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

[scubacruiserx2]

The next stop was Playa Piscado to see the Turtles . As divers we have seen and swim with turtles in the wild . Here it is very crowded with fishermen cleaning their catch and dumping the leftovers in the ocean . This brings the turtles very close to the shore . The turtles bring crowds of people who just have to get that selfie of them petting a turtle . It's posted not to molest or touch the turtles but it was a free for all in the water and in the parking lot . We're not fans of crowded beaches but it is a pretty area .

 

 

 

 

 

Here's an open water turtle encounter in Roatan

 

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

We really liked this beach Playa Kenepa Grandi . A lot more room at the beach and in the parking lot .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We're off to see the Lizard

Iguana is on the menu here ( soup) but we didn't try any . We did see them on the ground , under tables in a restaurant and in trees near a beach .

 

 

 

 

 

 

It will be near freezing here this weekend . When this happens you will see them falling out of trees !

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

We didn't care to repeat our faux pas from our previous tour by skipping lunch . When Elton explained our options we decided to get our goat on under the shade tree . When we drove by earlier Pat took this photo from the car .

 

 

We stopped at Williwood for a bathroom break and lunch .

 

 

With it's eclectic appearance it's kinda hard to miss

 

 

 

A Williburger with sweet potato fries and a brew under the shade tree - A delicious experience .

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[puppycanducruise]

Great pictures.  The sea is a beautiful colour.

[scubacruiserx2]

51 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

Great pictures.  The sea is a beautiful colour.

 

Thank you . We are looking forward to seeing the sea again - even if it is a Princess .😉 We booked our first corner aft suite and it will be an interesting comparison to the Aft corner NS .

[scubacruiserx2]

 I misplaced this photo from earlier

 

[puppycanducruise]

That's a very long tail.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, puppycanducruise said:

That's a very long tail.

 

And it knew how to use it . 😊

We had a nice tour with Elton and would recommend him for a tour in Curacao . After he dropped as off at the port we had time for a quick nap before dinner at Rudi's .

Edited January 26, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[Lido deck main]

You really are a great photographer.  Such a pleasure and a treat  looking at your photos.

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

You really are a great photographer.  Such a pleasure and a treat  looking at your photos.

 

Thank you for those kind words . Traveling and capturing it through photography has been a fun thing to do in retirement . My wife keeps mentioning calendars and I may look into it after we complete the next trip .

[silkismom]

I have been making calendars with my photos of the year, using Shutterfly. Easy to do once you get the hang of it. Last year we didn't do much traveling so I used mainly photos of animals that I've taken around our area.

[scubacruiserx2]

 This was our first visit to Rudi's and we set our dinner time for after the sunset . We had booked Rudi's before and canceled it on our frustrating anniversary cruise in 2019 on the Nieuw Statendam . This time we were excited with the excellent service and servers that we had been experiencing in the Pinnacle Grill . Decisions, decisions .

 

 

The charger plates

 

 

 

The bread and accompaniments

 

 

A different bread and roasted garlic with the escargot

 

 

 

Next up was Foie Gras Torchon for the Mrs and Beef Tartare for Moi

 

 

 

Main course was Broiled Maine Lobster for me and Patty had a little Lamb Persil lade

 

 

 

I really did like the Ratatouille but we use a little cheese in ours

 

 

Pat had a HUGH Rudi's Soufflé and I had the Apple Tarte Tatin

 

 

 

It was a wonderful meal and at 1/2 price - a bargain . We received our 4th star Mariner medal on our bed this cruise . We wanted to wear them to dinner but decided to wait for a Gala night .😉

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[USN59-79]

I have been enjoying your saga every day.  Question:  Are those really Maine Lobsters?  I thought real lobsters came with claws.  

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, silkismom said:

I have been making calendars with my photos of the year, using Shutterfly. Easy to do once you get the hang of it. Last year we didn't do much traveling so I used mainly photos of animals that I've taken around our area.

 

Thank you you very much I'll look into them .👍

[scubacruiserx2]

37 minutes ago, USN59-79 said:

I have been enjoying your saga every day.  Question:  Are those really Maine Lobsters?  I thought real lobsters came with claws.  

 

The Spiny Lobsters that we catch when diving don't have claws . Those tails at Rudi's would have been considered to be " shorts " , illegal to catch , sell or possess in Florida waters  .

 

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[USN59-79]

So they are really not Maine lobsters.  Are they called that on the menu?

[scubacruiserx2]

5 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

So they are really not Maine lobsters.  Are they called that on the menu?

 

The menu says Broiled Maine Lobster

[scubacruiserx2]

A look at our next scheduled cruise on February 8th on the newest Princess ship - the Enchanted

 

 

We have booked private tours in all of the ports except St. Thomas

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 Photos taken before Rudi's dinner

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Photos after Rudi's dinner . Note the sliver moon over the Carnival ship

 

 

 

 

The bridge closing also seen in the video

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We arrived in Aruba ahead of the Sky Princess and the Carnival Sunshine . We had an 8 AM meeting with our guide so we had brekky in the cabin

 

 

 

The Freewinds  ship is owned by the church of Scientology .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freewinds

 

 

It's also the place where Tom Cruise celebrated a surprise birthday party 

 

 

 

 

The Pilot goes out to greet the Sky Princess

 

 

 

 

Good morning Aruba

 

 

Guess whos coming to breakfast ?

 

 

 

[ottahand7]

I love fois gras.  Was the fois gras torchon cold or hot.   I don't care for it cold.  I guess I could ask to have them sear it but it would be good to know in advance.    Thanks!

[scubacruiserx2]

31 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

I love fois gras.  Was the fois gras torchon cold or hot.   I don't care for it cold.  I guess I could ask to have them sear it but it would be good to know in advance.    Thanks!

 

Pat does too and we made a deal - she can have all of mine ! Yuck 😝

Unfortunately it was cold , so go for sear ! Pat likes it hot or cold .

[scubacruiserx2]

We jumped off the ship as soon as we could as we had a long walk to meet Esther , our guide for the day . We strolled past the NA and stopped at the front of the Sky .

 

 

We took a couple of outside photos of the Suite that we have booked on the Sky for a cruise to Norway in June. It's the forward blue balcony lower left . This ship is a sister to the Enchanted that we will board on the 8th .

 

 

 

Even though they arrived behind us there were a number of Princess passengers waiting by the KuKoo Kunuku . The name said it all . Not one that we would care to pile into .

 

 

The Freewinds 

 

 

Still quite a walk to get to the parking lot

 

 

This looked like a place for me to have a drink on the way back (retired surfers)

 

 

And maybe a pose off ( It would take quite a few drink's at Lucy's to stick my head in this hole )

 

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by scubacruiserx2