My Cruise History

Now that I am back from my most recent cruise, from Hong Kong to Shanghai, and getting ready for a big and particularly exotic one I will be doing in spring 2017, from Abu Dhabi to Rome, I wanted to update my cruise history! Some of the following entries might be missing ports or even inadvertently had incorrect ones added that we are remembering from other cruises, and not all sea days are reflected, but we are confident that it is pretty accurate overall … (shown here is La Fortaleza, the historic governor's mansion in San Juan, Puerto Rico, decorated for the 2016 holiday season).

August 1998: Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, seven day, western Caribbean (Fort Lauderdale/Miami; Labadie, Haiti; Kingston or Montego Bay, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; private island, Bahamas; Fort Lauderdale/Miami). This was pretty typical of a "starter cruise" in terms of length, line, and itinerary.

January 2002: Royal Caribbean, Radiance of the Seas, seven day, southern Caribbean (San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; St. John’s, Antigua; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; San Juan, Puerto Rico).

December 2002: Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), Norway, seven day, eastern Caribbean Miami, Florida; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten; maybe other ports … private island, Bahamas; Miami, Florida). My parents, Mike and Merrilea Varhola, accompanied us on this cruise. Launched as SS France in 1962, Norway was reminiscent of a classic ocean liner and, of all the ships I have been on, was my favorite. Sadly, she was badly damaged by a boiler explosion in 2003 and was eventually dismantled at an Indian scrapyard in 2008.

December 2004-January 2005: NCL, Norwegian Wind, 13 day, Hawaii & Kiribati (Oahu; Hilo or Kona Hawaii/Big Island; two ports in Maui; Kuai; two sea days directly south; Fanning Island, Kiribati; two sea days directly north; Hilo or Kona Hawaii/Big Island; Oahu).

September-October 2006: NCL, Norwegian Jewel, 13 day, Aegean, Adriatic, and eastern Mediterranean (Athens, Greece; Corfu, Greece; Olympia, Greece; Crete, Greece; Santorini, Greece; sea day; Alexandria, Egypt two days; Mykonos, Greece; sea day; Kuzadasi, Turkey; Istanbul, Turkey. Best itinerary ever! We did an excursion in every port except Corfu, including an overnight trip to Cairo while we were in Egypt. We also spent one night in Athens before the cruise and three nights in Istanbul at the end of it.

January 2007: Princess, Regal Princess, 10 day, Panama Canal (Acapulco, Mexico, to San Juan, Puerto Rico). This was the first cruise on which I served as the ship’s lecturer! This image is from one of the man-made lakes that are part of the Panama Canal and which our ship crossed during the cruise.

May 2007: Royal Caribbean, Empress of the Seas, seven day, Bermuda (Norfolk, Virginia, roundtrip). While we had fun and loved Bermuda, this was in many ways our least enjoyable cruise for a number of reasons, one being that we had an inside cabin that was also the smallest we have ever had, the other being the high proportion of trashy locals who had clearly purchased cheap last-minute passage on the ship.

c. October 2007: Azamara, Journey, seven day Bermuda, (roundtrip from Cape Liberty, New Jersey).

c. November 2007: Azamara, Journey, seven day, Bermuda (roundtrip from Cape Liberty, New Jersey). This one I did on my own after the cruise line asked me to stay on board and lecture for an additional week and Diane had to return to work! I spent a lot of the five days in Bermuda exploring the interior of the island, the highlight of which was a nine-mile hike along with historic Rail Trail (part of which, near one of the historic lighthouses toward the east end of the island, appears in this photo).

January 2008: Princess, Coral Princess, 10 day (?), Panama Canal (roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale). My details on this one are a little fuzzy because I took my daughter, Hayley, with me instead of my wife, who serves as my institutional memory. We took three excursions, including a horseback ride in the Costa Rican rainforest, a canoe trip to a native village in Panama, and a bus trip to a number of historic sites in Kingston, Jamaica (an image from the first of those excursions, of Hayley on her Costa Rican forest stallion, appears here).

September 2008: NCL, Norwegian Pearl (?), six day, New England & Canada (roundtrip from New York City/Manhattan). This one was different than the norm in that it took us north instead of south! We did not take any excursions but did independently explore all our ports of call, to include visits to a number of museums and at least one fort.

October-November 2008: Celebrity, Constellation, 11 day, southern Caribbean (Cape Liberty, New Jersey, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida).

November 20-December 4, 2010: Celebrity, Constellation, 14 day, southern Caribbean. This was our longest cruise to date and included three ports of call we had not yet visited, including Bonaire, Grenada, and Curacao (from which this picture was taken). No excursions but we are wishing we had taken one to a beach at some point early in the cruise.

*December 2012: Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas, seven days (roundtrip from New Orleans via Jamaica; Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico). *Diane did this one with our daughters Lindsey and Hayley.

c. April-May, 2013: Celebrity Eclipse, c. 14 days (trans-Atlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton, England, via San Juan, Puerto Rico and Philipsburg, Dutch St. Martin). This cruise sailed right past the Azores but did not make a port of call at them!

September-October, 2013: Royal Caribbean, Radiance of the Seas (trans-Pacific from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Sydney, Australia, via Bora Bora; Tahiti; Moorea; Wellington, New Zealand; and Picton, New Zealand).

*March 31-April 10, 2015: Royal Caribbean, Grandeur of the Seas (roundtrip from Baltimore via Labadie, Haiti; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Philipsburg, St. Martin; San Juan, Puerto Rico). *Diane did this one with our daughters Lindsey and Hayley. 

January 23-30, 2016: Norwegian Jade, seven day, western Caribbean (roundtrip from port of Houston via Belize, Roatan; Cozumel, Mexico). This is the only cruise since 2006 that we simply paid for and for which I did not serve as a special interest or destination speaker! Of all the cruises we have been on, this one had the lowest standards for passenger conduct and did not enforce its own dress codes, allowing people into the formal dining room wearing camouflage hunting gear, swimwear, baseball caps, and the like. We had a good time but would have enjoyed it a lot more if we had not had to share so much of it with a ship half-filled with weird hillbillies.

November 26-December 3, 2016: Celebrity Reflection, seven day, eastern Caribbean (roundtrip from Miami via San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, Dutch Saint Martin; and Basseterre, St. Kitts, Federation of Kitts & Nevis). Served as destination speaker and gave presentations on "A History of St. Martin," "Exploring the Bermuda Triangle," and "Ghosthunting Florida." Shown here is Hotel El Convento, where we reprised our tradition of drinking a pitcher of its great sangria.

December 4-December 11, 2016: Celebrity Silhouette, seven day, eastern Caribbean (roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale via San Juan, Puerto Rico; Philipsburg, Dutch Saint Martin; and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands). Served as destination speaker and gave presentations on "Blockade Running During the U.S. Civil War," "A History of St. Martin," "Exploring the Bermuda Triangle," and "Ghosthunting Florida."

January 14-26, 2017: Celebrity Millennium, 12 day, East Asia (Hong Kong to Shanghai, China, via Chan May, Vietnam; Manila, Philippines; Keelung, Taiwan; and Busan, South Korea). Served as destination-oriented special-interest speaker and gave presentations on "Incident in the Gulf of Tonkin," "A Maritime History of the Philippines," "Exploring the Dragon's Triangle," "Taiwan:Cradle of the Pacific," "The Pueblo Crisis," and "The Korean War at Sea." Shown here is an artistic display of Chinese lanterns at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, which we visited during a city tour excursion. 

March-April, 2017: Celebrity Constellation, 15 day, Abu Dhabi to Rome (Abdu Dhabi, UAE; Muscat, Oman; Aqaba, Jordan; transit Suez Canal; Athens/Piraeus, Greece; Katakalon, Greece; Rome, Italy). 

August-September, 2017: Viking Sky, 15 day, Viking Homelands (Stockholm, Sweden; Tallin, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia (overnight); Helsinki, Finland; Gdansk CANCELLED due to weather; Wartemunde/Berlin, Germany; Aalborg, Denmark; Copehnhagen, Denmark; Stavanger, Norway; Eidafjord, Norway; Bergen, Norway). 

April-May, 2019: Holland America Veendam, 21 day, Transatlantic (Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Azores, Portugal; Malaga, Spain; Cartegena, Spain; Civitavechia, Italy; Corfu, Greece; Dubrovnik, Croatia; XXX Montenegro; Split, Croatia; Ravenna, Italy; Venice, Italy). 

July 4 - July 12, 2019: Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas, 9 day, Bermuda/Caribbean (Port Liberty/Bayonne, New Jersey; Royal Navy Dockyard, Bermuda; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten; Labadie, Haiti; Port Liberty/Bayonne, New Jersey). 

July 12 - July 16, 2019: Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas, 5 day, Bermuda (Port Liberty/Bayonne, New Jersey; Royal Navy Dockyard, Bermuda (two overnights); Port Liberty/Bayonne, New Jersey). 

October 27 - November 11, 2019: Celebrity Eclipse, 15 day, Hawaii Roundtrip (Los Angeles, California; Hilo, Hawaii; Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; Lahaina, Mauai, Hawaii; Honolulu, Hawaii; Ensenada, Mexico; Los Angeles, California). 

Aboard Holland America 'Veendam' Day 6 (At Sea)

Woke up around 9 a.m. after a long night of weird dreams brought on at least in part, presumably, by the continuous and sometimes profound rolling of the ship (and after losing a third hour as a result of our steady movement eastward). 

Discovered to much consternation that the Fitbit charger Diane bought at Walmart just before we left was not the right one for her device, despite assurances that this was the case, thereby invalidating any walking she might do until such time as she can acquire one. Tried to find one after breakfast at the various gift shops and front desk but to not avail, ensuring unhappiness on this account for the foreseeable future. 

Went at 11 a.m. to an interesting coffee chat with cruise director Thomas and lecturer Robin Ross, who was active in British "pirate radio" in the 1960s and '70s and, in the course of his ensuing career in legitimate radio, interviewed numerous music industry artists. 

Worked in the cabin for awhile creating a product bundle for the Skirmisher Publishing section at DriveThruRPG and adding content to my neglected d-Infinity Online game magazine (my main co-contributors Chris Van Deelen and Clint Staples having disappeared from the site, almost like clockwork, as soon as I departed for this cruise). 

Main dining room once again appeared to be closed for lunch so instead went to Lido, had a somewhat uninspiring meal there, and then returned to the cabin to work for awhile. 

Lots of vibration, rolling, and general turbulence throughout the day as a result of significant chop in the ocean, and with Internet access regularly disappearing and then becoming available again sometime thereafter. 


Breakfast: Congee with chicken, beef, dried cuttlefish, and scallions. 

Lunch: Korean-ish noodles, pork with vegetables, and seafood stew (all just OK), three tuna rolls, iced tea, a baked apple, and a cone with one scoop of pretty good coconut ice cream. 

Dinner: Salad of Boston lettuce with crumbled gorgonzola cheese, rare prime rib with carrots, butternut squash, Jackson potatoes, and a bottle of red wine. 

Viking Sky, Day 10 (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Monday we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, and took a tour of the city that started with a visit to the beloved Little Mermaid statue! We also made stops at a fountain dedicated to the Norse goddess Gefjon, believed to have created the main island of Denmark; the residence of the royal family; and Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still-operating amusement parks in the world. 


A statue in Copenhagen of the Norse goddess Gefjon, who is credited with creating the main Danish island of Zealand by plowing up a vast area of land in Sweden, thereby creating a lake there. Her team of bulls are her four sons, who she transformed for these purposes. 

Viking Sky, Day 9 (Warnemünde/Berlin, Germany)

Sunday, September 3 we made port at Warnemünde, Germany, and took a train that the cruise line had chartered into Berlin, about two hours away. This was a special treat for me, as the train was very similar to the ones I had ridden around Germany and France while living in Europe in the 1980s. 

While in Berlin we took a tour of the city and then visited the famous Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, and Checkpoint Charlie, and had lunch at a traditional German restaurant with our friends David and Candida from the U.K., who just happened to be visiting there at the time. 

An Excursion Into Egypt

In October 2006, my wife Diane and I made a port of call in Alexandria, Egypt, while on a 12-day cruise aboard the Norwegian Jewel from Athens, Greece, to Istanbul, Turkey. Ours was the first cruise since the terrorist attacks in September 2001 that was allowed to make overnight excursions to Cairo. Everyone participating got on their assigned buses and then all 13 of them pulled out the port and drove bumper-to-bumper at about 70 miles an hour with police cars leading and following and a plainclothes policeman with a submachinegun on board each. 

Below, the relatively unimpressive modern lighthouse of the port is a reminder that Alexandria was once home to the Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  

Here the vast size of the Great Pyramids, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still exists, is evident by a view of them from the outskirts of the city.

  

Above left, Diane stands in front of the 19th-century Mosque of Muhammad Ali in Cairo, respectfully attired to enter it. Above right top, an interior view of the main area within the mosque. Above right bottom, a detail of the nearby sprawling 12th-century Citadel of Cairo, constructed by the famed Muslim general Saladin. 

 

Above left, a view from the Citadel across the smoggy sprawl of Cairo toward the Great Pyramids in the suburb of Giza. Above right, a whirling dervish, a type of mystic that achieves ecstasy through a spinning dance, who we had the opportunity to see during a Nile dinner cruise. The real highlight of that night, however, was being seated with and meeting Richard and Laura Allan, with whom we have been close friends ever since! 

Above is the massive Sphinx of Memphis. Our Egyptian guide, Hanan, spoke pretty good English but sometimes got key words confused, as when she described this statue to us: "It is ver-ry heavy ... It weighs 90 pounds!" (Its actual weight is, of course, approximately 90 tons.) 

 

Above left, Diane demonstrates how to "walk like an Egyptian"! (Note that we did not actually see any Egyptians walking like this during our trip.) Above center, Diane and I at the Step Pyramids of Saqqara, which predate the Great Pyramids of Giza. Above right, Diane and some of our traveling companions in one of the temples at Saqqara; in the background with the sign is our local guide Hanan. 

Above the Great Sphinx and one of the Great Pyramids at Giza! Below, what would a visit to Egypt be without a camel ride? I took one at the same location 20 years earlier, when I visited Cairo while stationed with the U.S. Army in what was at that time known as West Germany. 

Greece, the Ghosts of South Texas, and Trips Past

CANYON LAKE, TEXAS -- Am at home writing this as I try to complete a current project, prepare for an upcoming trip, and reflect upon my most recent big adventure. 

* As many of my friends know, I am the editor of Clerisy Press's America's Haunted Road Trip series of travel guides to reputedly haunted places people can people can visit and am also the author of three of its titles. Two of those, Ghosthunting Virginia and Ghosthunting Maryland, I wrote some years back, and the third, Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country, I am fervently working to finish up now. While this latter book has involved a considerable amount of travel I have not posted too much about it here, as it has got its own dedicated blog (and I have updated it 10 times this month alone!). I have spared no effort on this book and anyone interested in haunted or historical sites in South Texas should do themselves a favor and check it out. (Shown at right is the tower at Comanche Lookout Park in north San Antonio.)

* In less than two weeks, my wife Diane and I will also be leaving to spend a month traveling to several locations on Greece! We will be starting off with a single day in Athens and will be doing something fun but yet-to-be-determined with my friend Dimitri Kremmydas, who lives there. Next morning we will be flying to Crete for six days and, among other things, are planning on visiting the Minoan ruins at Knossos, the Samaria Gorge, and the cave where Zeus was believed to have been born. We will then move on to the island of Santorini, site of the largest volcanic eruption in human history and known in antiquity as Thera, were we will spend 10 days, a week of it with our close friends Richard and Laura Allan, who will themselves be flying down from Scotland (Hotel Atlantis, the place we will be staying, is the large rectangular building in the picture below). We will then travel by ferry successively to Rhodes, Kos, Nisyros, and back to Kos, where we will spend a couple of days with my friend and colleague Brendan Cass and visit some of the sites I have featured in my "Swords of Kos" fantasy fiction novels. Then, we will fly back to Athens for a day and, from there, return home! 

* In the midst of everything else I am have also been trying to finish posting to this site the journal I kept during my voyage last September and October from Hawaii to French Polynesia, New Zealand, and Australia on board the Royal Caribbean vessel Radiance of the Seas, for which I served as the cruise lecturer. 

More to come as I complete one project, finish talking about another, and embark upon the next! 

Radiance of the Seas Cruise Log, Day 14 (October 7/Monday)

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND -- Arrived in port here c. 10 a.m. Cold and windy and I am still under the weather; slept OK, but had weird dreams as with last several nights and woke up a number of times coughing. 

Breakfast in Windjammer; had congie, vegetable fried rice, scrambled egg, coffee. 

Finished reading The Bounty! Did not get read as many of the articles on regional matters I brought with me, mainly because I have also been trying to write, but have overall done a pretty good job with my reading list (especially when one considers how many other things we have been doing and how slowly I read). 

Visited the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand and viewed exhibits on natural history and Maori culture, the whare, or huts, and greenstone weapons being high points for me. 

Discovered that food is, indeed, very expensive here; had lunch at a nice but relatively modest cafe across from the visitor's bureau and city hall called the Lido and had a dish of lamb stew, a bowl of soup, and a glass of wine, which came to NZ$41. 

Boarded bus for 2:30 tour of Lord of the Rings filming sites in and around Wellington, especially in the Mount Victoria parks. Then went to Weta Studios and got a behind the scenes look at things it has done and has in the works, its prop and model creation methods, etc. Wellington Movie Tours owner/guide Ted Guise did great job and graciously drove tour attendees directly back to port instead of just visitor center. (See "On the Trail of 'The Lord of the Rings'" for more details and photos!) 

Dinner in Windjammer; nice coconut curry shrimp, Indian vegetables, OK Manhattan clam chowder, sugar-free/taste-free rice pudding. Ordered bottle of Charles Krug Merlot, thanks to recommendation from Kevin Furness and had one glass each (and am having another as I write this). Furnesses and John Robson came in while we were eating and joined us. John and Kevin each told a joke and I followed up with a hilarious one about CIA agent trainees that I think I first heard from Scott O'Connell. 

Agreed to meet K. and J³ Furness and J. Robson at Champagne Bar at 6 p.m. and to bring our bottle of champagne. 

A Message from Celebrity Cruises' President & CEO

I recently received the following message from Jim Hanrahan, the president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, in response to the recent disaster surrounding the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship and thought it was interesting and timely enough to share with the readers of my TravelBlogue.

Dear Michael,

Like you, all of us at Celebrity Cruises, both shipboard and shoreside, are deeply saddened by the events surrounding the tragic Costa Concordia accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the incident.

I debated about writing to you, as I wanted to be respectful of the investigation process and avoid adding to the speculation as to the cause or related failures. However, the concerns that have been raised about the safety of cruise ships compelled me to take the opportunity to share what an intense focus we have always placed on safety, and how rigorously we put that focus into practice every day.

Since Celebrity Cruises’ founding more than 20 years ago, the safety of our guests and crew has always been our highest priority. The measures we take in the interest of safety are many, often exceeding regulatory requirements. It’s a critical part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and continuous improvement in every aspect of our business.

Our guests see just a portion of our safety practices through the mandatory muster drills we conduct at the outset of every sailing. But our safety practices encompass so much more. In light of the Costa Concordia accident, we chose to post a summary of our safety practices on our web site. Simply go to, www.CelebrityCruises.com/Safety, and click on the tab labeled "Safety and Security". I encourage you to take a look, and to share the information with your family and friends.

Above and beyond what we’ve communicated there, you also may be interested to know that the leader of Celebrity Cruises’ Captains is a highly experienced former officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, Greg Purdy. As the head of our Marine Operations Department, Greg’s highest priority is to guide and monitor the safety of our fleet. His own experience at sea, including serving as Captain of a Coast Guard vessel, combined with his depth of knowledge of cruise ship safety, ensures that he and the entire Celebrity Marine team continue to build on our strong safety culture.

Our Captains across the Celebrity fleet hold degrees from some of the world’s finest maritime institutions. You also may be surprised to know that, along with the Captain, every one of our ships has at least two other officers who hold the level of license required to serve as Captain of a cruise ship. Essentially, we have three people onboard every Celebrity ship who qualify as a Captain.

On average, each of Celebrity Cruises’ Captains has 25 years of seagoing experience. Besides the training and drills we conduct onboard, our Captains and their bridge teams also participate in navigation simulator courses and other training. One of the cornerstones of our training is that everyone is expected to speak up if they detect something wrong, regardless of their rank. Our shipboard officers and our shoreside team spend a considerable amount of time focused on how we can continually improve our safety procedures.

On average, each of Celebrity Cruises’ Captains has 25 years of seagoing experience. Besides the training and drills we conduct onboard, our Captains and their bridge teams also participate in navigation simulator courses and other training. One of the cornerstones of our training is that everyone is expected to speak up if they detect something wrong, regardless of their rank. Our shipboard officers and our shoreside team spend a considerable amount of time focused on how we can continually improve our safety procedures.

Along with our vast in-house expertise, we also rely on a group of experts known as our Maritime Safety Advisory Board. The group was established in 2006 to help guide our safety program and provide critical thinking from the world’s leading marine safety experts. The group includes former senior officials from the US and UK Coast Guards, as well as leadership from the academic world.

Our Chairman Richard Fain has said there’s no such thing as perfect safety, but there is such a thing as perfect dedication to safety. And that’s what we strive for daily.

Whether you’re a longtime cruiser, or have yet to sail with Celebrity, I hope you’ll help us reinforce the fact that cruising continues to maintain the best safety record of any industry in the travel business.

Our highly skilled and dedicated crew members look forward to welcoming you onboard soon to provide you with an outstanding vacation experience. Meanwhile, I thank you for your continued support of our brand and our business.

Sincerely,

Dan Hanrahan President & CEO

Cruising the Southern Caribbean on the Celebrity 'Constellation'

I have just come off the Celebrity Constellation, where I was serving as the educational speaker during a two-week cruise through the southern Caribbean! Following are images from our various ports of call, starting with those most recently visited and working back toward the earliest ones. I have yet to post images from Kralendijk, Bonaire, and Oranjestad, Aruba (and did not take any either starting or ending in Fort Lauderdale), but have currently got four each from Willemstad, Curacao; Castries, St. Lucia; Bridgetown, Barbados; St. George's, Grenada; St. John's, Antigua; and Phillipsburg, Dutch St. Maarten. Pictures of more and additional text to come!

Kralendijk, Bonaire
Bonaire is much less developed than many of the Caribbean islands but, like most of the others run by the Dutch, feels more Europeanized than many of them. It is also very flat, even moreso than Aruba, with sporadic highlands scattered around the island. Pictures here are a type of traditional local fence made from live cactuses (which I have talked about in some of my lectures but never before seen such a good example of); the port area as seen from an upper deck of Constellation; a Lions Club time capsule sealed in 1964, added to in 2004, and due to be opened again in 2044; and the creepy mascot of a local eatery that my wife posed with.






Willemstad, Curacao
This was much more of a real city than many traditional cruise ports and had a very European feel to it. Images here are of the historic district; part of the "floating market" of fish, produce, and crafts brought up by boat each week the 40 miles from Venezuela; the Queen Emma Bridge, a pontoon span that gets moved to allow boat traffic through; and a view past one of the many forts that still have remnants throughout the city. Internet: For a good free -- if you're drinking -- connection, check out the cute and brand-new little KubaKor cafe right next to the cruise ship docks.






St. George, Grenada
This was a much more interesting and charming island than we expected it to be and we will keep our eye out for future itineraries that include it. Internet: for customers there is a good free connection at the bar just inside the cruise ship terminal.






Bridgetown, Barbados
Following are images of Lord Nelson at Hero Square; the Parliament of Barbados; the Oberon 5009 Sea-Axe megayacht escort vessel; and a view of the Bridgetown cruise terminal at night on our way out of port. We had a great tour of the houses of Parliament while in Bridgetown, courtesy of Facilities Coordinator David Best!






Castries, St. Lucia






St. John's, Antigua
Views of the port from and looking toward our ship; the local cathedral, currently under renovation and not open to visitors; and the Celebrity Constellation itself! For anyone who is interested in ghosthunting and related subjects, I have also posted some pictures of the probably-haunted graveyard graveyard of the cathedral on the America's Haunted Road Trip site, at http://www.americashauntedroadtrip.com.






Phillipsburg, Dutch St. Maarten