SEATTLE TO MIAMI BY CRUISE SHIP

 October 10-11, 2022 Seattle, Washington, USA

Lynne, Mary Nell, and I left La Cruz around mid-day. Mary Nell's brother, John, drove us to the airport. Karen was to join us in Seattle and the four of us were joining our friend, Marc, and his girlfriend, Nancy, on the Norwegian Sun for a cruise from Seattle to Miami. Our band of cruise girls planned to stay aboard for the second leg from Miami to Lisbon, Portugal.

Our first flight from Puerto Vallarta to LAX went smoothly. At LAX, we had two hours to clear immigration and customs and walk across three terminals. Things went fairly smoothly, but we still arrived at the gate close to the time we should have started boarding. Unfortunately, the pilot was AWOL. We boarded the plane an hour and a half late and then spent another hour on the ground before we took off. We were two hours late when we finally landed in Seattle.

I had chosen to stay at the Hampton Inn at Seatac Airport in part because they offered a free airport shuttle. By the time we called for the shuttle, they had stopped running. We were told to take a taxi and they would reimburse us. The taxi driver didn't want to take us because it was such a small fare, but the supervisor made him. We only had twenties, anyway, so we gave him nearly double the fare. Then we discovered that he had taken us to the wrong Hampton Inn, despite my having specifically told him which one we wanted. Fortunately, that Hampton Inn was where they parked the shuttles and the driver was still around. They kindly gave us a ride to the correct hotel. 

Seattle from the Upper Deck

We took another, larger, Uber to the cruise ship terminal in Seattle. That ride cost us $65. Our confirmation had told us check-in started at 14:00, but they were happy to receive us when we got there about 12:45. It was a convoluted process. First, they took our luggage at curb side. That was convenient. Then, we went to another station where they checked our passports and made sure we were on the passenger manifest. Next, we walked a ways and waited in a long line to verify our vaccination status. I had been vaccinated in California, so had no trouble. Lynne and Mary Nell, however, had been vaccinated in Mexico and, so, had no vaccination card, only a piece of paper bearing their information. They had to wait in a secondary line to see the head honcho. He eventually cleared them and we proceeded on to another long line where we waited to give them our credit card information and receive our cruise ID cards. Finally, we were checked in and could proceed to our staterooms. We dropped off our carry on items and headed for the buffet. Karen caught up with us after lunch.

The Cruise Girls - Lynne, Rene, Karen, & Mary Nell

The ship sailed from Seattle after 17:30. We ate dinner and then went to the variety show, which gave us a sampling of the different entertainers onboard the ship. We were all tired and went straight to bed after the show.

October 12, 2022 Astoria, OR, USA

We were still at sea when I awoke. I did my exercises in the dark and then read for an hour or so until Karen got up. We had breakfast with Mary Nell and Lynne and then watched as the ship crossed the Columbia River bar and headed up the river to Astoria.

The Norwegian Sun in Astoria, OR

There was nothing much to do in Astoria. We took the trolley from the port to downtown but, as a brewery had collapsed onto the tracks, the usual three-mile route had been cut to one mile. Karen had seen a bus route that looped around the downtown area and we thought we'd ride that to get an overview of what was available. Unfortunately, despite having asked the driver if it was the right bus, we got on the wrong bus and soon found ourselves crossing the river to Warrington. Once we realized our error, we got off and then spent the next hour waiting for a bus to take us back to Astoria.

The Trolley in Astoria

After that adventure, we were ready to sit down and get some sustenance, so we headed to the SEACrab Shack for lunch. The SEA in the name of the restaurant stood for South East Asian and it was run by two Thai women. We had an excellent lunch of rockfish tacos with Thai sauce and garlicky clam chowder in a bread bowl. We all had a drink and then barely had enough energy to take the trolley back to the ship for a nap. Karen had more energy, so she hiked up to the Astoria Column. We didn't see her until it was time for the ship to sail.

After our naps, Mary Nell, Lynne, and I went to the lounge to listen to music for a couple of hours and then dined about 20:00. My system still hadn't recovered from all the traveling, so I just had a cup of tea and a little fruit. We were ready for bed by 21:00.

October 13-14 At Sea

It took us two days to sail from Astoria to Catalina. We explored the ship, listened to music, went to shows, played cards, and ate. It was very relaxing if too cold to spend any time outside. I caught a little cold and spent a lot of time sleeping.

October 15, 2022 Catalina Island

Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island, CA

We anchored at Avalon before dawn and took an early tender to shore. Karen and I headed straight for the grocery store so that I could buy aspirin and cough drops. Then we met up with Mary Nell and Lynne at the casino. We decided to climb up to the chimes, so left Lynne and Mary Nell to wander around the town while we climbed the hill to the chimes. All of us eventually visited the museum. The chimes were decorated with a bat signal for Halloween.

Bat Signal on the Chimes

We had to be back at the boat by 14:00, so spent our remaining time sipping coffee and using the internet while enjoying the view. I went back to the boat and took a nap and then met Lynne and Mary Nell for a sit-down dinner, which we preferred to the buffet. The evening show featured Tom Franek, a pianist/comedian who was very entertaining and humbled me by playing a song from my repertoire while standing on his head and playing behind his back. He left us wanting more.

October 16, 2022 At Sea

Sunday was a relaxing day. I got up later than usual and Karen watched football. The four of us met Marc and Nancy for a steak dinner at Cagney’s. We all stuffed ourselves silly. Karen had enough steak left over for three breakfasts. That night, we went to see a Burt Bacharach review in the theatre and then retired.

October 17, 2022 Cabo San Lucas

Something work me up at 6:05. I thought it was the anchor, but it must have just been a shift in gears. I got up and went to join Mary Nell in the buffet, but we didn’t anchor in Cabo until after dawn. I slept in a deck chair for an hour until it got light, having been up all night trying not to snore with my cold.

We finally got off the boat about 10:00 and took tenders into shore. I took a tour to Todos Santos, having been talking about going there all year and never having made it. There wasn’t much to see. We walked through the Cultural Center, visited the museum, and ate lunch at the Hotel California. 

Much has been made of the Hotel California in Todos Santos having inspired the Eagles song. Don Henley has always been vague about it. The facts are that in 1974, the Eagles flew into La Paz to attend  the wedding of one of the members of the Rolling Stones in Cabo. They rented a car to drive to Cabo and the car overheated in Todos Santos. The Hotel California was closed at the time and did not reopen until 1985. They did manage to get into a bar fight and end up in jail. The Hotel California is located nearby a mission so, while it may have inspired the song, the story is apparently pure fantasy.

Karen took a taxi to Todos Santos with some other passengers and we both agreed that Todos Santos was dull. We spent most of our time sitting on a bench. Mary Nell and Lynne hired a bicycle taxi and explored the marina area of Cabo. Marc and Nancy took a boat tour to the arch.

We weren’t due back to the boat until 18:30. Karen was the very last person to return to the ship and, while she was not late, they were looking high and low for her. They had called our room twice and come to knock on the door, making it impossible for me to nap at all.

October 18, 2022 Mazatlan

Mazatlan at Dawn

We pulled into Mazatlan just as the sun was coming up. Karen and I ate breakfast on the stern at dawn.  We couldn’t locate Mary Nell and Lynne. They were usually up before us, but had decided to sleep in, that morning, and didn’t answer when we knocked.

Cathedral in Mazatlan

Karen and I walked into Old Mazatlan and checked out the plaza and the cathedral. It was still quite early and most things were closed. The market didn’t interest us, so we walked out to Olas Altas, hoping to find a cafe with internet. We didn’t have any luck, so we wandered up the coast towards the malecon and eventually flagged down one of the open-air taxis called pulmonias. Our driver took us on a 3-hour tour of Mazatlan from end to end. He drove us to the top of tall hills to take in the view and showed us everything from the northwest point of land closest to Cabo San Lucas, past the marina, through the new part of Mazatlan, all along the malecon, around the old town, out past the harbor to the lighthouse and back to the ship. We had a good driver and thoroughly enjoyed our tour. Including the taxi permit, the pulmonia had cost him $40,000 US. We didn’t feel so bad about paying him 1800 pesos for three hours once we learned about his overhead.

The Norwegian Sun docked in Mazatlan

Our Wake Leaving Mazatlan

The ship left port at 14:00 and we ate lunch on the stern as we pulled out of the port. We played cards in the Spinnaker lounge until they tossed us out to prepare for a private party that evening. Karen was invited to the party, but the rest of us went to sit-down dinner, instead.

October 19, 2022 Manzanillo

Playa la Boquita

The cruise ship dock in Manzanillo is at the end of a long, slender pier that kept us well away from the industrial port. We contracted a tour of the city from a vendor onshore. For $25 each, we got a 3-hour tour of Manzanillo in a nice, air conditioned van. Our guide’s English was questionable, but he did take us to all the sights. We toured the area from Playa La Boquita on the northwest shore of Santiago Bay, all the way around to the iguanaria near the power plant on the far side of the port. We stopped at the top of the hill above Las Hadas to peer down into the resort and take pictures.

View Over Manzanillo

Manzanillo Greenery

Las Hadas

I wasn’t too excited about going to an iguana sanctuary, since we have giant iguanas all over the place at home, in La Cruz. The iguanaria turned out to be the highlight of the tour. Not only did they have iguanas, but they had other rescued animals, as well. They had the laziest raccoons I had ever seen and also coati mundis and javelinas.

World's Laziest Raccoon

There were a lot of iguanas. I had never imagined the sight of a hundred iguanas rushing toward me to fight over a piece of banana. It was something else. The iguanas were very tame and came right up to our toes to beg for food. Fortunately, green (female) and orange (male) iguanas are vegetarian and don’t really have teeth. It is only the black iguanas that are carnivorous and will bite. There were no black iguanas in the sanctuary because they eat baby green iguanas.

Iguanas at the Iguanaria

After our tour, Karen and I walked around the area near the ship until I found some cough syrup at a local Oxxo and then returned to the ship for a late lunch. We should have left the port around 15:00, but the ship’s fuel delivery was late.

After dinner, we went to see Tom Franek, again. His music and comedy did not disappoint. He played a medley of songs suggested by the audience which ran from “Dancing Queen” through “Sweet Caroline” to “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It was impressive. He played “Hallelujah” and somehow managed to work “Claire de Lune” into the bridge. He was a joy to watch. I went to bed after the show, still trying to recover from the nasty cough I contracted at the beginning of the cruise.

October 20, 2022 Acapulco

La Capilla de la Paz

We were late pulling into Acapulco because the seas had been large as we passed through a tropical depression and we had been unable to make up the time lost in Manzanillo. It was drizzling and I had a hard time mustering enthusiasm for visiting Acapulco. I’m glad I decided against remaining on the ship, however, as we hired Roberto Alarcon to take us on a private tour around Acapulco and ended up having a wonderful day.

Our tour began with a drive up the hill to La Capilla de la Paz, a beautiful non-denominational chapel overlooking all of Acapulco. The view was spectacular and so was the architecture. We continued on from there to the Diamond Zone, the newest part of Acapulco surrounding the bay of Puerto Marquez. The last time I had been in Acapulco, I had thought Puerto Marquez would be a good place to anchor. In the intervening years, a marina had been constructed in that bay near the jungle and lagoon when Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan was filmed.

The Cruise Girls at La Capilla de la Paz

Puerto Marquez

Cliff Diver at La Quebrada

We drove back across Acapulco, passing the Golden Zone where most of the hotels are located and through the historic zone to La Quebrada where the famous cliff divers of Acapulco perform. We stopped there to watch the cliff divers’ 13:00 show. There were eleven of them ranging in age from about ten to seventy. They jumped into the water from near the observation area and then climbed up the cliffs on the other side of a narrow inlet. Their climbing was nearly as impressive as the diving. They stalled for some time, waiting for the tide to come in, and finally began diving from the cliffs, doing flips on the way down as they sailed through the air. In order to clear the rocks at the bottom of the cliff, it was necessary to leap far out into the air before plummeting downward. The kid merely jumped from a low spot, but the final diver flew off the highest point. We had descended about 150 steps to reach the observation platform and then had to work our way back up all the steps to find our driver.

On our way back to the ship, Roberto took us to visit the Flamingos, a Hollywood era hotel with a beautiful view. It was no longer luxurious by modern standards, but one could stay there for $40 a night, which would have been fine with me.

The Flamingos

We were back at the ship in plenty of time to get a late lunch. Lynne and I were craving pizza and managed to track down a few slices even though we were technically too late for pizza at one place and too early for another. It was enough to tide us over until dinner. After lunch, we met Mary Nell to listen to Devin’s afternoon set while we staved off the air-conditioned chill with Starbucks coffee drinks. Then I went back to my cabin to write and nap until the music started, again, at 18:15.

October 21, 2022 Huatulco, Mexico

Maguey Bay

We awoke moored to the long, slender cruise ship dock in Bahia Santa Cruz in Huatulco. There are nine

major bays in Huatulco. I had spent two months in Huatulco in 2014 and never gotten the chance to visit the five bays north of Santa Cruz because our boat was not equipped to remain at anchor for extended periods. It was my mission to visit those five protected bays included in a national park. Most of the tours offered involved swimming or snorkelling and we weren’t interested in doing that. We just wanted to sightsee. We hired a panga to take us to the
“five bays.” It turned out that the tours of “five bays” offered were really tours of the two closest bays and a few minor offshoots thereof. We visited Maguey Bay and Cacaluca Bay, passing by a blowhole of the way. The bays were spectacular and we couldn’t have wished for better weather. The beaches were pristine and we saw tracks where a turtle had gone ashore to lay eggs. Rangers then relocated the eggs to protected nests where they could be watched over until they hatched.

Sea Turtles Getting It On

Cacaluca Bay

Blowhole

When the boat turned around after the second bay, I assumed we were going to visit Chahue, Tagolunda, and Conejo south of Santa Cruz. We cut across open water on the way back and came across a pair of sea turtles mating. Since we hadn’t stopped to swim or go ashore, our tour was very quick. When I realized that we were headed back to the dock in Santa Cruz, I convinced our guide to at least take us to Chahue so we could see the beach and marina there. I was pleased to see that it hadn’t changed too much, although they were building a convention center across the street.

Marina in Bahia Chahue

We got back in plenty of time to take a taxi into La Crucecita, so Karen, Lynne and Mary Nell could see the town. I bought some cough medicine and we found a restaurant where we could have something cold to drink and use the internet. Soon, it was time to grab a cab back to the ship. We left by mid-afternoon.

Lunch on the Afterdeck

October 22, 2022 Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Volcanos in Guatemala

We ate breakfast on the stern as we approached Puerto Quetzal. We could see the volcanoes in the distance. There was nothing much to see in Puerto Quetzal. It was a commercial port. Everything in the surrounding area was agricultural and very green. We had arranged to take a bus two hours inland to the town of Antigua for the day. Our guide, William, talked incessantly all throughout the drive, repeating himself, endlessly. We were all ready to shoot him by the time we reached Antigua. It was the weekend and Antigua was swarmed with tourists, both foreign and national, and vendors selling handicrafts.

Clouds Obscuring Pacaya Volcano

The buses left us at the jade museum. Guides were swarming, but I always mistrust the vultures that prey on cruise ship passengers, so we set off walking to the main plaza. When I had been to Antigua in 2014, there had been small travel agencies offering local tours all over the place. These must have fallen victim to Covid because we couldn’t find one anywhere. We did finally find a guide in the main plaza who agreed to take us on a walking tour for half of what the guides at the jade museum were charging. In fact, he charged far less than English speaking guides had charged in 2014.

Antigua, Guatemala

Santa Catarina Arch

Our guide, Marco, took us on a walking tour around Antigua and showed us some of the principal sights, We saw the famous arch of the Santa Catarina convent where cloistered nuns had crossed the street from the convent to the church. There had been a lot of earthquake damage since my last visit and volcanic eruptions had coated the tile roofs with ash. When the rainy season came, flowers had sprouted, turning the rooftops into gardens.

One of the prettiest buildings in Antigua was the church of La Mercedes, which had just been restored. This was the church where the wealthier residents held weddings and there was a wedding in process when we arrived.

Church of La Mercedes

Our guide returned us to the jade museum in time for us to eat lunch in a nice restaurant nearby. I had delicious black bean soup, Mary Nell had potato soup and Lynne had chicken tacos. Our guide talked somewhat less on the way home, although he still talked enough to wake me up every time I dropped off. It was already getting dark by the time we got back, the first time we had been out after dark in a long time. None of us had the energy to go to dinner, that night. We went to bed early.

October 23, 2022 Acajutla, El Salvador

Acajutla, El Salvador

Karen and I had arranged to meet our friends, Bill and Jean, in Acajutla. Bill and Jean live on a remote island in El Salvador and had rented a car and come up the night before to meet us. It was the first time that an NCL ship had stopped in Acajutla and we were given no information about what to expect. We had assumed that we could walk off the pier and meet Bill and Jean outside the port like everywhere else we had been. This was not the case. Acajutla was an industrial port and we were docked near the end of the pier. We were not allowed to walk on the pier at all. Bill and Jean had managed to get within two kilometers of the port, but we had to take a shuttle 30 minutes inland to the town of Sonsonate before we could escape from the shuttle. Fortunately, Bill and Jean were patient. They had eventually seen the shuttles passing them and had followed us to Sonsonate.

El Salvador Scenery

Our friends took us on a scenic drive along the Ruta de las Flores, a highway that passes through a lot of artisan villages where they made furniture and other handicrafts. We weren’t interested in shopping, but we stopped in one village for coffee and finally stopped at a roadside restaurant called Jardin del Cielo for lunch. The restaurant was set in a pretty garden and nursery and the entrance was decorated with displays of flower petals floating on water. We had plenty of time to chat and catch up on the gossip from La Cruz (where Bill and Jean had once lived) and Isla Cordoncillo (where I had visited twice before.) The food in the restaurant was the best I had eaten in El Salvador. Karen and I both had spinach lasagne.

Floating Flower Petals

Lunch with Bill and Jean

The last shuttle was scheduled to leave Sonsonate at 15:00. We were back by 14:45, but they were already waiting for us. It seemed that no one else had anything to do in El Salvador. Mary Nell and Lynne had explored Sonsonate, where shoes were the main industry, and Lynne had bought a pair of sandals. We said goodbye to Bill and Jean and hopped aboard the shuttle for the ride back to the ship.

Karen wasn’t feeling well and went straight to bed while the rest of us had a nice dinner in the restaurant and then spent the evening listening to Devin in the Windjammer Bar.

October 24, 2022 At Sea

Sunset at Sea

We were scheduled to spend Monday in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, but Nicaragua had closed to tourism, so we continued on, slowly, towards Costa Rica. We really needed the day of rest after so many consecutive days exploring different destinations. Karen spent the day in bed and the rest of us repaired to the Spinnaker lounge, after breakfast, to read, write, or crochet.

October 25, 2022 Punta Arenas, Costa Rica

Punta Arenas, Costa Rica

Mary Nell, Lynne and I had signed up to take an aerial tram ride through the rainforest. The ship
docked at Punta Arenas and we boarded a bus near the ship. We drove for an hour and a half along the coast to Jaco where the Rainforest Adventure Park was located. The aerial trams were open air and we ascended a steep canyon for half an hour before turning around and drifting back down. We saw absolutely no wildlife other than a few butterflies and

Aerial Tram

a couple of vultures. It was very disappointing. The trees were pretty and it was relaxing, at least. After our ride, we took a very short nature walk and then spent a little time in a butterfly enclosure with blue morpho and ocelot butterflies. We did get a very nice buffet lunch and then spent half an hour or so hiding from the rain in the gift shop. I bought a pair of socks with butterflies on them.

Blue Morpho Butterfly

It was rainy on our way back, but we saw more wildlife in the rice paddies along the road than we had on our tour.

Rice Paddy Near Jaco

October 26, 2022 At Sea

We took advantage of not having to get up early and didn’t make it to breakfast until nearly 9:00. My Kindle had died, so I checked a book out of the library and we spent most of the day in the Spinnaker lounge, reading and playing games. That evening, we went to see Jeff the Juggler, who was more entertaining than expected and then watched a painful Broadway Cabaret performance in the Bliss Lounge before going to listen to Devin.

October 27, 2022 Panama Canal Transit

Early Morning Cloud Formations

For several days, I had been sleeping in Mary Nell and Lynne’s room so as to allow Karen to sleep undisturbed while she got over her cold. We had all agreed to get up at 6:00 so as not to miss any of the canal transit. Somehow, despite my having attempted to compensate for the time change, my alarm went off at 5:00 and we were up and ready to go before we realized it. We got to the buffet just as they opened and were in time to see the pilot delivered to our ship.

Ship Anchored Off Panama City

More than thirty large vessels were anchored off Panama City, waiting for their allotted times to transit the canal. We were one of the first to go. Our departure was slightly delayed by fog in the Culebra Cut. As it was, we could barely see the Bridge of the Americas until we were upon it. After breakfast, we

Bridge of the Americas

went out on the bow and stayed there until we approached the Miraflores locks. Then, Lynne and I went down to deck 6 to watch the locomotives handling the lines and the water gushing out of the locks. We were in the original canal locks. In the distance, we could see huge ships transiting the new, larger lock system. It was weird to see huge vessels seemingly sailing through the land.

Line Handler

Water Gushing

Locomotive Tracks

Locomotive

Miraflores Locks

The Panama Canal raises ships about 85 feet to the Culebra Cut where a canal was cut through the continental divide to meet up with Lake Gatun, a manmade lake, fed by the nearly constant rainfall, that feeds water to both sides of the canal. The Miraflores locks raised the ship in two stages and a second set of locks, further on, raised us the final distance. At one point, I went down to deck 5 to get a latte and found myself looking out the window at the wall of the lock. We entered the Miraflores locks about 7:30. It was 10:00 or so by the time we cleared the locks. Mary Nell, Lynne and I went up the

Massive Ship in the New Canal

Spinnaker lounge and played cards for a couple of hours and then went to lunch. We stayed on the stern of the ship to play Rumikub and enjoy the scenery as we cruised across Gatun Lake and then descended through the Gatun locks and out into the Caribbean. We ate a pleasant dinner in the Seven Seas restaurant and then I spent a quiet night watching a movie in Mary Nell and Lynne’s cabin while they went to listen to music. I had grown tired of not drinking in bars and needed some downtime.

Passing Through the Culebra Cut

Crossing Gatun Lake

The Gatun Locks

October 28, 2022 Cartagena, Colombia

Arriving in Cartagena, Colombia

We were still at sea when I got up. The last time I had been in Cartagena, I had arrived by sailboat and we went into the marina. This time, the ship went into the port which was on the other side of the city. Cartagena is a modern city of white skyscrapers. We ate breakfast on the stern and watched as the boat tied up at the dock.

Macaws at the Cruise Ship Terminal

Cartagena has a wonderful cruise ship terminal. There is a cafe with free internet, a gift shop, and an entertaining zoo with more macaws than I had seen in my entire life. They were swooping everywhere. There were also flamingos, peacocks, and other types of birds and animals. We hurried through it when we arrived, hoping to secure a tour guide once we emerged from the terminal.

We did find tour guides waiting outside and engaged a tour of the old city for $25. Our tour guide was named Jorge. He had to buy a ticket to get out of the parking lot. He bought a ticket for the actual number of passengers on the bus, but the parking nazi insisted that he pay for the capacity of the bus. He didn’t have that much money, so he must have spent half an hour haggling with the parking authorities until one of our group offered to pay in advance so we could get out of the parking lot.

The Fort of San Felipe

Despite our slow start, we did get a nice tour of the city. First, we went to the fort of San Felipe, which was the largest fortification in South America. Cartagena was the oldest and most important city in South America and needed to be protected from English pirates like Sir Francis Drake. The British were so determined to take the city that they struck commemorative coins in anticipation of taking the city, but they lost the battle and failed to rout the Spanish.

San Diego Neighborhood

Las Bovedas

After the fort, we drove to the San Diego neighborhood of the old city, which had been the middle class neighborhood. We parked near Las Bovedas with its many vendor stalls. The street vendors were very thick and annoying. They sold hats, t-shirts, jewelry, art, and trinkets. We visited a local art college to use the restrooms and then walked through the neighborhood and out onto the city wall. Today, there is a road encircling the old town, but the wall originally faced the sea. It was built to protect from pirates, not hurricanes, although it worked pretty well for that, also.

Cartagena Sea Wall

We got back on the bus and traveled across town to a wealthier neighborhood where the cathedral was located. We spent an hour of free time having a cold drink and using the wifi in a cafe and then walked to a fair trade coffee and chocolate store where many people bought gifts. Then we walked through the square that had been the slave market and out through the principal gate in what was originally the customs house to rejoin our bus for the trip back to the cruise ship terminal.

Cathedral in Cartagena

Slave Market in Cartagena

Monkey at the Terminal

We had some time to spare at the terminal and spent most of that time watching parrots and monkeys. There were two different types of monkeys and some of them had babies. The keepers attached bread to the end of long ropes and the monkeys pulled them up to get the bread. The parrots stole bread however they could get it and were often quite comical as they dangled from the buckets of food and squabbled over tidbits.

Cartagena in the Rear View

October 29-30, 2022 At Sea

Not a lot happened on sea days. We got up later than usual and found the buffet packed because the rear deck had been closed for maintenance. This was extremely annoying, as the rear deck was the only place to eat that wasn’t refrigerated. After breakfast, we played cards in the Spinnaker Lounge until it was time to stake out some chairs for the music festival by the pool that was scheduled for 13:30.

Despite one little sprinkle, the weather was perfect for the performance. It was warm, but the wind kept the temperature pleasant. Our favorite singer, Devin Provenzano, was performing with members of the NCL show band, In-Ovation, and a couple of other lounge acts. The show was a high-energy, 24-song medley that never slowed. Devin, who usually accompanies himself on acoustic guitar, was not playing his instrument and seemed to be acting out his Mick Jagger fantasy. It was fun to watch him enjoying himself and he did an impressive job of singing hard rock and roll songs. The vocals were mostly drowned out by the drums and bass. The poor guitarist was completely lost in the noise and only Devin could be heard clearly over the cacophony. We didn’t know a lot of the songs and didn’t like some of the ones we had heard before, but it was fun to watch the musicians enjoying themselves and the crowd was responsive. In general, the music played around the pool seemed to be aimed at an age group a generation or two after the occupants of the lounge chairs. We mostly avoided the pool area because of the loud music.

After the show was over, we went to get some lunch and found the buffet closed. They directed us to the restaurant that served pizza, but it was also closed. The 24-hour snack bar on the rear deck was closed because the rear deck was closed for maintenance. There was nowhere to get food. Despite their being closed and all the plates having been removed, angry patrons noticed that there were two entire pizzas sitting on a rear counter. Lynne convinced them to serve those and we got the last few pieces of pizza, even though I had to make do with a bread plate and no silverware. We ate lunch in the sports bar and then went to our rooms.

Karen was bored out of her mind, having forgotten to download any books. We went to the casino and wasted an hour and three dollars playing penny slots until I actually fell asleep on my stool.

Our big excitement for the day was dinner at Moderno, the onboard churrascaria. Our dinner began with an excellent salad bar that featured cheeses, sushi, and a variety of tasty vinegars. There was lobster bisque and onion soup, although the soup was barely warm. I had a tasty salad with fig vinegar and oil. This was a real treat for me, as I had been making do with plain balsamic vinegar and oil for the whole cruise. For some reason, all of the dressings on the ship were bottled and there hadn’t been any vinaigrette options. Once we were finished with our soup and salad, they brought out a variety of side dishes and then brought various skewers of grilled meat to our table where they carved off whatever we desired. I had a lamb chop, a chunk of bacon wrapped filet mignon, and some leg of lamb with mint jelly. There were also two varieties of chicken, flank steak, chorizo, and grilled pork loin but I was too stuffed to sample them. I could barely find room to sample the mango rice pudding and left most of it uneaten. Karen couldn’t even find room to order dessert, even though it was included.

Lynne and I wanted to see the production cast’s performance of “World Beat” at 21:00, so we went

Devin in the Windjammer

there, after dinner. The show was a 45 minute romp through the music and dance of various cultures around the world and was well done, with beautiful costumes. The dancing was excellent and the singing above average for those performers. When the show ended, Lynne and I joined Mary Nell for Devin’s late night set. He really had the crowd hyped by the time we got there and the place was packed somewhat over capacity, with people standing in the hall outside and sitting two to a chair. Nearly everyone was singing along and I felt sorry for whoever was playing in the Bliss Lounge, next door.

Devin’s hard core fans had developed a tradition of negotiating for encore numbers. We would usually beg for four more songs and settle for two. One of the fans had “Four More” displayed on his phone in large, glowing letters.

Our last day at sea started slowly. Breakfast was still a zoo with the back deck still closed. We were sailing along the coast of Cuba, but could only see a vague outline. We played cards in the Spinnaker Lounge until lunchtime, ate a quick bite, and then retired to our cabins to nap and/or watch football.

Devin as Frank Sinatra

Our big excitement on the last night of the first leg was Devin’s big show, “His Way,” in the Stardust Theater. He did an excellent show of classic Frank Sinatra numbers, backed by the show band. Everyone, onstage and off, seemed to be enjoying themselves. We all went to both the 19:00 and 21:00 shows. Devin outdid himself, even though he was just too tall, clean cut, and true to pitch to really impersonate Frank Sinatra, who somehow made an art out of singing off key.

October 31, 2022 Miami, FL

Arriving in Miami

I had failed to connect with my family in Miami, so our only real agenda was finding some WiFi. The
NCL terminal was on on island, surrounded by terminals for other freight and cruise lines and there was nothing there. All of the Miami tours were designed to end at the airport. We were required to leave the ship by 8:00, which would have been fine if we had been allowed to remain in the spacious and empty terminal building. Unfortunately, we were all herded out onto the street where there was no internet and nowhere for the 200 plus continuing passengers to wait. We were not amused.

We looked up the nearest Starbuck’s location and called an Uber to take us there. It turned out that the nearest Starbuck’s was actually inside the Royal Caribbean corporate headquarters. When we explained to the security guard how we had ended up there because we Googled Starbuck’s, she let us into the building to go to the Starbuck’s. We almost turned around and left because there was no seating, but then we found the employee cafeteria seating. We got coffee and sat there, using the internet, for a couple of hours until security discovered we were not employees and asked us to leave. They were very polite about it and allowed us to sit in their outdoor seating where we could still use the WiFi. We sat there until we got hungry and then called an Uber to take us back to the ship.

Lynne at the Miami NCL Terminal

Our poor Uber driver couldn’t figure out how to get from one side of the island to the other because there were railroad tracks and a very confusing maze of intertwining lanes. We made illegal U-turns and drove the wrong way on one-way streets for awhile before he finally managed to deliver us to the terminal next door to where we wanted to go. What had been priced as a quick ride took three times as long as it should have, so I gave him a $5 tip.

Back at the terminal, they had finally opened the building, but we were too hungry to take advantage of the free WiFi. We headed straight for our rooms and the buffet line.