Disjointed Kitsch

By the time I woke up we were docked in St. Thomas. Must have happened around 4-5 AM since the ship took on a different motion around then. Somehow room service missed my request so we ended up eating on the Lido deck where we ran into the rest of our group.

Yvette and I ran solo today first heading downtown where the jewelery stores were EVERYWHERE. Don’t think I’ve ever been into so many in my life. Picked up a few items, including cigars and cigarettes along with a tote bag that changes color in the sun. If your not into being huckstered into shops, etc. downtown isn’t for you.

The humidity is really up today as is the temperature so shade is important! We opted to walk back from downtown St Thomas along the harbor. Longish but since I hadn’t been to the gym today I could use the exercise.

We lunched late at the Fat Frog in a really nice shopping area. Had a great view of the harbor and their rum punch was great on the hot day. We just had appetizers instead of a large lunch but hit up a Ben & Jerry’s afterward!

We were back on board by 3 ish, well in advance of the 5:30 PM leave time. Napped until about dinner time and joined Hank, Terry, Joe and Sue for a buffet dinner.

We found our formal pictures from Monday night and purchased most of them. They really turned out well. Caught the 8:30 magic show and then opted for some time just chatting outside on deck 4. Not moving too fast since St. Martin isn’t too far away. Yvette even got close to the deck railing to look out at the water.

We tried our luck at the penny slots without much luck. Herb hit it big with a straight flush at the “Let It Ride� table. A few more drinks and a stop at the midnight comedy show and we were ready for bed. Tomorrow is our last port call in St. Martin.

Today we’ll make San Juan! Yvette and I got coffee in the cabin this morning instead of waiting for breakfast. Hit the gym again and was ready for the day by 9:30 or so. I grabbed a banana and juice for breakfast while heading for the talk on St Martin. It was the same guy with almost the same talk we had on St. Thomas so I opted to read up on the Lido deck. Terry and Ben had spots amid ship so I roosted there.

Very hot today and the wind combined with the ships speed were enough to drive me inside after the French lunch. I read/rested in the cabin until about 2:30, moved aft to the Adriatic Lounge for a bingo game while we pulled into San Juan about an hour early!

Donny had dinner selected at Mofongo’s after which we walked up and down the tiny streets around the port. Picked up a Harley t-shirt and patch at the Harley store, got turned around while looking for Sr. Frogs but eventually got there. The spring breakers were fun to watch while we sipped on our “yard long� drinks! We all decided to head back about 10:30 PM in advance of our midnight pull-out for St. Thomas.

A bit after midnight while we were rocking to the Lido deck party, the ship pulled out and we were on our way to St. Thomas.

Our first full day at sea. It was obvious that the ship was moving at a much faster rate this morning. As we went to the Aft Pacific dining room for breakfast the ship had much more motion than the previous night. The seas were still pretty calm so it must be related to the speed of the ship. Yvette doesn’t like sitting next to the windows so we had breakfast facing the interior of the dining room. Eggs, potatoes, and chicken sausage washed down with coffee and OJ and I was ready.

We took in the shopping seminar on San Juan and St Thomas. Lots of info on bargain hunting and jewelry shopping.. I had a bloody Mary to get through it. Decided to try out the gym to work off a few of those extra 1-2 lbs were supposed to gain for each day of the cruise. I tried to stick to my Nitro Fitness workout model (1 minute at each workout station and do each station 2 times). I finished up by joining Yvette on the treadmill. At the end of about 40 minutes, I was ready to call it quits.

Our afternoon was on the Lido deck in the sun. Started my “And a Bottle of Rum� book. I opted for the Indian lunch buffet at 2ish and headed back to the cabin for a nap at 3:30. This evening is the Captains Cocktail party so we’re dressing up. At 5 our group is enjoying the free cocktails in the Adriatic Lounge and the Caspian Wine Bar.

For dinner I had a spinach and portobello salad followed by roast beef and a baked potato with cherries jubilee for desert. YUM! Pinot Noir was the wine with dinner. We toured the casino and did some Karaoke back in the Adriatic Lounge until about 9:30. Back in the Casino we watched Ben clean up at the Hold ‘em table, checked in on the other shows and then got seats for the midnight comedy show which was really funny. A nightcap with the 1 AM buffet and we were ready for bed.

Not exactly a restful night. Since we were the last to arrive we had last “dibs� on the sleeping arrangements and hence took the pullout bed. Ugh! Paid for it in the morning. Breakfast followed by packing up and killing time at the pool. At 11:45 AM we assembled for our trip to the Port of Miami to catch the Victory. Checkin security was very much like an airport as was boarding.

We found our cabins straight away, dumped our carry-ons and migrated to the Lito deck for some libations! Nice view of Miami from deck 9 with lots of sun. Big screen TV (stadium size) and a live band to get everyone going. I took the ship tour at 2 PM to get oriented. At 3:30 we had the mandatory evacuation drill and by 4:15 we were underway!! Got the surprise of the cruise when I returned to the Lido deck to find Amy, Rob, Linda, Colby and were also here on the cruise. They had kept this a secret from us for almost 10 months!! A great way to get started.

The departure out of Miami was great and I ended up taking a lot of photos and before anyone noticed we were out of site of land and on our way! Dinner at 6:15 was good - had a salad and lamb chops with some Pinot Grigio wine (I’m wine hopping this week). Kim, Ted, Sue and Joe are at our table. The rest of the gang is behind us and Amy and Co were across the room.

We took in the opening nights show which was “OK�, and afterward took the rest of our dinner table on a tour of the ship. I served at tour guide since I had the benefit of the 2 PM tour. A few scotches later and I was ready to turn in.

Spent a wonderful evening yesterday with my brother and his family in Palm Bay. Pizza by the ocean was great as was catching up on old times and new happenings. We said our farewells and were on the road by 11:15 AM.

We stopped for lunch in Boca Raton, FL around 1:30ish and saw our old house. Hasn’t changed a whole lot. Amazingly I found it on the first try! We we’re back on the road by 2:15, stopped for some shopping in Davie, FL and then after being turned around a number of times, found the Embassy Suites hotel.

After returning the rental car we had dinner with our Cruise Gang followed by a cocktail party after which we hung out by the pool until bed time.