Day 15: 11/11/23 At Sea
After breakfast, Don walked, and I relaxed on the deck and read a book. After that, we relaxed in our cabin until lunch. At 2pm, the retired guy from NASA spoke again and the room was full. He was really interesting and talked about the Shuttle Columbia and other things that have gone wrong. After that, we had a few drinks until dinner time. We had dinner in the dining room, so we didn’t go to the show. The show starts at 9:15 so we went back to the cabin for the night.
Day 16: 11/12/23 At Sea
After breakfast, Don walked again, and I relaxed and read on the deck. At 11, we went to a talk about Columbus, Vespucci and other explorers. After lunch, we had another NASA talk where he talked about the Shuttle Challenger and other things. He showed us a model of the “O-ring” that he had made. Then we relaxed in the cabin until it was time to go to the Diamond Party. I got pictures with some of the officers, and it was a nice party. We ate at the buffet so we could go to the early show featuring the singers and dancers performing an Elvis show. They were very good and we enjoyed the show.
Day 17: 11/13/23 At Sea
We had another lovely day at sea. After breakfast, Don walked, and I sat on the deck reading. While he was walking, he saw a small sailboat out in the ocean. After that, we had some cappuccinos and met a guy, also named Don from Idaho, and enjoyed our conversation until lunchtime. In the afternoon we went to a talk about San Juan. After that we relaxed in our cabin. While we were watching the Whitney Houston movie (again), it suddenly switched to the Discovery Channel. I think we got in range of a TV signal. We also noticed that we got the Travel Channel too. Then we had pre-dinner drinks. After dinner, we went to the show featuring Yuri and Nato again. It was very entertaining. We stopped for some cappuccinos after the show and returned to our cabin. Before going to sleep, we watched some of the Discovery Channel. It was a nice change from seeing those same movies over and over again.
Day 18: 11/14/23 At Sea
This was our last day at sea crossing the Atlantic Ocean. We relaxed and read on the deck. At 11, we went to a fun Italian lesson. After lunch, we relaxed in our cabin until it was dinner time. Every day, we get gifts sent to our cabin. Today we got another bottle of Prosecco and a fruit basket. We now have 3 bottles in the fridge that we need to drink. While in the cabin, we watched some old movies. One was Follow the Boys with Connie Frances and Paula Prentiss. Another starred Jane Powell and Gordon MacCrae. I started watching one with Frank Sinatra but it was time to get our predinner cocktails before dinner. Don said that he was ready to get home now but he may change his mind once we are going to some ports every day.
Day 19: 11/15/23 St. Maarten
Click here for pictures of St. Maarten.
We got off the ship at 8:30 and walked into town (about 1 mile). There were 5 ships in port and there were heavy crowds on the beach, so we decided to skip the beach. They were asking $25 for 2 chairs, an umbrella, and a bucket of 5 beers which was a reasonable price, but we knew it was just too hot for me and we wouldn’t be there long enough to enjoy that. So, we found the post office on Pond Island and the clerk there was so helpful. She ended up showing Don all these sheets of stamps that he bought for around $76. We stopped at a supermarket and bought 2 sodas for $2.50. Then we went to Caribbean Blue to say Hi to Suzette. I was so hot and tired that I forgot to take a picture of her! After that, we returned to the ship around noon. When we got to our cabin, we had a plate of bonbons waiting for us. After lunch, we napped and watched old 1940s movies on TV (TCM channel). Then we had pre-dinner drinks. While eating dinner, we watched the Viking Sea ship leave and people on their balconies were waving their phone flashlights goodbye to us. I thought that was pretty cool. After dinner, we had a cappuccino before bedtime.
Day 20: 11/16/23 Tortola
Click here for pictures of Tortola
We got off the ship around 8:15 and asked at the information counter where the post office was. She gave me a map and explained how to get there. It wasn’t far away at all. So, we went to the post office and the clerk there was very patient and helpful. Don ended up buying around $50 worth of Tortola stamps. Then we walked to Pusser’s store, but they don’t sell hats anymore. We walked around town until 11am and then returned to the ship. When we got to our cabin there was another gift of canapes (caviar, salmon, and prosciutto). We had trouble finding Amstel Light or Dos Equis beer at the bars. They said they were low on supplies. After lunch, we returned to our cabin to relax until dinner. After dinner, we went to the show featuring Magician Juan Alvarez.
Day 21: 11/17/23 San Juan, Puerto Rico
Click here for pictures of San Juan.
We got into port at 8am but we had to do face-to-face customs. Our group C had to meet in the theater at 10am with our passports and key cards but they called us early. Then they escort the group off the ship to customs. This whole process was well organized and went smoothly. We couldn’t return to the ship until after everyone had gone through customs and there was no one on the ship which was around noon. We walked around town and looked for some thrift stores but didn’t find any. When we got hot and thirsty, we stopped at our favorite fast food place, El Meson, and got mallorcas with cheese. I was able to order them using my Spanish and was thrilled when they understood me. After that, we walked around some more before ending up at CVS to buy some snacks to take back to the ship. Don had a stomach ache so we returned to the ship around 1pm. We had lunch and returned to the cabin so Don could rest. New treats arrived at our cabin again from the hotel director! Before dinner, we had a couple of drinks and ate dinner at the buffet. San Juan was pretty at night.
Things I’ve Learned:
- They played the same 6 movies in different languages every day.
- Check out both sides of the buffet because there may be different foods on each side.
- I like the Holland America ships that have movies on Demand in the cabin so you can stop and start them back as needed.
- Walking around the ship is good exercise (especially if you don’t use the elevator).
- Old movies are still fun to watch.
- You need to know how to tell military time on a ship.
- I need to carry 2 bottles of water when walking in the heat.
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