Day 5 – Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Posted on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 by Paul

We just arrived at St. Marteen

Philipsburg, St. Maarten, is known for being the capital of the Dutch side of the dual-nation island, a major cruise port, and a duty-free shopping hub on Front Street.  The capital’s layout features a more tourist-focused Front Street and a local Back Street, divided by the Broadwalk along Great Bay.  The town was founded in 1763 by John Philips to centralize trade and still features the 1793 courthouse, a prominent landmark that also appears on the country’s flag.

We arrived right on time.

The weather was perfect, not a wave on the water!  We love our portable hotel!  We did not see any sea turtles this morning, but we did watch a Celebrity Ship pull in next to us.

Another beautiful island!

We had a long walk from our ship to the bus, and the wind kept things cool.  Since I was using a cane, the tour leader put us up front.

We walked to the awaiting bus.

The welcome site was just outside the terminal area.

WELCOME!

The bus ride took 12 minutes to cross the Dutch-French border.  As you can see, we did NOT walk!

We crossed the border into France with ease.  The islanders have made the separation pain-free.

Passing the Dutch/French border.

Now we went off-roading and got bounced around pretty well!

We took a dirt road to the beach.

The beach was beautiful!  There were some rain squalls in the distance, but they did NOT come our direction.  We spend about three hours at the beach before heading to the nearby restaurant.

We have arrived!

Everyone went to the water and they swam out to the float.

Everyone went into the water except me; I watched our belongings

The restaurant was right on the beach.  We got out of the water a little early and went for a drink before lunch!

Time for lunch!

They had some interesting drinks, and we tried some of them.  Mark was partial to the lemonade drink!

Slurp, burp, giggle!

We laughed and giggled for another two hours.

The Thinker.

We gace Colleen a bad time about last night but as usual, she took the teasing well.

She survived.

The restaurant had a photo shoot spot and we took advantage of it!

Well, hello there litte lady!

“No matter what they say, I am innocent!”

Island special, chicken and ribs!

Back to the ship from whence we came!

Only a few more steps!

We took a nap after a long, hot day!  Jon made a reservation for 6:00 p.m. at Izumi, a Japanese specialty restaurant.  We had a fantastic meal complete with a lot of sake!


We were on the 11th floor aft!

Yes, we had fun!!!

We had a lot of excellent Japanese dishes!

After dinner, we went to the Schooner for a quick drink before meeting with the kids on the pool deck.  We all smoked a small cigar and watched “How To Train Your Dragon”.

 

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Day 4 – St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2025 by Paul

We met a new friend!!

St. Croix trivia includes its status as the location of the easternmost point in the United States, Point Udall, its status as the only U.S. territory where people drive on the left, and the location of the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean, the Puerto Rico Trench, just off its coast.  The island, with a rich history under multiple colonial powers, including Denmark and Spain, is also renowned for its stunning bioluminescent bay and its legacy of rum production, exemplified by Cruzan Rum.

The inlet was magnificent with rolling hills of greenery!

The bay was quiet except for the turtles sloshing around.

At 7:30 am, we headed to the VIP Lounge and had a good BM and some rolls.  BTW, “BM” means Bloody Mary!  We talked to the Lounge manager for quite a while and got the rundown on this to see.

We had breakfast in the VIP Lounge!

Mary received several comments on her purse, which Robin had given her on our last voyage together.

Mary loves the purse that Robin gave her!

We went to the Cruzan Rum factory, where we received many “tastes” of various flavors after the tour.

Rum is the oldest liquor in the world, first produced for enjoyment in the West Indies in 1650, the year before Paul was born!

Cruzan has a large facility just a few miles from the terminal.

The distillery has a long history of rum production, with roots dating back to 1760, and is recognized for its dedication to capturing the essence of St. Croix in its rum-making process.

Cruzan Rum, founded in 1760 on St. Croix, is the world’s first single-barrel rum maker and has been managed by the Nelthropp family for eight generations.  Owned by Suntory Global Spirits since 2014, the distillery utilizes a five-column still and ages rum in used bourbon barrels, producing a range of classic and flavored rums renowned for their distinctive Caribbean character and commitment to sustainability.

BTW, if I ever go missing, please put my photo on a Rum bottle, not a milk carton.

At the Rum Distillery

Cruzan is owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, based in Osaka, Japan.

We walked for about 45 minutes and saw the various vats used to make this delightful drink.  Below is one of their many 30,000-gallon containers where the yeast goes to work to make a run.

Rum is made by harvesting sugarcane, from which molasses or fresh cane juice is extracted.  This raw material is then fermented with yeast to produce alcohol, and the fermented liquid is distilled to increase its alcohol content and separate impurities.  Finally, the resulting spirit is aged in barrels, optionally filtered, blended for consistency, and bottled.

I wanted to swim, but alas, I was higher in alcohol content than the vat!

Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.  Frank Sinatra

After the tour, we stopped for a “tasting”.  We got into trouble with the girls, for what, we do NOT know!

Oh oh!  What did the boys do???

How much rum does it take to make a pirate drunk?  A Galleon.

Hireturnedn!

Mark was proud of the number on the bottle… it was 007!

Gotcha!

We returned to the ship, and the kids went looking for Caribbean Back.  We went to the trough and enjoyed a leisurely meal of Caribbean delights.

Back to the boat!

Back to the ship we went, while the kids went in search of some “island food.”  We went to the trough and I plunged into several Indian dishes and Caribbean delicacies.

Around 4:00 pm, we took a nap to get ready for tonight, which is Chef’s Table night.  On Royal Caribbean, the Chef’s Table is an exclusive, intimate, and upscale dining experience hosted by the ship’s Chef de Cuisine for a small group of up to 8 to 12 guests.  The experience features a multi-course gourmet meal with carefully paired wines, where the chef personally explains each dish and answers questions.  It’s a unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the kitchen’s artistry in an elegant, private setting, with a dedicated sommelier guiding the wine pairings throughout the evening.

As we moved out of port, the Sun and clouds put on a fantastic display!

The Sun was playing hide and seek!

We searched for the R-Bar, our meeting place before the Chef’s Table.

Oh my, elevators from floor one to floor eleven.

The  Chef’s Dining Room was quiet, with no noise and pleasant background music.

The sound of silence was excellent!!

The menu was a six-course dinner.   The first course was a tomato soup; the best we have ever had.  The chef came out between courses to explain what he had done to make it special.  He was Indian, and we only got about 50% of what he said.

Simply amazing!!!

Now we know where the excess silverware is stashed!

Someone was quite clever!

Colleen proceeded to get a bit toasted as she tried all five glasses of wine.  She was pretty funny.  Her brother, Jon, had never seen her this way; neither have we.

She proceeded to tell us a load of sea stories!

The last thing she remembered eating was the caramel popcorn, which came with the steak!

“Hey, pops!”

Oh No!  Course #6 was dessert.  The chef worked some magic.

The dessert was also excellent.  The chef put chocolate cake inside a dome of chocolate, and when we poured the hot topping on, the outer shell melted, revealing the chocolate cake inside.

Three generations; we only get better with time!

Oh my!!

The maitre’d took several group photos and had a few giggles along the way!

What a happy family

After dinner, Mark carried Colleen home!  Mary and I went to our room to put away the uneaten steak.  Jon and Sarah went to purchase tickets for tomorrow’s beach excursion.

The four of us met in the Schooner Lounge and downed wine until close to midnight.  I was exhausted, and I found out why using the trusty iPhone step counter!

Now, you know why we were tired!

We had a great day!

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Day 3 – Charlotte Amalie

Posted on Monday, September 29, 2025 by Paul

The morning greeted us at 6:30 am!

Charlotte Amalie is a city and cruise ship port on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas.  It is the capital of the US.  Virgin Islands.  Its Danish colonial architecture includes Blackbeard’s Castle, a 1600s watchtower.  The 99 Steps ascend to the tower, which has panoramic views.  The 17th-century Fort Christian is now a museum with art and artifacts.  East of town, the Skyride aerial tram climbs to Paradise Point.

We arrived right on time thanks to Mary’s naughty knowledge (oops, I mean nautical knowledge).   The captain wanted to come to the cabin and check her ship’s driver’s license, but we told him to go ahead and park the boat.

Mary helps the captain steer the boat to the dock.

It was a little nerve-racking, so we decided to enjoy breakfast on the veranda.  Mary ordered the meal last night, so I was surprised we didn’t get raw goat and buttermilk!  Dancing requires a lot of fluid (we call it dancing juice).

That was tough, so we decided to have breakfast in our room!

I was allowed to dine with Her Highness this morning and did not have to wear my butler’s uniform.

Good groceries!

The “kids” headed into town, and we stayed on the ship.  It rained, but since the temperature was in the high 80s, they did not get soaked.

Time to be pretty!  Mary selected a “seaweed delight” from their extensive menu of things to do to your body.   Mary ordered some special treatment to make me look better.  I think if she had three glasses of wine, her plan would have worked just as well.   Before we got wrapped up, they smeared green seaweed all over us; I looked like a giant watermelon!

We smelled like an open can of tuna left on the counter for three days in the heat.  Pheeeew!

They rubbed us with seaweed and wrapped us up like two burritos!

After 75 minutes of hand-to-hand fighting with two small Filipino operators, we escaped with our lives, smelling like seaweed and attracting a lot of fish as we walked along the railings.  Oh, I forgot, we took a shower TOGETHER to get the green goo off.  Together, we worked hard to get the magic exilir off places that at our age, we can’t reach alone!

We made it to the hideaway on the 11th floor and had a drink.  Mary did her needlepoint, and I read the last six chapters of my adventure book.  I looked over my shoulder and saw three cats following us.  The tuna smell had not gone away yet!

After the massage, we headed to the sky lounge for some quiet time.

We were a bit hungry and dinner was four hours away, so we went to the trough, where Mary found a salad, and I devoured a great hamburger.  Colleen and Mark joined us for a light snack before we went to our rooms to get ready for dinner.  The photographers begin snapping shots at 5:30 pm.

Tonight is “Dress You Best” night, so tuxes and gowns are the dress of the night.  We pulled out of port exactly at 5:30 pm, heading to St. Croix, USS Virgin Islands.  I had a problem getting dressed; I could NOT find my suspenders.  I had forgotten that I had them on my bright pink thong from yesterday’s stroll around the deck!

We departed for a drink, some photos, and a walk around the ship around 6:15 pm.   I must admit, we overachieved.   We had dinner at the steakhouse at 7:00 pm and want to see the show at 10:00 pm.

We returned to the steakhouse for a wonderful dinner.  The kids were all dressed up (as dressed up as kids get).

I was in the steakhouse when the waiter brought me my steak, holding it over the plate with his thumb.  I said, “Are you crazy? What’s with your thumb on my steak?”  “Sorry,” answered the waiter, “but I don’t want it to fall on the floor again.”

Surf n’ Turf, here we come!

The waiter asked Mark how he liked his steak. He said rare.  The waiter replied, “You’re in luck, today’s special is panda”.

Chops for dinner.

After dinner, we went to the show!

Off to the show.

The music and vocals were outstanding.  The “Andrews Sisters” did their act.  It was a show-stopper!

 

The Andrews Sisters never looked like this!

After the show, we found the Schooner Bar and met up with Job and Sarah, who had saved us a front row seat.   We did our best to reduce the alcoholic content of the bar; I even had a peanut butter delight.

Mary accounted for six men stumbling over themselves as they passed by us… I heard two of them whisper “whiplast” as their heads turned violently.

Oh La La!  A few drinks and a few dances, and we are off to bed!!

I was on my bestest behavior for twenty-two minutes!

We had to sit up to drink!

Then it happened, I could not resist my inner evils!

She can dress me up, but should NOT take me anywhere!

We hit the sack around midnight.  I offered our life jackets to the neighbors because, as I recall, alcohol floats, and if so, I would be bobbing at the top of the water for hours!

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Boarding Our Ship!

Posted on Monday, September 29, 2025 by Paul

At 6:00 am, it was already 85 degrees and climbing!

What an amazing view

One look at Mary and I knew she needed a Starbucks fix.  I took the elevator down to search for her coffee.  I was looking at the directory, and when I turned around, Starbucks was waiting for me.

I was sent on a quest!

Back upstairs, we captured a glimpse of our ride—the Rhapsody Of The Seas.

Our ride awaits

The kids ordered a limo for the ride to the ship.  How six of us and all that baggage fit into the VW, I will never know!

Mary found another pineapple.

We await the limo

Hey Vicky, the earrings were perfect for this adventure!

Vicky gave the earrings to Mary.

The limo made it to the ship with all four tires flat.  When we all got out, we could hear the car breathe a sigh of relief.

We are officially in line!

Jon and Mark ensured that we didn’t have to drag our luggage around.  They are good kids… wait, kids?

Thank goodness for the “kids”

We all bought the VIP package, so we were entitled to lunch as soon as we boarded.  It was tough dining on filet mignon again, two days in a row!

Lunch is served!

Then the teasing began with giggle harpoons flying everywhere!

I am also her “Arm Candy”!!!

We even caught a picture of Mark when he was NOT hiding from the camera!

The lunch was hilarious!

We call her “Giggles”

The timing was perfect.  As soon as we finished lunch, the hotel manager announced the rooms were ready.  We all rushed up to see how much baggage had arrived.

Ready to find our rooms.

After unpacking, we wandered up to the VIP lounge and indulged in another glass of vino!  We are on the 11th floor overlooking the San Juan harbor.

We headed to the suite lounge.

Mary was ready to find the kids after a text from them.  We went to the 4th floor, where the Caribbean band had just started playing.  OMG, burst eardrums time!  It was so loud, my teeth were rattling.  We opted to depart and head to a quiet lounge on the 11th floor.

Yes, we had our requisite drink!

We had a few drinks before going to dinner at the steakhouse.   Jon modeled his new Caribbean hat.

Jon found a new hat to wear

It was casual night, so I had my Trophy Husband shirt on!  If I had 50 of these, I could have sold them in minutes!

I got a lot of comments about my “TROPHY HUSBAND” T-shirt!

The carpiattio was excellent.

Dinner is served

Mary and I shared.  We were both full afterward.

I shared with Mary… 1/2 a Filet Mignon and 1/2 a rack of lamb!

 

Our waiter was from Ukraine, and he was happy to hear us applaud him and his fellow citizens!  We tipped him very well!!  His name is Pablo, so I will not soon forget that!

We fell in love with our waiter.

After dinner, we went to our room to freshen up before heading to the Schooner Lounge for some serious dancing.

Departing San Juan!

Jon and Sarah joined us for a couple of hours of serious drinking and dancing.  I got about half toasted and asked the piano player to play the Hokey-Pokey.  He had to look it up on the internet, but finally played it.  I got people from the surrounding tables to join Mary and me.  We had to tell him what to put in and take out, but all in all, we had a success.

We went to the Schooner Lounge and danced until the wee hours!

The clock was indicating close to midnight, so we went either up or down to our cabin, I do not remember.

Mary put me to bed, and I dropped like a swatted fly.  I was out!  Mary connected me to the CPAP machine, and the next thing I knew, it was 6:30 am.

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We Are Off!

Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2025 by Paul

Two in the morning?  Are you kidding??

Nope, the sounds of Alexa’s going off made us jump out of bed and finish packing before the 2:45 am departure from Orange.  Robin is coming back to our house to spend time since Bob is in New Hampshire for a week-long gig.

An early morning departure kicked off a busy travel day, with a few hassles but an enjoyable evening at the destination.

We arrived with time to spare, so we checked in.  Again, this was NOT a pleasant experience.

I may NEVER bend over again!

We have the Global Entry card, and that is a joke.  I passed, except for my suspenders.  Because of my suspenders, I had to take off my shoes and almost had to remove my shirt!  Next time, I will staple my pants to my body!!

We finally got on the airplane and headed to Denver!  Denver?  Wrong direction, Hop-A-Long!    The flight was uneventful until we found out we had to change terminals.  A lovely man in a golf cart recognized our plight, and he whisked us off to the intra-terminal train.  Yep, a train to the next terminal.  Without his help, we would still be walking.

Finally, we board for the second leg of the journey!  Yes, five hours means one bourbon and seven each hour.  When we got close, both the airplane and I were flying.

We were in row four, but we were flying the plane!!

We are getting closer!  We are over the water now.  35,000 feet in the sky at 540 miles per hour, oh my!!  I refrained from opening the window!

Check the altitude!!

We ordered a limousine so the kids wouldn’t have to come to the airport to pick us up. We were in a huge black Cadillac. I felt like we were in an FBI vehicle.

We made it!

Mary found a friend.

The distance from the airport to the hotel was only eight miles at a rate of $10/mile.  It was worth it as the driver moved all the luggage for us!

We had a superb view from our room, even as dusk approached.  The Sun was sinking into the west; we could hear the water sizzling.

We were on the 8th floor and had a fantastic view of the beach!

We decided on Italian at the hotel, and the restaurant was excellent.  Pasta was flying left and right.  I reminded everybody that life is full of pasta-bilities.

We had Italian for dinner and a load of giggles.

Colleen and Mark were the life of the party!

Watch out for these two!!

We were tired from all the flying and went to our room, where we crashed!

 

 

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T-1 And ALMOST Ready To Go

Posted on Friday, September 26, 2025 by Paul

Mary fixed the coffee this morning; I didn’t even know it was broken!  We checked in online.  When the system works and is NOT too complicated, it makes traveling easier.

The system only hiccupped once, and that was when we entered the number of bags to check in.  I think the number was twelve, and when I entered the number, the computer began to shake violently, a puff of black smoke came out the back, the screen turned red with a warning message, “YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING US!”

We finally got everything packed at 4:30 pm, and then Robin came by and we went to Yang Ming for dinner.   We watched TV and then crashed at 9:30 pm as we have to get up and moving at 2:00 am!

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Normal “Kinda” Thursday!

Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2025 by Paul

We were up pretty early and began packing using the front guest room!  I put together the roll-around clothes hanger from Amazon, and it is working out very well!

We can see what we plan to pack without having to go through a pile on the bed!  We can even organize it by the day!

We got ready to go to the Elks around 11:00 am and headed to the Lodge at 11:15 am.  The place was empty; there were no meetings, and only two other tables had people in them throughout the entire room.  The quiet was refreshing.

After a great lunch, we headed home to continue packing.  We are probably 40% complete.  The roll-around made the job easier; we could see what we were bringing.

The roll-around rack did NOT solve all the packing problems for Mary!

Tomorrow is Friday, and it’s time to get serious!  I have my paper sack filled, and Mary has her three steamer trunks, four suitcases, and five garment bags almost ready to go!

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Hump Day Has Arrived!

Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 by Paul

I thought I was retired until Alexa began screeching that it was time to rise at 5:30 am.  We beat the roosters again, so maybe I will crow as I drive down the street.

We headed for Mary’s PT session at UCI in Orange.   I used the waiting time to ensure I had all the grandkids’ and great-grandkids’ birthdays in my phone; there are too many to remember these days.  I can barely remember my own birthday (which I am skipping this year!).

We returned home for the weekly “clean-up effort” because our cleaning people are coming today at 2:30 pm.  The only thing we do not do is make the bed(s).

We have thirteen RSVPs for the Elks Halloween Dance so far.  We currently have a table for sixteen.  Since we will be out of touch for a few days, I will ask Robin to check the email, as she will be staying at the house.  We need to know so we can reserve another table if necessary.

We went to Mary’s doctor, who is also my GP.  We both checked out OK!  After the checkup, we headed home and on the way decided to keep the kitchen clean and go out ot dinner,

We decided to ask Vicky to join us at Patty’s Place.  We were hungry and we needed to get an Alexa Dot for Vicky, so we called her and suggested dinner at Patty’s Place.

These two will entertain the entire room!

Jim had to show us his shirt!

When we are with Vicky, we need one of those also!

We made it back home and did some packing.

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More Good News!

Posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 by Paul

Today, we spent two hours working in the garden and then prepared for our visit to the cardiologist.   It was a good visit as the BP is normal, no atrial fibrillation.  I need to see him in about six weeks for some additional tests, but he says I am in good shape for an old fart!

We went to Benji’s for a mid-afternoon lunch/dinner, and I celebrated with a root beer float!

We brought Jeff home a pastrami sandwich and a chocolate malt!  We visited with him for a while.

We watched the movie “San Andres” before crashing at 9:30 pm, as Mary has a 7:30 am appointment with the physical therapist in the morning.

SUMMARY: The biggest earthquake in history hits the West Coast, and now the chief rescue helicopter pilot must find a way to save his ex-wife and his daughter from the resulting destruction.

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Back To Work!

Posted on Monday, September 22, 2025 by Paul

Monday was a good day.  We visited the heart surgeon who did the ablation, and he pronounced me “No Afib”.  He did say it could return, but it also may be gone forever.  I was cleared for the cruise to the Caribbean!

We thought about Scout many times today; the house seems so empty now!

After the doctor’s visit, we went to our favorite Italian place and had dinner at 4:00 pm.

We visited Jeff and brought him some spaghetti and meatballs from the restaurant.

We watched Mr. Roberts, a classic movie, before crashing at 9:30 pm.

We crashed early.

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