The Big Booper

We then walked outside the compound to a little side area where the sea lions put on their show. This used to take place in a lagoon but now it is on dry land with a podium for the guys to show their tricks. We were told that they might be moved back in a year or so.

Next up was the Pink Flamingo exhibit and the daddy longlegs of the avian world put on their usual good show, stalking around their open compound and doing Flamingo things.

More Dolphins.

Don't know what this building houses.

The group was then led over to the stingray exhibit. Because the water is in a large tank instead of an open ocean with moving water it can be harder to see the rays and the water does contain particulates. It makes it difficult to see and photograph them.

Sting Rays in very murky water.

The Sea Aquarium (SA) has six main exhibits and a guide takes visitors to the six in sequence. You can repeat any of the attractions as many times as you like; we got in and went over to the Dolphin talk and performance. The three adult mammals were performing directly in front of the crowd while off to the side a younger dolphin was learning the routines and performing the same tricks to the same music.

Vision pulling in.

Curacao. The weather looked great today so we decided to go ahead with our plans to visit the Sea Aquarium. The cab fare was $5 pp one way and the admission for seniors was $11 pp, instead of the regular $21 pp, a good deal. After a quickie breakfast we were headed off the ship when we ran into…The Couple, who looked elegant as always.

The cab ride was fairly quick and passed over the high bridge, eventually dropping us off 200 feet from the entrance. The facility is next door to a beach and resort and the whole area looked attractive and photogenic. While en route I noticed Vision pulling in and snapped a quickie of it from outside the SA

Daily life boat picture.

As we left the arena we ran into The Couple, hadn’t seen them in a few days. They looked spiffy in their casual daytime outfits. I felt like saying ole; unfortunately the best shot left out his shoes and he told me he likes having his shoes in a picture. Quality over shoes I sez.

That night our waiter made another dragon, which was even cooler then the first one. And not because it was blue.

After dinner we went to the game show “Finish that Lyric”, hosted by EFT. Our tablemate, Chantal from Belgium, was one of the contestants but didn’t win. The highlight was listening to EFT instruct the sound booth as to what to play, pure gibberish and doubletalk

After this game we went up to Karaoke where Chantal’s husband Marc was one of the contestants. Considering that the objective here is to hear slightly sloshed people trying to sing the lyrics, Marc was sober and a polished performer. The woman following Marc said “I have to follow HIM?” The hostess was Oksana from Ukraine and she was in her element.

After all this musical activity we toddled off to bed.

And he's not even from Canada, but from Australia.

In the afternoon our turn finally came up to see “Spirits of the Seasons” the long running ice show. This might have been the fourth time for us and it is still good; the last time was in 2010 so it seemed fresh. With only 30 kids on-board they had no kids available for the sled sequence.

There are many pics of this performance since we were sitting right along the rail at a perfect spot.

Day 9

At Sea. The main activity in the morning was another Top Tier event where a whole load of crystal blocks were handed out plus the P’s with the most cruise nights were introduced. The show opened with entertainment from one of the combos, followed by a performance by the Captain. The Maharajas Lounge was packed, only natural since there were almost 1,100 top tiers aboard. The biggest applause went to the newly anointed P from Pa.

After the event we hit Café P looking for our favorite snacks and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that in lieu of the regular vanilla cheesecake lollypops, for one day only, they had chocolate cheesecake lollypops. Adding in the usual tarts made it a great late morning snack, which tided us over until lunch 25 minutes later. Obviously the special treat was in honor the Top Tier event.

GOOD STUFF!

We then went out to the Starboard promenade deck; it wasn’t too bad since most of the smokers were still inside at the “pool party”. It looks nice at night and the rain had stopped. Two or three miles away we saw a ship passing us and by leaning against a pole and the railing I got a slightly shaky image of it – we couldn’t quite identify it. Vision? At least two miles away.

We got back to our cabin and noted that we had a new visitor and that the previous flying thingee had made good his escape. Since the new fellow looked hungry and we wanted him to stay around for a while we bribed him with a leftover orange from our fruit bowl from a couple of days ago. He seemed happy.

One more show picture.

At dinner our waiter treated us to an origami creation. He made three in all over three nights and I think this was the dragon.

After dinner the pool deck party and buffet was moved down to the Promenade because of inclement weather and it got slightly crowded. Of course, as usual, the pool band was once again the Promenade band. We retreated to the forward overlook above Maharajas Lounge for a little air; we were still full from supper. The weather was a negative factor for much of the cruise.

We go up to Café Promenade and once again the band is playing inside.

We will finally get to see the RC D & S in a show tonight, the old venerable “Wild, Cool & Swingin”. As late traditional diners, all of our shows except early in the cruise, are at 6:45 PM. We’ve seen the show before but still enjoy it.

A chocolate Oreo cone. Yum.

Day 8

Barbados. Once again the weather forecast is iffy so we put aside our Boatyard beach plans and decide to head downtown. The last few times we were here on the Explorer it was always Boxing Day and everything was closed. Today we get to see downtown for the first time in years. We have company as the P & O Ventura, a Princess clone, is in port with us. We walk thru the familiar U shaped terminal out to the cabstand and are off to Bridgetown.

Anybody who wonders why the city is called Bridgetown only has to look at downtown.

After an hour or so it starts to drizzle so we quickly find a cab and head back to the ship. Once inside the terminal the rain really starts to come down and the sound on the roof is loud. After a half hour or so we run out to one of the shuttle buses and head back to the ship. The Ventura is docked at a good spot while we are in the boondocks of the port.

. The critter from last night had been moving around our cabin while we were out and had found itself a new home when got back.

The entertainment for the evening was Britain’s Zoe Tyler, who was somewhat under the weather. She still performed several songs before giving way to Robbin from the ship’s cast. The drummer was kept busy during the performance.

On our way to the Schooner Bar for our nightly 7:30 PM trivia game we bumped into The Couple who were attired in a wonderful coordinated blend of pastels. And to think she designs and sews much of her clothing herself.

After dinner, we went to the Maharajas Lounge for the Battle of the Sexes game show. The men won!!

We went up to the pool deck to watch the sunset.

Down to sea level and a quick stop at a resort.

This is a panoramic picture of the hut.

Centipede. All of them are poisonous and the people kill them on sight. This one was stomped 5 seconds after this picture was taken. Don't tell PETA.

Hiking down the trail.

More shots from the hills.

Owner of this goat not around, so we didn't stop.