12-6-17 Antigua:

This was suppose to be our St. Marten day, turned St. Croix day.  But neither of those ports were ready to open back up yet after severe damage courtesy of Hurricane Irma.  So they added Antigua to our itinerary.  That was fine with me!  I'd been to the other 2 islands and wasn't too excited about the snorkeling at either of them, so Antigua was someplace new to try.  We've been to a lot of the islands in the Caribbean now, but not yet this one.
It was just another beautiful Caribbean island. 

It was actually bigger then I expected.  This is looking down the street by the dock as we were eating breakfast in the Lido restaurant waiting for the ship to clear customs.  There was quite a bit right there at the port.

included another rainbow!!!

Another view of our welcoming rainbow

Another ship following us in.

it has a pretty little marina next to the cruise ship dock.

another view of the port area from the Lido deck.

There was even a steel drum band there playing Christmas music.  They were really good!

once we hit the main little shopping area, we were bombarded by taxi drivers.

Again we were corralled into a waiting area while the dispatcher looked for more people wanting to go with us.  We really didn't know where we wanted to go.  They recommended Long Bay because it was suppose to be the best place to snorkel, so that's where we went.

It didn't take too long to fill the taxi.  Soon we were on our way across the island.  Our taxi mates were from the other ship---an English one and they got into a conversation with the driver about cricket and soccer.  Apparently this arena was built for some big soccer tournament a few years ago.

Soon we were at Long Beach.  I had asked the dispatcher if it was on the Caribbean side. He said yes, but the driver later told us it was the Atlantic side.  It was a beautiful beach.  But the water was pretty rough and murky from sand being churned up.

We rented one chair for $5, then hit the water.

Heading in.

Did find one little area with some pretty neat coral in it on our way to the "reef".

there were a few fish there

mostly juveniles, like this little wrasse

and this larger wrasse

more coral

out by the reef was a lot of this.  Not sure what it is

a yellow tail snapper

not a great picture, but i liked the little unplanned rainbow in the water drop on the lens of the camera.

more coral and a grunt

a school of tiny fish

more of the mystery plant and another wrasse

the area they call a "reef"

school of juvenile fishies

snorkeling wasn't the greatest, but the water felt great and the sky and clouds were beautiful

one of the few adult fish

a blue tang

another little wrasse

we even swam over to the rocky area coming out of the water, but snorkeling wasn't any better there.

the waves didn't look all that rough, but it was enough to churn up the sand quite a bit.

a little butterflyfish

sergeant major

There were a bunch of little shops along the beach and a resort beyond the shops.

looking out to the ocean from the resort area

some of the little shops

heading back to the parking area.

some pretty white flowers

view from the parking lot where the taxi let us off

a carved tree trunk by the parking lot.  The guy who carved it was wandering the beach with some more of his works.  He was quite good.

more of the tree trunk

Snorkeling may not have been great, but we still had a great time.

one more picture from the parking lot

The taxi driver came back for us as promised.  Soon we were back in the shopping area and walking back to the ship

back on the ship, it was time for lunch---another salad from the great Lido salad bar.

Soon we were sailing away----to the British ship waving  British flags at us and singing Christmas songs.  It was a fun sail away.

more of the British passengers

The people we rode to the beach with mentioned something was going to happen at sail away, but it was still a big surprise---and a fun one.  They also said it was suppose to happen when we sailed away from Martinique, but it was canceled due to the weather.

back towards the dock and town

more of the pretty little island

sun about to set

more of the pretty little island

Dinner was in the Lido restaurant again.  Then to On Stage to see Joseph Reohm--an international award-winning magician.  Seen by millions on some of the largest television networks.  He was very good, but did basically the same show I remember seeing a few years ago on another cruise.

Then to the Pool Movie to see: The Mountain Between Us (Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain.  When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness).   We had recently seen this movie at the theatre, but didn't mind seeing it again.

Back in the room this guy was waiting for us.

Not exactly what we were hoping for in the way of snorkeling here in Antigua.  But we still had a good time.

No "O" activities today, but we did get the nightly post card:
"I believe that one of life's greatest risks is never daring to risk."

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."