Caribbean Cruise 2010 – Day 9 – Day at Sea
December 5, 2010
Yesterday was a day at sea as we begin to wind down our Caribbean Cruise 2010. After today, only one full sea day remains before we arrive back in Port Everglades. This has been a great cruise and a couple of days at sea are a nice way to close out the cruise.
As has been our habit on this cruise, we arose around 8:30 and headed down for breakfast and a leisurely stroll about the ship checking out the ocean and various activities around the ship. Before lunch we caught another hot glass show. While we haven’t seen all the shows like we did last cruise on the Solstice with the kids, we have caught a fair number.
After lunch Suzanne retired to the cabin for a brief nap while I decided to stroll the ship and do some more ocean watching. I went on down to the passport bar which is on deck three and basically at the same level as the ocean. It’s definitely a different perspective on the water than looking down at it from deck 14. You can get a much better feel for the size of the waves and how good a job the ship does at riding and dampening them out without folks on higher decks even noticing.
In the late afternoon, we decided to get dressed for the night prior to heading to the Captains Club cocktail party. It was the last formal night of the cruise and we would be dining at the Captains table with the Hotel Directory. We have been sitting with and meeting new folks during the cocktail party but we decided to sit off by ourselves this time and just chat between the two of us – a nice change of pace.
Just prior to dinner, we met the other folks who would be sitting at the Captains table in the Cellar Masters Lounge for a cocktail. I have no idea how they pick the folks for Captains table. There would be either of us dining with the Hotel Director. The other six were pretty easy to see how they got selected as they were all in the Penthouse or Royal suites on the ship, but not little ole us and our standard balcony cabin. We are Elite members of the Captains Club, but so are 300+ other folks on this cruise. Most of those have probably sailed more times on Celebrity than we have too. Oh well, we were just happy to be selected.
Dinner was again very good. Suzanne started with mushroom tart that looked a lot like mushroom a la king. She then had a chicken and corn chowder which was the kids favorite soup on the last cruise. For her main entrée, she had Beef Tournedoes with Fois Gras and a mushroom sauce. I started with the chicken and corn chowder and had Momma’s Pork Chops for my entrée. It was delicious. And then, as is the tradition on Celebrity, we had the Baked Alaska for dessert. All in all it was a great experience as we also got to enjoy a couple glasses of nice wine compliments of the Hotel Director.
During dinner, it was also a nice night for a couple seated at the table right behind us. During the appetizers, a couple of dozen roses were presented to the table and a four piece quartet came to the table and played some music before switching to the Wedding March which brought some surprise. One guy hopped down on one knee and proposed to a girl. She was clearly surprised and was crying, but didn’t answer the guy. Of course, the guy, down on one knee, was know getting a bit nervous in front of the entire dining room. I was about 3 fee from him and he was just telling her, ‘Come on, I love you’. I wasn’t sure which way it was going to go, but about a LONG minute later, she said yes and the dining room erupted in applause.
After dinner, we had thought about going to see the late night comedian, but again decided to pass and just retire to the room for the night. It was lights out about 11:30 pm.
Tomorrow will be the last full day on the ship. Time to start thinking about packing and remembering the great times! And of course, start planning the next cruise!
Caribbean Cruise 2010 – Day 8 – St Maarten
December 4, 2010
Yesterday was our fifth and final port of call on our 2010 Caribbean cruise aboard the Celebrity Equinox. Around 8:00 AM we docked in the port of Phillipsburg on the island of St Maarten. We planned to go ashore late morning and rose about 8:30. This time we actually planned to stay ashore most of the day. We had planned some shopping and then a day lounging on the beach.
This was our second visit to St Maarten having visited the island once before at the end of a transatlantic cruise a couple of years ago. It is also one of our favorite Caribbean islands. Once off the ship, we took a water taxi across the harbor to the beach. Last time we walked it (about 1.5 miles) but decided to splurge this time. It was a nice five or ten minute boat ride across. I still like the little boats!
Once across, we proceeded to finish up our shopping for the cruise. We found a bunch of stuff we had been looking for and some we weren’t. This was also the best shopping spot of the cruise.
It was time to relax and lounge on the beach. We found a nice spot right on the waters edge and got a good deal. We ‘rented’ an umbrella and two lounge chairs for $15 for the day. Amazingly, the price also included 5 beers which we traded 2 beers for a fruity, colorful, umbrella type drink for Suzanne. Sheesh, back home, we would be hard pressed to get the 5 beers for that price!
We spent the next 3 to 4 hours just laying on the beach and drinking our drinks. We did get lunch on the beach too. Suzanne had a shrimp and mango wrap while I opted for the chicken wings. When they came, they looked a bit strange – almost no added color. I wondered if they seasoned or marinated the wings at all. When I started eating them, they had a wonderful taste. They must have had some clear color sauce on them, but I still can’t place the flavor. They were good!
With an hour and a half left until all aboard we decided to start heading back. But, we stopped at the last little shack on the dock for one last drink and to watch everyone else start boarding. That’s something we have never done in all our cruising and it was interesting to watch everyone getting back on the ship. It’s something we may have to do again.
Back onboard, we decided to go to the Mast Bar and watch the sail away. It was quite a nice sail away. The island is absolutely beautiful. We sailed along the coastline until the island disappeared behind us. There is nothing but open sea ahead of us as we head back to Fort Lauderdale.
After the sail away, I caught a couple of hours of the hot glass show. The show still continues to amaze me and I like to see what the artists are going to create. And this was a night show we shows the hot colors even better. Suzanne was getting dressed for dinner while I watched the show.
When I returned to the cabin to get dressed, we actually decided that we were a bit tired and didn’t feel like going to dinner. We ordered room service instead and watched another movie, Wanted. Suzanne must still have been hungry because she ordered chicken noodle soup, spring rolls, shrimp cocktail and chicken fajitas and mashed potatoes. I ordered a pepperoni pizza. We both finished with a crème brule.
After dinner, we went to bed early with lights out about 11:00 pm. We now have two days at sea before arriving at Fort Lauderdale as the time on our cruise begins to wind down. I wish it was much longer!
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