Crown Princess ABC islands Jan 12 to 20, 2018

[Bimmer09]

Norris

 

Late to the seafarers journal, we where on the Crown in 2009, and went to the Ostrich Farm had our picture taken feeding them, thought it was touristy at the time but has become one of our favorite photos along with us standing at the front of the original Crown Princess in 1994 holding a life preserver as we go through the Gatun locks. As usual great photos. I have almost the same shots you do of the ship at dock. Are you using some of Cole’s Lightroom persets?

 

Hi and it's nice to see you again!

I don't know who "Cole" is so the answer is no. I don't use any of the presets in Lightroom. I have used one in the Regal Princess review-a shot of Times Square in New York that I bought from the French photographer Serge Ramelli as part of a bundle. I have 200 of his but have only used one so far. Some of the photos need 2 tweaks (usually highlights down and shadows up) and some half a dozen as they are shot in RAW. All the indoor shots in the Crown MDRs need the white balance adjusted as they turn out orange due to the lighting and that's something I didn't correct early on in the review.

If going to see ostriches is touristy then that's fine-Carol and I are both tourists. We do what pleases us-but I would never go out of my way to kiss the Blarney Stone or such BS. I reject every legend you can name which is why I was annoyed at the references to the Greek Gods in the stargazing on deck. In the ostrich case it was Carol's idea and I went along with it and enjoyed it also. I live for the excursions on cruises more than she. I just like to see what is out there on these islands and get off the ship. When I am on the ship I am absorbed by the ship itself. I spoke to a few new people every day on the ship and not one of them ever mentioned the ship itself-not even in a "I like it/don't like it" sense. I just marvel at the architecture of it and how it all fits together. The smell and sound of it. You would never know I am happy if you saw me on a ship. I don't shout "yippee" all day and high five my bros- I am placid and calm and inwardly at peace as I feel a ship is where I belong. I am the son of a ship's Captain and ships are in my blood. I am thankful for that.

Cheers!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

Still here.......awaiting more food shots (pardon me.....photographs)

Judy

 

Judy, I can tell you that there is FOOD PORN in the future. I know that in Aruba we have one of my favorite meals EVER on the beach.

Plus we have a Sabatini's and Crown Grill experience as well as more Da Vinci.

Stay tuned!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Oh how fun! What did you do on the cruise ship? I did consider it myself but I ended up as cabin crew instead for a few years. I've just caught up with your review and as usual such beautiful pictures, especially of the tigers.

 

The stargazing looks brilliant- I will definitely look out for that. We always love learning something new and our usual stargazing attempts involve naming everything as Orion so I think we need to work on that.

 

On the same note, Carol I love your idea of having a guide to read for the Opera show. It would certainly help me understand what I am watching!

 

Squish, I was a drummer on a Royal Caribbean ship and that part of my life is detailed in photos at the end of my Celebrity Reflection review starting at page 48 if I remember correctly.

Norris

[Deck Chair Queen]

Ostriches. I didn’t know how much I would love them until I met them and looked deeply into their warm brown widely set eyes. They are magnificent beasts and so fast and graceful. As you can hear in the video the guide (who understandably has had the romance of the ostrich fade if it was ever present) keeps saying how dumb they are, tiny brains and no long term memory. I say they are smart enough to live 75 years in the wild. Could he? I love excursions with animal lovers. Gentle souls and easily entertained. Why ostriches in Curaçao? The climate is quite African and they thrive there, although not native. The practical use of the farm was not dwelt upon but I told myself it was for the eggs.

 

Carol

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by Deck Chair Queen

[perfect match]

I love your ostrich picture, Carol! It looks to me like you were very much in your happy place. :D

[Bimmer09]

Good morning,

Tuesday, 2/13, 6pm...I got the invite from my TA. If you'd like, I can contact her and see if they can accommodate two more Celebrity devotees. It's at Cooper's Hawk; I'm pretty sure there's wine involved!!!

How about the Travel Show in Rosemont this weekend? We always pick up a lot of good cruise info there.

Susan

 

Susan, thanks for the info but I am working during that time on the 13th and this weekend is work and Opera on Saturday,work on Sunday.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris, thank you for your awesome review! We are sailing the Crown in two weeks so I am enjoying your great pics etc. thanks again! Terry

 

Terry, thanks for the compliment and I am glad this is whetting your appetite for the Crown.

Bon Voyage in advance!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

While the Gouverneur didn't thrill the palate we loved the view

 

 

gcpIiB6r5vg

 

 

 

[lola2013]

Susan, thanks for the info but I am working during that time on the 13th and this weekend is work and Opera on Saturday,work on Sunday.

Norris

 

...maybe next time!

[MisterMet]

Ostriches. I didn’t know how much I would love them until I met them and looked deeply into their warm brown widely set eyes. They are magnificent beasts and so fast and graceful. As you can hear in the video the guide (who understandably has had the romance of the ostrich fade if it was ever present) keeps saying how dumb they are, tiny brains and no long term memory. I say they are smart enough to live 75 years in the wild. Could he? I love excursions with animal lovers. Gentle souls and easily entertained. Why ostriches in Curaçao? The climate is quite African and they thrive there, although not native. The practical use of the farm was not dwelt upon but I told myself it was for the eggs.

 

Carol

 

 

 

 

Carol,

 

Love that picture!

 

Trip

 

 

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[Bimmer09]

We have lunched and now head over the Queen Emma bridge on our way to visit the Oldest Synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. It was closed (4 p.m) last time we were in Curacao.

 

 

Looking back from whence we came

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

In a side street

[Bimmer09]

More street art

 

 

Google Maps leads us here



 

 

Carol pays the entrance fee -$10 each?



 

I was startled by the soft sand on the floor but Carol told me it was to muffle the sound of the services which in bygone days had to be held in secret.

 

 



 

 

 

More...

[Bimmer09]

We step back outside

 

 



 

There is a museum section but it doesn't permit photography so I skipped that. I have no religious leanings at all and the history would have been lost on me so I stepped outside onto the street to sit and smoke. Carol did go in and there she met a Docent who showed her an index listing Netherland Antilles Jews going back hundreds of years which listed 4 pages of her family's ancestral name. She also saw a Torah from 1320 smuggled out of Spain, prior to the Spanish Inquisition. She found the experience very moving.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

A dog takes a nap underneath a car

 

 

cafes opposite the Synagogue



 

Last time in Willemstad, 6 years ago, we stopped for a drink and a sit at Cafe Iguana by the water. It was hot in the streets today and we decided to visit it again. We sat for an hour or so, people watching. Carol had 2 of these yummy frozen Cappucino drinks.

 

A very nice, relaxing interlude, surrounded by eye-candy and happy faces, many from the Crown. We eventually headed back through Rif Fort and there came upon this

 

 

I got down on my knees and he came closer

[Bimmer09]

lol

 

thanks Norris! we love the ABC islands and the next time we go back to the Caribbean that's where we'll be sticking to. Next on our list after the Greek Isles are Fiji, New Zealand, and Alaska (as of now) and then back to Mexico probably.

 

I do hope, Crystal, that you will visit Alaska-it's what cameras were made for. No beaches though which I know you and the BF love. The others you mention are of course eye-candy locations. The Glaciers in Alaska should be seen sooner rather than later as I have taken 3 cruises there and can see many of them shrinking over the past 6 years.

Norris

[silkismom]

I love iguanas, they are so primitive looking. We had one that visited our patio every afternoon while we were in Bonaire.

 

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[Deck Chair Queen]

Here’s a better scan of the ostrich feeding photo. Sorry to have besmirched Norris’s review with a blurry photo.

 

 

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[macmax]

Squish, I was a drummer on a Royal Caribbean ship and that part of my life is detailed in photos at the end of my Celebrity Reflection review starting at page 48 if I remember correctly.

Norris

 

Can you still play paradiddles?;p

[Bimmer09]

Can you still play paradiddles?;p

 

Welcome back! I'm happy to see you following along.

The answer is yes, singles and doubles. Over easy or sunny side up no problem.

Norris

Edited February 8, 2018 by Bimmer09
spelling

[Bimmer09]

BACK ON THE CROWN

I had nothing to do on this hot afternoon but to settle down and write you a line....

(an all-time favorite from a unique singer)



and enjoy a beverage



 

You can see by the long shadows that it is late in the afternoon. Maybe we should have stayed on shore and taken advantage of the oncoming of night as we had a late sail away but we'd enjoyed Willemstad enough for one day and it's one of those ports we will always look forward to like San Juan and Roatan (for the dolphins and the great Carnival-built Mahogany Bay beach) Of course I have to be here for when the sun sets after 6 p.m. Several of my cronies whom I take my morning coffee and wake-up chat with are on deck in large groups enjoying the 81 degree weather. I am alone working on photos from days before trying to keep up.

I am always surprised how few people have cameras on deck, considering the beauty of where we are. I see some phones at sunset but that is all. My thought is that these are some of the best days of our lives and should be captured and shared. Imagine CC with no photo reviews or no Beyondships to give you a flavor of a particular ship? Or no photos in Cruise Brochures?

If you are someone who cruises half a dozen times a year, how I envy you, but maybe the things that matter to me, like sunsets and mooring teams, no longer count for you? A ship is a floating hotel and we can all stay at hotels where we walk through with blinkers on to get to our rooms.



Our plan this evening as we are not ashore is to eat at the IC again, forgoing a fantastic 4 course dinner in Da Vinci for expediency and flexibility as we want to see A.J Clarke, the pianist/singer from Crooners in the Explorers Lounge and I want to dash off the ship after that to take photos in the dark using my tripod.



The thing that attracts me (and I will infect Carol with my enthusiasm) to Azamara is their late port stops and overnights. Tiny fleet of tiny ships is the drawback though.

I get to see Curacao as the sun gets low tonight...

[

 

 



 

 



 

Occasionally a ship friend will stop by and we chat. "what did you do today?" We just walked around town and found a bar. Fair enough and why not. On a cruise you do what you want to do-see everything, see somethings (that's us) or see nothing by staying onboard and enjoying the quiet ship. Everyone has their own style of cruising. I love that! I don't buy tee shirts and I don't go to Margaritaville or buy diamonds but I love that others do. We are here to spend some dollars and have an enjoyable day, whatever form that takes. Some of my ship friends got off each day to play golf-fantastic!! They even had their own clubs on board.

 

 



 

[tigerbeth]

Hey Norris, good to see you & Carol enjoying yourselves again !

I'm really late to this review , but all caught up now & ready to party !!

Looking forward to the remainder of you travel tales .

Cheers

Beth

[Bimmer09]

Anyone know what the white tower is?

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

Hello darkness my old friend...

[Bimmer09]

Hey Norris, good to see you & Carol enjoying yourselves again !

I'm really late to this review , but all caught up now & ready to party !!

Looking forward to the remainder of you travel tales .

Cheers

Beth

 

Beth, welcome! It's never too late.

Norris

[hockeyguru32]

BACK ON THE CROWN

I had nothing to do on this hot afternoon but to settle down and write you a line....

(an all-time favorite from a unique singer)

ROD STEWART

Edited February 9, 2018 by hockeyguru32

[hockeyguru32]

 

 

hello darkness my old friend...

 

SIMON AND GARFUNKEL