

This stop was perhaps two miles beyond my "free air" stop, if that - we were riding parallel to the seven mile beach, and being extremely careful to stay on the correct side of the road. I cannot use the term right side, as like many other non-U.S. places, they drive on the left here.
We had a very small tour, only three couples. One of the couples perhaps exercised too much zeal in sampling the rum cake, as he proceeded to wipe out after touching wheels turning into the Turtle Farm. At that point, we realized WHY the Jeep following us carried a first aid kit.

My favorite island, Part 1

Scene setting: group of bicycles outside the Rum Cake Factory on Grand Cayman's "7-mile beach".

Action: rest stop from eleven mile bike tour, with stops at the Rum Cake Factory, Turtle Farm, and Hell.

Props: Bicycles, helmets, athletic (and much younger) tour guide.

Story line: We left the ship and boarded a bus and drove several klicks (they use Kilometers here, not miles) into the countryside. Our group was then issued well-used bicycles and helmets. Our guide's bike had an orange flag and he set off in the lead. A second guide followed in a Jeep with first aid supplies, an air tank, and water. I mounted my trusty steed and began to pedal my ass all over the island. Apparently my trusty (or was that rusty) TREK was not quite ready, and at the first rest stop I required more air to be placed in my back tire. However, I did discover the one thing that didn't cost me on Grand Cayman - Air remains free.

A Day on the Ship, A Day in the Sun

This is a view of looking "aft"on the "port" side of Jewel of the Seas. Didn't know I could "speak Navy" eh?
Under that glassy dome to the left of this photo was the Solarium, where Taj Mahal met the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - obviously a Norwegian designer's acid trip gone truly bad. Fortunately, it was the only bad decor decision we experienced.

This was a first for me - on my ninth cruise trip, I decided to cast budget to the winds and booked a balcony room. It was a good decision, and made a difference on this ten day jaunt. After consecutive land tours in Panama and Costa Rica, this was to be an "at sea" day, and I began it with a walk around the 12th deck before the crew put out the chairs and the party goers from the night before staked out their place in the sun. This cruise I partook of the exercise facility often, in what turned out to be a futile effort to hold my weight down. Like the Freshman Fifteen, gained that first year in college, cruises are not good places to lose weight. I managed to "manage" my gain to only three pounds over ten days, so on balance I guess all that deck walking, treadmill walking, and stationary bicycle riding helped a bit.

When not exercising, or eating at the Windjammer buffet, I enjoyed the Art Auctions and got in a modicum of trouble collecting some Emile Bellet, a French artist painting in the style of the Fauvres school. He paints in a vivid colors manner, of "size 4" women without facial expression, to represent all women. Earlier, and better known names, of this style included Matisse and Cezanne. They serve free champagne at these auctions, a reason to go, and once you can get past too much Peter Max and Thomas Kinkade (not my favorites), there are some nice works to contemplate adding to your collection. I did not gamble in the casion, nor play any Bingo, but enjoyed the nightly entertainment a lot. Well, "Tango Buenas Aires" got a bit tiresome after the first 20 minutes, but overall all of the shows were fun, and we enjoyed sharing this cruise with British friends of 20 years. Simon & Ann would join us for dinner every night to share their experiences of the day.

A cruise is meant as a time to get away from telephones, emails, and utility bills. After almost forty years of work, I'm starting to master this "retirement gig", and on my next cruise I'll reach "Diamond" status. On this trip, Elizabeth also reached diamond status, but that tale comes tomorrow to tell as I relate our day in and around Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

Costa Rica is Spanish for "rich coast" and it's riches are its environment and people. Our tour guide told us that his nation was 92% literate, and while this country grew lots of bananas, it was no Banana Republic. American high tech companies like Intel operated large facilities to manufacture delicate electronic products, and the universities were well attended by people from throughout the Americas.

Dish type satellite antennas were legion, and indicated a higher standard of living of most residents. We did not see as many bars on windows, as we had in Columbia and Panama either. Eco-tourism and high technology being the main economic drivers, and no Army to fund, this nation has a lot going for it. It also has a significant American ex-pat community living inexpensively on it's Pacific side. We hope to see that part of Costa Rica in a future trip.

The nation abolished its Army in 1949, and is the longest running democracy in Latin America. It is the third ranked in the world (1st in the Americas) in terms of the Environmental Performance Index - a Columbia University environmental health and ecosystem measurement index. We came ashore at Puerto Limon, the only significant town on the Caribbean coast. While I did know the way to San Jose, this nation's capital, it was 100 kilometers/60 miles distant and we only ventured a short distance into the interior.

On this day, we took a jungle ecology tour where we spotted howler monkeys, three-toed sloths, birds and bats - all in the tree canopy. I'd include pictures, except every critter is so darned high up, you'd be looking at them and still not seeing them. Hence, I chose to picture the colorful plumage of this native combo playing the local version of "Jungle Boogie". While they were no Kool & The Gang, their lyrics were just as simple to "get down" to. The flowers here were just downright beautiful too - Costa Rica definitely is on the list for further inspection at a later time.