The Caribbean on Norwegian Spirit

On August 18, 2007 Tina & I boarded the Norwegian Spirit in New York for an eight-night cruise. Our primary purpose for this cruise was to visit the Alambre Trio, whom we had met on prior cruises on Celebrity's Zenith. Seeing the trio again and listening to their music in person, where I could enjoy their extensive repertoire was pure pleasure. I have never gotten tired of listening to their two CDs, but hearing other songs is nice.

"Freestyle Cruising" was a major change from what are used to from other cruise lines. When everything you are interested in doing is scheduled at a different time every day, it can be chaotic trying to schedule meals. Fortunately, the main dining rooms had times available for walk-ins as well as the possibility of making reservations. The other thing that added to the chaotic atmosphere on the ship was the number of children, ranging in age from infant to teenagers: fully 1/3 of the passengers were children. There were strollers everywhere, including the dining rooms, and the teenagers congregated on the stairways or in other areas where they blocked traffic.

The ship itself was not as nice as the others we've been on, and many things were in a state of disrepair, especially the carpet. The whole standard of the operation was not up to the level we've experienced on other cruise lines. Because with "freestyle" dining you rarely have the same waiter more than once, the cruise line imposes a $10 daily service fee. For many of the crew, having their tips guaranteed, in addition to the lack of opportunity to form relationships with the passengers, contributes to a lack of motivation to provide the highest level of service. However, on a positive note, the regular musical entertainment in the was excellent. They covered a wide range of styles and all had exceptional talent.

The first exciting event on board, after the life boat drill (which was actually very well done), was passing close to the Statue of Liberty as we left the harbor. I had seen her from a distance when we sailed out of the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, NJ, but seeing her up close was a special experience.

The ports we visited on this cruise were King's Wharf, Bermuda; Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and Havensight, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Unfortunately my camera malfunctioned just before we re-boarded the ship on Tortola, so I lost all the photos I took in New York Harbor, Bermuda, and Tortola. I was able to get some distant shots of Tortola, but lost some great photos from Bermuda

For some reason I can't fathom, I had the impression that King's Wharf would be a dreary place like a shipyard or the harbor area of Dutch Harbor, Unalaska. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was pleasantly pretty and picturesque, although not as nice as either Hamilton or St. George's. As usual, we did a lot of walking, and learned how King's Wharf got its name (I waited too long to write this so I can't remember the story - I'll write about it later if I remember it). The highlights were a beach area that was some kind of park (I'd know the name if I had my photos), a glass blowing studio & shop, and an artists' cooperative where we saw some gorgeous handmade, original design quilted wall hangings that were wonderful art.

We also did a lot of walking on Tortola. We were trying to find the botanical garden, but didn't figure out where it would have been until we were back on the ship. Road Town was nice, and the government building was quite imposing, but there was nothing special to commend that port.

I'll cover my fourth visit to St. Thomas in the next episode.

The Great Dismal Swamp

On Saturday, August 11, 2007 my friend Buddy & I went to the Great Dismal Swamp, near Suffolk, Virginia. It was beautiful, but not quite what I expected a swamp to look like. That is probably because we were there during the dry season. We saw lots of butterflies, lots of poison ivy, a few birds, and quite a bit of recent storm damage.

The birds we sighted were a large hawk or golden eagle, a hairy woodpecker and a downy woodpecker. I was surprised by how few birds we encountered. The butterflies were plentiful, especially the red-spotted purple and red admiral. We also saw a few angle-wings, checkerspots, skippers, blues & hairstreaks. The most interesting sight was of two purples, an angle-wing, & big black beetle & some flies on the leg of a dead frog. I had never thought that butterflies were carrion eaters, but in retrospect I think they were after the moisture. We also saw about half a dozen red & black velvet ants, which were solitary, an unusual habit for ants. It turns out that the creature just looked like an ant; it is actually a female wasp. We did some research on the Internet to find out what it was, and learned that if the "ant" is walking, it is female; the males fly. As with all wasps they do sting, so it's best to refrain from picking them up or letting them crawl on you.

We also researched poison ivy because a lot of what we saw did not match what Buddy knows to be poison ivy. We learned that the leaves have many looks: they are all 3-part, but they can be large and dull in late summer, with smooth edges. Only the new leaves are the tradtional shiny. Poison ivy can be an herbacious vine, a woody vine or a bush, and sometimes the woody vines can be so attached to the tree that it is difficult to realize it is not part of the tree. We encountered that situation very closely on a fallen tree that was blocking the path, but fortunately neither of us ended up with an outbreak even though at least one of us touched it before realizing what it was. Poison ivy is deciduous; the leaves turn a beautiful shade of red in the fall, but the bare vines are not specifically recognizable, so it's best to stay away from any bare vines. Poison ivy grows in areas that have been disturbed, and at the edge of forested areas.

The flowers we saw included wild orange impatiens (touch-me-not), red cardinal flower, milkweed and wandering jew. There were many ferns growing also.

All the paths are we saw are clearly marked: we entered the park at the Washington Ditch, where there is a rutted road that apparently leads to Lake Drummond. There is also elevated wooden Dismal Town Boardwalk Trial, next to the Washington Ditch parking area. There are restrooms at that entrance, which are primitive, but clean (they didn't smell bad when we were there).

It is also possible to take a Narrated Bus Tour that leaves from the Suffolk Visitor Center on Main Street at 9:30am & returns at 1:30pm. The tour runs on Saturdays from July through September. The cost is very reasonable at $10 for adults and $8 for Seniors over 60 and children ages 3-12. We enjoyed the walking we did, especially since we were looking at flowers, birds & insects, but we would definitely consider doing the bus tour in the future.

Statendam Special Occasions

The two most prominent special occasions "aboard the beautiful and elegant Statendam" were the Master Chef dinner with its special menu and great performance by the dining room stewards, and the Dessert Extravaganza. Of these I was able to take photos. The other two prominent special occasions were the Indonesian Crew Show and the Filipino Crew Show.

Some of the dining room stewards have said that they feel silly putting on the show for the Master Chef dinner, which I understand completely. However, at the same time, I'm glad they are willing to do it because it adds an element of fun to an already special dinner. Their antics are far better than the traditional baked Alaska parade. The photos of the stewards in their chef costumes are Budi and his assistant, Eggi, both of whom made our dining experience very special and enjoyable.

The dessert extravaganza was held in the afternoon on this cruise, which I found unusual. As always, the display was spectacular. There were the usual ice sculptures, carved watermelons and vegetable flowers, in addition to a myriad of pastries of different kinds, and fruit kabobs for dipping in the chocolate fountain. That is our dining room steward Budi at the chocolate fountain. I think my favorite were the bread animals - alligator, frog and turtle. Amazingly enough, I was able to take dozens of pictures and not be tempted to eat anything.

It was special every evening to return to the cabin because Farid, our room steward always left us a cute towel animal. Of all the ones he did, the cobra was my favorite.

Although we were encouraged to take photos at the crew shows, I chose not to do so this time, because I could not get a seat that gave me a good photographic vantage point. The shows were wonderful. The crew spends such long hours working, and then some take extra time to rehearse and put on a show for the passengers. They do a great job, and I appreciate the opportunity to learn about their culture. One of the dining room stewards wrote out some Indonesian phrases for me, and I really enjoyed being able to greet them in their native language.

The most fun part of the crew shows was that Michael, our wine steward, was in the Filipino crew show, in the rice planting dance. All the dancers are men but half are dressed as women. Michael was one of the very buxom women (thank you, balloons!), and was wearing a blond wig that mostly covered his face. However, it was not enough to keep me from figuring out that he was the one in that wig. The next evening at dinner, we teased him a little about it, which was fun. He is also easily the nicest and best wine steward we've ever had.

Vancouver to Home

Even though we were on the ship for eighteen days, which seems like a long time, docking in Vancouver came all too soon. The atmosphere on the "beautiful and elegant Statendam" was so nice that we really did not want to have to leave. The crew was the most outgoing we've ever met, and we also made some great friends from among the passengers.

We chose to take the Holland America bus to the airport, because it was reasonably priced and easy. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare before our flight, even with the long lines at the airport, and in addition got a guided tour of the city.

We boarded a flight to Los Angeles, where we were planning to visit my mother and sisters, and Tina's childhood friend, Linda. I had not been back to Los Angeles since I left more than 18 years ago, so this was going to be interesting.

When we got to Los Angeles, all the street names were familiar, but I didn't recognize much of anything until we got to my old neighborhood, the one I grew up in. The street was very familiar, but due to changes at the next door neighbors' house, I did not recognize my mother's house. That was a shock! And I had to have directions to get to my sister's houses - they live next door to each other. Fortunately, I still retained enough familiarity with the freeway system and the area where they live to be able to get us there. The visit went very well, and a good time was had by all. I enjoyed meeting my brother-in-law of thirteen years for the first time. We drove by my first house and I was pleased to see that my garden appeared to be intact.

The day after visiting with my family, Tina's friend Linda came into town to visit with us, and took us all over Orange County, including a drive on my favorite ocean side street in Corona Del Mar. That visit also went well. We had a great time and I gained a new friend.

I must say that I was impressed with the efficiency we encountered at LAX; even security was a breeze. The flight home from Los Angeles was uneventful, except for the pleasure of having my special friend, Buddy, meet our flight. That made me glad to finally be home once again.