Cruise Day 4 - St Thomas

This morning we docked in St Thomas and our main objective was to take the Paradise Point Tram and do some shopping. 

It was cloudy as we pulled into the dock.  Note the Paradise Tram is in the top picture.

We got off the ship by 9:30 am and found the tram would not start until after 10:00 am.  Since it was a short wait and we could avoid long lines later on, we waited for it to open and were on the second group of cars heading to the top. I got a great picture of our ship from Paradise Point. 

After the tram ride we walked to the mall for some shopping.  Boy did it get hot n a hurry!  Katie and Becca bought a few souvenirs, and I bought a few bamboo clothing items at the Cariloha store before we headed back to the ship for lunch.

I played some Bocci in the afternoon, but once again did not win any prizes. 

It was Italian night in the restaurant and a few of us had Tiramisu for dessert.  

After that Mary and I watched Katie do some line dancing. I joined in on the last number, YMCA, and did not do very well but had fun. 

On to St Maarten tomorrow!

Cruise Day 3

We had another sea day today which turned out to be quite busy.  I did the passengers vs officers challenge in the morning.  It was a beanbag toss and, of course, the officers won easily with 6 of them  tossing multiple times vs a horde of passengers who only got to toss twice.   But it was still a lot of fun.

The Most Traveled Guest luncheon was fabulous! (Click any picture to make it larger.)  We had personalized menus and a full three course meal accompanied by wine which was way too much food compared to our typical lunches.  

Above right is the appetizer, fried mozzarella cheese with tomato sauce. On the left is a lamb chop and a bacon wrapped steak, and the chocolate dessert was simply fabulous.

We had the head of the ship's Beverage and Food service eating at our table along with 3 other guests.  The conversation was good as we learned about each other and our past cruises. 

What a great event to experience!

After the luncheon, Katie's friend Becca and I did lawn bowling and a golf putting contest.  I came in 2nd at lawn bowling.  I love these sporting events!

After dinner we attended a show by the Extravaganza Duo, a pair of violinists from Ukraine.  They were excellent and played a wide range of music, including one country and western number. 

So it was a busy and very enjoyable day.

Tomorrow we are at St Thomas, our first port of this cruise. 

Cruise Day 2

Today was a sea day with a couple activities on board.  We enjoyed relaxing and getting to know the ship.

The water was a bit rough last night, but not too bad.  It's easier to tolerate rough seas when you are horizontal! The sailing is smoother today as we have one more sea day before we arrive at St Thomas.

After breakfast we walked around the ship for a bit until our cabin steward had finished with our room.  At 11:00 I played water pong, where you have to bounce ping pong balls into a cup. It was a Guests vs Crew challenge. I actually got 2 of 3 ping pong balls into a cup on my first turn.  The crew ended up winning, but we only had 1 more cup to go so it was closer than most Guests vs Crew challenges. 

After lunch in the restaurant, I did some exercises and Mary enjoyed some sun on our balcony.   Here are two dessert pictures to tempt you!  On the left is a chocolate tart that we had for lunch, and on the the right is the classic Princess Love Boat Dream that Mary had for dinner.

After that we hustled to the Princess Theater for a new show, Spotlight Bar.  People need to arrive over 30 minutes before the show to get a good seat.  Katie was busy with a work project so Becca came to the show with us.  It as a good show, and the singers and dancers performed great.  We have two more production shows scheduled later in the cruise, 5 Skies and Rock Opera. 

Tomorrow is a second sea day and our Most Traveled Guests luncheon with the Captain and officers.

Cruise Day 1

We left our hotel by 9:30 and were at the cruise terminal by 10:15.  We dropped off our luggage and headed inside to check in.  We went through the x-ray screening, and after that, no lines, no waiting!  We walked on the ship, went to Katie and Becca's cabin  to drop of their carryons and headed to our cabin where we did the same.  Since it was early we found a table on the Lido (pool) deck and got connected to the internet, watched the safety video and checked into our muster stations.

From our balcony we could see Cape Canaveral! The large building with the flag is the Vehicle Assembly and the other is Launch Complex 39 Building where the Artemis II rocket is waiting to fly to the moon.

Closeup photos thanks to Mary and her 26x zoom camera.

Our next stop was the World Marketplace buffet for lunch.  They have an amazing selection of food available.  One thing we had not seen or other ships was a Kid's area.  

After lunch the four of us returned to our cabin which was ready, and talked for a while.  Mary and I were very surprised to find an invitation there to the Most Traveled Guests party!  The 25 couples on this ship with the highest number of cruising days get invited to this special luncheon with the Captain.  We've always wanted to be invited, and on this cruise our mere 326 days got us in!

As the ship sailed out today, I spotted these barges parked by the waterway - The SpaceX landing barges! SpaceX routinely lands the first stage of their Falcon 9 boosters out at sea and these barges are where they land. The closeup on the right is of A Shortfall of Gravitas.  The other one had no name on it, so it is either Just Read the Instructions or a new one they are preparing. 

The white thing on the deck is the Octograbber which anchors the just-landed booster to the barge while it is towed back to port. The large cranes behind each barge are used to lift the rocket off the barge and onto a transport vehicle.  What an unexpected thing to see today!!

Dinner was good with nothing special to record, although I did miss having pina colada cold soup on the menu as an appetizer. We tried to go to the evening show, but it was moved from the Princess Theater which is showing the Super Bowl to a smaller lounge and there were no seats available so we skipped that and watched the Super Bowl in our room. 

Tomorrow is a sea day with typical on board activities.  

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Cruising Once Again

Today we flew to Orlando to get ready for our 8-day cruise on the Sky Princess.   We will visit St Thomas, St Maarten, San Juan, and Grand Turk on this cruise. Tomorrow we head to Port Canaveral to start the cruise.  I had not heard of Princess using Port Canaveral before as they typically sail from Fort Lauderdale.  But the dates and the price were right so that's what we booked for our 2026 family cruise.  Katie and her roommate, Becca, are joining us on this cruise.  It's Becca's first cruise, which is exciting.

We enjoyed a nice meal near our hotel and are settled in for the night and ready to head to the ship tomorrow morning.

More to come once we are on board!

Leaving Aspen

Today was a leisurely day with our only activity to drive from Aspen to Denver. It was a beautiful, clear day so we went across Independence Pass.  The scenery was fabulous as you can see from Mary's pictures.  There was still quite a bit of color on the Eastern side of the pass and, while they had little or no snow, seeing the mountains one more time was inspiring.  

So you get one more set of mountain photos.  What a great feeling to experience being in the Rockies!

We stopped for lunch at our favorite place in Georgetown, The Happy Cooker.  I was disappointed they no longer offer quiche on their menu, but we found good options to eat.  We walked around town while waiting for our table.  The food was excellent and we were only 45 minutes from our Denver hotel so we could enjoy a leisurely lunch.

Tomorrow afternoon we fly back home.  It's been a very good trip, especially since it is been 2 years since we were in these mountains.  I did not know how much I missed that feeling until we drove through them last Wednesday

Aspen Day 4

 

Today is a grey day with scattered showers. In the morning we walked around the Aspen Farm Market and enjoyed seeing the town.  Lots of fruits and vegetables for sale along with many other market type items.

After lunch, we headed to a wedding! We met Ron Matthews when he first came to Aspen around 2014.  In 2017, a big JD fan had her tickets all purchased, but then died suddenly, so her daughter came to Aspen-in-October in her place.  She liked it and came back the next year and one of the guitar players caught her eye.  Well things developed over the next few years and today they were married in Aspen!  Since we were one of the first people Ron Matthews met and we know him fairly well, we were privileged to be invited, although we were told to keep it a secret.  It was a Hawaii-themed wedding followed by a champagne and cake and reception.

This evening we went to the Chris Collins and Boulder Canyon Band concert. They took a different format than usual, and counted down the top 22 John Denver hits.  It was a very enjoyable concert.   The band has some excellent musicians who got to show their skills in a couple of songs.  On both sides of us were a pair of first time attenders, and it was pretty cool to hear how they were experiencing Aspen in October.  

Tomorrow we pack up and head to Denver with a possible stop at Goergetown for lunch.