April 23rd, Cartagena

The day went just as planned. The day was sunny and bright and humid right from the beginning. Here are two of our first glimpse at the city

We had room service breakfast and then proceeded to meet the group .We walked the dock, met Dora and proceeded to the gathering place inside Oasis Park. This is  a beautiful natural preserve with flamingo and peacock and macaws.and beautiful plants. Of course there is a gift shop.

We met our guide JC and our driver Jack and we piled into our bus. There were 18 of us in the group
The first stop was the view from LaPopa

We entered the garden of the Monastery and then went inside the chapel and saw the altar.

Our next stop was San Felipe de Barajas Fort. We did not go inside but we drove around it and had a photo op.

JC showed us many of the very old historic buildings. All the while we were being followed by vendors trying to sell us anything.

We visited San Pedro Claver church. This priest was known and the protector of slaves and he was canonized.

In the square was a bronze statue of a reclining lady. She is obviously obese. We were told that large women were considered beautiful and desirable . Skinny meant poor and not enough to eat. Large meant you were from a well off family who could afford to feed you well. Oh for the good old days!1

 In Cartagena you often see living statues. Here is one.

Our next stop was a visit to the Emerald Museum. It was fascinating. We were told about the process and the differences between emeralds. We saw a young lady polishing a stone and of course we saw many beautiful pieces of jewelry.

Our last stop was the Cathedral of Saint Catolina

The strange thing here was the fact that they had electric bulbs instead of voltives.

The tour was great and except for being pestered by annoying vendors we enjoyed our day.

We managed to stay away from the sellers for the most part. In one of the stores we found a perfect parrot for Ken to use with his pirate costume. I got a Panama Hat. I love it. Pictures later.

It was hot and the humidity was very high so we were very happy to get back to the air conditioned ship and a shower. The rest of the day was like the others, eating, napping, and attending the show.
Tomorrow we go through the canal. Transit begins at 6:00am

April 23st CARTAGENA

I have made arrangement for a private tour in Cartagena. Here is the information I received before I booked.

April 23  2019
Cartagena is a beautiful city and it will be nice for you to take a well organized tour. It can be the “highlight” of your cruise.




CITY TOUR-

We begin our tour in Manga where we will see great mansions built at the beginning of the XX Century.  
We visit the main monuments of the city.  We start at the hill of La Popa from where, besides visiting the monastery and the chapel, we will be able to admire a fantastic view of the city.  Following we head towards the San Felipe de Barajas Fort, themost important fort built in the whole American continent.Photo Stop. Next we walk and drive around the walled area - old city admiring houses and plazas such as Plaza de Santa Teresa, Plaza de Bolivar, Plaza de la Aduana, Plaza de los Coches, full of history and legends. Photo stop at the Palace of the Inquisition.



We do a stop at the Dungeons, which today are 23 handcraft shops. (option to walk the walls)

We Visit a Church called San Pedro Claver Church.

Time 4:00 hours

Monday April 22

This was a very nice day, sunny and clear. All of the Easter decorations are gone:-(

We got up fairly early and we went to the dining room for breakfast.
On the way we stopped at the library and entered the Wake Show contest.

The people who were at our breakfast table with us were a lot of fun and breakfast took over an hour and a half.
We roamed a bit and then went to the Princess Theatre. There was a lecture on Panama  and the canal. The lecturer was very good and even though we had heard it all before he made it interesting and fun. He had some amazing pictures. I stole several of them because there is no way I will get pictures that are that good. I will share them with you on the day that we transit.

It was an amazing day and we spent some time out on the balcony watching the flying fish.

We had fruit for lunch and then we had a short nap. Still adjusting to the time zone change.

Then we went for an ice cream and a stroll around the ship. We could not believe how empty it seemed. We are accustomed to the bigger ships with 2 or 3 times as many passengers. I think this ship has around 2000 passengers. Anyway there were so many places where there were only a few people.

After our walk we came back here and began getting ready for dinner. The ELITE lounge is opened at 4:30 and our meal time is 5:15 so we decided to check it out.
The food was very good, smoked salmon and cheeses and pickles etc. Ken ordered a Port lemonade and I had a Deep Sea. The deep sea is made with Blue Curacao and it is that beautiful teal color. That is why I choose it. Actually it was quite tasty.

Dinner was great as usual. They had a Norman Love dessert and I was good and I had the sugar free one.

Another couple showed up. They are from Victoria. Last night they did special dining. I have no idea where the other 2 couples are. Our waiter Bayou said that his sheet says there should be 10 people at the table. Sometimes I wonder about people.


After dinner we came back to the cabin and I changed. Then we went to the show in the Princess Theatre. The comedian is named Steve Moris. He once sang with the Beach Boys but now his main forte is comedy. He had people rolling in the aisles.
I have noticed that this group of passengers is more ready to laugh and take part. They are not kids but they seem to be a party group.


Right now Ken is watching a hockey game... a major shock because this is the first hockey game we have ever see played on a Princess ship.

Tomorrow we are supposed to be docking in Cartagena. The stop is a short one. We dock at eight and sail at two.

Easter Sunday

We began the day with a 7 o'clock wake up call.. Breakfast began at 7:30 and there was an Easter service scheduled for nine o'clock. There were 6 Canadians at the table which was different.

The service was not up to the usual Princess standard but it was good that they had a service.

The ship was beautifully decorated. Lots of Easter Eggs and balloons.

When the service was over we went back to our room and I picked up the bunny ears and the chocolate eggs that I had brought from home. I walked around the atrium passing out eggs and wishing people a Happy Easter. I made so many people smile. I had at least a hundred eggs and I gave people one each.

The next thing on our list was attending the meet and greet. We met several people and 5 of the officers appeared. The made statements but they did not stay to answer questions which was a surprise. I passed out eggs here also. I gave out all but 2 which I saved for Ken.

The next thing was to go and make our poster for the canal passage. Several people would have paid me almost anything for the pictures that I printed and brought with me.

Our sign will be on our balcony along with our Canadian flag.

This was formal night so we had to spend some time primping .

There was a special Easter bread as part of the Easter Dinner. It was very tasty and was something we had not eaten before. It was a nice light bread and there was a sweet custard like sauce over it. Yummy!!!

Tonight was the champagne waterfall. We did not wait to hear the captain or get a glass of champagne. We had wine with dinner .

The show in the Princess Theatre was "The Secret Silk". It was spectacular and even though we saw it before we thoroughly enjoyed seeing it again.

We finished our day but going to the International Cafe for a specialty coffee. The took our old beat up card.

Easter Sunday and the first full day of our cruise has come to an end.

Saturday continued.

On our way out to lunch I asked Pinky our room steward about getting another chair and I was so pleased to see that she brought us one.
I thought about it and decided that paying for the fast internet...Medalian was worth it to me, so I invested the 112. necessary to get that service. I can tell you right now that it was worth it to me. I can download pictures in seconds. Your blog will be much more interesting.



After we got up from our nap it was time to unpack because our suitcases had been delivered. We got it done before it was time to go to dinner.

We are dining in the Provence Dining room at table 184. Unfortunately it is a table for 10 and we had hoped for a table for 6. BUT only one other person appeared. Her name is Carol and she was so very interesting to chat with.
They were having a promotion...a peach Bellini.... for 3 dollars. I had one and it was yummy.

The embarkation Day dinner menu always features Prime Rib and Ken really enjoyed it. I had the Basa filet with mango salsa. So Very good.

It was so big that Ken could not finish it.
Our waiters are Bayou and Midi. They are a lot of fun and they are so friendly and efficient . They are going to be fun.

After dinner we went to the theatre for the evening show. It was a comedian . His name was Jeff Burghart. Most if not all of his jokes were old and lots of people laughed hardily. I think perhaps they were drinking a lot before they arrived.

After the show we headed back to our room and called it a night. We were more than ready to rest.

Tomorrow is EASTER.

The Beginning

We had breakfast at the hotel, or at least I think we did I was like a Zombie because I was so tired.
We did not go for wine or flowers, we just got the transfer to the ship.
We did not have to wait very long and we were soon on board.
We are on deck eight and it certainly is central. We found our room and when we walked in the first thing we saw was a paper saying we were invited to have lunch with the officers because we were one of the most traveled passengers on this cruise. I was thrilled. The top 40 get this invitation. Finally we made it.

Then I finally looked at the room. We liked it as is usual for us. Ken thinks it is a little smaller but I am not sure.

The balcony is smaller.

Next we headed for the Horizon Court to have lunch. The dining rooms were closed because of the Coast Guard inspection. Anyway we were amazed at how few people were there when we arrived but it was not long before it was full. I had fruit for lunch and Ken had an assortment of items. I picked up dessert for him, an amazing hot brownie with hot chocolate sauce, I had a lemon cookie. BUT I was really impressed by the assortment of desserts available. I will have to stay away from the buffet.

When we returned from lunch a beautiful bouquet of tropical flowers graced our room. Kim had struck again!! She has to be the best TA ever.

Next item on the agenda.....a much needed nap!!ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Catching up

We had the clock set for 6 and we woke just before that. I made breakfast and packed us a lunch and we were ready to leave the house at 7:25. The goal was 7:30 so we were doing fine. It was raining but there was little or no traffic because it was Good Friday. It seemed strange to not have hundreds of cars in view as we traveled. We arrived at Kerri's at 8:25. The city is so beautiful right now. Cherry blossoms everywhere. I love how beautiful this city is.

We had almost an hour to visit with Emmie and Leo. Of course Kerri and Stewart as well. We brought bags for them as is our tradition. 

We got a cab to the airport and again the traffic was light. We were checked in and through security by 10:15. The flight was scheduled to leave at 12:35 so we had lots of time to roam.

For some reason I could not connect to the internet so I read a little and we ate our lunch before boarding. The flight was uneventful and I passed the time reading my book and Ken listened to music on his MP3 player.

We arrived in Denver early, almost a half hour early. But the first thing we saw on the board that our flight was delayed. It would be delayed and our gate would be changed a few times. It gave us time to explore. This was a sign we did not expect to discover.

 Who knew that the bathroom was the safest place to be during a tornado???

We kept getting new departure times and to keep people calm the DOG arrived. This is Miles the therapy dog. You could pet him if you were missing your own dog or feeling stressed. He is a great dane and was the size of a small pony.

After about three hours of waiting United gave out drinks and snacks for all of us. Then at the 4 hour mark they gave out vouchers that could be used to get food. We each got 10 dollars and because we had eaten we chose to get dried fruit to use for snacking on board.

We arrived in FLL around 3:30 and after a frustrating hour of waiting for our shuttle to the Best Western we called a cab. We arrived, checked in and turned off the lights at 5:03. The day was too long.