Cruise Flotsam and Jetsam

This post will mostly be pictures, bits and pieces that didn't really fit anywhere else, all part of the amazing adventure.

 This huge Lego replica of the ship was near the gift shops and duty-free liquor store (which did not mean tax-free liquor, which was a surprise, by the way, to many booze-buying folks).

It was an amazing construction. I especially love the rolling waves.

I don't know about you, but I would have been disappointed NOT to find some Egyptian statuary on a cruise ship.

The view of the Empress Deck bar, from near the glass elevator. The gal with the side ponytail is named Josephine- she remembered our names from the first day on.

It did take me days to learn my way around the ship, and even at the end, I would take the wrong set of elevators and have to walk the long-way-round to get to our room. DeeAnn soon found that I have no sense of direction at all.

Just another pretty ocean picture.

DeeAnn on the deck.

I have no idea what I was going for here, the ship wasn't tilting. I was just being arty, I guess.

The afternoon after our Freeport excursion, I decided to have a manicure. It was my first, and man, I had no idea that my nails could look so pretty. I am NEVER trying to paint my own again, even though cuticle nipping feels like being nibbled by tiny, insistent fishies.

We were largely news-bereft on board, but this screen at The Bistro kept us apprised of our location, the water depth, and where the storms were (mostly behind us the whole way).

Another cruise ship in the distance.

Up on the Verandah, on the running/walking track. I didn't do either (well, I did walk for hours a day, but never formally). Even though the ship ran on very smooth waters, I still cannot imagine trying to run even with gentle swells, not to mention that it was hot up there. Did I mention that it was hot? It was hot.

I wasn't the only one snapping pics.

Beautiful tile mural along the Marina area (lined with stores, bars, the casino, and The Bistro).

A lovely place just to sit and watch people.

You could be social every minute of the day, or you could sit in the window seat and read or watch the ocean. People did not bother you if you were reading. Actually, people did not bother you at all.

Waiting in line for the dining room to open. Cruisers like their food. Do you see the gentleman with the striped shirt, shorts and very long beard, opposite me around the deck? He and his wife were our tablemates one evening, and during the appetizer, he very kindly showed us the tooth that he broke off earlier that day.

Check out the middle level- the entire level is filled with pictures taken around (and off ) the ship. You could buy them, or ignore them, as you wished.

Did I post this already? Our dining room- before it filled up. To our left was a long bank of windows.

So, that's it for this cruise- I would mourn its passing but guess what... I'm doing it again. I'll be teaching classes on the March 2014 cruise!

I am so very excited!

So if you missed the last cruise, you have a chance to make it up to yourself.  This is the ship we'll be on, for a 7 day cruise to The Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St Maarten, with 3 days of on-board classes. Be sure to click the video link... man, this is going to be amazing!

Cruise- Food

Food... there was food on the ship...
Food as far as the eye could see.
Food, unlimited, all day.
It was amazing.

The Windows on the Sea and the grill on the Lido deck (the former inside in the air conditioning, the latter outside but in the shade of an upper deck) served a continental breakfast beginning at 7am on sea days. Since I was always up well before that, I spent several mornings haunting the area, waiting for the food to appear. The continental breakfast consisted of several areas, each devoted to different food groups: cereals/yogurt/milks (large variety of all), breads (muffins, croissants, sweet breads, white and wheat bread/ a toaster, plus butter, jams, honey and peanut butter), and fruits (all kinds), sliced meats and cheeses. Coffee, juice, lemonade, and water (and ice) were always available. At 7:30, the Buffet opened, with a rotating variety of cooked foods: eggs (many varieties, including Salmon Eggs Benedict), pancakes, waffles, omelettes cooked to order, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, and meats (the link sausage was particularly good). I usually started out with bread and coffee and and my kindle, reading and watching the sun rise in the nearly deserted room, and then I'd hit the line for sausages (or bacon).
As with every meal, unlimited amounts were available of all foods.

If you were up a little later, and in the mood for a sit-down served breakfast, the dining room opened at 8:30 (except on land days, when it opened an hour earlier). You would be whisked to your table, your napkin gently placed on your lap, a glass of water filled for you (and then orange juice, milk, tea, or coffee if you wanted- all four if you liked). Each day the menu varied, with openers (usually fruits), and then breakfast entrees. The one morning I ate there (the Freeport morning), I had waffles, which were wonderful.

Lunch (served until 6pm in one spot) was organized like breakfast (except no dining room service). Each day, the buffet had different entrees (meatloaf, roast, chicken, pastas, etc), or you could go to the Mongolian Wok for stir fry, or to the Off the Grill for hamburgers and pizza. The dessert table always carried a variety of cupcakes, cakes, cookies, jello, and cheesecake (some of the cakes were not serve-yourself, a helpful worker stood by to cut your portion). There was also the ice cream machine, dispensing vanilla, chocolate, and twist... all day... all night...

For supper, we went to our assigned dining rooms, and every night, the menu was amazing. You could have stand-bys like fried chicken or a large hamburger (half-pound) every day, but each day there were also varied appetizers, entrees and desserts. I didn't take pics of all of the meals, but trust me, they were all delicious. Afterward, you could choose from a list of desserts... yummy yummy desserts (perennial favorite: warm chocolate melting cake with vanilla ice cream).

Though I haven't mentioned it, there were vegetarian options at all meals.

There was lots of food... lots and lots of it... and all of it was pre-paid. You only had to pay for alcoholic drinks, sodas (if you didn't have the endless soda sticker on your ID card), or coffees and desserts from The Bistro (about which more later).

Here's a sampling:

 I've posted this one already, but it bears a re-post. These were the noshes available for our Knitting Cruise Meet & Greet. Upper left and around the circle: little sausages in Phyllo, layered salmon and cream cheese and dill, chicken salad on teeny bread circles, cream cheese and bacon (I think- I don't remember for sure) and radish on teeny bread circles, shrimp in a cantaloupe cup.

This was DeeAnn's drink at one supper- maybe our elegant evening (the one where we wore dresses). It's mango and orange and lemon, and maybe pineapple.

My appetizer one evening- alligator fritters and home-made potato chips. Yes, you read that correctly: alligator.

Though the drinks were expensive on the ship, and the fancy coffees in The Bistro were priced pretty much the same as on land ($4+ for a large latte), the desserts and pastries were exceptionally reasonable. This white chocolate cup, filled with white cake, mousse, frosting, white chocolate curls, and a blackberry was huge, maybe 5" tall and at least 3" across. It cost $2.25. Yes, two dollars and twenty-five cents. The two of us could not eat it all in one sitting.There was also a dark chocolate version, same size, same price.

Another bistro treasure- carrot cake. Also $2.25. I do not think the photo gives justice to the size of this thing- the layer cake itself was about 8" tall, and the slice was generous. Also delicious.

In Nassau at Fish Fry, we had conch. I had a Conch sandwich, which consisted of breaded and fried conch strips and a jalapeno mayonnaise dipping sauce. I had to eat at least half of the conch strips before I could assemble the sandwich and finish it off. Man, it was good.

DeeAnn ordered conch fritters- the one thing she absolutely wanted to eat in The Bahamas. They were oh so good.

In Freeport, I had another conch sandwich (sense a trend here?). This one was a conch patty, smothered with pepper jack cheese. It was every bit as good as the first one. The on-land meals cost about what a good lunch in a restaurant in the states would cost ($8.95 for a sandwich).

My most expensive meal was the one I ate in the airport in Minneapolis on the way home. I had conch in The Bahamas and breaded walleye in Minna-soda. This plate cost me $13 (it was good, but airport food is always expensive).

I wish I'd taken more food pics- it was all amazing. On the other hand, I will be carrying reminders around with me for awhile, if you know what I mean.

Cruise- Arriving in Freeport

I found one more Nassau picture- this is the infamous Fish Fry, the one we almost killed ourselves getting to on foot. Good thing that the food was marvelous.

Everyone had to be back on the ship and accounted for by 4:30 pm (we had to log in and out with our ID cards), in order to set sail again at 5pm.

I snapped a shot of this pretty ship through our stateroom window. I love the painting.

We sailed through the night, arriving in Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island, around 6:30am the next morning. I was up and out on the deck (Newsflash: it's still hot at 6:30am in The Bahamas- the wind is never cool, at least not in July).

 Sunrise was gorgeous, though.

The harbor in Freeport is far more industrial than the Nassau harbor.

But it's still a tropical paradise.

A slip for a ship, but not for ours.

Evidently, they refine (or store) oil in Freeport.

Lots of cranes.

We drew up to our slip, perpendicular to it and straddling the opening. Note that I was not the only early bird on deck.

And then with the guidance of a little tugboat, the ship swung around, nose first and glided to the dock. It was fascinating, and maybe a little nerve wracking, to watch.

Cranes in the daylight.

A view back over the ship, showing the Lido Deck (with the pool). I was up on the Verandah, the floor over the breakfast/lunch room.

Cruise- In Nassau and Junkanoo Beach

Nassau is very colorful- at least the parts we saw (and we were cautioned not to go wandering off alone into un-touristy places). The several-street market section had upscale clothing and jewelry stores, and the sidewalks were lined with street vendors and artists, all calling out for our attention (I have never been called Sweetie so much in my entire life). They were also lined with hundreds and hundreds of cruise vacationers.

We didn't spend a lot of time in the Straw Market (an indoor version of the street vendors) because it was stiflingly hot in there: shaded but with no breeze at all. 

 DeeAnn asked one of the street artists where she recommended that we eat lunch, especially a place that would serve fresh conch. She said the Fish Fry, which was about a 15 minute walk up and around a corner. So we walked for 15 minutes, in the heat without seeing anything that resembled a Fish Fry place.

So we stopped another person and asked him, how far it was to the Fish Fry.
"It be about 25 minutes that way," he said, pointing.

We sighed, and continued walking, getting hotter and hotter by the minute. Also slower.

After another 20 minutes of walking along a fairly busy roadway (not un-touristy, but not quite as pristine as the shopping area), we asked another person how far away was the Fish Fry.

"Oh, 15 minutes that way," he said with a smile.

We hailed a cab. "You know that Fish Fry isn't open until eleven, right?" she asked us.

It was 10:15.

So she dropped us off at Junkanoo Beach, which truly was only a 5 minute walk from Fish Fry.

This little beach was nearly deserted. The water was crystal clear.

The sand was grainy. And that water was warm... warmer than my swimming pool.

I love this picture of DeeAnn.

Coconut palms lined the beach. It was truly tropical, in every sense of the word.

Wanna guess how close I was to heat stroke? The red cheeks are a clue.

The sand was not hot. We found a shady bench to sit on and let our feet dry.

 We were all alone, except for this family. The water got deep, very quickly. The children jumped off the concrete slabs into water over their heads. You can see the cruise ships docked in the distance. It's further away than it looks.

A coconut palm, complete with coconut.

We saw these pines everywhere- they have tall, bare trunks, with a ball of branches and needles at the top. The needle clusters are airy and long.

It turned out that Fish Fry was not a single restaurant, but a complex of little shacks, each with its own specialty. We found one open a little early, one with air conditioning, and we had the most amazing lunch. I took a picture of my conch burger, but I'm saving it for the food post.

After we ate, we took another taxi back to the main shopping area (we learn slowly, but we do learn). We bought a few small souvenirs, and resisted the urge to have our hair braided despite many offers, and around 2pm, wandered back to the boat, hot and happy.

Well, happy except that I didn't get a Bahamas stamp on my passport. In fact, I didn't even have to show my passport, only my drivers license and ship ID (which I would not have if I did not have a valid passport, so they skipped that part). I was very disappointed- next time (if there is a next time), I'll ask if I can get a stamp anyway.