Labadee

Today was a stop at Labadee, Haiti. Before I talk about that, I wanted to put in some additional information on 1) Chops, 2) Internet on the ship, and 3) how they are doing onboard credits now.

Chops is well worth the $40 per person they are charging on Independence. You can have multiple appetizers, if you wish. The soups and salads are good and the shrimp coctail is huge. My wife and I both had the  6 ounce petite filet mignon, cooked to order. I recommend not cooking it beyond medium. There is a 9 ounce version. The dessert options were not great for me because I cannot have too much chocolate. If you love chocolate you will love the desserts.

They have changed the Internet packages, all of which are more expensive than before. We ended up taking the unlimited package for $229. As Diamond members, we got $29 taken off that price. You are allowed UP TO TWO DEVICES for that price. So if you connect via a laptop and the other person uses a phone, you are done. Or you can each connect via phones. But no more than two devices.

All your onboard credits are on your Sea Pass Card when you receive it. For instance, as Diamond members we are entitled to three free drinks between 5 PM and 8 PM every night. You order the drink. They take your card. You get your drink and your card and there is no charge. Same with any other perk you are entitled to depending on your category. It's a good way to do it, in my opinion.

Today was Labadee, Royal Caribbean's private 'island' (really a peninsula) in Haiti. The high temp was 89 degrees, but there's always a breeze on the beach. You can do the longest zipline I've ever seen out over the water. I heard it was $95. There's also so kind of ride that looks like a roller coaster except you are in individual cars. Don't know the cost. The lunch is free and included salad, a few side dishes, hot dogs, hamburgers, pork ribs, and jerk chicken. It's just OK.

Saturday I will be taking pictures around the ship and posting them.

Here are some from today:

 Arriving at Labadee in the morning.

The Grandeur of the Seas was already at the dock. Labadee is the little peninsula to the left.

From the beach at Labadee.

One of the many bands playing in the shade.

You can choose to be in the sun or shade.

The waves were very small the day we were there.

You can see the fruit in the center of this tree.

Fishermen near the cruise ship.

We had no idea what this was at the tip of Labadee.

Labadee as we approached, I think.

Puerto Rico

First, there are two questions that I need to answer from the comments section of the blog. We book all excursions through Royal Caribbean. We want the assurance that the boat will not leave without us. Maybe we pay more, maybe we don't. We like the comfort of knowing a ship will be there when we get back. This actually saved me once on St. Maarten when the guys doing the America's Cup Yacht Racing excursion had the time wrong. I was the last person on the boat and the gang plank followed me.

Second, we have not seen Chops or Giovanni's open at lunch. Ironically, we sat in Giovanni's at lunch today because the Windjammer was out of seats and they allowed people to sit inside, but not order.

Here are some pictures from today:

They now have touch screens on every deck of the Independence. It's very convenient for finding things.

You'll have to excuse me for a personal picture. From inside the tour bus: A view of Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He was my hero growing up and he was from Carolina.

A plant in the rainforest. Don't ask me to identify any plant or tree you see here.

Trees. Lots of tall, skinny trees...with vines.

I don't remember seeing anything like this in Ohio.

Ferns...I think.

Bigger ferns??

A waterfall. It had not rained that day. Not much of a waterfall.

Bottom of the waterfall.

In the distance, the port at the entrance to Old San Juan harbor.

 

 

We are eating at Chops tonight. I will give a review, but we love Chops so expect a good review. It is also formal night. We missed the first one on either Sunday or Monday.

 

Tomorrow is Labadee, Haiti. We will visit the beach.

St. Kitts

This was our second visit to St. Kitts and we have enjoyed it both times. Today our excursion was the Beach Extravaganza. We easily found the tour on the pier (which is one of the better ones in the Caribbean, in my opinion) and got on a comfortable bus. There were eighteen of us plus an excellent driver. Well, he was funny and informative, but must have thought he was Mario Andretti because he took us on a sometimes harrowing trip up and down the mountains of St. Kitts. There must be no taxes in this country because the roads we were on barely qualified as paths. The beach doesn't look like much as you approach, but ended up being perfect.

Here are some pictures:

The view from our balcony.

A man, his donkey, and two monkeys (on the donkey).

On the way to the beach. In the far, far background is the island of Nevis, a popular stop for celebrities.

This is what Di thinks heaven will look like.

On the beach.

More of the beach.

The restaurant at the beach. There is also a bar.

You can rent these.

The far end of the beach.

Always windy here.

Plenty of time to build a castle.

You could rent these.

 

In news not related to the excursion, we are eating at a table for two at the 6 PM seating. The food is typical Royal Caribbean: consistently good, but rarely exceptional. Our waiter is David from Scotland and is very good. We've had two breakfasts and lunches at the Windjammer. There's something there for everyone. My only disappointment so far has been a dramatic drop-off in the quality of the grits. Yes, I know. Most of you hate grits. I'm a connoisseur. They are much too dry.

 

I promise ship pictures later in the week. If you leave a comment with a specific request or question, I will answer it.

 

Tomorrow is San Juan, PR. We are doing the rainforest. Hope it isn't raining.

 



Finally on the ship - St. Maarten

Before I get to the pictures, a few words about getting on the ship when you can't board on the normal day of embarkment. We took a cab from the Simpson Bay Resort and Marina to the dock. It cost $20.  We went through the customs gate on the pier after they confirmed our names on their list. At the ramp to get onto the Independence of the Seas, they gave us our sea pass cards and we boarded as normal, except for the fact we had three bags of luggage and two back packs. They offered to take everything, but we were almost afraid to let go of our bags after everything else that had happened. They called ahead to the room attendant and he was waiting for us. It was all painless.

Here are some pictures. The description of each photo is below it and they are in no particular order. Enjoy!

Our excursion today (St. Maarten) was the high speed glass bottom boat/snorkel/beach. When we stopped for snorkeling, this large rock was nearby. You can't see it very well, but in the middle is a cave. You can just see the entrance to it.

This was a beach in the distance and one of the many hills on the island.

A herd of snorkelers...or whatever you call a bunch of snorkelers.

Along the way to the beach, we stopped at the point where the planes come right over your head to land at the airport. This was the biggest jet we saw.

This is the glass bottom boat. You have to look very hard, but that is a barracuda in the water

One of the villas that you can rent on the water. We were told they go for $5,000 a day/minimum of seven day stay.

A diver from the glass bottom boat was feeding the fish. You can see several of them in the top center.

This is the royal promenade of the Independence. I will add pictures of the boat almost every day if I can. The final at sea day will give me an opportunity to get the main areas I might have missed.

This is looking down on the promenade from about the ninth deck.

This is our standard balcony room. Balcony is behind the curtain in the rear.

This is back at the Simpson Bay Resort. It was our view from the balcony.

A rainbow over St. Maarten.

The view from our balcony of the pier. The tall ship in the lower part is the Stad Amsterdam.

There was a full moon tonight.

We board the Independence on Tuesday

Today is our last day at the Simpson Bay Resort and Marina. Here are a couple pictures from inside the room and our view from the balcony.

 

 

This is all being paid for by Royal Caribbean so we'll never complain. However, the resort can use a face lift. We know that it was recently purchased by Royal Resorts. Hopefully, they will bring the resort into the twenty first century. Some of the flooring and furniture needs upgrading, but for our needs it was a nice place to stay. The restaurants are actually pretty good.

 

Tomorrow morning should be interesting, getting on the boat at the first stop on its itinerary instead of at the departure port. We may or may not be able to do our excursion, depending on how long this takes.

Continuing the lesson

I wanted to add one more thing about how we ended up staying for free in Charlotte on Saturday night and staying two nights in St. Maarten for free. Along with having Royal Caribbean do our airlines for us, we also had the trip insurance. We talked to several people in the Charlotte airport this morning who were "in the same boat" as us, but didn't get as good a deal. They had done their own airline reservations and didn't have trip insurance. Without a doubt, it paid for itself several times over this time. Like any insurance, you may wonder why you have to pay for something you don't use...until you use it.

We are staying at the Simpson Bay Resort and Marina, which is between the airport and cruise dock on St. Maarten. It was raining when we arrived this afternoon so I won't have pictures until tomorrow. Anyway, if you ever need to stay near Phillipsburg, this would be an excellent choice. Google it to get a true feel of how nice it is. Our suite has a living room, full kitchen, and bedroom.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 80, so look for pictures from St. Maarten. We get on the ship on Tuesday and I will begin the REAL blog of the trip.

The lesson for today is...

The lesson for today is...either book your airlines through Royal Caribbean (which we did this time) or arrive a day early. We arose at 3:15 am to catch a flight to Ft. Lauderdale with a connection in Charlotte. That part went fine. However, because of an ice storm in Ohio and Pennsylvania, the connecting flight was two hours late leaving Pittsburgh. We still had time to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale a little after 2 pm and they began to board the plane. Then the problems occurred.

The crew smelled something they didn't like and they ended the boarding process. Soon, the flight was cancelled. We immediately got in line for the US Airways customer service. Within an hour, after calls to Royal Caribbean and talking to the US Airways rep, we had a reservation at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte for the night and were booked on a flight to St. Maarten first thing Sunday morning.

So, here we are in the Embassy Suites in Charlotte.

 

 

We'll get up early tomorrow and catch the direct flight to St. Maarten. Royal Caribben is paying for two nights at the Simpson Bay Resort until the Independence of the Seas arrives on Tuesday and we can join the cruise.

 

We normally arrive a day early because of this possibility, but chose this time to fly the same day, with the knowledge that Royal Caribbean would get us to the next port if necessary. This is a first for us and we must give full credit to Royal Caribbean and US Airways for coming through for us big time.

 

Check in tomorrow for news from St. Maarten!!