I was trying to decide how to explain our cruise…..I started out writing about everything, and realized there was too much to tell. So this is a synopsis.
- We had a great time!
- Food was incredible and we both managed to maintain the average of 1lb per day the cruise director said we would gain.
- Besides the food, the entertainment was good, especially a steel drum group called Island Magic from Trinidad. We cannot encourage you enough, that if you ever have a chance to hear them, GO!!! You will not be disappointed. Who knew music like that could come from steel drums. They played everything from classical to pop to Broadway shows.
- There is so much to do on a cruise, from cooking classes, to mixology classes, classes on photoshop, trivia games, and the spa onboard had Pilates and yoga classes. In the evening, each bar (and there were more than we could get to), had a different type of entertainment from a string quartet, to jazz, to piano bar sing-along’s as well as dancing to a variety of music.
- First stop was to Half Moon Cay where we snorkeled with stingrays and Deane flew the kite. Half Moon Cay is an island owned by Holland America cruise lines
- Curacao and Arruba were a surprise to us. Both islands are under the control of the Netherlands and were very arid and desert like. We could not believe the amount of cactus we saw. What was impressive were the colors of the buildings in the capital city, very vibrant pastels. In Curacao we walked across the Koningin Emmarug ( Royal Bridge) as it was opening, which is a floating swing bridge that lets water traffic pass into and out of the harbor since the 1800’s.
- Weather was very strange all 10 days. We did not see blue skies and sun any of the days, and every port we stopped in the tour guides all told us the weather we were having was not normal. Our tour guide in Curacao said in her 60 years, she had never seen it where the trade winds did not blow. So what we had was hot, humid and muggy with very little breeze to help cool things off.
- Going into and through the Panama Canal was incredible and we were able to see the third canal being built. The canal first opened in 1914, and the third canal will open in 2014. What was amazing is that they use 51 million gallons of fresh water from the lake to raise the locks to let the ship pass through. The canal is 50 miles long from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. One last detail is that the lake is 85 feet higher than both sides of the canal.
- Both Panama and Costa Rica are neutral countries. Neither have an army.
- We kayaked in Gatun Lake, which is the man made lake in the middle of the Canal between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
- Costa Rica was our last stop and the one we loved the most. We kayaked down the Black Mangrove River and saw, Howler monkeys, sloths, water snakes, and birds.
-Deane has better sea legs than me. I got sea sick one day and missed the second formal dinner where they were serving my favorite meal, lobster thermador.
- We met some incredible people during our dinners, including Santa Claus, a retired Rabbi who was 90 and his wife who is 85 as well as one other couple from Lake Oswego Oregon. I think we were the only two couples from Oregon on the ship. Most everyone was from Canada, Michigan, or the east coast states.
Overall, we truly enjoyed our cruise and were surprised by some of the things we saw, like the poverty on Curacao and Arruba. It reminded us of Mexico. We loved the jungles of Panama and especially Costa Rica.
We are headed to Key West and Key Largo Florida for a week, then back to Arizona to pick up the RV.
Below are links to each of the ports we stopped. We hope you enjoy them.
Our Home for 10 days - http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=876504892407%3A1224479436
Half Moon Cay - http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=593280792407%3A451169557
Curacao - http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=493280792407%3A1450694275
Arruba - http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=393280792407%3A1273605654
Panama Canal - http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=193280792407%3A772677729
Kayaking in Gatun Lake - http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=293280792407%3A2047976828
Kayaking in Costa Rica - http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=983280792407%3A1640204242