The second cruise to the Caribbean started 10 days after we got home from the New Year’s Eve one – and it was pretty good😊. This was a 10 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean (Tortola, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Kitts) with the first two days being at sea 😊. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale without incident, took a taxi to the and checked in quickly to the Celebrity Eclipse. This was the 14th time we had sailed with Celebrity but the first time we had booked a Sunset Concierge cabin along with Premium Access. The extras included premium Wi-Fi for two units each; priority boarding and disembarkation; a welcoming lunch; a deck party; free room service; and appetizers delivered to the cabin every afternoon. The balcony was located at the back of the ship and we had room service bring us breakfast several times – so relaxing to have breakfast looking out over the wake of the ship😊. The Eclipse is a beautiful ship – we have sailed on her 5 times before – and is the last Solstice Class ship to not be renovated. Which is great – the ¼ acre of real grass is still on deck 15; Cellar Masters still exists; no ‘Movies Under the Stars’ giant screen on the pool deck; and the Solstice Deck at the front of the ship is still available to everyone 😊. The other four Solstice class have been renovated with many changes – unfortunately the Eclipse will be as well in April 2025 ☹. Our last sailing on Celebrity was the Silhouette in January 2023 – the trip and service was so terrible that we have switched over to Holland America for our major cruise line. However, the cruise on Eclipse improved greatly from the Silhouette and the service from the staff was amazing and the food was excellent 😊. We spent most of our time during sea days at the Masthead Bar by the main pool or at the back of the ship at the Sunset Bar; or at the Casino (won a little, lost a little); at the Martini Bar in the evening. We only played one game of trivia which of course we won 😊. We only had two specialty meals – lunch at the Tuscan, and supper at the Tuscan 😊. Both meals were outstanding.
The first port was Tortola, British Virgin Islands – we had last been there in 2008 – it has changed a lot since then 😊. The cruise terminal was new with many souvenir stores, bars, and restaurants. We took a quick look around and then looked for a taxi to take us to Great Cane Bay – but the guide told us it was too busy there with all the ships in port and suggested that we go to Long Bay Beach instead. Excellent choice 😊!! It was about a 30 minute ride going up the side of the mountain and along the top – beautiful views!! The beach itself was very pretty, wasn’t crowded at all, and fairly inexpensive to rent beach chairs and an umbrella - $25 for the two of us!! The water was warm, the beer was cold, and we had excellent company with friends we had met onboard ship. It did rain hard for about 10 minutes but it dried up pretty quick 😊. I love the BVI’s – so pretty and considered to be the best sailing waters in the world 😊.
The next day found us in St. John, Antigua. We have been here many times – actually got married on a beach here over 18 years ago – and know where all the good beaches are. We hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to Church Valley Beach, but the waves were too high there and he dropped us off at Jolly Harbour. We rented chairs and umbrellas and spent the afternoon on one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean Islands 😊.
The next port was Barbados, another island where we have been many times. It’s not one of our favorite places – the last 6 times we were there we just stayed on the ship. However this time we took a ship’s excursion to Brandon Beach which was only about a 20 minute drive from the cruise terminal. A quiet beach, but very pretty and with a good restaurant and bar nearby.
St. Lucia was the next port, like Barbados another place where we rarely go ashore as we find it to be very dangerous to be outside the cruise terminal. We were supposed to be going on another beach excursion but the bus never arrived and we spent the afternoon at the cruise terminal drinking beer and watching the planes land and take off at the local airport across the bay.
The last port was Basseterre, St. Kitt’s. St. Kitt’s is one of our favorite islands, the people are very friendly, the island beautiful, and the beaches are amazing 😊.
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 😊. One last cruise to go – a 7 day cruise on the HAL Statendam to the western Caribbean (Jamaica, Cayman, and Cozumel). We are really looking forward to trying out another HAL ship that we haven’t been on before, we expect the food and service to be as amazing as our last 4 sailings on Holland America 😊!!
Trump is still intent on brokering an agreement between Ukraine and Russia on ending the war – he probably has dreams of winning the Nobel Peace Prize – but his plans are still pretty vague – no longer the ‘I can end the war in 1 day’ speech that he said over a year ago. Putin has agreed to meet Trump in person – no date has been set yet – and have talks in order to consider a cease fire and possible compromises over ending the war with Ukraine – which means nothing as he still envisions a new Russian Empire with himself ensconced as Czar – Ukraine will not consider any peace plans that doesn’t return all the territories that Russia illegally seized or annexed since 2014. Zelensky will be meeting with Trump soon, but no dates have been set for that either.
Trump continues to make waves by threatening Canada and Mexico (and pretty much the rest of the world ) with 25% tariffs. The first round on February 2 was averted and moved to March 2 when Canada and Mexico made concessions to protecting their borders. Superbowl Sunday – 9 February – Trump dropped another bombshell saying he would impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum entering the U.S. with no exceptions effective immediately. He amended that on Monday saying that it would become effective March 12. March 12?? Anyone finding that date interesting?? On March 9 the Canadian Liberal Party will choose a new leader who will become the next Canadian Prime Minister – and have to deal with the tariff threats on his / her first day in office ☹. … And then they will have to deal with Polidiot (Pierre Polievre, Conservative Leader) trying to force a new election with a vote of non-confidence in the government ☹. 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).
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 ☹.
The ceasefire of the war in the Middle East that started Jan 15 is still ongoing – Israel and Hamas have conducted a fifth exchange of prisoners and hostages after 16 months of war. To date Twenty-one hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners have now been freed. However, the other day Trump announced that he has plans to have the U.S. take over the Gaza Strip, expel all Palestinians living there, demolish all buildings there, and turn the strip into a ‘big real estate site’ with hotels and resorts. The rest of the world has responded to Trump’s latest proposal with a gigantic, collective, ‘WTF??’.
As the end of January has seen us being on a cruise (again) not a lot of home cooking has been going on – it’s the usual simple dishes that use up any fresh ingredients in the refrigerator ; Curries and Paninis; Steaks; Roast Lamb; Beef Stew; and a few pasta dishes – remember we have only been home for 13 days!! However, the food on the Eclipse was pretty good; in particular at the Tuscan specialty dinners. The Main Dining Room had excellent meals and outstanding staff 😊.
On the Netflix front: Not a lot going on – just waiting for some new series / seasons to arrive. We have watched ‘Mo’ an American dramedy about a Palestinian hustler and his family trying to get legal immigration status after having lived in the U.S. for over 20 years. Mo can’t get a job because of his status; gets stuck in Mexico because he has no passport; his Mexican girlfriend leaves him; and after he risks sneaking back into the U.S. is caught and is now awaiting deportation. Season 4 (final one) of ‘Across the Tracks’ (Entrevias) arrived on Netflix last Friday – I have already watched 3 episodes 😊. At the end of Season 3 Irene, Tirso’s grand daughter, had been killed. Season 4, which starts 6 months later, sees Tirso still trying to come to grips with her death and trying to track down the police commissioner responsible for her death. This is the best season yet – the story is gripping, the acting exceptional, and there is a strong human element that grips the heart strings. Too bad that it is the final season ☹.
On the NHL front – The regular season continues to plod and the Maple Leafs have started their usual nosedive having lost 6 out of their last 10 games – they are currently 33 – 20 – 2 good for 4th place in their division and 12 points behind first place Washington, and the Seattle Kraken are 24 – 29 – 4 for 13th place in their division; only ahead of 3 teams for last place😊.
On to golf … Last week saw the WM Phoenix Open take place in Arizona– which Taylor won last year – this year he ended up tied for 25th, dropping him to 5th place in the FedEx standings 😊. Thomas Detry of Belgium was the big winner, finishing 7 strokes ahead of 2nd place!! Adam Hadwin of Canada was the top Canadian finishing tied for 9th.
NFL news – The Superbowl took place this past weekend with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Philadelphia Eagles. Kansas City got smoked 40-22 😊. I don’t care much for the Eagles, but better for them than K.C. 😊
Have a great and safe month … we will see you in a bit!! 😊