Sorry. I guess I just kind of fell out of touch here. We arrived early in Miami. The ship cleared about 15 minutes behind schedule. It was another of those hurry up and get out of here disembarkations. We were sorry to say good bye to our cabin steward Joseph, who has been excellent. We were still outside before our predicted 9am at the curb. Matt & Mom had left Bonita Springs early but that was good as it gave them time to get lost. It was complicated by the fact that O's Sirena was also docked at the Port of Miami. The area around the port and airport is a ridiculous complex of little surface streets that end and begin and are closed for construction or one way. It was crazy. Clay and I had our GOES appointment at 10:30am at MIA. We figured from 9am to 10:30am would be plenty of time. I think it took us almost an hour to cover the 12 miles or so. Anyway, we arrived early and they took us right away. Clay went first. He stood at a counter while I sat in a chair a couple of feet behind him. His interviewer had a very accusatory tone as she questioned him about his visit to Libya for work and then Albania for pleasure. She asked him if he had ever been arrested or charged with anything for any reason at any time, ever ever. I could feel him sweat even though he knew he was innocent. As I have a charge as a minor that ought to have been expunged from my adult record, I was wondering how I would reply. As it turns out the man next to her called be up. He skipped almost directly from friendly chit chat type questions to my photograph and fingerprints. I think it was because his print scanner was dirty but he thought it was my Parkinson's Disease, he had to try 3 times before he got fingerprints that went through. He was so flustered that he just approved me and sent me on my way after that. I cannot imagine why CLT has no appointments for months.
Shortly after we got to Mom's house, I suffered a relapse of the respiratory infection I started this trip with in the Pacific North West. I started coughing, drowning in snot and finally spiked a fever the day we went to Orlando for La Nouba. Yesterday's flights didn't help me feel any better other than arriving back home.
We had a good visit at Mom's. We had a lot of good dinners out. It was great to see Judy who we picked up and dropped off in Sebring on our way to and from Orlando. We stayed at Springhill Suites and though the layout was different than Sumter, we still really liked it. That was the end of our free nights earned from the Marriott chain from our $1800/night Thanksgiving with a Macy's Parade view stay last year. I think we all really enjoyed La Nouba again and it was bittersweet to know the show is ending its run in December.
I thought Clay was being too prissy when he insisted on flying first class home from RSW. I would have rented a car one way but it would have cost as much as the one way first class flights! So, I didn't have a strong argument. In the event, I was so relieved we were in first class. Both flights, RSW to CLT and CLT to RDU were overbooked and every seat was filled. I felt so awful, that any bit of ease or comfort was a mercy. The flights were only 1.5 and .5 hours though so first class still felt like an absurd luxury however happy I was to have it.
So, we're home for a while. We're certainly home until I am recovered from whatever infection I have. I only hope I didn't transmit it to any of our family or friends!
Little Bob hits the road
Little Bob hits the road
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Sea Day 13 - Straits of Florida
Sometime overnight Nate grew from a tropical storm to a hurricane. We traveled on parallel paths as predicted by the Captain until we turned east at the far western tip of Cuba. Things are much calmer and the ride smoother since just before dawn. I don't know if it was our final time change losing an hour last night or the rain clouds this morning, but when we each woke up to pee this morning it was already past 7am. Usually around 6 to 6:30am there has been light glowing around the balcony curtains indicating it is time to get up. We really weren't ready to wake up in the dark! We could see Cuba off the starboard side most of the morning. It is about 3:30pm now and we have just passed north of Havana. We've been too far off the coast to see land for hours though.
When we got back from Horizons after breakfast our cabin was ready. Our suitcases had been removed from beneath the bed and placed atop the luggage mat. Signal received loud and clear. Pack up and clear off! We were actually ready to pack yesterday and would have if the ship hadn't been dangerously pitching and rolling around. Today was a piece of cake.
We had breakfast and lunch in Terrace. We went to the big screen popcorn movie of Paris Can Wait at 1:30pm. We had never seen it before and enjoyed the revisiting of parts of the south of France we saw in 2015 on one of those 4 consecutive river cruises we took. Tonight I have requested to dine in the GDR for our last meal. There are a couple of dishes I'd like to have again so we'll have at least 4 courses!
We have traveled nearly 5000 miles from San Francisco and are less than 200 miles from Miami. In his noon announcement, the Captain expected to arrive in Miami well in advance of our scheduled 7am time. Since we sailed all day yesterday when we skipped Grand Cayman, I should expect that we will.
I'll assume the rest of the afternoon and evening will be uneventful and post this now. I anything noteworthy happens, I'll post an update.
On to a week in Florida with Mom! Looking forward to it.
When we got back from Horizons after breakfast our cabin was ready. Our suitcases had been removed from beneath the bed and placed atop the luggage mat. Signal received loud and clear. Pack up and clear off! We were actually ready to pack yesterday and would have if the ship hadn't been dangerously pitching and rolling around. Today was a piece of cake.
We had breakfast and lunch in Terrace. We went to the big screen popcorn movie of Paris Can Wait at 1:30pm. We had never seen it before and enjoyed the revisiting of parts of the south of France we saw in 2015 on one of those 4 consecutive river cruises we took. Tonight I have requested to dine in the GDR for our last meal. There are a couple of dishes I'd like to have again so we'll have at least 4 courses!
We have traveled nearly 5000 miles from San Francisco and are less than 200 miles from Miami. In his noon announcement, the Captain expected to arrive in Miami well in advance of our scheduled 7am time. Since we sailed all day yesterday when we skipped Grand Cayman, I should expect that we will.
I'll assume the rest of the afternoon and evening will be uneventful and post this now. I anything noteworthy happens, I'll post an update.
On to a week in Florida with Mom! Looking forward to it.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Sea Day 12 - Not Grand Cayman
We are in some big seas. We felt the turn to approach George Town around 5:30am. By 7am we were mostly still and rocking. Without opening the curtains or turning on the TV, Clay knew we were near land because he could see dozens of wifi networks available. I finally got up and the seas were clearly bigger than at Nicaragua. With binoculars, I could see the huge breakers ashore. I never spotted the tender dock, btw. I decided around 7:20am to dress in sea day clothes and not going ashore clothes assuming if we stayed that I would not tender ashore or that I could change later. About 7:30am, we changed course and started back out to sea. About 7:40am, the Captain's voice came over the cabin speakers to tell us that the swells were 6 to 8 feet at the ship and that the port agent and harbor master had advised him that our scheduled tender pier had been closed due to swells breaking over them. So today ends up a bonus sea day for everyone. The further north we get the bigger the seas get. The Captain advised that he expected it to be worst around 3 to 4 am as we round the western tip of Cuba and to get better as we sailed east away from Nate through the Florida Straits to Miami. The good news is that the big swells are no longer broadside from starboard! In other good news, they issued a new Currents since a port day just became a sea day and the movie Going in Style will be shown on a big screen in Regatta Lounge at 2pm with popcorn.
We received our preliminary invoice and still had $51 of nonrefundable shipboard credit to use or lose. We knew that and have browsed the boutique daily buying things we don't really need. Today I noticed the spa was open as we made our way to Horizons to wait for our cabin to be ready. I told Clay I'd like a bottle of skin toner to replace my last spa visit one that I had used up. It was exactly $50! Mission accomplished! When we got back to the cabin, there was another letter on the door. It was to remind us that time was running out to use or lose our shipboard credit. Clay read it and told me, you're ahead of them.
I haven't written about it but I'd like to give praise where it is due. Our room steward is Joseph. I believe he's from the Philippines but confess I haven't seen his badge closely enough to know. He is the best cabin steward we have had (except for onboard NWP's Crystal Serenity) in all our sailing time. He is timely, efficient and always friendly. He makes an effort to greet us by name when we pass in the hall and drops what he is doing to get to the cabin door before us to open it. He would have been our best steward ever except he wants us to use too much soap. When a bar is about half gone, a new one appears and yesterday with only 2 days left an old one disappeared. I know it shouldn't but that really bothered me. We could have happily finished the cruise with the soap we already had. I guess I am too frugal and picky but Crystal wins and Joseph takes 2nd place. That still makes him an absolutely fantastic cabin steward.
Given the ever growing swells, we've studied the menus and will probably stay downstairs the rest of the day. That will mean lunch and dinner in Grand Dining Room instead of Terrace. We generally prefer the speed and range of choices in Terrace over GDR but you've gotta do what you've gotta do.
At noon, the Captain made an announcement into our cabins again. He said swells had increased to about 13 feet now. He again thought conditions would worsen until between 3 and 4 am when he could turn east and run along the north coast of Cuba for shelter. He pointed out that the swells were no longer from starboard which was helping things be better than they might have been otherwise. He said now the swells were surpassing us from aft and the ship was kind of surfing as the swells passed us. He said that meant Nate was traveling in the same direction but faster than us. He advised care with the soup at lunch. Having now had cold soup, he should have advised against hot coffee. We witnessed a narrow escape in GDR. If it weren't for the 2pm movie, I'd probably just knock myself out with Dramamine and call it a day. I may yet wind up wishing I had.
Since we have Internet now and I don't expect anything noteworthy to occur all day, I'll post this now. If anything newsworthy occurs, I'll come back with an update.
We received our preliminary invoice and still had $51 of nonrefundable shipboard credit to use or lose. We knew that and have browsed the boutique daily buying things we don't really need. Today I noticed the spa was open as we made our way to Horizons to wait for our cabin to be ready. I told Clay I'd like a bottle of skin toner to replace my last spa visit one that I had used up. It was exactly $50! Mission accomplished! When we got back to the cabin, there was another letter on the door. It was to remind us that time was running out to use or lose our shipboard credit. Clay read it and told me, you're ahead of them.
I haven't written about it but I'd like to give praise where it is due. Our room steward is Joseph. I believe he's from the Philippines but confess I haven't seen his badge closely enough to know. He is the best cabin steward we have had (except for onboard NWP's Crystal Serenity) in all our sailing time. He is timely, efficient and always friendly. He makes an effort to greet us by name when we pass in the hall and drops what he is doing to get to the cabin door before us to open it. He would have been our best steward ever except he wants us to use too much soap. When a bar is about half gone, a new one appears and yesterday with only 2 days left an old one disappeared. I know it shouldn't but that really bothered me. We could have happily finished the cruise with the soap we already had. I guess I am too frugal and picky but Crystal wins and Joseph takes 2nd place. That still makes him an absolutely fantastic cabin steward.
Given the ever growing swells, we've studied the menus and will probably stay downstairs the rest of the day. That will mean lunch and dinner in Grand Dining Room instead of Terrace. We generally prefer the speed and range of choices in Terrace over GDR but you've gotta do what you've gotta do.
At noon, the Captain made an announcement into our cabins again. He said swells had increased to about 13 feet now. He again thought conditions would worsen until between 3 and 4 am when he could turn east and run along the north coast of Cuba for shelter. He pointed out that the swells were no longer from starboard which was helping things be better than they might have been otherwise. He said now the swells were surpassing us from aft and the ship was kind of surfing as the swells passed us. He said that meant Nate was traveling in the same direction but faster than us. He advised care with the soup at lunch. Having now had cold soup, he should have advised against hot coffee. We witnessed a narrow escape in GDR. If it weren't for the 2pm movie, I'd probably just knock myself out with Dramamine and call it a day. I may yet wind up wishing I had.
Since we have Internet now and I don't expect anything noteworthy to occur all day, I'll post this now. If anything newsworthy occurs, I'll come back with an update.
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Sea Day 11
This is our next to last scheduled sea day. We have strong wind and waves from the starboard side again. It seems it doesn't matter which direction we are traveling in, the weather is coming from our side. According to the Captain, that and our full tanks are causing us to list to port. That's on top of the rocking, rolling and wobbling. The Captain announced that the tropical depression that he talked about last night grew up overnight and is now Nate. He says it is affecting us and will continue to for the rest of the cruise in all likelihood as we follow it to Florida. He reminded us that it was 6 foot swells tendering into San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua and that tomorrow there are 9 foot swells predicted for Grand Cayman. Tendering to Nicaragua was a nightmare we won't soon forget as it was horrific. We never did hear if independent guests ever got ashore there as the tendering of medical evacuations and excursion guests took precedence. It was 2 hours after clearance before we left and there were several tours to leave after ours so if independent guests did get ashore that day, they didn't have much time there. Clay has already said we should just stay aboard which is what I'm sure happened in Nicaragua. If it hadn't been my 79th country, I wouldn't have tendered that day. If I hadn't been booked on a ship's excursion, I am sure I wouldn't have tendered that day. We've already been to Grand Cayman and have nothing booked there. They could skip it entirely and we'd be happier about it. So, we'll have to wait and see. If he could get to Miami on Sunday with less rough seas, I wish the Captain would just scrub Grand Cayman and do it. I can't believe too many people could be upset as we didn't even have Grand Cayman on the itinerary until after we boarded. It was Key West on Saturday before we boarded. Stay tuned.
The big deal today is brunch buffet in the GDR in place of breakfast and lunch. The string quartet is playing. We didn't go. They kept normal breakfast and lunch in Terrace. We'd prefer dinner in Terrace tonight but it will depend on how much rougher it gets I think. We might have to go to GDR to stay low. Again, we'll see.
We've been watching movies. It hasn't been easy. Regatta has 3 movie channels. Each channel shows 3 movies in a rotation every day. Like today we have not seen and would like to see, Going in Style, but it airs at 5am, 11:30am and 6pm. So we were asleep, at lunch or at dinner when it aired. Out of the available films, a half dozen are in foreign languages, some are documentaries or horror films and we won't watch them. There is a DVD player in our cabin and a list of DVDs. Unfortunately our DVD list and the one at Reception are not the same. We requested Emma and we were given disc 2 of 2 and they don't have disc 1. Then there is the issue of the remote control for the DVD player doesn't work so it gets even trickier. Come on Oceania. At least watching movies in the cabin should be effortless. We've worked to watch about 25 movies onboard.
We have Internet now so I will post this and if anything noteworthy happens later, I'll be back.
The big deal today is brunch buffet in the GDR in place of breakfast and lunch. The string quartet is playing. We didn't go. They kept normal breakfast and lunch in Terrace. We'd prefer dinner in Terrace tonight but it will depend on how much rougher it gets I think. We might have to go to GDR to stay low. Again, we'll see.
We've been watching movies. It hasn't been easy. Regatta has 3 movie channels. Each channel shows 3 movies in a rotation every day. Like today we have not seen and would like to see, Going in Style, but it airs at 5am, 11:30am and 6pm. So we were asleep, at lunch or at dinner when it aired. Out of the available films, a half dozen are in foreign languages, some are documentaries or horror films and we won't watch them. There is a DVD player in our cabin and a list of DVDs. Unfortunately our DVD list and the one at Reception are not the same. We requested Emma and we were given disc 2 of 2 and they don't have disc 1. Then there is the issue of the remote control for the DVD player doesn't work so it gets even trickier. Come on Oceania. At least watching movies in the cabin should be effortless. We've worked to watch about 25 movies onboard.
We have Internet now so I will post this and if anything noteworthy happens later, I'll be back.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Back to Cartagena, Colombia
photos
We were last here in 2008. There has been a whole lot of highrise construction since then! As we had been here before and had a very comprehensive tour and today's port stop was only 6 hours long, we decided to do something different here. We booked a 90-minute Segway tour of the Historic Old Town. It was a good choice. Once again we were the first ship of the season to arrive here and we got another private tour. The only low point of the day was that we had scheduled a port pickup and return. We arrived early to be sure we could find the pick up point only to be abandoned. Needless to say we were fending off an army of taxis and tour guides while we waited futilely. Clay finally was able to call on his cellphone and the operator, Cesar said he expected us at 1pm but we had no pick up scheduled. Finally between one of the guides who'd been tailing us and Cesar on Clay's phone and a random taxi that appeared we got a ride. The original pick up we'd arranged was $15 per couple in each direction. The taxi drivers were all asking $10 each way, including the one we used. When it was time to pay on our return the price had doubled to $20 each way. When we arrived at the Segway office, Cesar asked to see the emails I had printed out and brought to follow instructions, as Billy the guide had told him about it. Cesar was truly contrite and apologetic and though we were annoyed and hot and bothered we carried on and Cesar took $30 off our $70pp price. So fair enough. What else could we do? The private tour was very nice and their maximum tour size is 10 people. Cesar had a nice pace with lots of stops to get off and hear about what we're seeing. He would have included an inside visit of a church but it was currently closed. It was quieter in Old Town than during our last visit but Cesar assured me it would return to what I remember once tourist season picks up. It was a good day. It was actually too sunny today! It was the first day since Vancouver that we didn't bring some rain. But with all the breaks Cesar had a shady spot with a breeze planned out so it was pleasant.
Everyone was back onboard early and the Captain got the pilot aboard early and we sailed about 30 minutes early. He announced that we would be skirting within 100 nautical miles of tropical depression #16 and we would feel it and should take care tonight and tomorrow. He feels he can avoid the worst of it and promised to keep us posted as to what he would do to avoid it. Tomorrow is a sea day. The next day is our Key West replacement port of Georgetown, Grand Cayman. It is a tender port that we have visited before. So if it winds up being missed we won't mind as we learned about the port replacement after boarding Regatta and have no firm plans made. I'll keep you posted.
photos
We were last here in 2008. There has been a whole lot of highrise construction since then! As we had been here before and had a very comprehensive tour and today's port stop was only 6 hours long, we decided to do something different here. We booked a 90-minute Segway tour of the Historic Old Town. It was a good choice. Once again we were the first ship of the season to arrive here and we got another private tour. The only low point of the day was that we had scheduled a port pickup and return. We arrived early to be sure we could find the pick up point only to be abandoned. Needless to say we were fending off an army of taxis and tour guides while we waited futilely. Clay finally was able to call on his cellphone and the operator, Cesar said he expected us at 1pm but we had no pick up scheduled. Finally between one of the guides who'd been tailing us and Cesar on Clay's phone and a random taxi that appeared we got a ride. The original pick up we'd arranged was $15 per couple in each direction. The taxi drivers were all asking $10 each way, including the one we used. When it was time to pay on our return the price had doubled to $20 each way. When we arrived at the Segway office, Cesar asked to see the emails I had printed out and brought to follow instructions, as Billy the guide had told him about it. Cesar was truly contrite and apologetic and though we were annoyed and hot and bothered we carried on and Cesar took $30 off our $70pp price. So fair enough. What else could we do? The private tour was very nice and their maximum tour size is 10 people. Cesar had a nice pace with lots of stops to get off and hear about what we're seeing. He would have included an inside visit of a church but it was currently closed. It was quieter in Old Town than during our last visit but Cesar assured me it would return to what I remember once tourist season picks up. It was a good day. It was actually too sunny today! It was the first day since Vancouver that we didn't bring some rain. But with all the breaks Cesar had a shady spot with a breeze planned out so it was pleasant.
Everyone was back onboard early and the Captain got the pilot aboard early and we sailed about 30 minutes early. He announced that we would be skirting within 100 nautical miles of tropical depression #16 and we would feel it and should take care tonight and tomorrow. He feels he can avoid the worst of it and promised to keep us posted as to what he would do to avoid it. Tomorrow is a sea day. The next day is our Key West replacement port of Georgetown, Grand Cayman. It is a tender port that we have visited before. So if it winds up being missed we won't mind as we learned about the port replacement after boarding Regatta and have no firm plans made. I'll keep you posted.
photos
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Colon, Panama
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We were up with the 6am alarm clock this morning. Breakfast was at 7am in Terrace and it was already pouring rain. We've brought rain every where we've been since Vancouver! Today was the last of our Shore Excursions Group excursions. We had better luck today. We set out from Regatta at 8am for our 9am meeting and pickup since we had no idea how long it would take us. We asked a Panamanian man onboard in front of Destinations Services about how to walk to Arrecifes Restaurant and he told us to go downstairs! Not promising. Clay showed him the Google map on his phone and he agreed it was correct, but it wasn't convincing at that point. We got a few more ominous warnings about walking out as we walked out. As we were approaching the car entry gate security guard a dock worker we'd passed earlier called out to us not to go out that way. He came to us and asked us what we were doing and where we were going. He very kindly walked us back to a little hidden but paved path around the back side of the security building and pointed out the fenced in and covered block-long sidewalk down to a shopping center at the other end of a construction site and the restaurant on the waterfront a block to the left of the end of the covered walkway. He saved us! It was only about a 5 minute walk. We were only harrassed by a shouting taxi driver in the shopping center parking for a block. The Safarick's van was already in the Arrecifes Restaurant parking lot! The couple sitting inside waiting for us was Rita and Antonio. They were a couple of young Canadian expats from Montreal and they are the owners/founders of Safarick's Zoo, an animal rescue facility. (Yes Mom, they both speak Spanish as well as English. Antonio spokek 5 languages!) The name of the 5.5 hour tour we booked today at $131pp was Ruins, Rescue and Beach Combo Tour. We were mostly interested in the ruins when we booked but didn't object to the rest. It turns out that Rescue was the focus and that was fine. Safarick's Zoo is closed on Monday and Tuesday except when a cruise ship is in town and they have tourists like us booked. They said we were their first ship of the season. So, we not only had a private tour but they opened the zoo for our private tour. It was special.
After the zoo, we continued on along the Caribbean coast to Portobello to see the Spanish fort ruins. It was a short break in the rain and we discussed that we had no plans to swim so we didn't mind skipping the beach portion. Also we discussed stopping at a grocery store, an ATM and that there was an important church with a black Christ statue we could see. So, we went in the church and saw the fort ruins and a restored colonial building between as well as Portobello's government buildings. As we didn't need the beach, Antonio asked if we'd like to go for lunch at his favorite restaurant, Captain Jack's. I had not realized lunch was included but we agreed right away anyway. The food was good. Clay got a Balboa beer. It was a beautiful waterfront location and it would probably be really stunning on a sunny day. We were told that on a clear day you could see the ships lined up waiting to enter the Panama Canal, but not today. (BTW, the Captain announced after we started sailing away today that in response to passenger queries he had learned that as part of a frequent customer discount program for Panama Canal transits that Regatta had paid $166,000USD to cross yesterday. Also, BTW, though Panama has a coin-based currency called Balboas, they actually use US Dollars. Hence, Clay's ATM request.) We stopped on the way back to Colon and bought Antonio's favorite coffee which he assures us puts Tim Hortons to shame and Clay got a can of Panama Arctic beer for 54 cents! His best beer deal ashore since Walvis Bay, Namibia.
We had a great day in Panama. Tomorrow we return to Cartagena Colombia for a Segway tour. Dinner tonight in the Grand Dining Room.
photos
We were up with the 6am alarm clock this morning. Breakfast was at 7am in Terrace and it was already pouring rain. We've brought rain every where we've been since Vancouver! Today was the last of our Shore Excursions Group excursions. We had better luck today. We set out from Regatta at 8am for our 9am meeting and pickup since we had no idea how long it would take us. We asked a Panamanian man onboard in front of Destinations Services about how to walk to Arrecifes Restaurant and he told us to go downstairs! Not promising. Clay showed him the Google map on his phone and he agreed it was correct, but it wasn't convincing at that point. We got a few more ominous warnings about walking out as we walked out. As we were approaching the car entry gate security guard a dock worker we'd passed earlier called out to us not to go out that way. He came to us and asked us what we were doing and where we were going. He very kindly walked us back to a little hidden but paved path around the back side of the security building and pointed out the fenced in and covered block-long sidewalk down to a shopping center at the other end of a construction site and the restaurant on the waterfront a block to the left of the end of the covered walkway. He saved us! It was only about a 5 minute walk. We were only harrassed by a shouting taxi driver in the shopping center parking for a block. The Safarick's van was already in the Arrecifes Restaurant parking lot! The couple sitting inside waiting for us was Rita and Antonio. They were a couple of young Canadian expats from Montreal and they are the owners/founders of Safarick's Zoo, an animal rescue facility. (Yes Mom, they both speak Spanish as well as English. Antonio spokek 5 languages!) The name of the 5.5 hour tour we booked today at $131pp was Ruins, Rescue and Beach Combo Tour. We were mostly interested in the ruins when we booked but didn't object to the rest. It turns out that Rescue was the focus and that was fine. Safarick's Zoo is closed on Monday and Tuesday except when a cruise ship is in town and they have tourists like us booked. They said we were their first ship of the season. So, we not only had a private tour but they opened the zoo for our private tour. It was special.
After the zoo, we continued on along the Caribbean coast to Portobello to see the Spanish fort ruins. It was a short break in the rain and we discussed that we had no plans to swim so we didn't mind skipping the beach portion. Also we discussed stopping at a grocery store, an ATM and that there was an important church with a black Christ statue we could see. So, we went in the church and saw the fort ruins and a restored colonial building between as well as Portobello's government buildings. As we didn't need the beach, Antonio asked if we'd like to go for lunch at his favorite restaurant, Captain Jack's. I had not realized lunch was included but we agreed right away anyway. The food was good. Clay got a Balboa beer. It was a beautiful waterfront location and it would probably be really stunning on a sunny day. We were told that on a clear day you could see the ships lined up waiting to enter the Panama Canal, but not today. (BTW, the Captain announced after we started sailing away today that in response to passenger queries he had learned that as part of a frequent customer discount program for Panama Canal transits that Regatta had paid $166,000USD to cross yesterday. Also, BTW, though Panama has a coin-based currency called Balboas, they actually use US Dollars. Hence, Clay's ATM request.) We stopped on the way back to Colon and bought Antonio's favorite coffee which he assures us puts Tim Hortons to shame and Clay got a can of Panama Arctic beer for 54 cents! His best beer deal ashore since Walvis Bay, Namibia.
We had a great day in Panama. Tomorrow we return to Cartagena Colombia for a Segway tour. Dinner tonight in the Grand Dining Room.
photos
Monday, October 2, 2017
Sea Day 10 - Panama Canal Crossing
photos
Last night during dinner Clay suggested that I do laundry after dinner rather than during the Panama Canal. I agreed and we hastened downstairs to find the laundry room completely and miraculously empty about 8pm. It closes at 10pm and they have posted asking no loads be started after 9pm. We got our last load of onboard laundry done with little fuss. The signs say a token will buy 45 minutes of dryer time and last time it did, but tonight it only bought 30 minutes. That meant we had to hang clothes all over the cabin overnight to finish drying. It was better than all day today.
I was up first at 6:15am. We had a detailed schedule and map delivered last night and I didn't want to miss anything. The schedule said the pilot would board at 5:45am, but it was almost an hour later when the boat pulled up beside us. The Currents also said the pilot boat would be delivering locally produced Panamanian souvenirs for sale onboard. About 18 people came on and got back off midway through. A new pilot came on then. The rest of the schedule was pretty accurate. We went through Miraflores locks beside Island Princess. They got held there as we continued on alone through Pedro Miguel locks. We watched as we approached from Terrace during breakfast. Then we moved to Horizons where they were serving breakfast pastries as well as holding the souvenirs sale. Since we never go to tea, it was the most crowded we've seen Horizons. We had seats by the window on the port side. That meant we got to watch an alligator swimming along the shore as we approached the first Miraflores lock. It wasn't huge so I am assuming an alligator but I guess it could have been a crocodile. No photos as Clay didn't carry a camera most of the day. I think I woke him badly or something. He was having an off day before he broke a lower front tooth in the first set of locks. He said it doesn't hurt and he thinks he can wait to go to the dentist at home. Another trip, another broken tooth. He hasn't fallen yet. Knock wood. Later with binoculars from the cabin I watched a sloth as it crossed from one side of the crotch of a tree to the shady side. On a tree top on an island in Gatun Lake with binoculars, I saw a toucan! We're expected to arrive in Colon about 2 hurs ahead of schedule. We have an independent shore excursion booked there for tomorrow as Oceania was very late adding excursions for Colon. We didn't see a list that had anything of interest until we got the booklet onboard on the 19th of September. That was far too late for us to change plans or expect to make plans. So we have the last of our Shore Excursions Group excursions here. Again, I still cannot recommend them. The tour description said the tour departed from the port area. When we got the emailed tickets they said to meet at Arrecifes Restaurant in the port area without any directions other than to ask any port employee so Clay Googled it. On the map, it shows the cruise dock on one side of a peninsula and a mile across on the other edge of the peninsula is an Arrecifes Restaurant. I hope there is more than one and nearer, but I expect that is where we are expected to make our way by 9am tomorrow. If we do arrive early, Clay has proposed a reconnaisance scouting trip before dinner at 6:30pm in Toscana. We'll see.
We are now in the center of the Gatun Locks and near the end of the canal crossing. The canal is much changed since our last visit of 2008 and first of 12/31/2005. The canal expansion happened between 2007 and 2016. There are now addition larger locks at either end. We saw both ends in use though we used to original locks. That got Clay thinking about all the locks in the world and how many we'd used. We came up with Rhine/Main/Danube canal, Seine, Loire, Mississippi, Columbia, St. Lawrence Seaway, Great Lakes, Caledonian canal and Panama canal. It seems like we've been through hundreds of locks. When I Googled it, it seems there are hundreds more we've missed!
So, when I printed the original itinerary we were supposed to be docked in Colon today at 4 pm. When the Captain announced yesterday and this morning that he expected to be 2 hours early, he meant 4 pm since the ship's onboard published itinerary was 6 pm. All day the onboard Panamanian commentator has been talking about passing the breakwater outside Gatun Locks at 4pm. We did. It is 4:30pm and we have been sitting just in sight of said breakwater bobbing and swiveling for a half hour. We passed a huge container port on our way out of the breakwater. We think now that to get to the cruise terminal/dock, we have to go back to the port peninsula and dock on the "outside" so to speak. Clay has phone service for I believe only the 2nd time this trip and he now thinks that the Arrecifes Restaurant where we have to meet out tour tomorrow is only a 6 minute walk. That will make us both happier with Shore Excursions Group. The name of the local provider is Safarick's. We'll see tomorrow. The excursion we picked was a compromise anyway since it had to fit the time allowed and be of interest. It includes ruins, rescue animals and lastly an hour at a beach (weather permitting). I'll let. you know tomorrow. Anyway our arrival time will preclude a trip ashore today as we have a 6:30pm dinner reservation. Speaking of which right now between 4 and 5pm they are having a crepes tea in Terrace. I love crepes but how do people eat this much? We have still never attended a tea but as I just told Clay that would explain the 8pm dinner reservations. I still couldn't eat dinner tonight if I ate crepes between 4 and 5pm.
We are entering a different breakwater so that must protect the cruise port side of the port peninsula. This breakwater was not shown on Clay's phone GPS map but here it is. Good. Now that I've medicated and banded up! It looks like we should be docked and cleared by the 6pm target time. Too late for us to go ashore today.
Julie James, our CD, made the ship's clearance announcement at 5:45pm. She followed with a stern warning that no one should go into Colon as it is an unsafe port town. You have to wonder why it is the sole overnight port Oceania docked at during a 28 day cruise then. Anyway. It opened up and poured as soon as we arrived so she announced that the music and dancing scheduled as the evening entertainment on the top deck was canceled and replaced with a showing of Wonder Woman in Regatta Lounge. Tonight on our bed we each got a certificate of Panama Canal Transit. This is our 3rd time and we can't recall getting one of these before. Nice touch.
photos
Last night during dinner Clay suggested that I do laundry after dinner rather than during the Panama Canal. I agreed and we hastened downstairs to find the laundry room completely and miraculously empty about 8pm. It closes at 10pm and they have posted asking no loads be started after 9pm. We got our last load of onboard laundry done with little fuss. The signs say a token will buy 45 minutes of dryer time and last time it did, but tonight it only bought 30 minutes. That meant we had to hang clothes all over the cabin overnight to finish drying. It was better than all day today.
I was up first at 6:15am. We had a detailed schedule and map delivered last night and I didn't want to miss anything. The schedule said the pilot would board at 5:45am, but it was almost an hour later when the boat pulled up beside us. The Currents also said the pilot boat would be delivering locally produced Panamanian souvenirs for sale onboard. About 18 people came on and got back off midway through. A new pilot came on then. The rest of the schedule was pretty accurate. We went through Miraflores locks beside Island Princess. They got held there as we continued on alone through Pedro Miguel locks. We watched as we approached from Terrace during breakfast. Then we moved to Horizons where they were serving breakfast pastries as well as holding the souvenirs sale. Since we never go to tea, it was the most crowded we've seen Horizons. We had seats by the window on the port side. That meant we got to watch an alligator swimming along the shore as we approached the first Miraflores lock. It wasn't huge so I am assuming an alligator but I guess it could have been a crocodile. No photos as Clay didn't carry a camera most of the day. I think I woke him badly or something. He was having an off day before he broke a lower front tooth in the first set of locks. He said it doesn't hurt and he thinks he can wait to go to the dentist at home. Another trip, another broken tooth. He hasn't fallen yet. Knock wood. Later with binoculars from the cabin I watched a sloth as it crossed from one side of the crotch of a tree to the shady side. On a tree top on an island in Gatun Lake with binoculars, I saw a toucan! We're expected to arrive in Colon about 2 hurs ahead of schedule. We have an independent shore excursion booked there for tomorrow as Oceania was very late adding excursions for Colon. We didn't see a list that had anything of interest until we got the booklet onboard on the 19th of September. That was far too late for us to change plans or expect to make plans. So we have the last of our Shore Excursions Group excursions here. Again, I still cannot recommend them. The tour description said the tour departed from the port area. When we got the emailed tickets they said to meet at Arrecifes Restaurant in the port area without any directions other than to ask any port employee so Clay Googled it. On the map, it shows the cruise dock on one side of a peninsula and a mile across on the other edge of the peninsula is an Arrecifes Restaurant. I hope there is more than one and nearer, but I expect that is where we are expected to make our way by 9am tomorrow. If we do arrive early, Clay has proposed a reconnaisance scouting trip before dinner at 6:30pm in Toscana. We'll see.
We are now in the center of the Gatun Locks and near the end of the canal crossing. The canal is much changed since our last visit of 2008 and first of 12/31/2005. The canal expansion happened between 2007 and 2016. There are now addition larger locks at either end. We saw both ends in use though we used to original locks. That got Clay thinking about all the locks in the world and how many we'd used. We came up with Rhine/Main/Danube canal, Seine, Loire, Mississippi, Columbia, St. Lawrence Seaway, Great Lakes, Caledonian canal and Panama canal. It seems like we've been through hundreds of locks. When I Googled it, it seems there are hundreds more we've missed!
So, when I printed the original itinerary we were supposed to be docked in Colon today at 4 pm. When the Captain announced yesterday and this morning that he expected to be 2 hours early, he meant 4 pm since the ship's onboard published itinerary was 6 pm. All day the onboard Panamanian commentator has been talking about passing the breakwater outside Gatun Locks at 4pm. We did. It is 4:30pm and we have been sitting just in sight of said breakwater bobbing and swiveling for a half hour. We passed a huge container port on our way out of the breakwater. We think now that to get to the cruise terminal/dock, we have to go back to the port peninsula and dock on the "outside" so to speak. Clay has phone service for I believe only the 2nd time this trip and he now thinks that the Arrecifes Restaurant where we have to meet out tour tomorrow is only a 6 minute walk. That will make us both happier with Shore Excursions Group. The name of the local provider is Safarick's. We'll see tomorrow. The excursion we picked was a compromise anyway since it had to fit the time allowed and be of interest. It includes ruins, rescue animals and lastly an hour at a beach (weather permitting). I'll let. you know tomorrow. Anyway our arrival time will preclude a trip ashore today as we have a 6:30pm dinner reservation. Speaking of which right now between 4 and 5pm they are having a crepes tea in Terrace. I love crepes but how do people eat this much? We have still never attended a tea but as I just told Clay that would explain the 8pm dinner reservations. I still couldn't eat dinner tonight if I ate crepes between 4 and 5pm.
We are entering a different breakwater so that must protect the cruise port side of the port peninsula. This breakwater was not shown on Clay's phone GPS map but here it is. Good. Now that I've medicated and banded up! It looks like we should be docked and cleared by the 6pm target time. Too late for us to go ashore today.
Julie James, our CD, made the ship's clearance announcement at 5:45pm. She followed with a stern warning that no one should go into Colon as it is an unsafe port town. You have to wonder why it is the sole overnight port Oceania docked at during a 28 day cruise then. Anyway. It opened up and poured as soon as we arrived so she announced that the music and dancing scheduled as the evening entertainment on the top deck was canceled and replaced with a showing of Wonder Woman in Regatta Lounge. Tonight on our bed we each got a certificate of Panama Canal Transit. This is our 3rd time and we can't recall getting one of these before. Nice touch.
photos
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Sea Day 9
After losing an hour last night, we and most everyone else slept in. That or they were all in line for one of the 4 washers or dryers. Clay has bought 2 more tokens and can't get to the end of the cruise without washing, so we are shooting for tomorrow, the Canal crossing, in the hope that enough people will have theirs done today or it is their first canal crossing and they'll be busy watching. We'll see. Today has been a quiet and lazy day. Even the 10:15 mandatory life boat drill went by quickly due to the fact that the Captain let us leave after mustering and donning life jackets and we didn't have to go outside to the lifeboats. Clay spotted flying fish for the first time today. I had been looking since we left Cabo. We have had some birds with us since we left Cabo San Lucas and today we watching them catching flying fish and eating them. That was new for us seeing anything hunting flying fish. No wonder they have been so scarce and are so rare and small. I saw the weirdest and unexpected thing this afternoon as watching for flying fish. We sailed right past something on the surface. First I thought it was trash, then an injured sea turtle, as it went right under the balcony I could see 2 heads, 2 backs and about 6 flippers. It was a copulating pair of sea turtles!
Internet has been spotty since last night. We have the O Club reception this evening. We have dinner reservations for the last time this cruise at Polo after that. I will try to post this now. If anything else worthh noting occurs, I will post it later.
Internet has been spotty since last night. We have the O Club reception this evening. We have dinner reservations for the last time this cruise at Polo after that. I will try to post this now. If anything else worthh noting occurs, I will post it later.
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