The third cruise to the Caribbean started 23 days after we got home from the Celebrity Eclipse one – it was only a ‘baby’ cruise and it turned out pretty good😊. This was a 7 day cruise to the Western Caribbean (Half Moon Cay, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel) on the Holland America Statendam. This was the 5th time we had sailed with Holland but the first time we booked a Vista Suite. The stateroom was very nice, larger than the standard balcony cabin, and situated mid-ship. This caused a few minor problems at the beginning – as we usually booked at the back of a ship we got lost a couple of times returning to our cabin 😊. The Statendam is a beautiful ship – the second of the Pinnacle Class (the others being the Konigsdam (sailed on her twice), and the Rotterdam (not sailed yet). There were only a few minor differences from the Konigsdam (carpets, furnishings, artwork, etc.) and it was a pleasure to sail on her 😊. We only had two sea days – we spent our time back aft by the Seaview Pool, or at the casino (didn’t win anything this time around ☹ ), or at the Music Walk, or at the Greenleaf Spa. Yes, the Greenleaf Spa – on the first day, after several drinks, we were talked into taking out a membership at the spa for the duration of the cruise 😊. The spa was beautifully set up – a large thermal hydro pool (about 18 feet diameter), a sauna, two steam rooms, and heated stone loungers. We spent about an hour there each day – it was a great way to relax 😊. We did play one game of trivia - which of course we won 😊. We ate three times at the specialty restaurants – seafood at Rudy’s Sel de Mar; pan Asian fusion at Morimoto’s; and our last night we went to the Pinnacle Steakhouse😊. All three meals were outstanding 😊. The Music Walk had three venues that alternated every 45 minutes – Billboard Onboard(dueling pianos, popular music); Rolling Stone Lounge (rock music mainly ‘80’s); and the B.B. Kings Blues Salon (blues, jazz). The bands at Billboard and B.B. King’s were excellent, we did a lot of dancing at B.B.’s and that’s also where they held the ‘Orange Party’ (a theme based party where everyone wears something bright orange – they hold one on every cruise on every Holland America ship – orange being the national colour of the Netherlands) 😊.
The first stop was at Holland America’s private beach – Half Moon Cay. There are many activities that you can do once you tender ashore – swimming, snorkeling, diving, deep-sea fishing, sunbathing, and horseback riding. There is also a few markets and bars as well. We opted to find a beach lounger, take in the sun, and drink beer 😊. It started to get cloudy and it looked like rain so we headed back to the ship and relaxed there 😊.
The next day was a seaday so we just lounged around, made friends, spent time at the casino… and of course, the Spa 😊.
The next stop found us in Falmouth Jamaica. Falmouth is located on the North Shore of Jamaica and situated about halfway between Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. The cruise terminal is a giant gated (secure) retail complex with many stores, bars, craft markets, and restaurants. The terminal only holds two cruise ships at a time – the other one in that day was the Celebrity Equinox – which we had first sailed on 13 years ago to the day that we docked here 😊 !! We had booked an excursion through the ship to go Bamboo Rafting on the Martha Brae River situated about 6 miles south of Falmouth. Each raft is about 30 feet long and has about 15 bamboo poles lashed together and a seat near the end for two passengers. Each guide has a long bamboo pole that he uses to guide the raft down 3 miles of the river through lush jungle. There were about 60 tourists booked on this excursion so there were two shifts of 15 rafts going down the river and then being brought back to the starting point. Kelly and I were in the second shift – we spent about an hour checking out the two stores and little bar and then grabbed a life jacket and waited for about 30 minutes in line (in the rain) before we got on our raft. Daniel was our guide and did a great job poling us down the river which took about an hour or so. After the rafting we drove through the town of Falmouth and went to a shopping plaza near Montego Bay. Returning to the ship we checked out several stores in the cruise terminal, made some purchases, and then re-embarked on the Statendam. Despite the rain it was a very enjoyable day in Jamaica (our first time there) 😊.
The next port was Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Normally cruise ships anchor off of the cruise terminal in Georgetown and tender the passengers to the pier. However, due to strong currents the captain of the Statendam decided to anchor further down the island – about 5 miles from its usual location – and shuttle the passengers to the cruise terminal instead. Kelly and I had been to Grand Cayman several times (Sting Ray City twice, 7 Mile Beach once, downtown about 3 times) but as we were only in for 6 hours that day we decided to stay onboard the ship. …And Cayman is expensive – the Cayman dollar is worth $1.20 U.S. and about $1.55 Canadian – if you see a price tag, it will be more expensive than you originally thought!! It’s actually pretty nice to stay onboard while the other passengers go ashore – the swimming pools aren’t crowded, no line ups at the buffet, and you can just lie back by the pool and relax with a drink in your hand and great music in the background 😊.
The last port was at the island of Cozumel 😊. Well, it had been around 8 years since we had last been here – the cruise terminals (there are 3 of them) are about 3 times the size as they were the last time we were here!! Add to that that there were 7 other cruise ships there at the same time as us… about 27,000 passengers in port …. It was extremely busy and crowded!! You might remember that our favorite resort is the El Cid Marina in Mazatlan – they also have a smaller, older El Cid in Cozumel – El Ceiba. We had booked an all inclusive day pass at El Ceiba online and when we arrived we exited the terminal and walked for about 15 minutes to the resort. It was very small, but had a nice beach, a nice swimming pool, a view of the cruise ships nearby, and all the food and beverages that you could possibly need 😊. It made for a pleasant day - we spent about 4 hours there before returning to the cruise terminal and the ship.
The next (and last) day was a sea day – we lounged around the pool, went to the spa, packed our luggage, and then went to the Pinnacle Steakhouse for dinner 😊.
The cruise overall was pretty good but it was great to come back and see Doug, who had been in the kennel for this cruise as well 😊. So… that’s it for cruising.. for a while anyways 😊. In the last 3 months Kelly and I have done: 4 cruises; 36 days onboard; 20 ports; and 5 flights!! That’s a lot of travelling!! So time for a break… until the summer when we go to Alaska in August… and maybe Mexico in December… and back to the Caribbean in January😊.
The weather since we have been back has been unpredictable – even the weather forecasters appear to be getting it wrong – one day freezing, the next day warm, one day snow and blizzard like conditions, the next day rain and melting ☹. However, this week it seems to have settled down and spring appears to have finally arrived. Almost all the snow has melted and the daily temperatures are ranging from 9C to 16C with a couple of cool days in between 😊. So…. in about 4 weeks…. time for yard work and cleanup to begin 😊.
Petulant, uh, President Trump – AKA Big Bully Donald - is still meddling and creating havoc on ceasing the war between Ukraine and Russia. Putin has engaged Trump in telephone conversations – no details were released. Zelensky met with Donald and J.D. Vance – AKA the Bilious Gerbil – last Friday in a meeting that was to secure the rare earth mineral contract …. but failed to, … spectacularly!! Both Petulant and Gerbil started by being aggressive and accusing Zelensky of not being grateful to the U.S. and disrespectful to the President and it just disintegrated from there – to the point that the meeting was short lived, dinner was cancelled, and Zelensky was told to leave the White House. ….And of course, the rare earth contract wasn’t signed. Zelensky was self controlled, didn’t really lose his cool, and after the meeting he thanked the people and the country of the USA for all the help that was received for Ukraine. Two days later the U.S. paused shipment of all military aid for Ukraine, and a day later withheld all intelligence reports from the CIA. So… what to make of all of this?
- Blame Zelensky for everything that happened and suggest that he resign and Ukraine hold new elections
- That would obviously work in favor of Russia as they would undermine any future elections and get a puppet Ukrainian President they could control
- By holding back military aid and intelligence reports
- Ukraine would only survive for a matter of months
- This would bring back Zelensky to the negotiation table willing to pretty much do whatever was asked of him under U.S. terms (negotiations have been reinstated – meeting in Saudi Arabia around March 11) .
- Update: by withholding intelligence reports Ukraine has been under intense bombing and missile attacks by Russia in the past week. A day after the reports were withheld 18 people were killed and 130 injured in Russian missile attacks – these might have been prevented if the intelligence had been provided.
- Scaring the rest of Europe and having them step up support – financial and military aids
- This has since happened – the U.K. and France have taken the lead in uniting European support for Ukraine
- This will relieve the U.S. from some financial support and having Europe take more responsibility for ending the war in Ukraine
- Update Sunday – 9 March – there will be a meeting March 11 between Ukraine and the U.S. in Saudi Arabia – Trump reiterating demands that not only rare earth signed, but lands ceded to Russia, and Zelensky to step down and have new elections ☹. That will never happen… might as well give Russia an open door to attack the rest of Europe☹.
- Who knows? – trying to predict what Petulant will do is next to impossible
Trump continued to make waves by not only threatening Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs on all goods – he carried them out this past Tuesday. Canada and Mexico countered with tariffs of their own. Ford of Ontario cancelled a $100 million dollar deal with Starlink and announced a 25% tariff on energy exported to the U.S. . American liquor was pulled from all Canadian liquor retailers’ shelves.
On Thursday Petulant gave both countries a pause of tariffs until April 2. Canada and Mexico reversed most of the tariffs imposed on the U.S. – with some exceptions. …And Ford said that the 25% tariff on exported energy would remain until he was sure that the U.S. wouldn’t impose any future tariffs. Well, we know that ain’t happening … The Donald will keep doing what he wants no matter who it hurts – Americans or Canadians. The whole ‘fentanyl problem’ was a joke. The one thing that Petulant wants more than anything is the return of auto manufacturing to the states. So.. the upcoming tariff on steel and aluminum won’t go away until Canada and Mexico… and the American auto industry bows to Trump’s demands ☹. Latest insanity – Trump wants to reconfigure the Canadian – U.S. border; this will never happen as the final borders were drawn up in 1909. However, this sounds eerily like Putin wanting to change the Ukrainian border back in 2014 and again in 2023 with the annexation of 4 Ukrainian districts ☹.
(repeat from last blog ) More Trump insanities – preparing to annex the Gaza Strip, Greenland, and Canada; dismantling the USAID program (financial support of third world countries); getting rid of the Senior officials in the CIA and the military – replacing with his own cronies; getting rid of the department of Education; cutting senior administrative positions by 40,000; and he is just getting started – no telling what this madman will do. Problem is if someone does the world a favor and gets rid of him then we will have to deal with his vice-president J.D. Vance ☹.
Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada did an excellent job of standing up to Trump. Unfortunately on March 9 the Canadian Liberal Party will choose a new leader who will replace Trudeau as the next Canadian Prime Minister. The front runners for the role of the next Prime Minister of Canada are Chrystia Freeland (former deputy Prime Minister) and Mike Carney (former governor of the Banks of England and Canada). It’s too bad that Trudeau can’t remain as prime minister – whoever takes his place won’t be able to deal with Trump as well as he did. Update: Mark Carney was chosen as the Liberal Leader yesterday with an overwhelming 85% of the votes!! Justin Trudeau will remain prime minister until Carney is sworn in by the Governor General of Canada. Carney doesn’t presently have a seat in the House of Commons and it is anticipated that he will call an election very soon. The last polls taken have shown the Liberals to have a 3% lead over the Conservatives if an election was held today. With Carney as the new Liberal Leader I am predicting that he will win a majority in the next election 😊.
The ceasefire of the war in the Middle East that started Jan 15 is still ongoing. However it appears to be on rather shaky ground. The White House has been involved with direct talks with Hamas – the Israelis aren’t too happy at being excluded from the talks ☹. The U.S. envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has called upon Israel to maintain the ceasefire with Hamas until he reaches the region next week. Trump recently issued a demand to Hamas to “release all of the hostages now, not later…or it is over for you” and then "I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say," he said. "Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!" Ah, Donald… you are truly the embodiment of diplomacy 😊!!
As the end of February has seen us being on a cruise (again) not a lot of home cooking has been going on – it’s the usual dishes that use up any fresh ingredients in the refrigerator ; Curries and Paninis; Steaks; leftover Pork Yucatan Stew; and hamburgers. Now that we are home for a while there will be much more cooking and experimenting with new recipes going on 😊. The food on the Statendam was excellent; either in the Main Dining Room or at the specialty restaurants – Rudy’s Sel de Mar, Morimoto’s at Tamarind, and the Pinnacle Steak House😊.
On the Netflix front: We watched the second half of the 5th and final season of ‘Yellowstone’. It was okay, but a little disappointing – without Kevin Costner it wasn’t the same ☹. It was mainly about wrapping up all the various story lines and closing out the different characters life stories. The ranch is saved by doing a deal with the Indian tribal council taking over ownership but leaving the homesteads for Beth and Rip and Casey and his family to live on.
We have been watching ‘1899’ a German multilingual drama / mystery / sci-fi series done by the creators of ‘Dark’. It follows the stories and pasts of immigrants on a steamship travelling from London to New York who get caught up in an intriguing riddle / mystery after finding a second vessel adrift with no one left on board but a mysterious child. Amongst the groups travelling onboard are a newly married couple, a brooding captain, a Spanish priest and his spoiled brother, a Chinese mother and her daughter, poor Danish passengers, an English woman who wants to be a doctor, and many others. They all appear to have secret pasts and / or identities which are slowly revealed as the series plays on. Once the boy from the abandoned ship is brought onboard mysterious events start to unfold: people start dying, mutinies happen, and the survival of the ship and its passengers is left in doubt. Very dark, very mysterious, more twists than a bag of pretzels, and very well acted. We are half-way through the series – we can’t wait to see how it all plays out 😊.
I finished watching Season 2 of ‘The Snow Girl – The Soul Game’. In Season 1 Miren, an investigative reporter, had solved the disappearance of a nine year old girl from a festival celebration. In Season 2 the series opens with Miren doing a book signing that she had written about the case. Leaving the theater she is passed a note that says ‘Do you want to play?’ and gives the name of a girl – Laura - that had gone missing 9 years before - Miren had done some investigations about the disappearance at the time. …And now, Miren is tasked with investigating the recent murder of a young girl - Allison - who went to the same school as Laura. Coincidence? We think not 😊. It turns out that several students at the same school – ‘Arcos de Malaga’ – have either gone missing or had fatal accidents over the past 40 years. Miren and her new partner Millan slowly unravel the weird and twisted stories behind the disappearances / killings. It appears that all the victims had been involved in playing the ‘Soul Game’, which gave them increasingly dangerous tasks to perform in order to ‘prove their faith’. ‘The Soul Game isn’t as good as the first season – it’s a little dark and hard to follow – but nevertheless it is still worth watching 😊.
On to Sports:
On the NHL front – The regular season continues and the Maple Leafs are currently 38 – 20 – 3 good for a 2nd place tie in their division and only 7 points behind first place Washington, and the Seattle Kraken are 26 – 31 – 4 only ahead of 3 teams for last place in their division😊.
On to golf … Two weeks ago saw the Mexican Open take place in Nueva Vallarta – Brian Campbell of the U.S. won his first PGA tournament taking home $1.26M U.S. for the win. Adam Svensson was the only Canadian finishing tied for 59th. Last week was the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach – no Canadians made the cut. This week saw two PGA tournaments – the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida with 5 Canadians taking part; and the Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande with 3 Canadians taking part. No Canadian made the cut in Puerto Rico. However, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (one of the big signature events with lots of prize money and FedEx points) Corey Connors finished in 3rd place for a payout of $1.4M U.S. and rising to 11th place in the FedEx standings 😊. The winner was Russell Henley of the U.S. taking home $4M – the largest first place purse ever. This week will be the Players Championship Tournament – another signature event. 4 Canadians will start – hopefully one of them will finish in the top 10 😊.
NFL news – not a lot going on until the draft that starts on April 24. However, it looks like negotiations are taking place in Seattle to keep Geno Smith as the starting quarterback 😊.
Update: In a surprising move Geno Smith will be moving to the Las Vegas Raiders this season and will be reunited with former Seattle coach Pete Caroll 😊.
Another surprise – in order to increase cap space Tyler Lockett was released from Seattle – that’s a real shame as he was the most liked football player on the current team. In another surprising move – D.K. Metcalf asked for a trade; and this morning it was announced that he is going to Pittsburgh for a rumored 5 year contract of $150M!! So…. Now that Seattle is gutted of a quarterback and wide receivers I don’t expect them to make the playoffs next year. I do, however, expect the L.V. Raiders to do so 😊.
Have a great and safe month … we will see you in a bit!! 😊