Back to back, again

January 27th to March 12th, 2000

PART II - Majesty of the Seas

February 10th
This time, took the Trolley Bus that does the outer circle of Old San Juan. Stopped at El Morro Fortress that was built back in the early 1500's. Amazing how they could build something of this magnitude so many centuries ago. We are waiting for the MAJESTY OF THE SEAS to arrive in 2 days for our next cruise.

February 11th
We left our room and went out to the front of the hotel to a table near the street and people watched. Amazing the differences in people, in dress, and in language. We met many people who were waiting to board the various cruise ships. We gave them our advice and information. Thousands of people are here waiting to get onboard when the ships pull into port. Counted 8 cruise ships in port. Some ships are old, some are much smaller, some of odd design, and several had rows and rows of out side balconies. On the recommendations of many people, we decided to go out for dinner tonight to the Parrot Club. The food was enough for 4 people and the food presentation was excellent, but with poor service. Guess we are used to the special attention we get when onboard a cruise ship. We ate under the stars and trees. It is close to 80 degrees at 10:00 pm at night.

February 12th
Today we boarded the MAJESTY OF THE SEAS for a 7-day cruise. This is a 9-year-old ship, 880 feet long, that we have been on before. As in the past, we take a fold up wheeled luggage carrier with us. This enables us to unfold it and load the luggage on it. We checked out of our hotel room and wheeled our luggage across the street where the ship was docked. We discovered our cabin assignment on deck 2 was too far in the bow which would be very noisy when they are using the bow thruster plus more motion when in heavier seas. Requested and got a change to a cabin on deck 3 about in the center of the ship. Signed up for tours for the week at various ports we are going to be at. On a whim, wrote short letters to various managers and to the Captain informing them that we are onboard. I told them about the 4 back-to-back cruises we are doing and that it is our anniversary tomorrow. We found out later that the cruise ship we had just been on, some of the managers had contacted the people on this ship to "take care of us". Just after boarding a ship, we always go direct to the dining room to see where they have assigned our dining table. We always want a round table for at least 8 people. In this manner, you can speak to everyone easily. We were able to get it changed. Each ship has an early seating at 6:15 p.m. and then one at 8:15 p.m. We always take the early seating, otherwise, it is close to 11:00 p.m. before you finish dinner. Just to late, unless you are used to this schedule.

February 13th
At sea, all day today and tonight. This is our 29th wedding anniversary today. Early in the morning I found a letter had been slipped under our door. They offered to upgrade us to the Royal Suite at no extra charge. This was a 5-room cabin with a Jacuzzi tub, a wet bar, entertainment center, 2 huge color TV's, a foot washing bowl, and a huge private balcony. The bathroom was bigger than the cabin we had before. Found out later the bowl was not for washing feet. The only other cabin any larger in the whole ship is the Captains. Normally, they charge several thousand dollars per person extra for this suite. Pam did not know what type of upgrade we got because I found the letter before she woke up. I went to the suite and called her. I said the upgrade was a tiny bit bigger, but think she should make the decision to move. Come up and take a look at it I told her. She was quite surprised. We played the slot machines and had some good entertainment for $20 each. Pam won and I lost. Ships are now installing what they call the Internet Cafe. Sent Ryan e-mail. Cost 50 cents per minute compared to $8 per minute to use the phone. Been taking many photos only this time having them developed on the ship. Either it was my old camera or the security x-rays bleached out the ones from our trip 2 years ago. Again, getting free bottles of wine and special things delivered to our suite. Going to have to figure out how to get some gifts home, when to have time to eat them, or drink them. May ship them when in St. Thomas to Seattle. Would be no international duty or freight charges if we shipped from there. Been meeting the Head Pursor, the Hotel Director, the Cruise Director, and a lot of top management people. It seemed they all knew about us. I arranged for roses to be delivered to the dining room table for Pam. The Captain's Gala Welcome Aboard party was tonight.

February 14th
We arrived at Oranjestad, Aruba in the early morning. Went out on a semi-submersible submarine several miles offshore to view a sunken German freighter from WWII. The weather was overcast and it has been very windy the last few days. Many people got seasick. The ocean water was not very clear but still saw a lot of colorful fish. Took many photos. The Head Pursor informed us they have called the next ship we will be on, the MONARCH OF THE SEAS to let them know about Pam and I. We went shopping in town. Every where are jewelry stores, liquor stores, T-shirt shops, cigar shops, perfume shops, and other specialty shops selling "designer" clothing. The exchange rate between USA dollar and the florin is about 2 to 1. We took photos of our suite and the different rooms in it.

February 15th
We left Aruba at 1:00 a.m. this morning and arrived at Willemstad, Curacao at 8:00 a.m. Distance from the last port to the next port of call was about 75 miles. We had lumpy seas, lots of motion, windy, and rain squalls. However, it is still 86 degrees out side. The Captain of the ship came up to us to personally welcome us and said to advise him that if we needed anything, we were to contact him immediately. He had been informed we were coming onboard. We are getting treated like royalty. There are other cruise ships here. Been reading more books. The town is full of thousands of tourists. I like this place. Signed up for what they call the trolley train tour around the town. This was very interesting. Some buildings that were built in the 1500's are still used today. Coral rock was used as building blocks. They paint the building in vibrant colors, however, it must be done all over again every few years. The salt in the coral rock leaches out and peels the paint off. Viewed several old churches, one with sand floors. The members of the church ship the sand from Jerusalem. I asked the tour director why there are no garbage cans. She had no comment. It is sad to see the beauty and the historical landmarks of these islands soiled by so much litter. Boats from Venezuela bring their fruits, vegetables, and fish to sell at the public market. Amazing the selection they have for sale and how these boats could ever make the sea journey.

February 16th
At sea all day and all during the night. Amazing how at sunrise, it is immediately light and then at sundown, immediately dark with no twilight. This is a formal night, plus by special invitation only, a Diamond Level cocktail party. Weather was overcast with rainsqualls. The rain is so warm, people do not even move undercover when they are laying in the lounge chairs near the pool. Some of them are asleep, maybe they did not know it was raining? We are very careful about being in the direct sunlight. In 15 minutes, you can get burned very badly and many people did so. Seems we made quite an impression with the officers and other department heads at the Diamond Level cocktail party. We were far more outgoing than the other members and probably the youngest couple there. Took more photos. We received an invitation to dine with one of the ships doctors this evening at the Captain's table. Again, they only select 8 people out of about 2000 for this. On this cruise, the people at our assigned table were somewhat interesting to say the least. One couple was very weird. The wife was ugly, fat, and had no personality. The husband was also fat and never blinked his eyes. Another couple was in their early 80's. He was deaf, took a long time to order dinner, and hard to keep a conversation going. The last couple was easier to communicate with and they have cruised many times before, but never have been on Royal Caribbean. Finished another book. Our course is northeast. Did 12 laps around the ship today. Had to take another shower. This ship needs to have Starbucks coffee or some other similar brand. Coffee they serve is not very good. They make it in 500-cup coffee makers. Oh well, can't have everything.

February 17th
We arrived at Philipsburg, the capital of Dutch St. Maarten, after very calm seas during last night. This island nation is 1/2 Dutch (about 32,000 people) and 1/2 French (about 25,000 people). The language is Dutch, French, and English. The currency is the Netherlands Antilles guilder and the French franc. The island is about 37 square miles of which 16 miles is Dutch and 21 square miles is French. I chartered a boat and went out deep sea fishing about 20 miles offshore. I shared the cost with 5 other people and 4 of them became very seasick. Two of them had never been out on a boat before as I found out later. I had no problem at all. Seas were running about 15 feet offshore and were increasing. Sometimes, the wave would fill the cockpit of the boat. The 41-foot sportfisherman was well equipped, less than 2 years old, and with all of the modern electronics and safety devices. The crewmember Mark on the charter boat was from Canada. He came for a week vacation 4 years ago and has not left. Pam stayed onboard the cruise ship today. Transportation to the shore was by tenders that carried about 350 people each. No dock space for the ship was available because the ship was too large. These newer state-of-the art type of ships do not anchor anymore. They do not want to damage the coral reefs. With the modern GPS technology, the onboard computers keep the ship in one spot using the thrusters. Caught a 24-lb. mai-mai and a medium size barracuda. Had several hits by sailfish, but never hooked one. The mai-mai was brilliant green when pulled onboard, but turned brown quickly. People at our dining room table wanted to see our suite. We took them to our suite. Been going to the Show almost each evening. The entertainment tonight was 50's and 60's theme and was spectacular. Again, been giving advice to other guests about cruising on ships and the benefits of repeat cruises with the same cruise line. Each day, on several TV channels you can get information on the next port of call for shopping, tours, and other things to do.

February 18th
We arrived at St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Decided to mail the statues and other items back to Seattle because we had no way to carry them with us. Went on the tram to the top of one of the local mountains. Awesome view of the ocean and the other islands. Took photos of our ship as we were coming down the tram. Finished another book. Packed our luggage tonight because we are getting off of the ship tomorrow. Going to be difficult being in a standard cabin on the next ship after being in this huge suite.

February 19th
Arrived early in the morning in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Disembarked the ship and wheeled our luggage across the street to the Wyndham Hotel. Had to wait in the lobby for 4 hours for our room to be available. They had a McDonald's restaurant near the hotel and we had breakfast there. This was not a fast food type and no one spoke English. Saw 5 more cruise ships come into port. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for something different to eat. Sure was a noisy place. This room in the hotel is very noisy with the road traffic and the air conditioning equipment on the roof of the building next door. Oh well, just here for the night, plus it is free for us. Lots of people waiting to board the cruise ships or have just left the cruise ship and are headed home. People of all nationalities.