Belize, Country #96!

Photos

After a night spent sailing lazy-eights in the Gulf of Honduras, we arrived at our anchorage off Harvest Caye on schedule. Our guide yesterday told us that both Honduras and Belize were only a 30-minute boat ride away. So there you go. 

Harvest Caye is an NCL-owned island for the use of it and its sister cruise lines. We booked an excursion to the mainland today. It was a cluster cuss of misinformation but at the end of an hour we had arrived at Malacate by riding only one big 2-deck catamaran. It took 2 boats with a forced visit to Harvest Caye to return to the Riviera though.

The pier at Malacate is also NCL-owned and a docking facility for the cruiselines to access the mainland. It is beside the community of Mango Creek and Independence. From there we boarded a bus for the hour-long, 52 mile drive to the Mayan ruins of Nim Li Punit. It was a good tour with a Mayan archaeology expert guide and a regular Belize guide. Also, there were handrails on all the slopes and stairs so walking was not as difficult as advertised. Lunch was good and the walk from there to the Rio Grande was a bonus. We paid $99 each for the 5 hour tour. It was money well spent. I hope tomorrow's Mayan ruins tour is as good. Our guide today said that Belize exports oil, bananas and Valencia oranges. Belize is the next to smallest country in Central America behind El Salvador. They have a population of under a half million. That is compared with over 6 million in El Salvador. Belize is a former British Colony. English is the official language. They drive on the right. Tour description is pasted below.

Nim Li Punit With Lunch (HAR-002)

Port: Harvest Caye

Tour Length: Half-Day (Approximately 5 hours)

Tour Description 

Wander through the well-preserved ruins of a Mayan city.

See carved stone stelae that reveal the history of the ceremonial site.

Climb the temples’ stairs for panoramic views of the jungle.

Behold an astronomical observatory where the Mayas tracked the sun’s movement.

Wander through the well-preserved ruins of an archeological site full of royal tombs and stone monuments that commemorate important events to this Mayan community. The complex of buildings within this ceremonial center is rather compact and well-shaded, so exploring should be quite comfortable and easy. As you meander about, you can expect to see a ball court with celestial representations, numerous plazas, tombs of the royal families and monuments with carvings that offer a glimpse into the ancient Mayan civilization. Dozens of these monuments, known as stelae, can be found in Nim Li Punit. The name of the site, which means “large hat” in the Mayan language, refers to refers to the large headdress that one of the rulers is shown wearing on one of the stela. Oil prospectors discovered Nim Li Punit in the 1970s and excavations started shortly afterwards.

HELPFUL HINTS

Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.

Wear flat comfortable walking shoes with non-slip soles.

PLEASE NOTE

This tour includes significant walking with some uneven natural surfaces and steps to negotiate, which may be slippery when wet. The tour is not available to wheelchair guests and not considered suitable for those with mobility concerns or pregnant woman who are past their first trimester. Participants should be in good physical health to climb the temples and stone steps unassisted. Participants must weigh less than 300 pounds. It is a 30-minute boat transfer from Harvest Caye to the mainland of Belize and a 1- hour scenic bus ride to the Mayan site. No lunch is provided. A hearty breakfast is recommended. Snacks are available for purchase.

End of tour description. Obviously, lunch was actually included. It was at Big Falls on the Rio Grande. It was traditional Belize food of rice & beans with chicken and plantains. It was good. 

This morning after breakfast but before tendering ashore, we got a letter with our instructions for turnaround day in Miami along with a pair of new keycards for immediate use. They are good until Feb. 26. That letter with details of procedures in Miami makes no mention of the new coronavirus temperature screening by the way. 

This afternoon we got a letter explaining that no guest or crew who'd visited mainland China in the past 30 days had been allowed onboard. Also they are eliminating self-service food and beverage temporarily while the coronavirus spreads.

Tomorrow morning we'll be back in Mexico for this cruise segment's last port day.

Tonight we're going to give Riviera's Grand Dining Room a try. It was better than our past attempt's at O's GDR but service fell apart after we quickly received our main course and we struggled to get our dessert and be out before 8 pm. We won't look to return.

We move the clocks ahead by 1 hour tonight. So it is already late! Sorry again about the delay with photos hopefully Internet service will improve as we head North. That's Clay's theory anyway.

Photos

Santo Tomas, Guatemala

Photos

We arrived right on schedule at 8 am. This was not a new country for us. We’d had a port stop on the Pacific side of the isthmus in the past. I hate to categorically state this is the dirtiest place I’ve ever been, but if it isn’t then it is still in the top 3. That company includes dirt roads in Kenya and the coal transporting highway to Hanoi in Vietnam. I only consider this dirtier because we were only out there for an hour! I left all my jewelry in the safe but wore my watch. I blackened a washcloth scrubbing the dirt caked on it when we returned! Our guide today told us that the main industry here is bananas. Chiquita ships internationally out of Puerto Barrios. I am unsure where all the fine black grit originates.

Today we paid $29 each for an hour-long open-air trolley bus ride from the commercial port at Santo Tomas to the closest large town of Puerto Barrios. Tour description is pasted below. The two are adjacent and the part we toured was maybe 5 miles away. The tour included up to 3 beverages per person! We took one beer (Gallo) each for later since we started out at 9:30 am. Within minutes of setting out, we were covered in a fine black grit. It stuck well to both sunscreen and sweat! I made the mistake of applying the hand sanitizer at the port terminal building and my hands looked like I changed the oil in the car. The tour was probably about worth what we paid. Luis, the guide, handed out maps of Guatemala to each couple as well as a nice little fabric bag of frightfully primitive paper, mud and fabric worry dolls. We've had nice worry dolls in the past. I kept the bags and threw the dolls out because, dirt.

Trolley Town Tour

1 hour

$29

Ride a unique trolley for a 50-minute ride through from the Port of Santo Tomas through the simple streets of Puerto Barrios, the nearest town. Your guide provides a narration on the history and folklore. Depending on traffic, we'll stop at one or two local attractions including the colorful local graveyard perfect for some unique pictures.

Note: Participants must be at least 18 years of age to consume alcohol. A maximum of 3 cold alcoholic drinks (usually beer) or soft drinks per person are included.

End of tour description.  

It was unbearably humid and other than the terminal buildings' artisan market there was nothing near the dock. We had a short day here and were glad of it. I found everything I wanted to shop for in the many vendors at the port. They were just shy of too aggressive for us to stay and shop. I bought another shirt similar to the last one I bought in Guatemala. Let’s hope this one survives a first launder to be worn. The first one fit me over a t-shirt but the first time I laundered it in cold water with no machine dry, it shrank so much I couldn’t button it. I bought today’s shirt a full size too large, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

We had breakfast and lunch in Terrace. We have a 6 pm dinner reservation at Jacques tonight. We also have an Oceania Club cocktail invitation tonight for 5:45 pm. I don’t know if we’ll try to squeeze that in or not. We can always hope to make it on one of the next 2 cruises.

Sorry about the delays posting photos. We’ve had super slow and intermittent Internet for the past 2 days. Oceania includes one Internet access per cabin, so we must take turns. It worked out fine the first few days but not so well once the Internet became problematic.

About 5:20 pm, the CD came over the loudspeakers to announce that tomorrow's port of Harvest Caye, Belize had just become a tender port. He said very recently another cruise ship had damaged the pier and it was still unsafe. We have a 5 hour tour there tomorrow that was already scheduled to begin with a 30-minute boat transfer to mainland Belize. Fingers crossed they'll just pick us up at the ship now! About 5:40 pm, a troupe of local musicians and dancers appeared on the dock to perform for the ship. We are still not to all aboard of 6:30 pm nor 7 pm sailaway. So it is not clear why now. But it is a nice cultural gesture.

Photos

Coxen Hole, Roatan Island, Honduras

Photos

Country #95! We moved the clocks back an hour last night so it was bright sunlight before the alarm even went off this morning. We were sad to see an enormous NCL ship already docked. Good news, there was still space at the pier for us to dock behind them. There was a big Carnival cruise ship docked at the other pier location. The seas were millpond calm today so it wouldn't have been a terrible tender ride anyway. But, docking is better.

Roatan is an island, one of 3 called the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. Coxen Hole where we are docked on Roatan is the capital of the Bay Islands. It used to be a British colony before becoming part of Honduras. The official language of Roatan is English but they drive on the right. Spanish is Honduras' official language. Confused yet?

First email of the day was from our TA regarding our next 2 cruises onboard Riviera. See it below.

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION FOR GUESTS TRAVELING WITH OCEANIA CRUISES Dear Valued Guests, Due to the growing concern regarding coronavirus infections in China and in an abundance of caution, we will be implementing new policies designed to protect the health and safety of our guests and crew. These new policies will apply to all guests on all sailings worldwide, effective immediately, for the next 30 days. In addition to the already announced non-touch temperature screenings detailed below, we will be denying boarding to any guest who has visited mainland China in the last 30 days. These guests will receive a refund for their cruise. This new policy is in addition to non-touch temperature screenings for all guests. Any guest who registers a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius or higher, will not be allowed to board. These guests will not receive a refund and will be advised to open a travel insurance claim with their insurance provider. Please know that the safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority. We truly appreciate your understanding and thank you for your diligence and assistance in helping us ensure that all of our guests and crew remain in good health. If you have traveled to mainland China in the past 30 days, please contact your travel advisor or Oceania Cruises directly so that we may begin the process of cancelling your pending voyage, collecting your travel information and start the refund process. For guests travelling on our upcoming China sailings, we will be sharing further information in the coming few days. Please Note: The mainland China travel restrictions do not include Hong Kong or Taiwan. Should you have any questions regarding the coronavirus, please speak with your personal physician or visit the websites for the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.CDC.gov or the World Health Organization at www.WHO.int. Sincerely, Carlos Ortega Vice President, Guest Services Oceania Cruises

What troubles us about this is the NO refund if they say we have a fever on turnaround day in Miami! Otherwise it seems fair and prudent.

So, we were docked and the ship cleared by 8 am. We reported to the Riviera Lounge before our 8:30 am time to exchange our tour tickets for little tour #30 stubs. We were called by 8:30 am and a very large group of us made our way to the long walk down the pier. As we arrived at the buses, tour guides divided us into very small busloads. Clay and I were next to last to board ours and split up with me over the rear wheel well and Clay in the back row. The aisle was so narrow that even I had to turn sideways and shimmy to get by each row of seats. The AC worked though! We were on the Islands Highlights tour at $89 each. It was a good morning for us. Tour description below. The iguanas were a nightmare. The butterflies and hummingbirds were awesome. The island of Roatan is much more scenic and inhabited than was Cozumel so the bus ride was engaging today. Our guide, Edwin, stated that this island is also protected due to the surrounding reefs and there is no agriculture but construction is still ongoing here. Tourism is again the primary industry.

Island Highlights (ROA-008)
Port: Roatan
Tour Length: Half-Day (Approximately 3 1/4 hours)
Tour Description
See hundreds of iguanas in a protected habitat shaded by tropical foliage.
Hear about iguana behavior, and why the reptiles are endangered on Roatan.
Walk among hundreds of fluttering butterflies in an eco-park.
See hummingbirds darting about the eco-park and drinking nectar.
Snap a selfie with a parrot perched on your arm or shoulder.
Enjoy two aspects of the natural world by observing iguanas in a protected zoo-like habitat and then visiting an eco-park that revolves around birds and butterflies. Roatan is known for its biodiversity, but few tropical animals are as iconic as the iguana, hundreds of which you will see at the Iguana Hideaway. It is an excellent venue to observe these prehistoric-looking reptiles, as iguanas are threatened on Roatan from loss of habitat and being captured for the pet trade. Watch them basking in the sun, lounging in trees and munching on vegetables. Flying creatures take center stage at the Mayan Eden Eco Park, where you will stroll through an enclosure with a huge variety of butterflies indigenous to Honduras. You can also expect to see hummingbirds flitting from blossom to blossom and brightly colored parrots. With the guide’s assistance, you can probably coax one to perch on your arm for a photo.

HELPFUL HINTS
Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.
PLEASE NOTE
This tour includes approximately one hour of easy walking and standing, plus additional walking at the guests’ discretion during free time. The tour is available to wheelchair guests who have a collapsible wheelchair, are able to make their own way on and off the coach, and have an able-bodied companion to assist them. The venues are wheelchair-accessible, but the restrooms are not. Those with mobility concerns should evaluate their stamina and ability before joining the tour.

End of tour description.

We got back to the pier area around noon and checked out some of the shops before going back aboard for lunch and to escape the blazing sun and humidity. I managed to get to Baristas before 2 pm for my Illycrema and canele! This is my absolute favorite part of cruising on Oceania!

We have no specialty dinner reservation tonight so I expect we'll eat at Terrace again.

We got our 2 upcoming cruises' new invoices from our TA. The cruise we are on now is our 9th Oceania cruise. At #10, our O Club status and benefits increase including gratuities and doubling shipboard credit. The 2 invoices did not handle the increased shipboard credit in the same manner so we have emailed back a query about that. It was a step in the right direction anyway. 

While we were out, delivered to our bed was a disembarkation questionnaire from destination services. It was 2 full pages with a lot of option except for the option of continuing on the next cruise! Destination Services Desk is closed from 11 am to 5 pm today so we'll have to inquire about our options when they reopen. I took the form down when they reopened and the guy seemed surprised that they'd missed an option but agreed it was an option. He used a highlighter to add the option. We're still expecting the special letter and next cruise's keycard delivered on the last night of the cruise as the guy at Reception told us the first day we boarded. Time will tell.

Melissa, our cabin attendant surprised and delighted us again tonight. When we came back from dinner we found Bob on the bed again with his own chocolate AND his own Bob-sized copy of tonight's Currents! 

Photos

Cozumel, Mexico

Photos

We arrived on time or even early after an uneventful evening. (I assume. The navigation map shows we still didn't maintain a straight line of travel overnight!) It is partly cloudy and hot and humid here. Cozumel is an island with protected status. That means no new buildings have been built in about 30 years and there is no agriculture allowed. Tourism is the only real business here. We are docked right at downtown San Miguel at the Punta Langosta Cruise Pier. There are a couple other, bigger cruise ships docked away from town that we can see from here. We are docked on the port side and the mainland is visible from our starboard balcony. This is our first visit to the Yucatan Peninsula, so new map pins!

We took a ship's tour today. Described below. We paid $99 each. It was not worth it. I know we've seen much better chocolate demonstrations and we saw zero cacao trees. We had thought just the bus tour of the island would be worthwhile but there is really nothing here but trees and scrub. The stop at El Mirador might be considered comical. There used to be a natural surf-carved rock arch there but it collapsed and now there is nothing there but some souvenir stands on the beach. The guide failed to mention the collapse when he unloaded us there. We booked this tour in advance on the Oceania website. The order form they had in our cabin on arrival stated in bold typeface that there would be NO stop at the bee sanctuary. Thankfully that was wrong. We never did learn why the bees are stingless. The guide did say they were entirely domesticated and could not survive without human support. Mystery.

Island Discovery & Chocolate Experience
DETAILS

3 hrs Estimated Duration

Gain a greater understanding of the Mayan culture at the Mayan Cacao Company, where you will learn how the ancient Maya made chocolate from the cacao tree.

After departing from the pier, you will soon arrive at the Mayan Cacao Company, an interactive attraction where you will discover the importance of the sacred cacao seed to the Mayan civilization. The Mayans were drinking chocolate made from cacao for ceremonial and medicinal purposes as far back as 500 B.C. They also used cacao as currency.

Chocolate was also essential to Mayan cuisine, and you will sample a local version of the sweet treat along with some traditional handmade tortillas. While touring the grounds, you will see flourishing cacao trees, a typical Mayan residence and a botanical garden of indigenous plants. To further your understanding of the ancient Maya civilization, be sure to stop at the replicas of a Mayan calendar and a stone stela adorned with hieroglyphics and carvings.

Following your immersion into the Mayan lifestyle and traditions, you will settle in for a panoramic drive around Cozumel. Much of the route will follow the beautiful coastline, which is rocky in certain areas and rimmed by great stretches of sugar-white beaches elsewhere. In time, you will pause for photos at El Mirador, a spectacularly scenic lookout where the pounding sea has carved a large stone arch out of the rocky shore.

Next you will head to the Mayan Bee Sanctuary and learn about the importance the sacred stingless Melipona Bees had in the Mayan culture as well as the significance of cenotes where bees interact in their natural space. Not only are Molipona bees essential for the pollination of crops and environmental balance but also key to Mayan traditions and believes. Learn about the benefits and properties of the bee’s marvelous golden liquid as you enjoy a small tasting. Afterwards you will return to the pier.

End of tour description.

We were returned to the rear of the shopping center across the street from the port. We were paraded through there in a double line outbound to be sure we'd see it. We had to walk back through to return to the port. We stopped at the Starbucks to check the mugs and they had them, but I didn't like it. We walked about a block down the street to the Mega Soriana store we'd seen from the bus ride outbound. Clay bought 4 local beers and a bottle of Listerine for about $10.

We didn't find anywhere good looking for lunch and ate at Terrace again. For the 2nd time, the same guy at Baristas refused to serve me an Ily Crema because he claims the machine doesn't work. It actually seems that he is the problem since he is the only worker I've encountered there who won't serve from the machine. Worse is that he also doesn't offer to manually make an iced cappuccino instead! I think I've figured out he works there in the afternoon around 2pm and I can try to avoid him, but should  I have to?

We sail at 5 pm tonight. We have Toscana reservations at 6 pm. We found an invitation to the Oceania Club cocktail party at 5:45 pm on Friday but we have 6 pm Jacques that night. It would be tight. We'll see.

Tomorrow we are at Roatan, Honduras, another island. We received an info sheet about it while out. It states there are 2 possible docks and a 3rd option of anchoring and tendering. So, a 2 out of 3 chance of docking and a 1 out of 3 chance of tendering. Those might sound like pretty good odds. But... our tour tickets tomorrow already state that our meeting place is onboard in the Riviera Lounge and our meeting place today was on the pier. Our thinking is that is a good sign that Destinations already knows it is a tender port. We'd love to be wrong about this tomorrow around 8 am!

Finally, we move the clocks back one hour tonight.

Photos

A Morning of Surprises

Photos

I was awake about 6 am but stayed still and quiet waiting to see light around the blackout curtains. Heading southwest to Cozumel from Key West, I knew there was zero chance at watching the sunrise. So imagine my surprise when I opened the curtains and door and stepped out on the balcony to catch the end of a gorgeous sunrise! When I came back inside, Clay was up with the lights on and he asked if the wind was bad. (We had seen deck closure signs due to high winds up last night after dinner and furniture being secured.) I replied no, but in what possible scenario was the sun rising in the east visible from our starboard balcony. Clay thought for a moment before replying, only if the ship were headed due North. He turned the TV to the navigational channel where we were surprised to see the first route map showing a white zigzagging line following our little ship icon. The next view tightened up to show us headed as predicted, due North. WTH? Either someone on the bridge overnight was impaired or else we're burning time and miles to get to Cozumel exactly on time. It is about 11 am and we're following a straight line towards Cozumel now.

We had breakfast in Terrace buffet about an hour after they opened. Other than boarding day, we have had no problem with finding 2 empty chairs. I had one thing to do today. At 9:30 am the social hostess, Lisa, was handing out needlepoint kits in Horizons. (It turns out Lisa was the first to ever give me a needlepoint kit on my first O cruise and taught me how to do it!) I was there at 8:45 am. I took my tablet and played Candy Crush Soda Saga while waiting. About 9 am a woman came in and pronounced herself first for needlepoint (she didn't consult me) and lined up all other arrivals by calling out to them as they arrived. I suppose if you're self-appointed first you don't have to worry about those present in Horizons when you arrive. Lisa showed up about 9:15 am and ate breakfast in the back. When she approached the dance floor area to set up, #1 told her what was what and she went along. I didn't end up at the end of the line but I did get the next to last cosmetics case at about #22. Lisa said she'd hand out a 2nd round of kits on the last sea day of this cruise as well. I'm not worried but she did have a lot of scissors cases and big eyeglasses cases and I don't need anymore of those!

Clay went to the fitness track while I went to Horizons. We planned to meet back in the cabin when we were each done. I arrived first and panicked when I found Bob missing. I had moved him from my nightstand to the coffee table looking out to sea when we went to breakfast. He was gone! I picked up the phone and pressed the housekeeping button. To my great relief, Melissa, our Honduran cabin stewardess, answered by asking "What's wrong?". She'd just greeted me in the hallway earlier. I stammered out, Oh Melissa, Bob is missing. Who's Bob? My little brown on brown dog. She told me, Oh he's not missing. She'd seen him in the chair, lying down like hiding. Unlikely, Bob doesn't hide and how would he get from the table to the chair? Melissa said she was about to knock on the door and hung up. I hung up and to my great relief, Bob was right where she said, hidden. I answered the door with Bob in my hand and we shared a relieved laugh. Still no idea how Bob got there, just an accident, I hope. Anyway, Melissa is an exuberant young woman doing an excellent job. She fills Clay's big insulated cup with ice as well as the ice bucket twice a day! The first night after we unpacked she gushed over our zapatos organized in the hanging organizer on the bathroom door. As Clay commented, if she doesn't know we're on for 3 straight cruises, she must think we brought a different pair of shoes for every day of this cruise and that would be noteworthy! Melissa was happy to be formally introduced to Bob and asked his age. She said she had a full-sized stuffed dog very similar looking and only 3 years old and asked if she could bring it to meet Bob. I agreed they should meet for a photo opportunity. She was happy. I was happy.

We haven't heard the Captain make a single announcement yet. The Cruise Director has and mainly a young British woman who says she is speaking from the bridge. We haven't caught her name or title yet. Odd. The Currents today says the Captain will make a noon announcement about the weather. I have the TV on channel 4, the bridge cam awaiting that. Also, the Captain will hold a complimentary cocktails reception in Horizons at 5:45 pm. I am inclined to avoid that but Clay is craving a beer so we'll have to see. He didn't find any local beers for sale in our stroll around Key West yesterday so he didn't buy any. He won't get any local beers onboard either as far as we can tell. More later.

The Captain gave a very concise weather rundown with sea conditions report at noon. No extraneous comments. He did say rain today and frankly that seems unlikely from casual observation. It has been a perfect sea day. In wildlife sightings, I saw a bird fishing and catching a flying fish off the coast of Cuba and in the afternoon Clay saw a few dolphins approach and disappear under the ship.

We had lunch in Terrace. We both had the Mexican specialties. Two days of Mexican lunch in a row and we haven't reached Mexico yet! Can't have too much of a good thing though.

Riviera had an afternoon big screen popcorn movie today but it was "Judy" and we saw it on TV on RCI. Last night we watched "Mrs. Lowry & Son". It was a biographic story and sad though well acted and educational. This afternoon we watched "The Peanut Butter Falcon". It was great and supposedly set on the Outer Banks. It was charming.

The angle of the sun changing was what drove Clay off the balcony, so we watched an afternoon movie. From the route line on the navigation channel after the movie, it seemed we were zigzagging again followed by a loop-de-loop flourish. WTH?

Clay wants to go to either Grand Bar or Martinis for the Captain's Cocktail Celebration since according to Currents, the Captain will be in Horizons. He wanted to go to the Grand Dining Room tonight but there was nothing on the dinner menu either of us wanted so back to Terrace for us. Maybe some other time we'll give the GDR another chance. 

Photos

Key West, Florida

Photos

We both felt the ship docking in the dark this morning. The blackout curtains are good in our cabin, but not that good, it was still dark out. We were scheduled to dock at 7 am. Sailing conditions must have been great overnight as it was smooth and quiet. There is a flat green nightlight plugged into the shaver outlet in the bathroom. I was concerned it wouldn't be enough light and my traveling LED plugin nightlight refused to remain seated in the plug in its place. It was fine. We didn't get up until 7 am. Breakfast had started at 6 am in Terrace but it looked like most of the ship was off to a slow, late start just like us. We had breakfast about 8 am. The loudspeaker announcement that the ship had cleared and shuttle service started was after 9 am. There are 2 other ships in port with us today. RCI has a giant ship right at Mallory Square, then RSSC Explorer, then us out at the Navy Mole Pier. You can't walk around on the base so we have to ride a shuttle to and from the Mallory Square area. We had to present a valid photo ID as well as a keycard to exit the ship this morning. Presumably because the same combo was required to re-enter the base on the shuttle back. It wasn't a big inconvenience but we didn't have anything pre-booked here so no deadlines.

We picked up a free map at Mallory Square and set out for a leisurely walk across Key West. We decided that neither the HOHO trolley or Conch Train seemed good values. About halfway through our walk, we realized there was a free public transit loop, Duval Loop. But we never used it. If we'd known about it before we arrived here, we might have planned to use it. We saw lots of cool and interesting things on our walk and we'd have missed those if we'd ridden. We made it across and saw the half-block long line to take a photo and did not join it. We got a selfie with little wait at Mile Marker 0 and that would suffice. Clay took a photo of strangers with the southernmost marker that was our destination. We backtracked past the old Key West lighthouse to Ernest Hemingway's Home. We got in a very short line and paid our $30 cash for entry. We walked onto the porch to be the last 2 to join the next guided tour. It was perfect timing. We visited for the symmetry of having visited his home in Cuba. In particular, his 2nd story writing studio in the out building seemed very similar. We saw many of the polydactyl cats that live there.

From there we walked over to Duval Street to see some different sights. We stopped for a tasty lunch at Old Town Mexican Cafe a little after noon. We went in both Walgreens and CVS. We stopped in Starbucks to check the mugs but they only had Miami. We walked on to the shuttle stop back to the ship. It was in front of the Old Customs House. It was near 2 pm when we headed back. Last shuttle back to the ship is at 4:30 pm, all aboard is 5 pm and sailaway is scheduled for 5:30 pm.

It was perfect weather in Key West today. It was partly cloudy and about 70 F all day. It was not too humid, not too sunny, not too cloudy, not too windy... We had a good day.

Tonight we do not have any restaurant reservations so we'll hope to find a table for 2 in Terrace as easily as we did this morning. Tomorrow is a sea day. We've found a dozen or more movies in the on demand channel that we'd like to watch so I predict that will be our primary activity. I have hopes that on that 1st sea day I'll be able to get a needlepoint kit. In the past Oceania always did that and I hope they still do.

Photos

Boarding Oceania's Riviera

Photos

This morning after a Clay-cooked breakfast of fried mush, Mom's friend Steve (aka Slick) drove us over to the Port of Miami. Traffic was not bad and we made it quicker than we expected, closer to 2 hours than 3. It is still a long day of driving roundtrip and we really appreciated Steve doing that. We still only waited in a short line for a few minutes and then walked through security, health questionnaire, photos for ship's keycards and CC registration before continuing on to the ship. It was quick and easy and we were onboard before our scheduled arrival time. We learned that we should be issued a new keycard onboard by reception the night before the end of each cruise segment since our cards indicate our cruise ends 2/4. We are actually onboard for 3 consecutive cruises and will disembark on 2/26 in exactly 1 month. We were able to get our specialty dining reservations changed to our liking. We went to Terrace and couldn't find 2 chairs together! We shared a Cuban sandwich with a couple of Coke Zeros at Waves Grill followed by ice cream. (Yeah, included sodas!) We cleared out to give others a chance to eat and went up to a mostly deserted Baristas for a Ily crema (think cappuccino Icee) and caneles. Our standard balcony cabin was not scheduled to be ready for us before 3 pm, but about 2:10 pm the announcement came over the loudspeakers that they were ready. We are in cabin 8073. Mom texted about 3 pm that she was back home. We got our luggage delivered near 4 pm. The mandatory boat drill was at 5:15 pm. It was quick and easy in Martinis bar. We sailed at 6 pm. Dinner in Polo Grill at 6:30 pm. It is a steak house and it was good and service was efficient. My well-done filet came quickly and cooked correctly. An excellent start. So far smooth sailing and dark windless night. There is the merest sliver of a moon as we sail around the tip of Florida for Key West. We learned tonight we'll be docking out at the Navy Mole Pier there. The only dockage for cruise ships that is not in walking distance! Boo. Fortunately, we've been before and have no pressing plans there. So no real harm done to us.

Our first Oceania cruise, years ago was on Marina. Riviera is a sister ship but we don't remember this cabin at all. I don't know if the O ships had been renovated since our previous cruise or our memories are just bad. I don't think Clay took any photos. But he was flummoxed by the shower over tub and free-standing corner shower once again! Here is a link to see about Riviera and cabin pictures. It is a nice ship and a nice cabin. I was thinking I could do a world cruise on this ship when Clay pointed out that all the WC and other itineraries that interest us are on the less desirable R ships. Oh well.

So the reason we're on a month of Caribbean cruises is to finish up our quest for visiting 100 countries. If you've been following along then you know we reached #94 after the last cruise. Clay discovered in editing his Excel files that we'll actually make 101 instead of 100 if we make all our upcoming ports. Fingers crossed. Here is a link to this month's cruise ports.

Photos