Jan. 2, 2018 - Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Our alarm went off at 7:00, and it was up and shower, and then head to the buffet for breakfast. We had just arrived at Half Moon Cay, and they were setting the anchors. Going to the buffet at that time meant there were hardly any lineups, so that was nice. I had an omelette today, just because I was second in line, and it was good.

After breakfast, we sat around for a while, and then decided to go ashore to have a look. They didn’t use tenders to get there.  Instead, there were two ferry boats from shore that shuttled passengers back and forth. They had top and bottom decks which meant they could hold lots of people. Last one back to the ship left at 3:30, so we had lots of times.

Our ship from the Beach

On shore, it was similar to the Princess Cay that we visited one other trip. Shops at the entrance and a short walk to the beach. The sand was white and there were no rocks showing. There were hundreds of lounges set out in rows, all down the beach. Some had shade, but most were in the sun.

Near the water, it was cool because there was a light breeze, but farther away, on the pathways, it got fairly hot. We looked around, met Carl and Martha while looking in the shops, and decided to find the lunch area. It was about 200m farther along, away from the beach.

Lunch for us was a hamburger and some salad and fruit. Not great, but it did the job. Then we decided to head back to the ship. We would beat the rush a little later, and we weren't’ going swimming or sitting on the beach

Then we went up on the read deck to read and knit, and generally relax. Our meeting was in a lounge at 3:30 so we thought to get there early. Good thing we did, because we got good seats, in front of the screen where the games would be shown.

Watching the Games

Canada won the first game we watched against Switzerland. The two guides from Sweden were there, and they had a password to get to see the Sweden game against Slovakia, so we watched that one, too. Finally, we had the USA vs Russia which the US won. We were going to leave early, but when the Russians tied it up, we decided to stick around. Then the US scored again, and then into an empty net, so we left.

Back to our room and ready for bed. Tonight we are sailing, heading to Grand Turk, Turks and Cacos. We won’t be there when we wake up, but the guests can go ashore about 11:15.

Half Moon Cay

Jan. 1, 2018 - Nassau, Bahamas

Monday, January 1, 2018

Woke up in Nassau, docked already. Dawn was still sleeping, so I got up and showered. Then I got dressed, and went out on our deck to have a look around. We appeared to be the only ship there, so had a good view of the houses on our side of the ship. They were out along a spit with water on both sides of them. They looked pretty nice, but I wondered how they made out during the hurricane(s). One of the houses appeared to have roof damage that hadn’t been repaired yet, but most of what I could see looked pretty good.

Roof Damage from the Hurricanes

Dawn got up and went and showered. A large Royal Caribbean ship came in right beside us, which meant our view was done. It was up to the buffet for breakfast. It seems that everybody had the same idea at the same time, so the lineups were huge and slow. It wasn’t overly impressive. The food was alright with quite a selection. Of course, it was difficult to find a place to sit, so we decided to go outside and sit on the deck. It took a while, but we found a place to sit, and then ate.

Then it was time to wander around the ship and see what we could see. We didn’t feel like going ashore, so stayed and took it easy. About 1:30, we went to the Lido deck (where the buffet is located) and went to the back of the ship. There we found a place at the stern to sit and look around. Dawn knitted and I read. Another ship was tied up beside the Royal Caribbean ship, and on the port side of our ship was another, smaller Carnival ship. A busy port.

We figured out what we're going to do that evening (or at least what we wanted to do), and when it was time for dinner (6:00) we moved to the dining room. The show we wanted to attend was at 8:15, so we knew we couldn’t be as long as last night. Too bad, but we were, so it was a fast walk to the other end of the ship for the show.

This show was a music performance of tunes from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. It was high energy and a lot of fun. The songs were great, and the visuals in the background were amazing. The 45 minutes went by very quickly. We’d go back for this one if it is on again and/or there isn’t a hockey game on.

From there, we went to another bar and saw a comedian. He wasn't overly funny, but there were a few of his jokes that were good. It was advertised as a show for adults only, and his language was pretty nasty at times.

Then, back to our cabin, and get ready for bed. We wanted to get up earlier so that we could beat the rush at the buffet. Tomorrow we are in Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, which is a private beach owned by Carnival, so many will be going ashore. We figure to go ashore and walk along the beach for a while.

View From our Ship

Dec. 31, 2017 - Boarding the Carnival Conquest

Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017

We were up at a decent time and down for breakfast together, this time. I made better choices this time, and wasn’t overly full. Then back to our room, get our suitcases packed up again, put on our baggage tags so they would know where to deliver them, and then wait for the bus to the ship.

We were supposed to load at 12:00, but one of the buses went to the wrong hotel, so we weren’t ready to leave until 12:45. Our boarding appointment was 12:30-1:00, so we were late and had to wait in the regular line. Still, we were on fairly quickly.

We found our cabin, and then had to wait for the bags to arrive, so we went for a look around. It was a fairly nice day, warm and mostly sunny. There were 4 ships in dock when we arrived. We saw a lot of the sights of the Port, which we had seen before a few times. Things didn’t look a lot different.

Then we thought we would head back to the room to check on our bags. Dawn’s was there, and her backpack, but mine and the CPAC weren’t delivered yet. She began unpacking. My suitcase arrived a little later, but still no CPAC machine, which worried us somewhat. Our room steward (Erwin) arrived and introduce himself. He assured us it would be there before tonight.

Then the evacuation drill, which was somewhat a joke. We stood around for a long time, and then people wouldn’t stop talking when instructions were given. Finally we were released and allowed to carry on with our sailing. We were in our room when we notice that the ship was moving, so stood on our balcony to say farewell to Ft. Lauderdale for about a week.

The tour company had a Welcome Reception for us in one of the bars at 5:00, we got our t-shirts, had our drinks, met some more people (most had been on one or more of the other tours, but a few were just starting out), and basically had a conversation. Then it was down a deck to the restaurant for dinner.

Our whole group had a number of tables (there are 85 of us) in the same area. Our friends from Windsor (Carl and Martha) are with us, another couple from Kamloops (Anna and Al), and three other couples who we know, but aren’t sure of their names. Our server is Waian from Indonesia, and his helper is Ilona from Minsk. He is very slow and not overly organized, so it will be difficult to get through our dinners in time to return to the hockey games, once they start for us on Jan. 2.

The dinner took a couple hours to get completed, and then we went back to our cabin. We decided not to participate in the New Year's Eve celebrations. We were tired, and just wanted to rest and relax. Watched some TV, then off to bed. Tomorrow we will be in Nassau, Bahamas.

Dec. 30, 2017 - Fort Lauderdale

 Saturday, Dec. 30

A fairly quiet day today. We slept in to catch up on some sleep. Finally got up to go down for breakfast which closed at 10:00. Dawn didn’t make it, but I did. Scrambled eggs, waffles, sausages, fruit salad, juice, and coffee pretty much did it. There was far more to select from, but I couldn’t see taking so much that I couldn’t walk.

After we got ready, we went for a walk to see the area around the hotel. We weren’t sure what we were going to see, so didn’t know what direction to go. However, we found some stores and souvenir shops and looked through some of them. Bought a few postcards so Dawn could send a note off to her friends.

Then, back to the hotel to read and write, and generally rest up. We had to be down in the lobby at 5:00 to pick up our tickets to the hockey game, and get boarded on the bus, so we were a bit early. Lots of folks there already.

View From our Seats

Then it was off to the BB&T Arena to watch Montreal play Florida. It is quite a place. Our group was booked into an area called Lord Stanley’s Loft which was located on the 300 level. It took a while to find how to get there because it wasn’t on the regular 300 level, but just above it. Entrance there allowed one to get buffet food and water or pop. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast so were quite hungry.

When Dawn saw how steep the steps were, there was a bit of panic, but we finally found our seats, got out our shoe horn, and squeezed into these narrow, confining seats. There wasn't a lot of leg room and the seats were quite low, so my knee quickly got sore

 We did have a pretty good view of the ice, though. We were sitting higher than the top of the clock and it was like watching the game on TV, but it was easy to follow the play. The game started out well with Florida scoring first. The first period ended 1-0, and the shots were even (13-13).

Famous Names in the Rafters

Florida started playing harder in the second period and really outshot the Canadiens. They pretty much stifled Montreal, not letting them get too many opportunities. They have a good defense, preventing Montreal getting in close to Reimer. They seemed to be able to get in on Price for some good shots, but he pretty much held them off.

Front of the BB&T Arena

Finally, the Panthers scored another goal and then Montreal started to press as we got close to the end of the game. This allowed a number of odd-man rushes, but Price wasn’t letting anything in. He was pulled with about 2 minutes remaining and Montreal put on lots of pressure but nothing. They did stop Florida from scoring a couple times, but that was only going to help if Montreal scored. They didn’t.

Then, back to the bus and off to Ft. Lauderdale and our hotel. We went to our room and got ready for bed. I was able to get the Blazers game in Everett on my iPad, so we listened to the second period. It was 1-0 Everett when we started, and we shut it off at 5-0. Sounds like we weren’t very good luck for any of the teams we were hoping for.

Oh well, we are off to the ship tomorrow and the beginning of our cruise.

Oldest Building in Miami

Dec. 29, 2017 - Flying to Ft. Lauderdale

After getting up at 5:00 in a hotel room in cold Toronto, we had to get back to the airport for the next part of our journey to Florida. The temperature was about -13C and it was chilly again. Our shuttle to the airport left shortly after the breakfast area opened so we didn’t get breakfast at the hotel. The shuttle was quite full with lots of suitcases filling the suitcase area.

The ride to the airport was about 20 minutes, and traffic was pretty heavy for 6:45 in the morning, but who cares; I wasn’t driving and we got there in plenty of time.

When we got to the airport, there were many kiosks to print our boarding passes and luggage tags so we got to one. We were already checked in due to flying yesterday from Kamloops, so it was a fairly simple process. It is far easier after doing it a few times in the past, too. From there, we had to go and unload our baggage, which was also electronic. Put your luggage on the belt and if it was okay for size and weight, scan our boarding pass and away it went.

Then on to security. Of course, we went to the domestic area first, so had to get out of line and then find the security area. Not too far though. The lineup wasn’t bad and within 15 minutes we were through. We thought we should find our boarding gate first, so we did. Once we were in that area, we decided to have something to eat at a crowded little fast food area.

Then, we had about an hour’s wait until we boarded our plane. It was a 737, smaller than the one we flew from Calgary on, but we fit, so all was good. We were late leaving the gate because they were waiting for 2 people who were on a connecting flight. I don’t know if they made it because I don’t recall anyone getting on while waiting. Then, off to get de-iced. That area was busy and it took about 20 minutes to get there and get cleaned off (it was lightly snowing at that time). Finally, we were in the air and on our way to warmer temperatures.

It was a 2-hour 47-minute flight (they said) and we read and watched a video on our tablet (had to have the Westjet Connect app which I had downloaded onto my iPad last night). Again, basically coffee, pop, and/or pretzels for snacks. The coffee was great (it was McDonald’s coffee which I like anyway, but. they only came by the one time so no second cups).

Landing at Ft. Lauderdale

Arrived at Fort Lauderdale at about 2:00, found our luggage, and then off to wait for the shuttle to the hotel. There were two other couples (1 from Kamloops and 1 from Salmon Arm) who we have been on our World Junior trips with before in Toronto, and we all got the same plane to Florida and are at the same hotel. I guess that is the way it works when going to the same place and same cruise.

We got our car to the basketball game in Miami. The driver was 20 minutes late picking us up, but we got there in time. It was fun, of course. Entering an arena, braving the crowds, finding the souvenir shop and buying some things, then finding our seats are all things I look forward to. We were in the 100 level, so fairly close to the floor (but far higher than any place in Kamloops) and behind the net that Miami shot at in the first half.

Warm-up at Miami Heat

The game started well but then fell apart. Miami couldn’t hit any long shots (I think they were just over 3% for the night while Brooklyn was over 47%). They also didn’t appear to be able to defend against Brooklyn, either. All in all, it was quite a thumping. One highlight was the Miami coach having a temper tantrum because the refs didn’t seem to be calling the game equally; lots of fouls for Miami, and few for Brooklyn. After that, it seemed to even out a lot, and calls began going both ways. However, Miami missed quite a few free throws, too.

Some pretty important names

It took a while to locate our driver after the game, but we finally did and were on our way back to Ft. Lauderdale. While on the freeway, we almost got nailed by a car that came across a couple lanes, smacked into the cement guard, then spun around and smacked into it again on the other end of his car. Our driver managed to slow down enough and pull way over so that we didn’t get hit, but it was really close. He was shaken, and so were we.

Then back to the hotel to find out Canada had lost in the shootout to the USA, so all in all, not a great night. Oh well, tomorrow we go to see Montreal and Florida play hockey, and the next day off to the ship. Better things are coming.

Outside of American Airlines Arena 

Oldest Building in Miami across the street from Arena

August 10 - Londonderry / Derry

When we got up in the morning and ready for the day, we went on another of the optional tours we had purchased. This one was a tour of the Inishowen Peninsula (Grianan of Aileach). It was a raining, cloudy morning, and we weren't sure what we would see. However, after driving for a couple hours, we went off the main road (narrow as it was), and onto another, even narrower road, beginning to climb up into the hills.

3-ring Stone Fort

Entrance to the Fort

Near the top of the hill, we came upon a stone fort, which was built in a round format. The walls were about 20 feet high, and entry was through a low, narrow doorway. This is where they watched for the enemy ships (Viking, English, French, etc) and brought the people living around the fort inside if they were attacked. There were tunnels inside the walls where the women and children hid during enemy attack, while the men manned the walls and fought off the enemy. Because of the low cloud, we couldn't see too much, but there was a view of the ocean where the enemy ships were trying to come ashore.

View From the Road

After that, we carried on to another view site, but Dawn and I didn't get off the bus. The road was so narrow, that the bus had to stop on the road because he couldn't get turned around if he had gone into the viewing site. Another vehicle came along, and he had to back up until we could get past him. I was sure glad that we weren't driving the bus. My goodness, these roads were narrow. Then it was back to the hotel and lunch.

After lunch, we had a walking tour along the city walls with our guide, Ronan McNamerra. He was a man of Irish / Chinese decent and had a great accent and a great sense of humour. He was a lot of fun to listen to and kept our attention as he gave us some of the history of this city. It was one of the memorable tours because Ronan was so engaging. He had a way about himself that made you pay attention.

City Wall

City Hall

The city wall was built around the city as a means of defence. There was only a small part of the wall left standing for historical purposes. It was about 12 feet wide, and perhaps up to 20 feet high. There were gates to the city built into the wall, and we walked over a couple of them. Then, he took us on a short tour of part of the old town. He talked about the various merchants that were in different locations and gave us a good overview of what life must have been like back in those days.

A highlight was walking past one of the cafes, and the sign that was in the window. It shows in the following picture.

A Sign of the Times?

Finally, he took us back to our pick-up location, and we had a bit of time until the bus was to pick us up. Then it was back to our hotel for dinner, and off to bed. Tomorrow, we were travelling on to Belleek and Galway.

August 9 - Titanic and Giant's Causeway

We were up and off by 8:30 am this morning. Our first stop was in Belfast, where the Titanic was built. They have an exhibit in a very large building that showed the process of the building of the Titanic. It took us through the whole process, right from the time the keel was laid, until the ship was launched. It took us through what life was like for the workers, the riveting of the plates of steel to the keel and struts, the fitting out of the ship, what the rooms in the various classes were like, where the crew lived, and so on. It was different than the exhibit we saw in Victoria because that was to display the artifacts that had been recovered from the sunken ship. This was about the construction of this giant ship.

Rope Bridge to an Island 

From there, we were off along the northwest coast to visit a site known as the Giant's Causeway. This is an area where the volcanic matter was laid down to create a very rugged coastline and some islands off the coast. Of course, there is a legend about how a giant laid down the huge columns of basalt to create a causeway to the Scottish lands where he messed with another giant's wife. That giant came home, and the one from Ireland barely escaped back across the causeway, being chased by the Scottish giant.

When the Irish giant got to his home, he ran into the house and his mother told him to get into bed. When the Scottish giant came in, he was still looking for the Irish giant. He pulled open the bedroom door, and there was the Irish giant in bed, pretending to be a baby. The Scottish giant saw a picture of the Irish giant on the wall, and it looked just like the baby laying in the bed so he ran away, not wanting to meet the father of this giant baby.

As the Scottish giant ran back to Scotland across the Causeway, his heavy steps caused the Causeway columns to collapse, leaving a couple islands in a line across the Irish Sea.

Cement Fence Post

Peace Bridge

From there, it was on to Londonderry / Derry. It is called this because the Protestants are supporters of England, and want it named after London. However, the Catholics want nothing to do with England, and only want it called Derry. It depends who you talk to what it is called.After checking in to the hotel, we went on a walking tour of Derry and the Peach Bridge. This is a walking bridge spanning the river, joining the old part of town with the British fort on the other side. It is an attempt to heal the rift between the religions after the "troubles".

Leaving the Restaurant

After that, it was on to an award-winning restaurant, Tiberquay, for an optional dinner that night. Then, it was back to the hotel and off to bed. Tomorrow, we have a couple tours in and around Londonderry.