December 31, 2016

Crazy Cruise III...day 9 in Labadee, Haiti

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! We finally get to put this rotten year behind us and look forward to what can only be better days.
Here on the Allure of the Seas, there are 6 neighborhoods. That means 6 different themed parties going on... all within walking distance. But that's later.

Labadee is the private resort owned by the cruise line. Today I took my nephew and his mom over to the beach where they have these big inflatable things to climb on and dive off of into the water. I also paid for tickets to the water slide for him and me.
A couple years ago I was here and went on a gravity roller coaster. Paid for an all-day pass and went down probably 20 times. This year they said the day passes were sold out- for a rollercoaster. I don't understand how you can sell out a rollercoaster, but whatever. I asked the girl what it would cost for my nephew and me to ride down together. She looked me square in the eye and said $49.75.
Now, this rollercoaster has little 2-seater cars that get hauled up a hill and released down these rails. You control the brake. The ride lasts about 45 seconds.
"Seriously?" I said. "You expect me to pay $50.00 to go down that rickety-ass thing only one time?"
"That's the price for two people," she says, avoiding my gaze this time. "not per person."
"Yeah, I got that. Never mind." I made sure everyone behind me knew they were getting overcharged and a few people got out of line. The rest...
So I disappointed my nephew by not doing the rollercoaster and he was a little short for parasailing. I am a failure as the favorite Uncle.

But every cloud has a silver lining.
I come back to the ship and get out of the swimwear. I walk down to deck 5 (fully clothed) to get a soda and decide to go see if the casino is open. Surprisingly, it is. I took a quick beating in here last night and I wanted to take the machines' temperature before I decide to play later tonight before the party. I dropped $40 and cashed out $1600.00 'Bout frikken time! I've usually hit two or three of them by now. So, yeah, Ima hafta stop by later.
Meantime, I gotta get dressed for dinner and this thing that's going on tonight. It's a good thing I'm not driving. Won't need Uber either.

And let me just put this out there folks.
I have very positive feelings about 2017. I'm not worried about work or my health. And I'm not going to get all worked up over President Trump. I think there are many in the government that are going to keep him in line, so I'm not going to constantly check on the next Twitter posting this man puts out. I can't explain why I feel this way, I just do. Positive Vibes. So I hope everyone here has a super night and a great New Year. See you in the morning.

December 30, 2016

Crazy Cruise III... day 8 at sea...

Dinner last night was a hit. Started off with a gooey, cheesy onion soup followed by a Dungeness crab and shrimp cake that was so good you ate it in small bites and chewed it slowly. Main course was a 20oz. Porterhouse, medium rare, with mushrooms sauteed in garlic and butter; asparagus, and a loaded baked potato (Is you're mouth watering?). Washed it down with a couple Heinekens.
A little later I went to the casino and had some fun then went to my cabin around 2am.

Today we are at sea. Sailing to Labadee, Haiti; our final stop on this wonderful vacation.
Labadee is a resort that is owned by the cruise line. Kinda like Coco Cay in the Bahamas. You got your snorkeling, jet skis, parasailing, waterslide, a 2000 foot long zipline, gravity rollercoaster... you get the idea.
So what does one do when they are at sea? It looks like most people sit out at the pool. As I'm looking over the pool area and the crush of humanity(there isn't a lounge chair to be had), I keep getting a picture of the seals that take over the beaches of Patagonia. Sounds the same, too. Although I'm from South Florida, I'm not a big sun worshipper, so I'm gonna find something to do inside. I was just watching a sale of women's handbags marked down 75% on the Promenade and I wouldn't go near there with a helmet and pads. I think they're playing trivia up in the Schooner Bar. Casino's open but I'm not In the mood.

Time for a late lunch... see ya.

December 29, 2016

Crazy Cruise III...day 7 in San Juan, Puerto Rico...

Another warm, almost hot, sunny day in the tropics, folks. What can I say?
This morning I went on a walking tour of the fortresses of Old San Juan. They are all managed by the National Park Service and beautifully maintained. I took a bunch more pics of the forts and the city.

And yeah, guys I took a ton of pics this trip and I'll publish them all in an album when I get home. Trying to upload from this internet service is nuts. I would be home before they got finished so I'll just do it from la casa. You'll love it.

Tonight I'll be dining at Chops Grille. The specialty steakhouse here on the ship. Then maybe a show in the theater or a stand-up comedian. We don't leave PR until around 11pm, so the casino won't be opened until late. Probably wouldn't kill me to stay away from there tonight.



Nah, I'm going.

December 28, 2016

Crazy Cruise III... day 6

And here we are in beautiful St.Kitts.
Columbus sailed past the island of St.Kitts, never actually landing on its pink-sand beaches. Settled by the French and English in the 1620's, it was first named St.Christopher. The town of Basseterre, was made the island capital in 1727.
With it's rich volcanic soil and tropical climate, St.Kitts had the perfect conditions for a booming industry at the time- sugar. At one point, there were 68 plantations on the 68 acre island. Those days are gone but you can still see remnants of the old plantations. The islands colonial history is also reflected in the abandoned fortresses, city squares and architecture.

Well, the alcohol therapy helped ease my aching body(bartender is a genius) and the casino was very susceptible to my charms and I actually won a little money. The comedy show was a hoot.
Today is a light day activity wise. Just a little shopping in the port and maybe some time on the flow rider or climb the rock walls.
More later...

December 28, 2016

Crazy Cruise III... day 5 in St.Maarten.

While I loved the flyboarding thing, it did take a toll on me. I don't bruise easily but if I did I'd probably look like a Jackson Pollock painting. I woke up this morning to sore muscles and decided to cancel the scuba dive. I could do it, but I'd be uncomfortable in my present condition.
I'm going to do the tourist thing today and do some shopping in town. Tonight there's a show in the Aqua Theater I want to see and a stand up comedian at 10:00pm. In between will be some time in the casino.
All the while using a little alcohol therapy for my aching body. One of the bartenders suggested it might help and he looks like he knows what he's talking about.

St.Kitts is the next stop.

December 27, 2016

Crazy Cruise III... Day four in St.Thomas

I went to Emerald beach today and did a little flyboarding. They strap this snowboard looking thing with water jets going out of the bottom of it and use jet ski thrust to launch you out of the water and let you do flips and hover. Tons of fun and very physically demanding. The instructor and my group said I did the best but I'll be paying for it later. I don't care. I loved it.
Tonight is dinner with my family and then try my luck in the casino.
Tomorrow we arrive in St.Maarten and I'm going scuba diving.

December 25, 2016

Crazy Cruise III... day 3

Merry Christmas everyone! May you all find peace and joy today.

Today is a day at sea. There are about ten things I want to do today.
First is a 3D showing of Trolls with my nephew (he's 7) then a flow rider safety demo. Gotta hit the rock wall and zip line too. Every morning there's a list of planned activities delivered to the room. It's 2 pages long. If you can't find anything to do on this crate while at sea, you're just not trying hard enough.
I'll post more later. Time for breakfast.

December 25, 2016

Crazy Cruise III... day 2

We arrived in Nassau at dawn. Beautiful day; 80 degrees and light, warm breeze. I got off the ship and walked around in the shops downtown. I got back and thought about all the things to do on the ship today, but alas nothing was open. No zipline, no flow rider or rock wall. Disappointing. So I sat around the pool for a while and looked after my nephew and had a couple three or four cocktails. In the afternoon, a bunch of Dolphin fans took over an English themed pub called the Bow and Stern. 80 person capacity and there were about 150 of us in there swinging from the rafters. Place came unglued when we won in OT. Good times.
Hitting the casino again tonight to try my luck.

December 24, 2016

Crazy Cruise III day one...

Hello everyone. I'm sitting here in my stateroom after a so-so day. Forgot my Passport. Had to go back home to get it. Thank God I live here at the ships home port. Got on board and within the first hour I lost my pinkie ring. Slipped right off. I come here to gamble and these are not harbingers of good things to come.
Thankfully, I was wrong. I hit the casino and on my first $20 I was already ahead a bunch. Played all night and walked out even.
Still pissed about my ring, though.
This ship is huge. It's easy to get turned around and the layout sometimes makes it hard to get across the ship's beam. I'm sure it'll get easier.

We'll be arriving in Nassau in the morning. Only staying until about 2:00pm and then we steam for St.Thomas, USVI.
I'll get some pics uploaded tomorrow.
G'night y'all.

December 21, 2016

It's Time! Crazy Cruise III...

Hi everyone! It's time again for the annual Crazy Cruise.

This year we'll be travelling to:
Nassau, Bahamas
St.Thomas, USVI
St Maarten, USVI
St.Kitts and Nevis
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Labadee, Haiti

We'll be travelling on the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas leaving from Fort Lauderdale, Fl. on Friday. If I'm not too busy, I'll be posting daily briefs of my trip. I hope you all enjoy it.