Life is good

I'm glad to be home, though I truly enjoyed my latest (and last, at least for awhile) vacation. It's time to get serious about getting this house ready for re-sale....and I'll get there after a good cleaning, more clear-up and those pesky repairs I need to do.  But in the meantime, there is catching up to do.  I've been watching the women's curling (which I PVR'ed) and the men's worlds event started yesterday.  Priorities right?

While I'm watching television, doing laundry and other housework, I'll share some of my photos from the trip.  Since this cruise took me to three of the islands I visited on the last cruise there aren't nearly as many!  But I did visit two new ports, returned to one I hadn't been to since 2011 (on my very first cruise), and I crossed off a bucket list item.  More on that later.

This is at least the third cruise I've done on the Crown Princess.  I love this ship for several reasons, but most of all for the aft pool (Terrace) that is adult only, quiet - no loud music at any time, has the Outrigger Bar, and is close to the buffet.  I always select a cabin close, and this time I wasn't more than 30 feet from the back stairs that lead up to the pool area.  It's my very favorite place to spend time in the sun, eat a meal, or have a drink.  
The photo to the right shows the aft while we were in Barbados.  At the top where the flag is flying is the Terrace pool area.  It's not large which means it never gets crowded, and above the pool is an area with tables and chairs for meals or simply relaxing when the deck chairs are full.

My room was on the next floor down, on the starboard (right) side of the ship.  I had an inside cabin again.  It was a standard room except there were two bunks on either side of the bed that could be brought down for additional guests.  Of course, I didn't need them but found I kept bumping into them as I got into bed.  Eventually I learned to go over the end of the bed but not before I got a couple of bruises!



 This was the view from the aft while prior to sail-away.  I believe that's the Harmony of the Seas (a Royal Caribbean ship) to the left and behind that is the Regal Princess.  It was a cloudy day with periods of sunshine but no rain. 

The bridge in the background is the 17th Street causeway bridge and you'll see it again later from the other direction.

This is the other pool that I spent time at, but not during the day!  The big screen is used to provide entertainment showing concerts and movies.  In the evening it is an outdoor movie theater. Many of the deck chairs have added pads, there are blankets (not really needed) and free popcorn is handed out.  I watched a few movies there, including The Green Book, Old Man and a Gun, and The Wife.  I also saw A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody on my flights, and one evening watch Ocean's Eight on my stateroom television.  Anyone who knows me well knows this is unusual as I normally don't have the patience to sit through a movie.  I enjoyed all of them, but must say that The Green Book was the best and deserved the Oscar win.

Also deserving of a reward was the pilot and crew of this Coast Guard helicopter.  On our second day at sea, a passenger had to be medivaced from the ship to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The crew on the ship drained both pools in the center of the ship in preparation, to allow a basket and the helicopter medic to be lowered onto the ship. That area was closed to the rest of the passengers but the Terrace was still open.  This photo was taken prior to the medivac and I chose not to stay to watch when they completed the mission. The helicopter circled the ship a number of times to get the speed correct as the ship continued to sail, albeit at a lower speed.  The precision is something to see, and I'm hopeful the passenger has made a complete recovery. 

 Back to sail-away!  Coming out the channel, we pass by some lovely (and I expect very expensive homes).  Often there are residents out waving good-bye to the cruise ships.

Further along this channel are two large apartment blocks.  I was disappointed to see that the giant hands that used to wave good-bye from one of the apartment balconies weren't there.  Perhaps the occupants were away that day or have moved.

 As the ship moves out to the ocean, we pass by the beach.  It has been on my bucket list for sometime to spend a day or so on the beach, and be there to wave good-bye to the cruise ships.  This trip I did it and you'll see the photos in a later post.  

Spoiler alert - the weather wasn't nearly as nice as the day we sailed. :(

One final photo for today, from the 16th deck look out to sea.  I believe that is the Harmony leading the way, but I'm not certain.  We had two days at sea before we reached our first port, St. Kitts.  I spent the time relaxing by the pool, reading, and wandering the ship.  Dinner in the evenings was spent with a lovely group of people, a couple from Coquitlam, B.C., a couple from New Hampshire, and an older couple from Florida.  The latter, Fred and Ruth, are their nineties, have sailed more than 600 days on Princess, but more importantly are Holocaust survivors.  They met in a camp when they were just teenagers.  Ruth escaped while Fred survived and they met again in France where they were married before emigrating to the U.S.  Both lost their entire families to the Nazis.  Despite the tragedies they've suffered, they are a truly loving and compassionate couple, both hilarious in their comments, and such fun.  They tend to win trivia games, a lot, so we were each gifted with a prize at our final dinner together.  I hope sometime to meet up with them again.

Life is good!  I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I hope I never lose the feeling of wonder and excitement of travelling to different places and meeting a diverse group of people.  These experiences remind me that I am fortunate to live in the time and place I do while opening my mind to other experiences and ideas.

Have a great day everyone!