Cruisin'

We take a cruise vacation every other year and just got back from our latest excursion yesterday.  This will have been our second "large" cruise.  Prior to taking trips on the big ships, we went on tall ship/schooner adventures.  The company that ran those was "Windjammer Barefoot Cruises" and they are now out of business.  Those trips sure were fun; a combination of summer camp and college dorm life on the waters of the Caribbean.  Lots of great memories of debauchery and irresponsibility.  The ships we sail now are much more "refined."  While they are enjoyable, I'd take a trip on the S/V Legacy  or Polynesia any day over one of these.  But alas, the line is defunct and our vacation deals are for the larger commercial lines.

We sailed on Royal Caribbean's "Freedom of the Seas," out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Curacao, Aruba, St. Kitts/Nevis and St. Thomas were the ports of call.  We visited a nice beach on Aruba -- teaming up with a couple we met at the taxi stand in order to save the fare. Unlike other people on the ship, we were looking for a remote and non-commercial location.  I was able to use a smidgen of my college German to explain to someone that I didn't speak enough of his language to understand his question -- the amount charged for a rental umbrella ($25 -- but worth it to avoid a trip-killing sun burn). No one else from the cruise was there and the folks we knew went to a popular spot that was over-crowed, and apparently not very enjoyable.  St. Kitts was where this picture was taken.  We got off the ship because we felt we ought to, took a six block walk, and got back on to enjoy the empty ship.

Our stateroom had a balcony, where this picture of St. Kitts was taken.  We did get off on this island simply to see if we could get any WiFi and to buy a souvenir.  Since neither of us have an international plan, it did't work.  Oh well.  All we wanted to do was check on the pup, which we did manage on our last day (St. Thomas -- a US territory, where my plan worked).


We get a balcony stateroom, airfare and transportation, food and a $200 credit as part of the trip.  We spent $$$ to upgrade our beverage package and also purchased a deluxe dining package (a business expense, so totally worth it).  The ship puts an 18% gratuity per person on the bill each day -- so we had to pay for that and for individual tips we gave (our dining servers were awesome, so we tipped extra for them).  TBGs company paid for all but about 2K total, and the base price for the trip (not including the tips and upgrades) was about $4300.  We did get discounts on the upgrades, and the dinners were reimbursable (including a free one for just the two of us).  The trip was a splurge, but a very good deal -- which is why we go.

The day we left, it was 18 degrees Fahrenheit.  Teddy and I went for a walk, which was about three blocks to long (we went out for four).  By the time we got home, my fingers were frozen (through my gloves!).  We returned to this -- a couple of feet of snow and 0 degrees.  It is funny to see how many fools leave the trip in shorts and sandals -- especially when they come back to this.  We always wear jeans and have warmer clothes for our return.

We left Teddy with the guy next door.  He is wonderful.  Not only does he take good care of her, she loves him.  There are always guests coming and going in his house (and he's quite the ladies man these days), so that variety probably helps her to feel less lonely.  In addition to caring for our baby, Dave even cleared our walk and driveway!  Our hellish trip home took 14 hours and getting the car dug out at the airport was an arduous task (leave your car in the lot when it snows and the plows block you in).  It was so nice to come home to a driveway we could pull into and a warm dog waiting on the couch.