Cruising into Twenty - Twenty two : Something old and something Nieuw

[tuolumne couple]

5 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Great photo . Is that from the catamaran or the cruise ship ? We have not tried the Cioppino . We were trying the Canaletto for the first later that evening .

That is right from the bow, which is open in St Lucia, you will love it. Canaletto is another favorite. I could go on and on. How about we meet in the ocean bar in 5 and I tell you all about it.. LOL

 

[scubacruiserx2]

7 hours ago, tuolumne couple said:

That is right from the bow, which is open in St Lucia, you will love it. Canaletto is another favorite. I could go on and on. How about we meet in the ocean bar in 5 and I tell you all about it.. LOL

 

 

Ok the First Rounds On Me . Which part of California are you from ? My Uncle Sam gave me an all expenses paid vacation back in 1972 to San Diego .

[puppycanducruise]

14 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Great photo . Is that from the catamaran or the cruise ship ? We have not tried the Cioppino . We were trying the Canaletto for the first later that evening .

Love the Cioppino in Canaletto.  Sorry you missed it.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, puppycanducruise said:

Love the Cioppino in Canaletto.  Sorry you missed it.

 

Something to look forward to next time 

[scubacruiserx2]

We slipped in overnight under the cover of darkness just before sunrise . There is no light in room except in the bathroom which is dimly lit .

 

 

We could see the dim lights on the shore

 

 

Almost sunrise

 

 

A look at the weather

 

 

We were not at the Mega cruise terminal but up the Sint Annabaai River past the swinging bridge

 

 

 

We had a great view of the bridge closing as the Pilot ships raced out to meet the incoming cruise ships

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

A frigate bird in the port and the Carnival Liberty and Sunshine sailing into port

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Breakfast was a cheese omelet and Banana Bread French toast

 

 

 

Rudi's would be later in the evening and some of the Charger Plates were out

 

 

[tuolumne couple]

5 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Ok the First Rounds On Me . Which part of California are you from ? My Uncle Sam gave me an all expenses paid vacation back in 1972 to San Diego .

Thanks for the drink! We live in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, and I must say that life at 7000 feet is different than sea level, especially when it is 15 degrees, as it is right now. We will be sailing out of Sand Diego next month though. 

[scubacruiserx2]

4 hours ago, tuolumne couple said:

Thanks for the drink! We live in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, and I must say that life at 7000 feet is different than sea level, especially when it is 15 degrees, as it is right now. We will be sailing out of Sand Diego next month though. 

 

Yikes ! It could be upper 30's here tonight - and we thought that was cold . We have diving buddies in Denver and when we visited there we could barely breathe at the altitude .

[tuolumne couple]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

one gets used to it I suppose. So looking forward to warmer weather, the open sea, and good food. Wishing you all the best. 

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, tuolumne couple said:

one gets used to it I suppose. So looking forward to warmer weather, the open sea, and good food. Wishing you all the best. 

 

That's certainly why most of us cruise . For us warm weather is the norm and we liked to visit cool places . But living there would be entirely different I imagine .

[scubacruiserx2]

The other times that we have visited Willemstad we just did self guided . We had a nice diner at the Rif Fort watching another ship sail off into the sunset . When we found out that Rudi's was that night we booked that and also booked a guide to show us other parts of the island . We were meeting the guide later and we wanted to walk a bit first .

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the shops we closed except the places serving food or drink

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sunshine was our turnaround point as the passengers were just beginning to disembark and we wanted to stay ahead of the crowd

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We retraced our steps back thru the Rif Fort 

 

 

 

And crossed the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge that joins Otrobanda to the Punda side of Willemstad . Waking up this morning in Florida finds our local temperature at 39 degrees while in Willemstad it's currently 77 degrees . This was the way that Otrobanda looked when we were there this year .

 

 

And how it was decorated 2 years ago when we were there last

 

 

We crossed the bridge to the Punda side where we agreed to meet our guide Elton at the Punda Punda Love Hearts

 

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

An Otrobanda Panorama

 

 

We had seen the pontoon bridge from a bird's eye view earlier and now it was face to face complete with bells - but no whistles

 

 

 

 

While Pat waited for Elton I took a quick walk along the waterfront toward the ship and the Queen Juliana Bridge

 

 

 

 

Like us , Elton has a travelers heart and had just recently returned from Columbia

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 When we met Elton we headed out directly pausing for a photo Op 

 

 

And picking up the car we headed out for the first stop which was Fort Nassau

 

 

 

Atop the Sablica Hill, 68 meters above the water of the surrounding Schottegat, stands historical Fort Nassau.

Near the end of the year 1796 the owner of the Sablica Hill and the surrounding plantation, Mr. Hubertus Coerman, received a letter from the Military Committee of the Curaçao Council, announcing that a fort would be built on his property. To the discontent of the citizens it was also decided that they had to come up with the necessary funds to build the fort: sixty thousand guilders, an enormous amount in those days. Moreover the people had their doubts about the use of a defending fort, justly so as it turned out. The fort never played a very active part in the defense of the town. It had mostly a preventive function. Only on January 1st, 1807, the fort came into action against an English invasion, but to no effect.

The Curaçao forts owe their existence to the expansion wars that were fought by the Spaniards, the Dutch, the Portuguese, the English, the French and the Scandinavians in the Caribbean area.
This fort was originally called “Fort Republiek” (Republic) after the Batavian Republic that was founded near the end of the 18th century by the French rulers in Holland. In 1807, when the English invaded the island successfully and took control in spite of the fire from the fort, the name changed to “Fort George” to honor England’s king George III. In 1816, due to lasting peace between Holland and England, the island was given back to the Dutch. In honor of the Dutch royal family the fort was renamed “Fort Orange Nassau”, soon to be called in popular speech “Fort Nassau”.

It is now a restaurant with a commanding 360 degree view

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

When we first visited Curacao on the Celebrity Eclipse in 2017 this was our first photo and first impression

 

 

Our view from Fort Nassau showed things different now at the Isla Refinery

 

 

 

 

 

Three countries including China have tried to buy and restart the refinery . All of the deals have fallen thru and there are a number of environmental involved . In the meantime cruise ships continue to come and go including the Nieuw Amsterdam .

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Our next stop was where the familiar blue Curacao Liqueur is made at Senior Company at Landhuis Chobolobo .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing including our photos can capture being there but this video does a better job than our photos .

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[rkacruiser]

On 1/22/2022 at 6:18 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

It's in a section of the Lido in a partitioned area . We noticed people walking back and forth behind the signs all during the meal .

 

For me, that traffic of guests detracts from making Canaletto makes this specialty restaurant less attractive than it could be.

 

On 1/22/2022 at 8:19 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

As we have booked a cruise on Princess soon we will show some contrasts with HAL . HAL retains it's Dutch heritage but Princess is more closely aligned with Italy . After showing the paid Canaletto diner we will show the free lunch and dinner at Alfredos . It takes the place of Canalettos and New York Pizza ,

 

I have patronized Alfredo's as a stand alone on Royal Princess as well as a pop-up on Coral Princess.  Very, very good in each situation.  

 

On 1/22/2022 at 8:19 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

Sabatinis is the breakfast room for the suites like the Pinnacle and the formal Italian Restaurant 

 

Sabatini's is the equal to Canaletto and has the advantage of being a specialty restaurant as a separate venue.  

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

For me, that traffic of guests detracts from making Canaletto makes this specialty restaurant less attractive than it could be.

 

 

I have patronized Alfredo's as a stand alone on Royal Princess as well as a pop-up on Coral Princess.  Very, very good in each situation.  

 

 

Sabatini's is the equal to Canaletto and has the advantage of being a specialty restaurant as a separate venue.  

 

Interesting timing that you should mention Princess . We don't know anyone in LA but we got a call from there just before dinner . They left a message that we haven't completed our Medallion information yet for our Princess cruise in 2 weeks . When is the last time that you got a call from a cruise line ? We don't have the technology to put them on hold so Pat did pick up . We have never used the Medallion before and are intimated and a little suspicious of it . She talked Pat through it a little and we will try to do it tomorrow . Our TA said that she would meet us to help us with it but she's about a half an hour away , so we'll take a crack at it in the morning . Low 40's in the morning again tomorrow here but we're still using dry ice in the fridge and freezer to try to keep from losing all the food until the fan motor part comes from Kenmore . More in the morning we hope . 😴

Edited January 25, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Our next stop was just by the road to see Flamingos feeding in the salt flat

 

 

 

 

 

There was a church in the background the Church of Sint Willibrordus which was closed

 

 

 

People had left some footprints try to wade over to get closer to the Flamingos and as we were leaving some girls we doing the same . The flamingos just moved away .

 

 

When we were in Bonaire in 2019 we saw one dancing the Flamenco

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Our next stop was on the Windward North side

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was amazing to see that over the course of time these stones piled themselves up

 

 

The sea was quite calming , almost hypnotic

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[mocruzer]

Enjoying the review and your always excellent pictures!

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, mocruzer said:

Enjoying the review and your always excellent pictures!

 

Thank you , more to come .

[scubacruiserx2]

 

Oops 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

The Santa Martha Bay lookout