12-5-17 Martinique:

On to the city of Fort De France, Martinique.  I had thought we might walk to the ferry and go to a beach on the other side of the bay. But the ferry was over a mile away from the port we docked at.  i was hoping we'd be at the one right next to the ferry like we were last time we were in Martinique.  Didn't really matter.  As the tv showed, there were thunderstorms which lasted most of the day.  And lots of rain,  So we did another first---we stayed on board the ship. 

I did take pictures from the ship, though.

12-4-17 Barbados:

Things didn't quite go as expected here.  In the past, we would get off the ship and find a car taxi to take us to Folkestone and it was really easy and fast.  This time, there were no car taxis, just large vans.  So, of course, they insist on filling the van before they leave.  Which, in turn, means we didn't get to choose the exact time we wanted him to pick us up.  We wanted to stay until 3, but we were the only ones going to Folkestone and the ones going to town got priority for pick up time of 3.  So 2:45 it was.  On the flip side, the fare was a lot cheaper!  Before we paid $27@/person rt, this time it was $14@/person rt----although he tried to charge us more---to which we told him we saw the price on the sign and I had a picture of it.

We waited around a good half hour for the van to get stuffed full, then were on our way.  Everyone else got off in town or the beach by town.  Folkestone was about 15 miles or so north of the port.  Noone seems to know about it, which surprises me.  It's a beautiful place and great for snorkeling.  There are even lots of amenities there: restrooms, outdoor shower, little store, life guard, chair and umbrella rental, walkway to more beaches and restaurants, even a pretty very old church by the entrance to the park.   Here is the little entrance to Folkestone Marine Preserve with the walkway barely showing.

12-3-17 St. Lucia:

Today we woke to sunny skies in beautiful St. Lucia. 

While we waited for the ship to clear customs, we had breakfast and waited in the Lido restaurant.  I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the Oprah shirts that we were given at embarkation, so I took this of the guy at the next table.  I really liked the shirts.  It was also neat so many people wearing them throughout the cruise.  Even the men were wearing them.  In fact, I probably saw more men wearing them then women.  The front of the shirt had a small printing on the upper part of one side. 

12-2-17 St. Kitts:

Woke up to cloudy skies, but with it came a beautiful rainbow!

Wasn't long after sunrise that we were heading into port.  So we headed up to the Lido for breakfast and admired the views while we ate and waited for customs to clear us so we could head down to land.

12-1-17 sea day:

Today our ship's clocks were set forward an hour in the middle of the night.  Good thing we had another day at sea to adjust to it.

 I was surprised when I went out to see the sea and saw what I saw!  No land in sight and the water was calmer then a swimming pool!

pretty serene.

After a relatively late breakfast in the Lido due to the time change, I headed off to the Go-Pro Vacation Series (Part 1).  Some how I missed the rest of the parts!  But I found this talk very interesting and informative.  I've been curious about the Go-Pros.  They do a lot more then I thought they could!  They even sell some on board. 

Right after the Go Pro talk, I headed to the Test Kitchen for their Flavors of the Mediterranean show.

These looked and smelled so good, that when it came time to eat again, I headed for spaghetti.  Too bad they didn't have the pasta with garlic and oil!

instead I had meat sauce and spaghetti and the best rolls ever.  I loved these crusty baguettes!

At 2:30 we went to the World Stage to the Ask the Captain activity.  Darin Bowland and his hotel director, Don Habets, put on a very good and at many times, a funny presentation.  He also explained that the delay leaving Fort Lauderdale wasn't serious.  He said it was a redundant communications system that was fixed. 

Then it was back to our verandah to get to reading on the "O" book that I checked out yesterday.   The main complaint I had with the book was that there were so many names thrown around that I had a hard time remembering who was who when they popped back up later.

Near sunset, I headed up to deck 11 to my spot by the track.

Still had a lot of time, so I headed to the back of the ship.  I'm always surprised to find the decks at sunset almost empty!  I guess most people are more interested in eating or getting ready to go eat, then to watch the sun go down.

color in the water.

great water day for reflections.

almost time for sunset

about as good as it got---which isn't bad!

On World Stage tonight was Karen Grainger---Canada's premier singing impressionist.  She was very good.  Wouldn't mind catching her show again.

We also made it to the 10pm Poolside Movie.  I forget what it was now.  The navigator said is was going to be Tulip Fever---about an artist who falls for a young married woman while he's commissioned to paint her  portrait during the Tulip mania of 17th century Amsterdam.  I was looking forward to seeing the Tulip mania.


Now for the "O" activities for today:

Just Breathe (at 7:30 am---way to early for exercise!)

The SuperSoul 100: Tim Storey ---a gifted speaker and top selling author, well known for inspiring and motivation people from all walks of life.  Known as the Life Coach to the Stars, he has shared his insight to diverse crowds in over 70 countries.  (Wouldn't mind going to it, but we were at the Test Kitchen when this was going on).

O's Reading Room---OBooks Editor Leigh Haber and Joan Juliet Buck engage in discussion about your favorite authors and literary works.  (I was probably on our verandah at that time ready Buck's book).

Just Breathe: Peaceful Sleep at  5 pm.  (by then I was heading up to the upper decks to wait for sunset).

O's saying for the day:
"If you allow yourself to breathe into the depth, wonder, beauty, craziness, and strife... you can live fearlessly."

11-30-17 Sea day:

Today was the first of our 3 sea days---2 at the beginning of the cruise and 1 later.  We started it off with breakfast in the Lido just like we did every day after today.  This was pretty much my usual breakfast.  Although later in the cruise I discovered they had hard boiled eggs so I'd have cream of wheat, a hard boiled egg and an English muffin.  I also discovered they have a guava/orange/something juice and added that to my morning beverages.

I like to participate in CruiseCritic.com for a few months before a cruise, so when someone organizes a CruiseCritic meet and greet, I try to attend.  Even Ken went this time.  I showed up a little late since I tried to compete in the ping pong tournament that was starting at the same time.  Since I couldn't concentrate on the game, I was out quickly, but had agreed to meet up with one of the gals to play later---she cancelled and we never got around to rescheduling.  Anyway, we met some interesting people at the M&G and had a fun visit there.  Even making arrangement to share a taxi with a few people at the upcoming port in St. Kitts.  (not necessarily a good idea since 4 of us sat around for an extra half hour waiting for the 5th person to show up.  Ended up being plenty of people looking to go to the same place, but we did enjoy visiting with the other couple --Marion & Armando-- several more times around the ship).  This was the set up for the M&G----cookies and drinks up in a meeting room in the Crow's Nest.

At 3:00 there was an interesting talk in the World Center: Discovering Basseterre, Castries and Bridgetown. 

The presenter was informative and interesting.  nice to have a docent again and not just a shopping ambassador.

Would love to snorkel by the Pitons some day

I didn't realize there was another pier at Castries.  We've been here a couple other times and was always on the other side of the bay.  Didn't really matter for us, though, taxis were readily available both places.

some of the info given---although I have no idea what "HOHO: no but tours at the terminal" means!

spent some time wandering around the ship after the ports talk.  Just a few random pictures here and there:
the Dutch restaurant.

one of the clever floral arrangements

the Promenade Deck.  I was trying to picture what the people in the OV rooms next level up would see.  I presume these are the obstructed view rooms.  Looks like there should be views of the ocean when you're looking straight out.

I didn't realize it at the time, but there was a Tea Dance going on in the Queen's Lounge from 3:15-3:45.  There were 2 of them during this cruise.  Once I realized what it was, I made a point of making it to the other one.  Probably the nicest "high tea" I've been to on a cruise ship.

may have to find a few pictures to add to instagram with that hashtag.

time to settle in for sunset.

looking out from my verandah

using the whole range of my lens----the reason why I complained about the extended overhang above our verandah.  Most of the time it didn't matter since this trip there were usually only clouds at the horizon at sunset, or a total overcast and no sunset.

Zooming in to get rid of the overhang

Then off to dinner----and dessert.  Back in the Lido restaurant. 

From there we usually went to the 7pm show on the World Stage.  Tonight it was Off the Charts: a review of hits from Billboard's lists from Elvis to Beyonce.  Featuring Koningsdam's Singers and Dancers.  It was very good.

We arrived late enough that we missed the part where they said no photography----oops.

Loved the ships band, too.

Ken especially liked the band leader and drummer, Chris.

Then we were off to the Lido deck to watch the movie: My Rules Don't Apply, a Drama/Comedy, 2 hours 7 minute movie about the unconventional love story of an aspiring actress, her determined driver, and their boss, eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes.
Back in our room, we found this guy taking over the bed.

Also found our saying for the day:  your journey begins with a choice to get up, step out and live fully.

flip side of above card.

I'm not usually a big fan of sea days, but I think I'm getting over that.  I'm finding lots to do.  Plus I find I enjoy sitting on our verandah reading a book.

Some of the O activities for the day:

Just Breathe--- (greet the  morning with meaningful meditation, daily intention, and experience the health benefits of movement inspired by O, the Oprah Magazine's dedication to living your best life.  Led by Sara Ivanhoe, certified yoga and meditation instructor.)

O's Reading Room Book Pickup---The Price of Illusion.  I'll admit I'm not much of a reader, but decided to check out the book and give it a go.  I did enjoy it---the memoir of Joan Juliet Buck (former Vogue Paris editor) .  Instead of turning it back in at the end of the cruise, I decided to buy it and send it to my sister for Christmas. 
Later in the day Joan Juliet Buck and O Books Editor Leigh Haber hosted a discussion.  I wish I had gone to it.  It should have been later after people had a chance to get into the book.  But then I would have missed the ports talk.  I found most of the things I wanted to do were the same time as other things I wanted to do. 

The O Shopping Grand Opening

The Supersoul 100: Dr. Shefali  (Clinical psychologist, speaker and acclaimed author, Dr. Shefali will help you let go of traditional ways of thinking to become who you really are.)

11-29-17 11 night HAL Cruise-Embarkation day:

Yep, it was still a cloudy rainy chilly day for Fort Lauderdale.   But we were heading to a cruise ship today, so who cares!?   We ate our complimentary breakfast at the Ramada Inn, checked out, and were on our way.

Since we had plenty of time, we headed to A1A for the long way to the cruise port.  Even longer due to a drawbridge.