| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
22nd March 2024 |
BoMoH -> LonDon |
Imperial Guest House Hounslow |
 |
23rd March 2024 |
LHR-> JFK -> SJU -> |
Hampton Inn San Juan |
 |
24th March 2024 |
San Juan Puerto Rico |
Regent Seven Seas Splendor |
 |
25th March 2024 |
Gustavia St. Barts FWI |
Too windy to tender |
 |
26th March 2024 |
St. John's Antigua BWI |
Island Safari & Beach tour |
 |
27th March 2024 |
Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas USVI |
St John's Island tour |
 |
28th March 2024 |
Puerto Plata Dominican Republic |
(ATV Adventure & Beach tour) |
 |
30th March 2024 |
Nassau New Providence Bahamas |
Discover Nassau town & Atlantis |
|
31st March 2024 |
Miami Florida USA |
Hop On Hop Off bus tour |
Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
I awoke at 6:45 and spent the morning packing. At 11:30 I caught a Streamline taxi to the coach station, ready for the 12:15 National Express service to LHR. I bagged the front seat right behind the driver. After the Ringwood pick up, I dozed for a bit, before having my cheese and marmite sarnies. We had a bit of queuing at St Catherine's hill near Winchester and then again on the M25 near Heathrow.
I alighted at 14:15 at Terminal 5, where I caught the Piccadilly line to Hounslow Central (not Hounslow West as usual). It was a short walk to the £35 a night Imperial guest house. After having a mug of tea, I walked the 250 yards to Hounslow High Road. Here I bought a litre of milk in Iceland.
Back at my digs, I started work on this blog and had a second mug of tea. At 5:15 I walked around the lovely Lambton Park in the late afternoon sunshine. Just before it closed at six o'clock, I had a five pound Subway BMT submarine roll.
Back at my room, I watched TV all evening, going to sleep at 10:40.
I awoke at 5:30 an hour before my alarms and got up at six o'clock as the planes continued passing over. I finished up my litre of milk, before abluting. I bought some more sarnies from the little shop opposite the station. I caught the 6:30 tube train from Hounslow Central to Terminal 3.
The joint Virgin/Delta staff and check in machines were rather unhelpful. After some ping pong between the Virgin and the Delta staff, I was checked in. Although my label said SJU, I was told that as usual with the USA, I had to collect my bag at JFK and check-in again. The flight had cost RSSC $762 to purchase.
I then went walkabout going up to the top of the tallest multi-storey car park in the bright sunshine, but cold wind. Security was quick and so I was able to settle down in the lounge with copious power outlets to update this blog. We pulled back on time and didn't have to queue for long for the runway.
I was sat next to a retired kindergarten teacher aged just 54 from Cincinatti in Ohio who had been on holiday with her husband in Dublin. I started watching the excellent Priscilla (Presley) biopic, until the drinks and lunches appeared. I had three glasses of regular Spite, which is like our lemonade. The hot chicken in basil sauce with gnocchi and spinach was excellent. I enjoyed the cold salad, the small cheese & biscuits and the two small tiramisus.
I then watched the second half of the film, which was darker than the recent Elvis (Presley) biopic, as it covered the drug abuse and the Memphis Mafia of hangers-on. I then slept for one hour.
When I awoke, I started watching the epic, Oscar winning movie about Dr J Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. As usual I had trouble following the various story lines, but enjoyed seeing Kenneth Branagh and Tom Conti. I have met the latter only once, when skiing in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland when, in the mist, he asked me for the way down!
Towards the end of the eight hour flight, we had a lovely hot chicken tikka masala roll. At JFK airport in NYC, we had a long walk to the huge immigration hall. Here I had to queue for forty five minutes. By now the bags had been off loaded from the carousel, so I walked just around the corner to put my bag back on another conveyor belt. Unfortunately security took half an hour and was rather hot. Near the gate, I found the nerds corner with power sockets, so I could update this blog and eat my chocolate wafers brought from home.
The narrow body Boeing 737 plane was late arriving in the heavy rain and so was one hour late leaving. I slept with my blow-up neck cushion and eye mask for three of the three and half hour flight, thus missing the pay-as-you-go drinks and food service. At San Juan International airport (SJU), I had to wait half an hour for my bag to appear. I was then taken in the crew minibus to the Hampton Inn, where I had an expansive room. Finishing the sarnies I had bought in Hounslow, I got to sleep at 12:30 which was 5:30 am on my body clock.
I slept for four hours until 4:30 which was 9:30 on my body clock. I had a decaff ground coffee from the machine in the bathroom, before showering. I then updated this blog waiting for the dawn.
At 6:30 I breakfasted on the scrambled egg with pork pattie on a toasted bagel. I had a glass of cranberry juice and another decaff coffee. I then walked along the lovely beach for a mile to an old cemetery, before doubling back along the main road. It was already eighty two degrees in the hot sunshine.
Back at my motel, I dozed for eighty minutes, before updating this blog. At 11:15 the minibus arrived to take me to the ship which was berthed on the south side of the harbour next to Norwegian View. A Celebrity ship and an Oceania ship were berthed on the north side next to the old city. At check-in I was given an introductory letter spelling out my lectures and an invitation to the solo travellers reception.
I was on board soon after noon. I had lunch of tomato soup and roast beef in La Veranda buffet, but sat inside as it was too hot outside in my travelling jacket. At 1:30 I snuck into my suite which was a double with balcony at the front of the starboard side on deck six. Having unpacked, I tried to have a siesta, but I was too excited to be back on board a Regent Seven Seas cruise ship.
I went ashore to photograph the enormous Norwegian Viva cruise ship berthed behind us, but it was too hot to walk the several miles into the city. I touched base with Destination Services and was given four tours as a guest, with the possiblity of being a tour escort on the fifth island. At five o'clock I did six lengths of the warm main pool in the hot sun, but both large jacuzzis were occupied. I then sat out on my balcony nearly naked.
At 6:30 I went to the Observation Lounge to host the solo travellers. Here I spoke to several of the production company including red haired Megan who is the girlfriend of CD Andrew Galler, who used to work for Saga. I was joined by Inge from Winchester, Pat & Barbara from Florida and Linda from Michigan. The latter was the mother of singer Megan and was sharing her below stairs cabin. Then also red haired ACD Brody arrived to co-host the group with me.
At 7:30 the party went down to the Compass Rose main dining room (MDR), except for Inge who was jet lagged. (Her flight from the UK was with United via Newark, not JFK, and she had missed her connection to SFU. She had had to sleep in the airport overnight! I was so lucky as that might have been me. JFK is so much better than Newark and Delta is better then United!)
At a table for five in the large, high and noisy main dining room, I had the cauilflower soup, the Caesar salad, the veal piccata and the caramelised banana dessert. I had two glasses of Merlot red wine to drink.
At nine o'clock Linda and Brody slipped out and the three of us stayed until 9:25, when I went to the show. This was a series of performances by the musicians on board, including the seven piece orchestra, the duo and the cocktail pianist plus a few singers, including Megan and CD Amelia. One dance couple did a thrilling Argentine tango routine. The half hour long show finished with a few numbers by the twelve strong production company from their Queen tribute show. I went to sleep just after ten o'clock.
I awoke to the dawn at seven o'clock, having slept for nearly NINE hours, and my jet lag was now over! At 7:30 I had the breakfast special of a cream cheese brioche sandwich dipped in maple syrup with fresh fruit to eat, sat inside the buffet. I had one glass of sparkling water, one glass of tomato juice and one cup of decaff capuchino coffee to drink. When Emir came to service the suite, I did four complete circuits of the top level jogging track, equal to three quarters of mile of walking, but it was awfully hot in the bright sunshine.
At nine o'clock the Captain announced that it was too rough to tender into Gustavia. CD Amelia phoned and asked me to do my Gustavia talk in the morning and my St. John's talk in the afternoon. I declined to do the former as it raises too many expectations and causes too many disappointments. Instead I offered either a geological or a musical enrichment lecture and we agreed that I would do "Elvis: King of Rock & Roll" in the morning slot.
At ten o'clock Remcie and Napoleon from the Phillipines and Christian from Colombia set me up. I have never had three technicians at my beck and call before! My power plug was playing up, but they had a replacement power cable to hand. At 10:30 Amelia introduced me and I gave my forty minute talk on Elvis to a small audience at such short notice. At the end, I only had a couple of guests to chat with.
Back in my suite, I updated this blog and my St. John's port talk. At noon I lunched al fresco on the lentil soup, a small pork medallion and a small veal cordon bleu with ratatouille. This was followed by just one scoop of mixed berry frozen yoghurt with chocolate drops and candied mixed peel. I was having the latter for the first time on a dessert. I sat out on my balcony for the first time cruise letting my meal go down and watching the black & white boobies diving into the water.
At two o'clock the boys set me up ready to give my forty minute port talk on St. John's Antigua at 2:30. I had a few questions to field at the end. I then slept for nearly one hour, before doing six lengths of the warm pool, but it had clouded over.
At six o'clock I sat with Inge in the balcony of the Constellation theatre to see the Captain's welcome. At 6:30 Inge went back to her suite for her one course room service lobster dinner, whilst I adjourned to the Observatory. Here I co-hosted Vietnam veteran Carlton from Washington DC and Rachel and her mother Rebecca (Becky) from Tennessee with Brody.
At 7:30 I hosted the three guests at a table for four in the Compass Rose MDR. I had the asparagus soup, the Caesar salad, the tournedos Rossini and the rocky road ice cream. The table broke up at 9:25 ready to see the excellent Divos & Divas production showtime with eight dancers, seven musicans and four singers. They sang songs by: Frank, Rod, Dolly, Freddie, Diana, Whitney, Celine, Madonna, Barry (Manilow not White), Gloria (Estefan not Gaynor) and Bruno Mars. Unfortunately some of the audience talked throughout the show. I went to sleep at 10:30, having done just over seven thousand steps, equal to nearly three miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 6:15, as we berthed in St. John's the capital of Antigua. Having abluted, I had the breakfast special of a fried egg on a tortilla with guacamole and soured cream to eat. I sat out on La Veranda watching the four big ships, including P&O's Britannia, arrive in port. I had one glass of sparkling water, one glass of tomato juice and one cup of decaff capuchino coffee to drink.
Back in my suite, I updated this blog and prepared my backpack for the beach. Just after eight o'clock I went to the Constellation theatre to collect my bus ticket for the Island Safari & Beach tour. We had a short walk to a shore side parking lot to get on to the back of the open sided minibus. We had a guided drive across the island to get to Grace Hill where I had TWO glasses of rum punch. There was a well preserved Moravian protestant church here, built of the local stone.
Our final stop was at Turner's beach which I have visited previously. I went straight into the water, before spying craftswomen Suzanne Livingstone from Northern Ireland. We had a chat and took some photographs. She was working on P&O's Britannia. I went back into the sea for a good wallow, before heading east passed Pelican Island. I then headed west to a completely deserted beach, before returning to the minibus and the ride back to the port.
Back at the ship, I changed out of my damp cossie and went for an early lunch. I had the carrot soup, the roast lamb and the berry frozen yoghurt in La Veranda al fresco. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink, before dozing for a hour. This was interrupted by a phone call from reception saying that the gangway had my mobile phone. I knew that they hadn't, but nevertheless popped down to confirm it wasn't mine.
It had started to rain, so I had to venture out with my umbrella. I finally found the Eastern Bus Station, such as it is. I popped into the Anglican/Episcopal cathedral and took some pictures both inside and out.
Back at the ship again, I updated this blog. Just after four o'clock I touched base with Florin at the Destination Services desk. At 4:45 the boys set me up ready to give my forty five minute talk on Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas: Capital of the US Virgin Islands.
At 6:30 I adjourned to the Observation Lounge to host the solo travellers with Brody. We sat with just one lady, New Yorker Carol from San Diego. I dined with her on the parsnip soup, filet mignon with asparagus & chips, followed by one scoop each of pistachio and rum & raisin ice cream. I had two glasses of Californian pinot noir red wine to drink. She had Italian ancestry and so speaks the language and ofter visits Tuscany & Calabria. Being a New Yorker, she dances East Coast Swing rather than West Coast Swing, where she now lives.
At 9:30 I went to the Crossroads production show, which pitted country singers and dancers against rock & rollers! I knew most of the country strongs, like Shania Twain's "That don't impressive me much" and Tim McGraw's "I like it, I love it", but few of the rock songs. As with the day before, some of the audience talked throughout the show. I went to sleep at 10:30 having done ten thousand steps, equal to four miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at six o'clock to the dawn. Having showered, I sat out on my balcony as we sailed passed the British Virgin Islands. At seven o'clock I had a freshly made cheese omelette with crispy bacon and a single chipolata sauage to eat al fresco. I had one glass of sparkling water, one of tomato juice and a cup of decaff capuchino coffee to drink as we berthed at Havensight.
I was one of the first off the ship at 8:05 walking the one and a half miles into town. I did some photography of the principl buildings before walking back to the ship for 9:30. I immediately went to the Constellation theatre to get my bus ticket, which was called early, before the published 9:45 timing. I walked along the quayside and was the first guest to climb on board the Island Girl ferry from St Thomas US Virgin Island to St John US Virgin Island. We didn't get fully loaded and away until 10:10, taking forty five minutes to cross the strait between the two islands.
At Cruz bay, we got on to our open sided minibus with driver Douglas for the tour around the North West part of the island. Our first stop was at the Windmill Bar on Neptune's Lookout. One elderly, disabled gentleman was fifteen minutes late back to the minibus. Our next stop was at Cinnamon bay where I was able to use the wi-fi to upload two videos. I was able to collect two maps and one booklet on St John US Virgin Island here.
Back at Cruz Bay, I popped into the National Park Visitor Center, to pick up their map. Most of the island was bought by one of the Rockefeller billionaires and donated to the US nation as a natural park. At 1:30 we got back on the Island Girl to ferry us back from St John US Virgin Island to St Thomas US Virgin Island. I sat on the side near the front of the ship and unfortunately my left arm and rear neck got rather burned by the hot sun reflected off the water. We only just made it back to the ship for the 2:30 all aboard time.
The buffet having closed at two o'clock, the Pool Grill was heaving and quoting a forty five minute order wait time, so I had two small pizza slices, a turkey mayonnaire croissant and a smoked salmon roll as a late lunch. I had two glasses of Sprite lemonade to drink.
Back in my cabin I slept for three quarters of hour, awoken by one of my wardrobe doors banging as we hit a rough patch of sea. I then updated this blog and uploaded all my photographs taken so far. At six o'clock I went for a swim, but the pool was empty as it had been a bit rocky. Instead I spent just five minutes in one of the large, square jacuzzis.
At 6:30 I adjourned to the Observation lounge to host the solo travellers, where I was joined by dancers Shari (pronounced Sherry) from Palm Beach and Khan from Hartkepool. With no single travellers appearing, we moved along to the Sette Mari Italian restaurant. We began with the anti-pasti plates for sharing, sat out on the rear terrace with the lights of Puerto Rico twikling. I had the minestrone soup, the fettucini pasta, the ossobucco veal shank and the canoli Siciliana to eat. I drank two glasses of the red Chianti wine from Tuscany. We talked about lots of things, including lots about dancing.
At 9:30 I sat with Barbara in the Broadway musicals show with the seven musicians and six singers, but no dancers. I particularly enjoyed the ALW medley and the Les Mis finale. I went to sleep at 10:30 having done over twelve thousand steps, equal to five miles of walking during the day.
I awoke to the dawn at 6:45 ready for breakfast to start at 7:30. I had the special of TWO eggs Provencal to eat al fresco as we shadowed the Dominican Republic's north coast. I had one glass of sparkling water, one of tomato juice and a cup of decaff capuchino to drink as usual.
Back in my suite, I worked on my Puerto Plata presentation and prepared some FOCL bids. At 8:45 as the cabin was being serviced, I did ten circuits of the swimming pool equal to one mile of walking, as the top deck jogging track was too hot in the bright sunshine.
At 9:30 I got set up in the Constellation theatre. Shari and Khan, the dancers I had dined with the previous night, were on door duty. At ten o'clock I gave my thirty minute talk on Puerto Plata to my largest audience yet. I had several guests to speak to at the end, one of whom was a Jewish gentleman who wanted to know more about the two books I had mentioned on the Jewish Refugee settlement.
At eleven o'clock I had an early lunch of a mixed grill with a minute steak, a beefburger, a piece of chicken, a piece of salmon and a single kebeb on a stick with chips to eat. I had two glasses of sprite lemonade to drink.
At 12:15 I went to the Constellation theatre to get my bus number for my All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) & Beach tour. We had a long walk along the pier to the circular Welcome Centre. Here our driving licences were inspected and mine was found to have expired last year, so I was denied access to the tour. Instead I walked through the enormous Taino Bay leisure complex.
Out in the street, I turned left at the old steam locomotive to head for the castle, the lighthouse and the amphitheatre. I walked along the Malecon promenade to the Fishermen's wharf, before heading inland by the Masonic temple. I went in a couple of cigar establishments, before reaching the main Independence Square / Central Park. Here I explored the large art deco cathedral and the surrounding Victorian buildings. I descended along Duarte street to find the pedestrianised street of umbrellas. Here there were three vintage American cars on display.
Back at the Taino Bay complex, I took note of the free Lazy River twenty minute floating ride. Back at the ship, I slept for three quarters of an hour. I left most of my clutter behind as I headed back ashore with the barest of essentials on me. I caught the free tuk-tuk to the end of pier, before starting out on a large inflatable rubber ring down the Lazy River. This had a gentle current to swish you along under various bridges and buildings. After twenty minutes I reached the starting point again and waded ashore. However getting in or getting out I had managed to lose my ship's card.
Back at the Welcome Centre, I jumped in another one of the free tuk-tuks, thus avoiding the ID inspection. Back at the ship, the facial recognition system allowed me to board and reception printed a new ship's card for me. At six o'clock I did six lengths of the main pool, and spent five minutes in both large hot tubs, both of which were empty.
At 6:30 I sat with Connie from Minnesota at the Solo Travellers meet up. We were joined by dancers Shari (pronounced Sherry) from Palm Beach and Dan from Warrington in Cheshire. Connie declined to join us for dinner, so the three hosts went to the Compass Rose MDR on our own. I had the duck soup, the pasta Bolognese, the rib eye steak with chips and green asparagus, followed by the sugar free raspberry ice cream to eat. I had two glasses of the Shiraz red wine to drink.
At 9:15 we moved up to the deck party. When the orchestra played two Elvis tracks, I jived with CD Amelia and with one of the professional dancers. I sat with veteran Carlton on the pool side loungers. When they played a rumba, I danced with Shari. I joined in the Electric Slide line dance and did smooches with Pat & Barbara. I stayed till it ended at 10:30, going to sleep at 10:45, having done over seventeen thousand steps, equal to nearly seven miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 6:45 to the dawn, fifteen minutes before my alarm, having slept for eight hours. At 7:30 I had the full English breakfast al fresco on the rear veranda. At 8:30 I got set up in the Constellation theatre, ready to give my thirty five minute talk on Nassau at an early nine o'clock start to a smallish audience. The cruise saleman Lee from the Wirral told me about the Humane Society for Cats & Dogs in Nassau as he got set up to follow me.
Back in my suite, I updated this blog. At eleven o'clock, I went to the line dancing packed into the smallish Splendor lounge. Matti taught her own version of Boot Scootin' Boogie, the Cuban Shuffle (the go right, go left song) and the Wobble. She began with a warm up session and taught for just half an hour.
At noon I lunched on the pea & ham soup followed by the salmon en croute with broccoli and potato au gratin. I then slept for an hour and a quarter. At 2:30 the boys set me up ready to give my thirty five minute Miami port talk at three o'clock. I had just a couple of questions to answer at the end.
At 5:30 I went for a swim, but the pool was too frisky, so I just spent five minutes in the jacuzzis devoid of other guests. At six o'clock I went to the Crew Show which was predictable, except for the novel synchronised swimming of the male flamingoes! I slipped out at 6:30 to host the solo travellers. Here I met the newly arrived social hostess Claire from Sunderland. She has lived and worked in both Madrid and Lisbon. Her baggage hadn't arrived with her, so she had had to borrow clothes from others! We joined Connie, Carolyn (mother), Renee (daughter), Teresa and Juan Martin. I told Claire that I would hold the fort so she could slip away to catch up on her paperwork.
At 7:30 I led Connie, Carolyn and Renee down to the Compass Rose MDR. Here I had the chestnut soup, the iceberg salad and the rack of lamb with aspargus to eat. I had two glasses of La Mancha red wine from Spain to drink. We had to forego dessert in order to get to the Diamond Run spy thriller production showtime with six singers and six dancers, but no musicians. The huge LED screen behind the stage was put to good use. Scene included Havana in Cuba and Kyoto in Japan. I went to sleep at 10:30 having done just six and a half thousand steps, equal to nearly three miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at six o'clock, half an hour before my alarm, but it was still dark. At seven o'clock I had the special breakfast of scrambled egg, smoked salmon and cream cheese on half a bagel to eat. I made the mistake of having a strong Saturday special Bloody Mary to drink, along with my usual decaff capuchino and a glass of sparkling water.
There was a long wait for clearance and I eventually got off at 8:50. I walked in a westerly direction to the Hilton Colonial Hotel, where I used the free wi-fi. I continued walking along the Junkaloo beach to the Fishermen's Village. Here I crossed the road to the cricket ground, where a match was in play. I followed the road round to the Bahamas Humane Society cats & dogs home, but failed to find the entrance to the Ardastra Zoo. The Botanical Gardens were locked up and looked abandoned.
At Fort Charlotte on top of the hill, I didn't have my credit card pin with me and I only had a fifty dollar note which they couldn't change. So I didn't go in and saved myself $5.50 in the process. I walked back into the city, but the Christ Church Cathedral was closed to visitors. The Junakaloo museum was $11, so I gave that a miss as well. I bumped into ACD Brody as I walked back to the ship.
At noon I had the bean soup and the roast pork to eat and just one glass of sparkling water to drink. At one o'clock my Land & Sea tour departed with the long walk along the jetties to the cruise terminal. Here we boarded a minibus with driver & guide Greg. Our first stop was at Fincastle, where I recorded my piece to camera on the Queen's Staircase. Our second stop was at a rum cake factory, where I sampled two flavours, but bought none. Our third and final stop was at the Atlantis Marina Village on Paradise Island, which I had not visited before. I whizzed around the marina and the various shopping arcades and used the free wi-fi in the Atlantis Coral hotel.
Back at the port, I realised I had been doing the Discover Nassau Town & Atlantis tour instead of the Land & Sea tour! I had the long walk along the jetties passed FIVE huge ships to the little RSS Splendor. Back at the ship, I realised I had lost my umbrella (and screen pointer) somewhere along the way. I slept for three quarters of an hour only to be awoken by the Captain's departure annoucement.
At six o'clock I went to the Bohemian Soul production show set in Paris with a group of travellers. This included the song "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves" by Cher and one aria from Carmen. I rushed out at the end to get to the solo travellers meet up before social hostess Claire got there. However no singles turned up so I dined alone in the Sette Mari Italian restaurant. I had the anti-pasti, the bean soup, spaghetti puttanesca, three lamb chops and a small tiramisu dessert. I had two glasses of the Valipolicella blended red wine from the Veneto area inland from Venice.
At 9:30 I went to see the Elvis film in the Constellation theatre with just a handfull of other guests slipping in and out. I lasted one hour, before I was nodding off, so I went to bed at 10:40, having done over twenty three thousand steps, equal to over nine miles of walking during the day
I awoke at 6:20 to find we had already berthed in Miami, but it was still dark. The daily programme "Passages" had the next itinerary showing that we were going back to Nassau, not Bermuda and to Funchal, not Horta in the Atlantic. Thankfully the four Spanish ports remained the same.
At seven o'clock I had the special breakfast of two eggs Benedict to eat. I had one glass of sparkling water, one of tomato juice and one cup of decaff capuchino to drink as usual. Back in my suite, it had already been serviced.
At 8:45 I disembarked from the ship to go through US immigration. My passport wasn't scanned, so I was through in minutes. At 9:15 we got given our hop-on hop-off bus tour wrist bands. Unfortunately we didn't depart until 9:50 as the British couple sat on the top deck of the bus were hauled back to have their photographs taken.
Our first stop was at Miami South Beach, but I stayed on for the entire two hour circuit to the Bayside Marketplace. Here I used the loos and then did the twenty minute walk back to the ship. On the way I chatted to Dr Sean from Somerset West near Cape Town, who was a GP on one of the Carnival ships in port.
Back at the ship I had tomato soup and roast lamb al fresco for lunch, before heading back out again. I did the twenty minute walk back to the Bayside Marketplace to rejoin one of the BigBusCo's open top double deckers built by Alexander Dennis in Scotland. Again I did the circuit of Miami Beach, the Design district and the Wynwood street art area, but got off before Little Havana to cross the street to the starting point.
I walked through the crowded shopping mall to catch the free shuttle bus back to the ship. Here I slept for an hour and a half.
At 6:15 I bagged our spot in the Observation Lounge ready to greet the new solo travellers at 6:45. I met Anne from Pennsylvania, Scottish John from Melbourne, Gill from Cornwall, Carole and her daughter Chris from Las Vegas, Carole, Karen and archaeologist Al from Harvard. Anne was jet lagged and so had room service, but the other seven joined Clair and me at the huge Captain's table in the centre of the Compass Rose MDR. I was sat between Cornish Gill and mother Carole. I had the cauliflower soup, the Boston lettuce salad, the veal picatta and caramelised banana dessert to eat. I had two glasses of the Californian Merlot red wine to drink.
We finally finished at 9:25 ready to go to the introductory showtime in the Constellation theatre. This was a series of performances by the musicians on board, including the seven piece orchestra, the duo and the cocktail pianist plus a few singers, including Megan and CD Amelia. One dance couple did a thrilling Argentine tango routine. The half hour long show finished with a few numbers by the twelve strong production company from their Queen tribute show. I went to sleep at 10:45 having done nearly thriteen thousand steps equal to over five miles of walking during the day.
The ABC (Amelia, Brody & Clair) Endorsements...
Cruise Director Amelia wrote:
"What an absolute JOY it has been, having you with us."
Assistant Cruise Director Brody wrote:
"I just wanted to reach out and let you know how incredible you were!
Thank you so much for everything and being an absolute rockstar of a human!
I hope our paths cross again!!"
Social Hostess Clair wrote:
"Thank you so much Martin!!
You have been a star."
My Agent Alan wrote:
"Great feedback from Regent - well done!"
My Agent Maria wrote:
"That's so nice Martin... I will pass it on to the shoreside booker. Thanks for being a PEEL Rockstar."
752 Guests 646 Americans 184 Cruises (see www.MPLee.Co.UK/Cruises.htm) 63 Back to back guests 49 Kids & Teenagers 45 Cruise ships (see below) 27 Canadians 24 Brits 20 Mexicans 14 Cruise lines (see below) 10 Storey atrium 6 Lectures given 6 Aussies 6 Lifts 5 Port talks (StJsA, CAStTs, PPDR, NB, Miami) 2 Panoramic elevators 2 Swimming pools 1 New port (Puerto Plata) 1 New island (St John, USVI) 1 Enrichment lecture (Elvis)
1) Elvis: King of Rock & Roll
2) St. John's: Capital of Antigua
3) Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas: Capital of the US Virgin Islands
4) Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic: The Silver Port
5) Nassau, Providence Island: Capital of the Bahamas
6) Miami, Florida: The Magic City
1) Gustavia, St. Barts: La Vie en Rose
* Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines * Saga Shipping Company * Voyages of Discovery * Seabourn (Carnival) * Princess (Carnival) * Cunard (Carnival) * P&O (Carnival) * Celebrity (RCCL) * Silversea (RCCL) * Regent SS (NCL) * Oceania (NCL) * Marella (TUI) * Ambassador * CrystalForty Five Cruise Ships:
Silver Whisper Silver Spirit Silver Wind Silver Muse Silver Moon Silver Dawn Black Prince Black Watch Boudicca Balmoral Braemar Bolette Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Solstice Celebrity Eclipse Celebrity Edge Celebrity Apex Saga Rose Saga Ruby Saga Sapphire Saga Pearl II Quest for Adventure Spirit of Adventure (Old SofA) Spirit of Adventure (New SofA) Spirit of Discovery Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) Queen Elizabeth (QE) Queen Victoria (QV) Queen Mary 2 (QM2) P&O Arcadia P&O Aurora P&O Oriana P&O Iona Crystal Symphony Crystal Serenity Seabourn Odyssey Seabourn Sojourn Ambassador Ambience Ambassador Ambition Regent Seven Seas Mariner Regent Seven Seas Splendor Marella Explorer Oceania Sirena Sapphire Princess VoD Discovery