September 16, 2012: We left our house at 8:30 after struggling to get our luggage in our Honda. I had told Bob I didn't think we would get all three large suitcases in the trunk and guess what we couldn't. We ended up having to put one of them between Barbara and Shirley in the back seat. Bob drove us to Bethlehem where we caught a bus to Bayone, NJ and boarded the Explorer of the Sea about 1:30. Went to the Windjammer Cafe (the ships buffet) for some lunch. I had some chicken and pork paella and a small piece of fish and some salad. Shirley and I had a Bahama Mama which we bought on the way into lunch.
After lunch we went up to the pool deck and sat there waiting for the announcement that we could get into our cabin. While there I decided to walk around the top deck. I was looking for the Russian Tear Drop. It is a monument that the Russians gave to us after September 11th as a memorial to the victims of that tragedy. I couldn't find it but I did take some pictures.
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| The New York skyline. Can you see The Statue of Liberty? |
Left port between 4:00 and 4:30.
When we made the reservations we selected the "any time dining" plan. We weren't told that we would have to make reservations and we thought we would just be able to go to dinner anytime we wanted. Well that isn't so. We ended up making reservations for dinner at the same time every night for the rest of the week. If we hadn't done that it would have ended up that we would be eating at 8:45 or so every night.
So tonight we had dinner at 5:30. I will not bore you with what everyone had to eat but I am going to include what I ate each day.
Tonight I had: Watermelon Gazpacho, Sea Bass with lentils and green beans, and
Chocolate Pot O Creme
Monday September 17th: I didn't sleep well last night as there is music playing all night in the hall. I will try my ear plugs tonight. I discovered this morning that I did not bring my acid reflux medication with me. That will keep me from over eating this week. Luckily Shirley had some over the counter medication I could take. That should help some.
We had breakfast in the Windjammer Cave this morning.
Barb and I went to get tickets for the ice show this afternoon and Shirley went to the gym. Barb and I thought we were going to be in line forever to get the tickets but once the line started moving it was a quick process.
We made dinner reservations for the Captain's Gala at 6:15 tonight.
We had lunch at the Windjammer Cafe again today and. I had a piece of Terayki Pizza and unsweetened ice tea.
In the afternoon we went to the ice show. It was amazing. It must be so hard to skate on a moving ship.
Dinner tonight was the Captain's Gala and everyone was expected to dress formally. It was so nice to see a dining room full of well dressed people. I had Lobster Bisque, Roast Duck with Green Beans and Red Cabbage, a glass of red wine and Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle.
After dinner we went for a walk and ended up eating a dish of ice cream. I was stuffed.
Tuesday, September 18th, 2012: We ate breakfast in the Melligan Room this morning. I had two eggs over medium, sausage, sash browns, OJ, and hot tea. We sat with three other couples and it was so nice talking to other people.
After breakfast Shirley went to the gym and Barb and I went off to the pool. Lunch was at the Windjammer Cafe again. I had a salad and Sweet & Sour Chicken Pizza. After lunch we went back to our cabin. Barb and Shirley took a nap and I read.
For dinner I had: Ice Tea, Lettuce, Tomato,Spinach & Foracia Salad, Salmon with asparagus, scalloped potatoes and Berrymisu. When the dessert menu was given to us Shirley said there was nothing there she wanted so she was going to the casino. Off she went. She hadn't spoken to Barb and me for most of the day. After dinner Barb decided that we were going to the Casino and find Shirley and find out what was making her upset with us. Well as usual according to Shirley it was my fault. I hadn't made any attempt to talk to her all day. OK, I will try to do better.
Wednesday, September 19th: We arrived in Bermuda at 9:00 this morning. We had breakfast again in the Melligan Room. I had OJ, Hot Tea, Cheese Danish, Salmon Eggs Benedict. It was yummy.
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| As we were pulling into the dock. The ship you see is a NCL ship |
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| A view of the Dockyard from our balcony. |
After breakfast we left the ship and walked around the Navel Dockyard and toured the Bermuda Museum. We had lunch at the Frog & Onion Pub which was a place Bob and I had eaten the last time we were in Bermuda. I had: Ice tea, 1/2 Turkey Sandwich with tomato, and lettuce on a baguette and a cup of Fish Soup.
After lunch we went for a ride around the Dockyard in a horse drawn carriage.
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| I know this isn't a good picture. Barbara is on the left and Shirley is on the right. |
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| The British sailors stationed on Bermuda painted these "Coat of Arms" on the wall Do you see Yosemite Sam? |
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| A rubber tree |
Our driver, Troy, was great and was very informative.
Dinner tonight was casual dress. I had a glass of red wine, Strawberry Bisque, Lamb Shank, mashed potatoes, mixed root vegetables, pesto roll and a Raspberry concoction on a sugar cookie.
When Barb was ordering dinner she ordered the Strawberry Bisque and told the waiter, Peter, that the cold fruit soups were the one thing she had been looking forward to to the cruise. When she finished her first bowl he brought her another one. We all got a good laugh over this and she saved the second bowl for her dessert.
At 11:30 we went up to the pool deck for the midnight buffet. It wasn't as impressive as the midnight buffet on the previous cruise. We took a few things to eat and then went back to our cabin and went to bed.
Thursday, September 20th: Breakfast this morning was at the Melligan Room. I had OJ, hot teak French Toast with syrup and an apple danish.
After breakfast we took the ferry to Hamilton. Hamilton is the capital of Bermuda and front street is the main shopping area of the city.
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| From the ferry on our way to Hamilton |
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| From the ferry on our way to Hamilton I would love to live in one of these houses. |
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| The Hamilton Princess from the ferry |
We did some shopping on Front Street. I bought a tie tie sweatshirt and a bottle of Bermuda Gold. The Bermuda Gold is a Christmas present for one of my nieces. When we finished shopping I suggested to Barb and Shirley that we catch a ferry to St. Georges which is on the other tip of Bermuda from The Dockyard. Well they didn't want to do that so we headed back to the ship. Lunch was just a quick bite of fruit at the Island Grill on the ship. After lunch we headed to the pool and Shirley and I spent some time in the hot tub. So relaxing although it was a little hot.
Since we have scheduled a glass bottom boat cruise for 7:00 we had dinner ashore at the Frog and Onion Pub. We all had Fish and Chips. At 7:00 we boarded the glass bottom boat and went out to the coral reef. The reef was beautiful and while I did take some pictures they really didn't come out very well. It was had to get good pictures through the glass at the bottom of the boat. We learned a lot from Mike who ran the GB boat and I really enjoyed myself. I don't think Barb and Shriley enjoyed themselves very much.
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| From the Glass Bottom Boat on our way to the Coral Reef and the ship wreck. |
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| The Ship Wreck |
We got back to the ship about 9:00 and went to the Promenade and had a Ben& Jerry's Ice Cream.
Friday, September 21th: This is our last day in Bermuda. We had to get up a little earlier this morning as the dining room opened an hour earlier and closed an hour earlier so the crew would be able to go ashore. When we went down for breakfast Shirley asked for a table by ourselves. She has a severe hearing problem and she did not feel comfortable dining with strangers because she could not hear what they were saying. For breakfast I had: OJ, Hot Tea, Croissant, 2 eggs over medium, hash browns and sausage. As we were finishing up one of the waiters from dinner brought us a plate of chocolate muffins, danish and other treats. It is Chocolate Indulgence Day. Shirley and I ate one of the goodies and then she asked our breakfast waiter to wrap the remainder up so we could take them back to our cabin to snack on throughout the day. He brought her a whole new plate full. The waiters on this cruise are just wonderful.
After breakfast we went ashore and did some shopping and people watching. I bought myself a tee shirt and one for Bob and Susan. I also bought Bob a Cuban cigar (don't tell anybody because it is illegal to bring them into the United States), I also bought Bob a tee shirt from the Frog and Onion Pub and a Ginger Rum Cake. We had a quiet afternoon on the ship reading and just relaxing.
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| Me |
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| The flowers are just beautiful. This is just one of the many pictures of flowers I took. |
As we were getting ready to go to dinner we left port heading for home.
Dinner tonight was just wonderful. I had: Roasted Peach Soup, Lobster and Shrimp, Saffron Rice, Carrots and Broccoli, White Wine and a 3 Cake Sampler for dessert. I can't believe that Shirley and Barb got a second lobster dinner.
This evening the ship is really rocky. I had to put a patch on and Barb and Shirley both took Dramamine. After dinner we went down to the Promenade because they were having a watch sale and Barb wanted one. Well Shirley and I both bought watches but Barb didn't get one.
Saturday, September 22nd: We ate breakfast in the Magellan Room again this morning. It was crowed so we couldn't get a table by ourselves. I had: OJ, hot tea, Cheese Danish and Eggs Benedict. After breakfast we went back to our room and started packing and filling out our customs forms. We spent the afternoon in our cabin. I finished the book I was reading and did a little stitching while Barb read a little and Shirley took a nap.
Dinner tonight was great and sad. It is our last night. I had: Ice Tea, Shrimp Cocktail, Roast Turkey with Apple Stuffing, mashed potatoes, burssel sprouts and carrots and a Chocolate Brownie Sandwich for dessert with a cup of hot tea. After dinner the waiter and the dining room staff marched though the dining room and all ended up in the lower dining room and sang to the guests.
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| Back Row: Cecile our assistant waiter, me and Peter our head waiter Front Row: Shirley and Barb |
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| Back Row: Cecile and Me Front Row: Shirley and Barbara |
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| Shirley, Uchlie and Barb Uchlie was not our waiter but we met him one day in the Windjammer Cafe at lunch and he started singing to us. No matter where we saw him at lunch in the Windjammer or at dinner he would come to our table and sing to us. He was so cute and we just fell in love with him |
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| The entire wait staff and kitchen staff after dinner. The Captain gave a short speech and the staff sang to us. The staff on this cruise was just absolutely wonderful. |
After dinner we went back to our room and finished packing so we could set out luggage out in the hall for pickup by 10:00.
Sunday , September 23rd: Shirley asked for a table by ourselves again this morning. I had OJ, Hot Tea, pancakes and bacon this morning. After breakfast we went back to our room to pick up our carry on bags and made sure that we didn't leave anything in our room. Said good bye to our room steward and went to our disembarkment station. It was then that I noticed that Shirley wasn't speaking to Barb and me. I asked Barb what was wrong but she didn't know and Shirley wouldn't tell us. This went on for the rest of the day. Bob picked us up in Bethlehem and drove Shirley home. She got out of the car and never said a word to any of us. I still don't know what is wrong. I e-mailed her something she had asked me for on Sunday after we got home and got an e-mail back from her that she had decided that she isn't going to Lancaster with us in October. I am at a lose as to what to do.
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| When we were going into Bayone to dock I found the Russian Tear Drop |
