Caribbean Christmas Cruise 2015

     Finally I posted about my 2015 Caribbean cruise. Although I had been on over ten cruises, it was about five years since my last cruise.  My previous sailings  were on Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean and now the most recent one was on Norwegian Cruise Lines. I never got seasick except for one when we went north to Halifax and Nova Scotia in rough seas. All the rest were delightful cruises on the Atlantic Ocean.  This cruise was special because it came after a difficult family situation was resolved. So I opted for this 12 day cruise aboard the Breakaway that left from the New York pier.  I will never tire of the ability to skip the flight and still get yourself to warm Caribbean islands especially when temperatures at home are cold enough for your winter coat. 

    Locking in a price of less than a hundred dollars a night made it even sweeter for my friend Peggy and I.   We both enjoy using our photos in blogs that document our day trips around South Jersey but this was to be a super special adventure for us.  Peggy had been on a couple of the newer huge ships but this was going to be a bit of a departure for me. This ship had the capacity to accommodate over 4,000 guests. Leaving the pier in New York on the Hudson River is just an awesome experience that probably can not be topped by any harbor in the world. We left at dusk and my photography began: The Lackawanna pier, the clock tower of Hoboken, the Statue of Liberty, Verranzo Narrows Bridge, and Ellis Island. I brought two cameras.  I like my Nikkon 1 because of small size but I can not abandon my heavier Canon EOS REBEL SL1 with my zoom lens and direct view finder. 

Here our ship is docked next to the Intrepid Air, Sea, and Space museum.  On the end of the dock there is one of the retired British Airway's Concorde.  Later on when we visited Barbados we were able to take a tour on another Concorde.  Our tour guide was old enough to remember the huge plane when it used to frequently bring tourists to the island. 

I had a hard time remembering whether I took New York Harbor shots during our departure or upon our return because it was dark when we left and it was also dark during our early morning return to New York. So I will put my harbor photos here not really knowing which are departure shots and which are arrival shots.  

 

Thinking back to my first cruise I would say our room was smaller or only slightly larger.  However small they were they were arranged well and were adequate for our needs.  Bathrooms have improved quite a lot compared to the real "Love Boat" that we once sailed on back in the early 90's.  The industry has found ways to gradually take away things that cruisers had started to take for granted like lobster night, and gourmet meals with no extra charge.  Today's world seems to need to stay connected but I had to spend nearly $400 for my internet connection. That price was nearly half the cost of the cruise although we got a rock bottom price from Vacations-to-Go.  The cruise line got its money as I spent time in their casino and I did not win.  Dining with other shipmates and meeting at the dining room at the set time every evening was also one of my favored traditions that seems to be waning in the cruise world.  We used to bond with our waiter and they made a special effort to entertain us.  I also missed the last evening when the music was turned up and the dining room staff started dancing. It was such a festive night  and many of the cruisers joined in a line dance of sorts  .  Midnight buffets are gone but I am not too sad for that.  I guess that is why I only gained two pounds instead of five.   The entertainment might have been trimmed back a bit but it was adequate.  I enjoyed the question and answer session with the captain and other chief officers.  The officers might not have enjoyed it but I thought it was a very enjoyable activity. I got to ask why I saw the captain using search lights late at night.  Had someone fallen off?  They explained they heard a strange "ping" on the sonar and were checking it out.   I always have an extra interest in the captain of the ship and I loved the ability to be rather close to the bridge where the ship is controlled.  You would be surprised to learn how many "bridge" pictures I discarded.

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This fake wood veneer was not what I would have picked for décor on a ship that is less than five years old.  Very reminiscent of our old station wagon that we had when I was a teen in the early sixties.

  

Now for the island hopping!   ------- Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Tortola, St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Kitts.    I think it was written on a t-shirt:  Another day---another island!   (Actually the shirt used a more vulgar way to say that.)  Point being each island is very similar to the other if you only are spending a day.  So now it is quite hard to say definitively which photo was from what island.  I will try my best to get it right.

                                    

Capitol building in San Juan.

Peter Max artwork is seen on the hull of the ship.  I grew up in the 60's

 when this pop artist first became famous so I appreciated this art.

 

This was the closest I got to seeing a Santa on the islands:

  

Carnival ship:



Our Puerto Rican Tour Guide who has

had Jennifer Lopez, Telly Savalas, John Astin

and Johnny Depp in his taxi :

 

Puerto Rican Parrots :

 

What a way to start our excursions!  Don't miss going to Fort San Cristobal in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

I found a boyfriend at the beach:

 

Just a close up of a mural on the side of the road:

The locals shop here. No fresh meat.  Mostly the meat is frozen. 

 

Our home for 12 days the Norwegian Breakaway:

Me, at St. Kitts.  Good thing I can read the welcome

sign or else I would have no idea where that was taken.

This man was planting seeds.  I guess December is the time to get your garden growing in the islands :

Ship worker about to wash our balcony windows.

                                    Caribbean Christmas tree

Blue plastic bags are seen on the banana bunches.  The plastic is impregnated with a pesticide.      Heard that they are trying to use plain plastic now for protection to reduce the amount of pesticide. 

 The kids were off for the Christmas Holiday like maybe for a whole month.  Maybe they do not have a summer vacation like we do.

 

The best excursion was taking this rickety old sugar cane rail on St. Kitts  and these locals came on board singing Caribbean Christmas Carols while we drank Pina Coladas.   This was the highlight of the trip:

As we went for a couple of hours on the rail we drove

by this large pigeon coop.  The birds were as big as chickens.

This was the new added feature.  I guess it was meant to replace that festive finale in the dining room.  But after a long excursion we were tired and not ready to join in their animated antics. Another new feature that I had never experienced is the offering of a wet washcloth  and bottled water upon your return to the boat each day.  That is nice but I did not partake.

This was our cruise director

The captain sat in the middle during the question and answer session.  I do not think he was thrilled to be a part of the entertainment.   Since my son is a video cameraman I always like taking photos of camera  guys.

  

Irwin made us about a dozen animal towel origami designs.   Irwin couldn't be sweeter but again I would rather skip this tradition in favor of something different.



 Sometimes you look back at the ship when you are on an excursion.  When you are high up on an island road, you look down to the harbor    at   your ship and you can hardly believe your eyes.  Cruising may not be for everyone but it is always an amazing adventure for me.