Our first HAL cruise - Eastern Caribbean with photos

[scubacruiserx2]

Sunday

 

 

We really didn't plan this cruise but booked it 10 days before sailing. We took a chance on a guaranteed Verandah and got 5138. It's a 1 hour drive to Ft. Lauderdale and we parked in the lot. Boarding was a breeze. We loved the little tub in our cabin and begain exploring.

 

 

Aft pool

 

 

 

Emergency drill was well organized but ran late until the last passenger turned up- with blue hair! The Ruby Princess was the first to leave port.

 

 

 

 

And then came our turn (click on small pictures for video clip).

 

 

 

 

 

Until tomorrow.

[Ineke]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to the next installments. Love the pics!

[Himself]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to the next installments. Love the pics!

 

That makes two of us!

[RuthC]

What ship? :confused:

[PathfinderEss]

That makes three of us.:D:D

[PathfinderEss]

What ship? :confused:

From looking at her photo's it is the Westerdam.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the pictures, hope you enjoyed your cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Looking at the location of the ship -- it appears to be at pier 21 -- so that could mean it is the Westerdam.

[PetNanny]

Thanks. Great pics. Looking forward to reading more.

[scubacruiserx2]

From looking at her photo's it is the Westerdam.

 

BINGO !!! Melodie.

 

 

Good Morning all. Wow you guys are good !

 

 

The sun has risen

 

 

 

 

Rise and shine- a new day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some holiday decorations on the Westerdam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You gotta love an Elf in wooden shoes , even if he is climbing the Christmas Tree.

[scubacruiserx2]

And we forgot our Lambada shoes .

 

 

Video

 

 

[cmdchiefthom]

Great pic's, keep 'em coming;)

[shipcafe]

Loving the photos and videos so far!

[scubacruiserx2]

Great pic's, keep 'em coming;)

 

 

 

Aye, Aye Sir ! Permission to dive Grand Turk , Sir ?

[scubacruiserx2]

We did manage to book 2 excursions before we left. Scuba diving on a 8000' deep wall in Grand Turk and a dinner/tour in San Juan. A couple of surprises on the ship:

 

The level of service is fantastic.

 

The Digital Workshops with Aiden are great and free. We had to pay extra on Celebrity

 

Video clip

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Wishing a Merry Christmas to all

 

 

 

 

 

A Grand Turk Sunrise Video

 

 

[Typhoon1]

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

[scubacruiserx2]

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks Ty.

 

Diving Grand Turk with Blue Water Divers . Divemaster Calum took DW and I to the " Golden Arches" dive site .

 

 

 

 

 

Into the 8000' deep abyss with Calum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hide and seek with a Trumpet Fish (click for video)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beach for 2

 

 

 

 

And now to work on our "Tag List"

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After diving , we choose to pursue our tag list. At the Osprey Hotel we spotted A lobster on my wife's plate and conch creole on mine.

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.ospreybeachhotel.com/pdf/Osprey-Beach-Hotel_menu_lunch.pdf

 

 

Sorry HAL , the best food - so far.

 

 

Spotted a Turk's Cap Cactus

 

 

 

 

And finally flamingoes

 

 

 

 

Ready for dinner.

[scubacruiserx2]

Grand Turk stitch proves that you can be in 2 places at once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Master Chef's Table was cancelled so we had dinner at the Pinnacle

Grill. Wonderful !

 

 

 

Lamb skewer video

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Wednesday - San Juan

 

 

El Moro

 

 

 

Before we left home we booked a tour online that would give us a tour and a chance to try some local food.

 

 

 

http://www.sanjuanfoodtours.com/walking-food-tour.html

 

 

 

We met Leslie (guide and owner) at 5 PM. Our first dining stop was Carli's where we had Tapas and a Mojito making class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next was Mufungo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third place was an old jail.

 

 

 

 

 

This place reminded us of Mexican dive that we eat at - In St. Petersburg,

Russia. It was running late- so we had to hustle back to board the ship at 7:30 PM.

[scubacruiserx2]

Well if its Thursday is must be St. Maarten. The plan was take the water taxi to Front St. , shop at Boolchands, maybe take a cab for a mountain top view and eat at Lescargot. Exiting the ship we saw this:

 

WARNING : Do not view this video while driving ! May cause disorientation or hallucinations !

 

 

 

 

The water taxi ride was great but many of the stores were still closed.

We looked for a taxi to shoot some pictures and met Franklin.

 

 

He offered to drive us around the island in 2 1/2 hours for $80 , so off we went. First stop - mountain top.

 

 

 

 

Maho Beach where the landing planes give you a haircut and a dermal/sand abrasion treatment (we passed).

 

 

 

 

Next stop Orient (Nude) Beach (the other direction). Ehew ! If I want to see a fat , old man , I'll look in the mirror when I get out of the shower.

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After our circle the island tour (Franklin was great) , we stopped at Boolchands on Front St. for some shopping. Know your prices , some were good others not so good. A new SD card cause this one is almost full.

DW had wanted some escargot so we went to Lescargot for some French food and tude.

 

 

 

I'm not saying that their interior is ostentatious but what do you think ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we got a window seat with a view in this video.

 

 

 

 

After lunch and a quick water taxi ride to the boat we took a nap. Visions of a Le Cirque Dinner danced in our heads.

[CruiseWhere]

Fabulous pics!! Thanks for posting! We were on the Westie Nov 18-Dec 2 and did the same route:)

Keep them coming!

[scubacruiserx2]

Fabulous pics!! Thanks for posting! We were on the Westie Nov 18-Dec 2 and did the same route:)

Keep them coming!

 

Thanks CruiseWhere. We have some wonderful friends we met on CC that we visited in Toronto- Beautiful city !

 

As we were preparing for dinner, the clouds begain to gather and the sun disappeared ! Fortunately we captured it on video.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the sunset , the clouds looked as though they were on fire !

 

 

 

It almost appeared as though there were twin sunsets.

 

 

 

 

Dinner at the Pinnacle ( Le Cirque) .

 

 

 

 

Lobster Salad.