sea day today

Monday, December 12, 2011
St. John's, Antigua

Pulled in and the Enchantment of the Seas was right behind us. The plan was to meet Jackie & Sheila who were on that ship—Jackie sailed with us last year. Sheila had to cancel at the last minute, so that was a chance to meet her as well. I left about the time Beth and Carolyn were gathering for their excursion—they're sailing on a racing yacht and can be part of the crew if they want to. Well, there were Jackie & Sheila right there. But of course I didn't have the pins we were supposed to give them—Peggie had them.

Went into town and looked around a bit. Finally asked about a place to buy steel band music and was directed to a music store upstairs in the shopping center. Got a CD—this music is so great you just can't sit still while listening to it. Am hoping it will inspire me to get up and move around! It was hot in port and no breeze, so decided to bag it and come back to the ship. This is the port where we did the Segway excursion last year, so I've seen quite a bit of the island.

OK, noon rolled around, time we were scheduled to meet Jackie & Sheila. Had a voice mail from Peg saying to meet her at the security area on the ship where you check out before leaving the ship. Went down there. No Peg. Waited around for a while and then left the ship. Jackie and Sheila were sitting in Celebrity's lovely waiting area on the couches, enjoying the cold drinks and cold towels which RCI doesn't provide. We visited for a while—still no Peg. I went down to the security area where you leave the secured port area—no Peg. Came back and visited some more with Jackie & Sheila.

We finally gave up and came up with a Plan B. At 2:00 we would both appear on the lifeboat decks of our respective ships and I'd signal them if I'd been successful in obtaining the pins.

Came back, called Peg's stateroom and left her a message to meet me on the aft deck at 10 to 2 and went to lunch. Then I walked around looking for her. Couldn't find her, but ran into lots of other folks.

At 10 to 2 I was on the back deck. No Peg. Just as I was about to give up and go to signal that I didn't have the pins, Don appeared with them. So I went out and signaled madly, and we both exited our respective ships and met on the dock and made the delivery.

Life was a lot simpler in the days when you could visit other ships!

Had a great sailaway party on the back deck with a bunch from our group. We watched the Enchantment back out and turn around and head to sea and then it was our turn. The turning basin in this port is pretty tight—it was interesting to watch them swing around.

Only four of us showed up for dinner tonight, so service was very speedy and we were out of there shortly after 7. Had a visit from Roger, a waiter from the other floor of the dining room who has been serving out on the back deck in the mornings. He's a really great guy.

Tuesday, December 13

Phillipsburg, St. Maarten

Carolyn and I took a taxi to the French side of the island to see what Marigot was like. Got to see some of the island on the way over. Pretty much the same as the Dutch side, lots of vendors. And high end boutiques.

It was really tough to find a cab to go back—the taxi driver had told us to stand by the taxi stand. We were there for half an hour and no cabs. Finally inquired in the Bureau de Change across the street and they suggested going one street closer to the waterfront—found a cab right away.

We didn't go to downtown Phillipsburg since I've been there before, just shopped at the shops on the pier on our return. Found Fresh Produce shirts for half price, so we were happy.

Perry Grant was performing in the theater tonight so Carolyn and I went to see what all the fuss was about. He's a good entertainer, but I don't much care for his voice. Cannot imaging just taking a cruise to go to two of his shows every night, but that's what his groupies do.

Wednesday, December 14

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

This was a new port for all of us. Carolyn and I were fortunate to get a taxi van tour of the island with only 4 people in the van. Interesting tour and the views from the top of the mountain were fantastic. We had our driver drop us off in Charlotte Amalie after the tour. Found another Fresh Produce t-shirt—alas, full price. Carolyn then decided that it was time to do some jewelry shopping. Went to Boolchands since that was the closest and I know they are a reputable store, but it's not like there's a shortage of jewelry stores in Charlotte Amalie! She found a ring she liked, but it was going to take them an hour to size it, so I decided to go back to the ship.

There were four ships in port today, so it was crowded, especially since two of them were the huge variety. We had a prime docking spot in Havensight, so it wasn't too bad. Poked around in some of the shops in Havensight, but decided I was shopped out and returned to the ship and had lunch with Karen and JR.

Upon walking in to the main dining room tonight, there was our former assistant waiter from the Millennium, Carlos, at the maitre d' station. Hadn't known he was on the ship. It was good to see him again—he's now a waiter. Roger came up to visit us at our table again and wanted to take us down to meet the folks at his tables, so we got escorted down the grand staircase. Carlos works the station next to his.

Our waiter is competent and a good waiter, but he has no personality and doesn't get jokes at all. It really makes a difference if you get a lively waiter who takes an interest in your group.

My stomach was rebelling against all the rich food, so I ate very little at dinner and came back to the room and went to bed.