WEEK 3

 

27 JANUARY 2024: NEW YORK

Sailed into New York early morning but this morning we were lazy to get up, some days you just feel like chilling and sleeping late but we had to get going for I had to be off the ship by 9, because all the passengers need to be off the ship so that it can be cleared by the local authorities before the next passengers can get on, so n hele proses. I had a quick breakfast and off I went wanted to see what the Little Island is all about, have seen it from the ship when we sail out every week and just looked so interesting.

We are docked at Pier 88, and I needed to get to Pier 55 so is a bit of a walk but was a nice day and not freezing like on last visit. Here and there I saw piles of snow still lying around. They call this island in the Hudson River an urban oasis it was designed by Barry Diller in 2013 after Hurricane Sandy and he wanted to create an experience with art and nature.

I really enjoyed my time there and had such fun with music chimes or pads that were in the ground that you put you foot on and play a tune but not so easy after all, watched another guy do it and then I tried while taking a video of myself, was good fun. My next stop was a walk on the High Lane on the old railway tracks that they have changed into a park and walkway looking down on the harbor on the one side and the city on the other side must have been beautiful traveling on a train and experiencing that.

At the Vessel in Hudson Yards, I wondered why it was closed only to find out that 4 people have jumped to their deaths and that is why they have decided to close it to the public, so sad for it is an amazing piece of architecture and the views from above must be beautiful. The next stop was Bryant Park with the winter village in full swing with the ice-skating ring and restaurants. This was just so special to experience and watch, got myself an espresso and just sat and watched all the people having such fun in the park ice-skating.

Knew that I would not try this for the first time while abroad for saw a few older people fall and they came down on the ice hard, imagine trying this and breaking an arm of a leg hubby would not be impressed with me or my travel insurance!! The kids make it look so easy, a few tries and off they go, some had these cute little penguin pushers/helpers to help them get the hang of it. This takes me back to my childhood and the ice ring close to the harbor, feels like a 100 years ago!! Took a video of the park and all the things going on in it, very different to summer, so thankful could see what it looks like in winter.

Had these plastic shaped igloos they call curling café/bar where you can sit end enjoy food and beverages while sitting in your own dome, never seen this before then there were a few older guys sitting with chess boards waiting for people to come play chess with them obviously at a fee, love that, wish I could play chess.

Popped in at a CVS for some provisions and then it was time to slowly make my way back to the port area where we were docked. I can’t get enough of the beautiful buildings and streets of this city. Saw a café that I want to try with our next port day is called Patis bakery-café in 46 th street on 8^th avenue another place that looks very cool is Little Paris but not to sure how far it is from where we are docked that I need to google. So many things to see and do in this city I am truly blessed to be back every week for some more exploring.

Just before we left the captain informed us of an approaching winter storm in the Atlantic and this meant that we would skip our Bermuda visit and sail on straight to St Maarten in the Caribbean the only downside we would be at sea for 3 full days on rough seas and no sunshine, not something I was looking forward too. One sea day was fine but 2 is a bit much so 3 is really pushing it. I asked hubby to first find out about the weather before I booked my excursion in St Maarten to Maho Airport Beach where the planes land and take off right next to the beach, so they say we are going to have good weather so really excited about that.

The other not so good news is that we are going to have really bad weather on our way next week from Puerto Plata so in for a rough ride, should be used to it by now for has been like this since I have been here and it is 3 weeks later, real winter weather. So being here in the winter months has its downside. Had a little giggle when I got a message from friends and a farmer’s wife saying they are going back to the Karoo where the summer temperatures are turning at 38-40 degrees, so am wondering maybe I won’t complain and take the colder weather.

 

28 JANUARY 2024: @SEA

We were good this morning and made it to the gym ook maar druipstert maar ons was daarso!! The winter weather had most of the passengers inside due to the gale-force winds and rocking and rolling of the ship, so at breakfast the place was packed, and I decided to sit outside but that was a big mistake a cold wind was blowing so was a very quick breakfast in the end and decided to rather return to our cabin. Watched some tennis and rugby before hubby joined me for an afternoon siesta. Not looking forward to tomorrow if this sea is going to get worse like they have said but what can we do, is nou vas gordel en go with the flow!! kan nie nou se wil afklim nie. Tot more.

29 & 30 JANUAARY 2024: @SEA

Been too long days at sea with miserable weather and rough seas so have been hanging around and spent some time in the gym. Our second morning at sea when we went on our morning walk the wind was crazy and so bad that we eventually said lets rather go inside then you must know it is bad.  Should not have watched a Viking ship that got into trouble near Norway about a month ago due to rough seas and engine failure with a mayday call and all the passengers were evacuated from the ship via helicopter that is your worst nightmare, thank goodness the anchor held until they could get the engines going again, they were very close to the coastline you can watch it on u tube. So tomorrow morning we will be arriving in St Maarten and have all day to walk around.

It is about a 35min ride to the beach so decided to rather go on an organized tour with the ship. On our way back we will stop in Simpson Bay. At this beach the jet blast can be very dangerous from the departing planes so we will be required to sign a waiver and think I will first watch and see what goes on before I get to close for comfort.

Am going to try and visit Phillipsburg downtown but only if I have enough time once we are back from the beach.

31 JANUARY 2024: ST MAARTEN PHILLIPSBURG

The weather was looking good when we docked this morning, and it was a full house today with 6 ships in port, so a good day for S t Maarten that rely on the tourism industry as their main source of revenue. I had to be on the dock by 10 to meet my group excursion that were going to take us in buses to Maho Beach near the airport. We were a very big group that all had decided to take this excursion and left port in about 3 or 4 big busses.

I was so glad that while we were waiting a Carnival ship blocked out the sun and we could wait in the shade of this huge ship, that was a blessing for the Caribbean sun nie vir sussies nie,dit was vrek warm,so daai bietjie koelte was welkom tot ons ry  aan die beweeg gekom het oppad bus toe.

We had a very nice tour guide who gave us some info about the island on our way to the beach and also gave us some tips on what to expect at the beach and how things work at Maho Beach, she warned us to get a lounger and umbrella as soon as possible for they were expecting huge crowds at the beach today and it is a first come first serve scenario but when I heard the price I decided would not be doing that, the sand will have to do for this chick!!!

I took a few photographs and then went straight to the beach to be in line with the airport runway for wanted to see the first plane come in to land. They even have a big screen in the bar areas to let you know what time the different planes land, thank goodness I took a photo so could keep going back to see when the next plane lands.

It was amazing to watch this huge plane come into land just above your head and feels very close. The first one to come in was a jetblue plane and not a huge one but got to take a nice video of the plane and the second one was a little 2 per pella one, gelyk soos n muskiet in verlyking met die groter vliegtuie. We did not have any jet blast from the smaller plane's maar toe later in die oggend vertrek daar n groot vliegtuig en dankie tog ek was nie op daai stadium agter hom nie want toe daai 2 enjins eers spoed optel net voor hy vertrek toe kom daai wind op daai strand aan en jy sien net sand, klere en hoedens waai,gelukkig het ek dit op video vasgele waaroor ek baie bly was.

I just loved watching the planes come and go, an amazing experience. Then it was time to get into the crystal-clear sea, it was amazing, and I ended up going in for a swim 3 time. Tried to get a photo or video to show you what the water really looks like but not so easy. Also took a video at the one beach bar with some nice music playing.

Decided to be brave and try another Caribbean drink and ended up having a BBC (Baileys Banana Coconut cream) was really good, enjoyed every sip would have loved another one, see on the menu it says frozen cocktails but must have had very little alcohol for I felt nothing, not like my Bahama mama!!! Could also watch the plains come in from there so must admit this is not a relaxing day at the beach for it is noisy with the planes landing, the music and people all over the place. The beach was packed with little room to walk but I had a fantastic morning just would have wanted more time so next time I might take a taxi on my own.

I even put my alarm on to be back at the bus intime for our journey back to the ship because you get carried away in the excitement of the planes and before I knew it the 3 hours were up! We had good weather so that was a bonus and no wind.

Paar dae gelede het ek net voor ons kajuit gegly en geval maar ek se vir jou is sommer  een beweging het ek gegly ,geval en opgestaan!!! My dood geskrik maar dink daar was iets glad op die vloer gemors want het daai skoene al baie gedra en nog nooit met hulle gegly nie,maar wraggies so iets gebeur so vining voor jy weet is jy op die vloer maar gelukkig niks seer gemaak nie, net my ego!

Hoor by manlief daar was so n ampere ongelukkie tusen ons en n ander skip in die middle van die nag dankie tog net genade, betyds agtergekom en dit voorkom maar net die idee laat my hare regopstaan,dink net jy le en slaap en die volgende oomblik gebeur so iets,kan maar net se

 Prys die Here,en Dankie Here .Is maar beter dat jy nie van al die agter die skerms dramas weet nie,dink is dieselfde op n vliegtuig wil maar eerder nie weet nie. Oppad terug na die skip het ons verby n orkes geloop wat Jerusalema gepeel het en dit was so mooi met n Caribbean twist.

We were only leaving port at 20h00 so it was so nice to enjoy the sunset and the feeling of St Maarten at night. With all the ships in port it looked and felt like a city on water on a beautiful moonlit night. Watched the sunset with a Carnival ship sailing into the sunset. Phoned hubby to tell him wanted to show him what it looked like at night and just share this amazing experience and feeling, so once he was done for the day we walked around on the open decks and spent some time just taking it all in, was a special moment.

Was a good day, blessed THANKFUL.

1 FEBRUARY 2024: ST THOMAS UVI

Woke up both feeling tired but got up anyway and had the most wonderful time on deck 16 we did a few rounds walking on the walking track before doing some stretches under the stars on a perfect morning. It was still dark outside so that made it even better and only a few passengers around and had the place to us, so our day started on a good note.

I made a call at the Spar for the first time in 4 days and is always just so relaxing and the view from that part of the ship is just stunning. The peppermint and Chamomile tea are both a first for me but must say enjoyed them, that is my ritual when I am there, drink lots of water and then have a cup of both these teas. Never too old to try something new!!!

After breakfast off I went on a walk to the downtown area of Phillipsburg, was so nice to see the new walkway from the port area all the way into downtown, o how I wish we could do something like this in our hometown PE, we have everything to offer and maybe even more! Could see a storm was brewing and sure enough not long after I got to the downtown it started raining but I was ready with my poncho and umbrella.

Decided to brave the 99 steps up the hill towards Blackbeard’s Museum only to discover the old beautiful hotel and all the places I had been too a few years ago were all closed, so that was a huge disappointment and so sorry to see, think Covid must have been the nail in there coffin just hope someone might decide to buy the places and fix them up for will be such a tragedy to let them go. So glad I have my photos of my visits to them. Teen die tyd is ek nou flou en dis tyd vir terugstap skip se kant toe.

Kom by die skip en daar staan n ambulans toe weet ek liefie was nou weer besig, gister het n ou tannie lelik geval op n uitstappie is toe hospital toe gestuur en toe weer terug gestuur skip toe na n xstraal van haar pols en hulle se geen fraktuur maar vandag was sy erger na nog n xstraal op die skip kom hy agter haar pols het toe n fraktuur en sy is alweer oppad hopsitaal toe,arme vroutjie.

The weather has been great even after our little thunderstorm this morning and the sea is flat tonight, wish it could always stay this way but am bracing myself for the bad weather they are predicting for our return to NYC maybe they are wrong, let’s keep thumbs crossed. Tomorrow it is San Juan and then Puerto Plata before we have two days at sea to get back to New York for our next round. Going to try and do something on each new cruise that is my highlight of the week, we are now busy with 10-day cruises.

2 FEBRUARY 2024: SAN JUAN PUERTO RICO

Had a quiet night with no call outs so that was great and felt rested this morning so slept late and only got up after 7 when hubby got up to go to work. I had lots of plans, but they changed quickly when I saw the weather, I wanted to go walking around and then come back to meet hubby but ended up waiting for him on the ship.

Just did not feel like walking around in the rain and wind for know we will be back and hopefully before we leave, we will have one good day with sunshine. Looking forward to walk along the cliffs on the other side of the port area with stunning views of the ocean, downside need to walk up and over the steep hill to get there.

Went to a local restaurant called La Casita de Rones and sat outside with a view over the harbor area and ships. I ordered dumplings and he had small pulled pork hamburgers I decided to try another cocktail I had not had before, and he ordered coffee! Well first the menu was digital, and you had to download it from your table number and when our drinks arrived the coffee was a house coffee and that meant booze, coffee liqueur with a huge rock of ice and 3 coffee beans on top of the ice!!! So looked at this coffee and just burst out laughing knowing this was a misunderstanding but the waiter did ask for a second time, house coffee? so next time make sure it is real old-fashioned coffee or espresso not house coffee for that could mean something else.

So hubby took one sip and turned to me saying you are going to have to drink this too. So, it was 11.30 in the morning, I ordered a cocktail and here I was being told to help drink the coffee liqueur too, imagine that! I said do you know what you are asking me to do, drink 2 drinks after another and then still do shopping at CVS and find the ship after that,haaa haaa.

Well, I tried my best and gave it a go, must say the coffee liquer was good but strong and just could not drink it all up. Thank goodness for the big glasses of water that came with the food so drank lots of water with my food and drinks and made it without any complications, imagine arriving at the ship under the weather. That little mistake cost us 13$ so that is R234 for a block of ice 3 coffee beans and some liqueur. Last coffee mishap happened in Mauritius when we were on holiday there many years ago when hubby could not hear what the guy was saying, and he ordered very strong coffee that cost more than a R100 about 15 years ago!! So, our family have never forgotten that mistake.

We had to be back at the ship at 14h30 so after my stop at CVS I decided to rather go back to our cabin for an afternoon sleep and will do the San Juan walkabout on our next visit when I have more time. Am going to try and visit the pink street and Umbrella Street tomorrow if the weather plays along.

3 JANUARY 2024: PUERTO PLATA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

This morning, we up early to get our gym session, walk and coffee in before time for work. Since we have discovered our little exercise spot on deck 17, it is really something special to do your stretching under the stars and having the moon peeping through the clouds. I started watching a movie while on the treadmill and was so disappointed when my time was up and we had to leave, second time this has happened to me. So have not leant my lesson starting movies you can’t watch to the end!!!

Today we were lucky to have perfect weather in Puerto Plata after last week's rain and miserable weather, so I did not even have breakfast decided to get off the ship as soon as we got the clearance from the local authorities and off, I went. The port area is called Taino Bay and a little city on its own.

It is beautifully done and 10/10 for them all, the cruise passengers have the place to themselves, and everything is free to use except the drinks. They have little shops all over and restaurants. The locals don’t have access to the place and must say once out of the port area you can see the difference think it is a poor country with buildings that are in desperate need of attention, dit lyk maar gehawend en vervalle.

Toe ek natuurlik by die hek uit is toe word ek oorval met local's wat my op trips wil vat na die verskillende plekke so dit is nie lekker nie,nie eers Afrikaans praat het hul afgesit nie dan hou ek maar net aan loop. Op 2 plekke is ek verby polisie met groot gewere ek praat van omtrent bobeen hoogte so lyk vir my na n tipe R4 geweer n groot meneer en op n ander straat hoek het ek afgekom om manne wat n mes vir mekaar wys soos n jagters mes so in n skede,toe gedink hier moet ek maar wegkom en my stappie versnel.

Moet se nooit bedreig gevoel nie maar jy staan maar uit soos n puisie op n vark se boud!! Almal weet jy is n toeris en is vooraf gese wees versigtig so ek is die strate in met min juwele en my horlosie onderste bo gedraai net ingeval, selfoon is in my gym broek ingesteek onder my baatjie wat om my heupe was. Ek is weer soos gewoonlik die strate in op gevoel en het darem op al my plekke uitgekom.

In the famous Umbrella Street i found a coffee shop and there I had a espresso and a cinnamon bun that was good to start the day, then I was off to the local church in the middle of the town and was able to go and sit in the church with only the cleaner doing her job had the place to myself so that was very special,was sommer emosioneel .

I found my way to the beach front area with the most beautiful views over the sea, the police stopped the traffic to get me across the road and there were a lot of them all over the city. A man was fishing with his bucket attached to a pole deep into the sea but couldn’t see what he was doing it was too far. The only sad part was the beach was littered with rubbish lying all over the place just so sad to see it, that is something that I will never understand.

On my way back from the beach I discovered the next place I wanted to visit called the Pink Street it is dedicated to a lady called PASEO DE DONA BLANCA she came to Puerto Plata in 1898 from Italy and her family the Rainieri’s operated one of the most famous hotels in the city. Hotel Europa was considered the best hotels in its time. A local tour guide told me that she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and this is why the street was painted bright pink, due to the breast cancer and pink connection worldwide.

There is this lovely statue of her sitting on a bench with her Bible which I though was just so special, she passed away in 1946. Am going to google her story for seems she was an amazing lady and did a lot for others and this city. Makes you realize that one person can make a difference and change things for others.  A lesson to be learnt.

So after a lot of photos I was on my way and saw some beautiful old classic cars driving along slowly looked like old vintage automobiles, with tourists showing them all the nice places and having a drive in these lovely old cars .Decided would love to do that just looked amazing so was very excited to see that it is one of the excursions that the ship offers so might do it with our next visit only time will tell.

Glad I decided to go to the downtown area and experience the vibe, might also walk to the old fort with another visit but then I would rather just stay in the port area and enjoy the amazing place. The port area is nice, and you can use everything at no cost which is great, at most of the other places you need to pay to use the loungers or umbrellas and at St Maarten the loungers were $30 which is not cheap don’t know what the umbrellas were.

Can’t really explain everything but will post photos I decided to go on the lazy river with the tubes and what an amazing 20 minutes slowly floating around it was so nice. Thank goodness there was a guy to help me onto the tube and get me out again for would not have been able to do it on my own with my bag strapped to my bosom. Left my sandals on the sand but was not prepared to leave my bag unattended for you just never now.

Took some nice videos of the ride and think everyone that did it just loved it. I had a wet bottom from the ride and had my costume on underneath but was just too lazy to get undressed so new I would have to get into the sun to dry out after the ride. Bought myself a mango cocktail and then parked myself on a lounger next to a huge pool area and just after getting comfortable a local dance show started so that was a bonus, these people just have rhythm and are so talented they make it look so easy.

Next to me were some young ladies with their g strings and bare bottoms, some not so small and beautiful but moved and danced around with all the confidence in the world, wish I could be like that, but they had a great time. On my way back to the ship there were colorful parrots to see, and I decided to take the Tok Tok back to the ship for was a free ride, but you do tip them, hulle is vir my te oulik, glorified bike met n kappie en sitplek!

Once back at the ship an ambulance has just arrive so I knew that hubby had been busy and sure enough it was the 3 rd one for the day, can you believe it! Just as well he could get the critical sick of the ship for 2 sea days were waiting on our way back to New York so met ernstige siek gevalle is nie n ander plan nie, dan moet jy net sit met hulle en ek dink hulle voorspel rowwe weer so dis nie vir n helicopter stuur vir kom haal nie!

So moet erken my dag in Puerto Plata was regtig baie lekker gewees baie gesien ,baie gedoen en beleef.En so kom my 3 de cruise tot n einde dan begin ons met week 4, hoop ons kan die week in Bermuda uitkom, nog nie gehoor wat die weervoorspelling se nie maar dit is winter so wonder wat die kanse is!