We just got back from a fabulous cruise. We took the Grandeur of
the Seas around the Eastern Caribbean. Cathy and I traveled with
Cindi and Mike. Cindi is Cathy's sister.
| Cathy and I don't tan very well, so we avoided a lot of direct sun. |  |
But Cindi and Mike just let the sun shine in. |
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The Grandeur had a pool area called the Solarium, it was designed like a Roman Bath with columns and statues. It also had a retractable roof, called the Crystal Canopy. |  |
First stop was Labadee, a private Royal
Caribbean preserve, located on the Island of Hispanola.
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| The Grandeur, just off the coast of Hispanola. | ||
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| Cathy, chillin' on the beach. | Here I am, headed for the water. | |
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| The bay is so calm and beautiful, lets you forget your worries for a while. |
After leaving the tranquility of Labadee, we traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico. While in port we took the excursion to the Bacardi Rum distillery, the tour included samples.
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We got the story of the Bacardi bat, and learned a little about the drinking, I mean making, of rum.
Throughout the cruise, we had wonderful dining companions.
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| Steve and Pam are from St. Louis | This is Cathy and me. | Vernon and Judy are from California. |
For some reason I don't have a picture of Cindi and Mike at dinner, must have been because of the food flying everywhere around Mike. Our team for dinner was wonderful,
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| Our Assistant Waitress, Carmen, was from Romania and was excellent with the Pepper Mill. | Hachim, our Waiter, was from Morocco, and always had our orders correct, even the four plates of Scampi for Mike. | Our Head Waiter, Bela, made sure everything was running smoothly and that everyone was happy. |
The entertainment on the ship was amazing, the
"Wave Review Singers and Dancers" did a great job with
the review style shows. Los Pampas Gouchos, a troupe from
Argentina were amazing, we had seen them on a previous cruise.
They also had some headliners, including Jay Johnson, the
ventriloquist from Soap, and the highlight of the cruise, Ben
Vareen.
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Unfortunately, you can't see him very well, but that's him.
With all the wonderful food and service, it's amazing we ever left the ship. But it was on to St. Thomas, where I went on my first dive. I earned my Open Water Certification, and you can see pictures from that, by clicking the image of me on the Dive Boat.
After St. Thomas, we made two more dives in the Bahamas.
With a mermaid at the dock at Royal Caribbean's private Island, Coco Cay, we arrived.
The ship was a beautiful sight sitting off the
coast, and the water was crystal clear and full of life.
Unfortunately, the next day we arrived back in Philadelphia for a
wonderfully wet and chilly Memorial Day weekend.
But we had too good a time to let that spoil our mood.
When does the next ship sail?