At sea, heading for Aruba
We had calm seas overnight and we slept well. In fact we slept through the more formal Da Vinci dining room's breakfast with waiter service and we went to the buffet breakfast in Cafe Caribe. It was less crowded than yesterday's breakfast because we were there later in the morning.
At 11:00 A.M. we had a tour of the bridge and met Commodore Romano who conducted our tour. He became a Captain in 1990 and in January 2008 he was made Commodore of the entire Princess fleet -- 17 ships.
It was no surprise to learn that in 2008 the normal operation of the ship depends on computers and radar, but the highly trained staff is ready to take over and run the ship themselves in case of emergency. All of the ship's systems -- heating, air conditioning, drinking water, sanitation, electricity, communications, etc. -- can be monitored and run from the bridge.
After the tour we had lunch in the Da Vinci Dining Room. It has waiter service and is a little more formal than the Horizon Court. There are more items cooked to order. The burgers in the Da Vinci are very good and don't appear to have been kept hot on a steam table. Then it was nap time.
We each signed up for Internet access in the Internet Cafe on Deck 5. You get 100 minutes for $55.00 plus an activation fee of $3.95. The computer system on the
Emerald Princess is faster than others we have known on ships and the sign-in is very quick.
This was "formal night" and there were ladies in gowns and men in suits and tuxedos. We don't do formal on vacation so we got away with dark trousers and dark, long sleeved silk shirts buttoned all the way up. Nobody seemed to notice our lack of jackets and ties. And really, who cares?
We had dinner early in the Michalangelo so we could go to the 7:15 show in the Princess Theatre. It was a show we had seen, and enjoyed, on the
Coral Princess in April 2007 -- "What a Swell Party."
It's a collection of show tunes, many by Cole Porter. This production on the
Emerald Princess had the best singers of any show I've heard on a ship. All the lead singers did a fine job (not always the case with shipboard show singers) but hearing Regina Levert was a real treat. What a voice. What a pro.
As usual the dancing, music and lighting were excellent. The sets were good too and the sound was loud but well balanced and not so loud that it distorted the band and singers.
When you first get on board the Emerald Princess you see lots of endless hallways. But you soon figure them out. This is the view looking toward the back of the ship from the door to our room, Cabin D505, on Dolphin Deck 9.
We didn't know which one we would land on. It turned out the Emerald Princess went to the West Indian Dock. The photo on the left shows the dock, the nose of the Emerald Princess and Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas. We have docked there on our other two visits to St. Thomas. It is very convenient to the shopping centers and there are trams to help get you back to the ship on a hot afternoon. Our driver was Mel Brooks.
The weather in St. George's was dull and gray, and hot. This was the southern extreme of this cruise, just 12 degrees above the equator. Even Kralendijk in Bonaire was more northerly. We were in the mood for a very quiet day after all the excitement of last night's Chef's Table.
Grenada is one of the "Spice Islands" and tourists can buy whole nutmegs and vanilla beans. Sadly I didn't need any and so we sat up in the cool, quiet Skywalker's Lounge and did some reading. And watched Grenada from 16 stories up.
The only other cruise ship in port with us in Grenada was Windstar Cruises' Wind Surf. We were sorry we didn't get to see it with all seven sails filled with wind. It was parked right next to us so we could see it up close. And it looked very nice, indeed.
We had smooth sailing during our brief cruise to Bonaire overnight. It's just 120 nautical miles from Aruba. The weather has improved. The skies are clear and blue with little fluffy clouds. From our cabin we can see mountains and little villages.
We stopped for a coke at a cafe, Bamboo, where I took this photo. It's directly across from where the Emerald Princess was parked. As we walked to the downtown area it was getting very hot so we headed for a park we saw down the street. It turned out to be an excellent crafts market with wonderful, local live music. With shady places to sit.
We read earlier that the Caribbean Princess was expected to be in port today but there was no sign of her. But while we sat in the park and looked out toward the sea we saw a dot on the horizon and slowly we could make out a ship and it was the Caribbean Princess. It was fun being on the shore and watching a big ship come in. Usually we are on the ship watching the shore getting closer.
We had calm seas overnight and we slept well. In fact we slept through the more formal Da Vinci dining room's breakfast with waiter service and we went to the buffet breakfast in Cafe Caribe. It was less crowded than yesterday's breakfast because we were there later in the morning.
At 11:00 A.M. we had a tour of the bridge and met Commodore Romano who conducted our tour. He became a Captain in 1990 and in January 2008 he was made Commodore of the entire Princess fleet -- 17 ships.
By 2:00 P.M. three of our four pieces of luggage were delivered. The last bag arrived at the door at 3:45.
The ship is beautiful and still feels new. Its inaugural cruise was in April 2007. It is a Grand Class ship and carries 3100 passengers and 1200 crew. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas -- tastefully and not overdone.
Of course you can't swim in a backyard pool when the water temperature is 52°F (11°C). But it is necessary to keep it clean and keep the chemicals in balance. If the chemicals aren't correct it's bad for the pool liner and there's also quite an investment in water -- 26,700 gallons of it -- or just about 101,041 liters -- to keep clean and sparkling.
As the time for our next cruise draws closer (this time it's on the Emerald Princess to the Southern Caribbean) it's also time to pick some books to read on the ship. This itinerary has several days "at sea" with no ports to visit. That gives us lots of time to sit and read and relax between all those meals.
"Ouch!"
