Disembarkation Day!

I woke up early in the morning and took a peek out of our balcony and saw the lights of the Florida coast.  I went back to sleep and when I woke up again I saw that we were entering the channel of Port Everglades.  Hubby and I made our way up to the Horizon Court buffet for our last breakfast.  My last smoked salmon and capers and my last chocolate croissant.  Sigh!

We went back to our cabin to do a final quick pack.  Good thing Hubby followed behind me as I would have left a few things behind (e.g. electric toothbrush charging stand).  I had him double check the cabin safe to make sure it was empty.  We had to be out of our cabin by 8am.  We saw Robert in a cabin a few doors up from ours.  We gave him a gift (big tip) and told him we enjoyed his smile and wonderful service.  He was two months into his 8 month contract with Princess.  We wished him well. 

We made our way up to Club Fusion where the Elite and Platinum members could enjoy coffee, tea, juice, and pastries and relax while waiting for their disembarkation number was called.  We were light blue 4, the last group to disembark.  We noticed the disembarkation process was slow going.  We suspected that the bottleneck was going through Immigration. 

I left hubby in CF and wandered around the ship one last time.  I stepped out on the Promenade deck to check out the weather.  The large barge from this morning was situated against the ship, refueling for the next cruise. 

Finally our number was called.  I noticed there were still several cruisers hanging out.  Just like us, not wanting to leave.  We made our way down to deck 5 and exited the Emerald Princess with the sound of our cruise card being scanned one last time. 

It didn’t take us too long to locate our luggage in the terminal.  One advantage of being the last group off the ship, we don’t have to contend with the thousands of luggage lined up in rows and in sections.  We stood in a long line to go through Immigrations and then made our way out to find our Princess rep for the transfer to the Embassy Suites.  After five minutes, we were loaded onto a bus and on our way.  This was the first time where we didn’t have to wait.

At the Embassy Suites, we saw a small crowd gathered.  They were waiting for a bus to take them to the Emerald Princess!  Hubby was adamant that I head straight to the front desk and be the first one in line.  I was and they had a room available for us.  Wahooo!  We dumped our luggage in our room and headed back outside to enjoy the Florida weather and to get some lunch at Bamini Restaurant. 

After lunch, we went to the Ft Lauderdale dive shop to check out their masks.  I decided on the original mask I saw a little over a week ago and purchased the display model, their last one. 

Dinner consisted of a trip to the Publix grocery store behind our hotel.  We had salad, fruit bowl, and juice.  Yes, a drastic change from our cruise diet.  

Our Last Sea Day

Today was a lazy cruise day for both of us.  It was also “packing day” as we had to get out luggage packed and ready and placed outside the hallway during the early evening hours. 

It was a bright and sunny day.  Hubby and I spent most of our day outside on our balcony.  The air/breeze around us was cool and not too hot.  We read from our iPad and Kindle and enjoyed each other’s company.  The quiet time was much needed as we were winding down from our cruise.  We were also anxious as we didn’t want it to end. 

I started packing after 3pm and it took me roughly 2 hours to pack both suit cases.  It must have been a record for me.  This time I decided to pack one suit case at a time…starting with mine and then hubby’s.  I found it was much easier and more organized. 

We made sure we left out clothes to wear for the next day and any toiletries needed for the evening and next morning.  I had my beach bag ready to collect any extra stuff that wouldn’t fit in our backpacks. 

Around 6pm, I dragged our luggage out to the hallway for the cruise staff to pick up.  As I looked up and down the hallway, I could see several other bags outside cabin doors. 

We left our cabin to find something for dinner.  We ended up in the buffet and having our last dinner and wonderful desserts. 

We spent our last night enjoying each other’s company and enjoying our last night on the ship.  

Grand Turk!

At the start of this cruise, Hubby and I had an inkling that our last port of call might be some place spectacular.  We were not disappointed. 

An hour before we were supposed to dock we could see a thin strip of island from our port side.  The island looked relatively flat.  As we came closer, we saw palm trees, beautiful beaches and the dock area.  We also heard loud announcements welcoming Princess to Grand Turk and the specials coming from a place called The Local Village.   

Approaching Grand Turk

The Local Village and beach front

Arriving at the dock

Our excursion today was snorkeling at two locations (including horseshoe reef) and then back to the dock.  As we were heading down the mid-ship stairs and reached deck 7, a Princess rep was guiding us to growing line around the Piazza.  I overheard a conversation between two Princess reps that there were two exit lines, one forward and one mid-ship.  We decided it was better to get in the second line (forward) and have a short distance to walk on the dock to meet our excursion group.  After waiting for a few minutes, our line started to move.  Our wise decision paid off. 

We were the first group off the ship and heading to Dufry's terminal

Once on the dock, we had to walk through the Dufry duty-free shop in order to get to the main shopping area.  This reminded me a bit of Puerta Maya in Cozumel where we had to go through a duty-free shop to get where we needed to go.  We wandered around the local shopping area looking for our group and it was somewhat chaotic.  I saw a Princess rep and she was able to guide us to the right location.  Hubby and I signed in and were directed to wait in line for the tour.  I left Hubby in line and wandered around the shopping area and found a space capsule display honoring John Glenn.

Space capsule display

 

We were led down the beach to a smaller dock area where we saw several boats.  I had the opportunity to take some pictures of our ship along with many fellow cruisers who were still getting off the ship. 

Emerald Princess with fellow cruisers leaving the ship

The beach front right next to the pier

Our snorkeling group turned out to be a fairly large group of people.  We boarded one of the boats and headed out towards the north part of the island and anchored in the water for our first snorkel stop.  Hubby couldn’t wait and jumped in the water.  SPLASH!  The captain of our boat looked a bit perturbed and ordered Hubby to get back on the boat to hear “the snorkel safety guidelines”.  The water was quite cold here but invigorating to snorkel in.  We saw so many fish here.  They were swimming by my head.  I felt like I could almost grab their tails.  They were quick!

Our snorkeling site...can you see the coral in the water?  The water was so clear!

Absolutely beautiful!

Blue Tang swimming in droves

We got back on the boat and traveled for a few minutes inland and dropped anchor again.  We were at Horseshoe Reef.  The reef and fish were beautiful.  We got a chance to see a nurse shark.  It was a beauty! 

Our whole snorkeling excursion was only 2-1/2 hours long which was fine with me.  I was a bit unnerved about some of my fellow snorkelers who were a bit rude.  They thought they had the “right of way” and snorkeled right over me.  Hubby said he experienced that as well and knowing him, they would have “snorkeled into him”. 

A nurse shark!

We were dropped back to the docks and Hubby and I ran back to the ship to drop off our bags and change our clothes.  We headed back out as many cruisers were heading back to the ship in anticipation of watching the Super Bowl.  It was close to 4pm when we hit the beach area and a few people were in the water.  Many of the lounges were deserted.  We headed over to The Local Village to see if we could find some local Jerk Chicken.  Hubby didn’t feel comfortable with this café as there were very few people there.  We decided to head over to Margaritaville and found the place hopping as usual.  We sat near the pool area that had a swim up bar and ate some tasty wings and enjoyed the rest of our evening people watching in Grand Turk. 

Fellow cruisers leaving as we were heading back for some more fun!

Emerald Princess starboard side

Another beach shot

The Local Village

It was around 6pm when we decided to start walking back to the ship.  We had to be back onboard by 6:30pm.  I did some last minute window-shopping, checking out the local shops as they were getting ready to wind down and close for the night.  We walked through Dufry’s and flashed our cruise cards through security.  I was dragging my feet to get back to the ship.  Hubby pointed to the sun that was setting in the distance.  I spent the last few minutes on Grand Turk taking pictures. 

Evening shot of the Emerald Princess....

We noticed an ambulance with its lights flashing parked on the dock near the mid-ship entrance which was cordoned off.  As we boarded the ship close to 6:30pm, I asked the Princess security officer if the person was alright.  He said the person has to leave the ship and go to the hospital on the island.    It’s sad to see this happen to one of your fellow cruisers.  I hope they were doing well. 

After we showered, I had to clean our snorkel gear and swim suits.  I dumped everything in our sitting area to dry.  I didn’t want our room steward, Robert, to trip over our stuff in the bathroom.  I figured once he refreshed our room for the night, I could hang all our stuff on the bathroom clothes line to dry. 

We headed up to Deck 15 looking for something to eat for dinner.  The MUTS area was packed with Super Bowl fans.  We headed over to the Pizzeria for slices of margherita pizza.  Then we went over to the Trident Grill so I could enjoy a plate of French fries.  This was dinner at its best…simple and tasty!

St Thomas!

I was up early in time to see that we were approaching St Thomas.  It was 6am and fairly dark.  I could see the island lit up in lights.  It was beautiful.  There’s something about the calmness and serenity as the ship slowed down and moved through the channel of water.  Sometimes I felt we were gliding on top of the water.  It was so peaceful. 

As we approached our dock in Crown Bay, the morning was getting a bit brighter.  Hubby and I headed up to the Horizon Court buffet for breakfast.  I get my normal fix of:  smoked salmon and capers, a small container of peach yogurt, one egg over easy, a small side of potatoes, and a chocolate croissant.  I call this my breakfast of champions. 

My typical breakfast of champions (fruit, yogurt, eggs, potato, smoked salmon and capers)

Do I really need to eat all this?  Well, yes.  There are times when I don’t know when we’ll eat during our excursions and when 11:30am comes, I will get light headed and a bit cranky.  It all works out (consumption and calories) as long as we do some sort of exercise while in port.  Snorkeling and beaching do count as a form of exercise. 

Back in our cabin, we donned our swim suits and slathered on the suntan lotion.  After dressing in our shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops we grabbed our bags and headed down to deck 4 and exit mid-ship.  We wandered around the dock area looking for our excursion group.  Once located, we were given waiver forms to sign.  That was also our entrance ticket to board the catamaran.  Steph was our guide and bartender.  We met Jordan who was our snorkel safety master and part of the catamaran crew.  Captain Tom steered and directed our catamaran. 

We headed out to the open waters away from St Thomas and sailed towards Buck Island.  Along the way, we learned that Steph works on the excursion tours for several months during the cruise season.  During the down season, she heads back home in the US.  Jordan lives in St Thomas permanently.  He sold everything he owned in the US and came to St Thomas not knowing anyone.  Next year, he will be traveling to South America and backpacking through the countryside for several months.  Steph and Jordan live in different places on the island about an hour’s drive.  I can’t comprehend this as the island is very small in comparison to others we have visited.  Captain Tom has his own boat where he lives with his wife in St Thomas.  It was very interesting to hear about their “stories” and island life. 

We’ve been to Buck Island before and anchored on the north edge of the island.  Jordan gave us our snorkel safety rules/guidelines and told us it was against the law to touch the turtles.  We would be fined.  It was time to get into the water and snorkel for 45 minutes.  Steph was our snorkel guide and we followed her in search of turtles.  It didn’t take long before we saw several of them swimming around the bottom of the sea bed.  We also saw a stingray buried in the sand.  Hubby was able to get a great picture of the stingray. 

A stingray!

Watching the turtles swim...they are so graceful!

Once we were back on the catamaran, we headed back over to St Thomas.  Our next stop was Honeymoon Beach on Water Island for lunch on the beach.  Strange as it may sound, but we like this beach more than the famous Magen’s Bay Beach. 

We had two hours of fun in the sun time at this beach.  We ate lunch and relaxed under the shade of the palm trees.  We spent some time swimming in the beautiful blue waters burning our breakfast calories.  Life is good!

We were sad to leave this tiny beach/island.  Even though our fellow cruisers were with us, the beach didn’t seem crowded.  It was very peaceful and serene. 

We got back to Crown Bay around 3:30pm.  Since we had only 30 minutes before we had to be back on the ship, we walked through the shops to see if there was anything new or interesting. 

Tonight was formal night!  Again, we don’t participate.  Instead we have dinner….  

When we got back to our cabin, I saw a notice in our mailbox.  The notice was for disembarkation and included our luggage tags.  Light Blue 4.  I quickly tossed the notice into my night stand drawer.  I didn’t want to think about the end of our cruise.  We still had one more island and one more sea day.  I wanted to enjoy them. 

Since it was formal night, it is also laundry night for us.  Once again, the launderette was empty.  Hubby and I grabbed our bags of dirty clothes and headed towards the back of the ship.  Hubby loaded the washing machine with soap and dirty clothes.  I loaded the coins into the machine (8 quarters) and we were off and running and back to our cabin. 

One of several self-serve launderettes on the ship

A much needed soap, bleach, softeners, and change machines

While hubby spent some quiet time between the balcony and watching TV in our cabin, I was busy downloading the day’s pictures onto my laptop.  In between reviewing pictures I also made a stroll down to the launderette to move our clothes from the washing machine to the dryer.  Once again, I loaded 8 quarters into the machine and checked the time when I needed to be back.

Later, Hubby helped me gather the warm clothes and we headed back to our cabin.  I had spread some of them out on our bed as few pieces were slightly damp, but warm.  

Crown Bay port

Sailing out of St Thomas

St Kitts/Nevis!

This must have been our 4^th trip to St Kitts and for once the weather was absolutely beautiful!  Every time we’ve been to St Kitts, our trip to Nevis was cancelled.   St Kitts is known for their trade winds and so sometimes the waters can be quite choppy.  On this trip, we were able to set sail to Nevis, St Kitt’s sister island. 

Emerald Princess in St Kitts

We met our excursion group in the terminal and took a short walk around the dock area, through the shopping area, and over to another dock area where our catamaran was waiting for us.  Our catamaran, the Ire Lime, had a fun crew led by Captain Al. 

Captain Al

We sailed out to the open waters and dropped anchor somewhere on the edge of St Kitts’ island.  We donned our snorkel gear and jumped into the cool water.  We saw some beautiful coral and fish. 

Back on the catamaran we headed out into the Narrow Channel, a two mile wide water way that separates Nevis from St Kitts.  The crew provided us a buffet-style lunch of baked fish, curry chicken, rice and beans, and salad.  Instead of using paper plates, they used real plates and real silver ware.  That was first class!  The food was yummy!

Nevis is mountainous and much smaller than St Kitts.  We sailed past the Four Seasons resort and docked at Pinney’s Beach which is a 3 mile long beach.  The crew did a great job bringing their catamaran close to the beach so we could all climb out of the catamaran without too much trouble. 

The island of Nevis

Landing on the beach!

The sand was very fine and darker than the other beaches we’ve been to.  Hubby reminded me that St Kitts and Nevis are volcanic islands.  The sand must be mixed with coral as it wasn’t completely black. 

While many of fellow cruisers were plopping down on lounge chairs, Hubby and I decided to go exploring along the beach and headed towards the Four Seasons beach front. 

In front of the Four Seasons resort

This was a peaceful beach...can you hear the surf?

The black sand got a bit hot to walk on

Seagull coming in for a landing

The beach was beautiful and peaceful.  We enjoyed listening to the water and small waves crashing into the beach.  We saw a lot of shells on the beach.  That’s a first for us after we’ve travelled to so many islands and never saw shells just lying around in the sand.  We went to the water’s edge and saw more shells being tossed around.  This reminded me of some of our local beaches we’ve been (e.g. Ocean City, MD, Virginia Beach, and Duck, NC).

Look at all the shells on the black sand beach

We continued walking around and picked up small shells that we could take back home with us.  Hubby’s pocket was getting a bit heavy, but he didn’t seem to mind.  I had to take a break from our peaceful walk and find the ladies’ room.  As I was headed up the beach towards the Four Season’s I noticed the sand got quite a bit warmer.  I found a pretty tiled pathway and asked one of the FS staff ladies where the nearest restroom was located.  She was kind of enough to escort me through the villas into the main hotel area.  All I can say is the FS is quite luxurious and a beautiful hotel. 

I made my way back to the beach while my bare feet was burning from the hot black sand.  I caught up with Hubby and we turned around and headed back towards the catamaran which was now anchored a few hundred feet from the beach. 

As I waited for Hubby as he went to find a men’s room, I saw an elderly man standing on the beach.  I struck up a conversation with Sam asking him questions about Nevis.  He said they grow their own fruits and vegetables.  We talked about religion.  As Hubby and I were getting ready to leave, Sam gave me his business card and said to look him up if we ever come to visit Nevis.  He said he would take us on a tour of the island.  How could we not come back?

We met up with our fellow cruisers and waited for our catamaran to pick us up.  We were sad to leave this wonderful, peaceful, and beautiful island. 

Back on St Kitts, we wandered around the shopping pavilion area.  The area has grown since were last here and we noticed additional shops and restaurants.  This was truly a tourist trap area with a mixture of high-end and low-end shops.  We saw the St Kitts monkeys.  This was another tourist trap where the owners would try to get the monkey to land on you and you’d be inclined to take a picture and the monkey owner would expect some money in exchange. 

We headed back to the ship with a new fondness for St Kitts/Nevis.  We thoroughly enjoyed our excursion!

Dinner: 

Before I turned in for the evening, I made sure our snorkel and beach bags were packed for the next day’s excursion.  Suntan lotions were lined up and sitting next to our bags.  I checked my plastic container for tip money and copies of our passport. 

Good night everyone!