Vacation! - A brief retrospective

Hello all! I have just returned from a week's vacation with the lovely Ms. aboard the ms Zuiderdam!

What can I say...it had to be the best vacation I have had in a long time! Vacations are great, but we had the time of our lives while visiting an old friend on the ship. We were introduced to the entertainment cast and crew and partied like rock stars every night. I have included a few pics here in the post, but if you'd like to live vicariously then click on my Flickr link down on the left to see all 800-and-something photos!

Our trip started Friday night December 8th at around 10:00 PM PST as we took a red-eye flight from Seattle to Ft. Lauderdale by way of Dallas/Ft. Worth. There is something rather odd about wandering through DFW at approximately 5 in the morning looking like the living dead (no sleep on the first leg at all). Finally arriving in Ft. Lauderdale (Hollywood FL actually) we took a crappy taxi ride to Pier 26. We are now at about 10:30 AM EST. It was spitting rain ever so slightly and we were trying our best to get in line and on the ship as quickly as possible. They processed our paperwork and had us in-line to get on the ship in pretty short order, but then when they let us on they wanted to take photos of us as we were going aboard..mind you this is the photo that people were going to see every time we boarded or left the ship, every time we purchased something on the ship, etc etc etc...it wasn't pretty.

Once aboard our good friend Krista was waiting right there for us! We had a private tour, she decorated our cabin door and told all of her friends and co-workers we were coming on board. The first day was tons of fun! We had a quick bite of lunch, took a brief nap to recharge since we had been up for some 30+ hours and then off to lifeboat drill before the ship set sail. Nothing like seeing a bunch of strangers in silly life jackets before you even leave port to break the ice. Next we were off dinner and the opening night show! Nuri & Nur were our dining room staff and Paul, our Wine Steward. All three of them worked so hard to make our entire trip an experience of a lifetime and I can honestly say they excelled in every way. We had an excelled dinner and the show (called a "Bumper" - kind of a preview of the week) was excellent. After the show our friend Krista came out with us for a bit and introduced us to Carlo and the team up in the Crow's Nest lounge. Have you ever noticed that there is a bar or lunge everywhere you look on cruise ships????Something tells me they planned it that way.

The second day brought us a "sea day" where the ship was sailing full steam to the island of Grand Turk, but not just yet. Sea days also bring lots of goofy activities, a chance to laze around the pool and meet your fellow cruisers. We had a ball - I for one visited the Bloody Mary bar at the Lido pool as soon as I could see. We goofed off all day and tons of fun and eventually headed out to dinner. Formal night and the wifey was dressed to kill. Dinner was fantastic and then off to watch Krista and the cast in a Broadway style show! the show was spectacular and the cast had energy to spare. Such professionalism is rare to find these days and it was such a treat to see a performance of this caliber while aboard such a fantastic ship. After the show I dropped by the cabin to leave off my jacket and freshen up to go party the night away. Our Cabin Steward Comang had fashioned (what we would later learn was a nightly treat) a Elephant out of rolled towels. Comang was just a stud and he worked so hard to have good conversation and remember our names each and every time he saw us - If hew was clear down the hall he would welcome us and come down and have meaningful conversation any time of the day or night! (well ok not at 3 am when we usually returned but come on!)


The third day (Monday) brought us to the cute little island of Grand Turk which is part of the Turks and Caicos Chain of islands in the British West Indies. We had signed up to take the "Island Safari" excursion and along with 8 other passengers set out on our island adventure with Michael, our guide. Michael was from Jamaica and had brought along with him plenty of "Medicine"...Fruit Punch and 151. It'll fix anything that'll ail ya - or at least make you so rummy that you wouldn't remember your troubles. Michael took us by the local prison where his tour company buddy kevin worked. Kevin reminded me fo the guy from Police Academy - you know the one who could make a million different sound effects with his voice - only Kevin was crazy - perhaps a previous condition caused him to have a long term prescription for that 'Medicine" I was talking about!

After our tour the only thing left to do on Grand Turk is to go to the new Jimmy Buffett's Magaritaville! I am just a little bit of a fan, so having the "Cheeseburger in Paradise" along with a Lattitude beer was right up my alley. We ran into some of the cast members there and had a great afternoon. After that a little swimming in the crystal blue Caribbean waters and then back onto he ship for another fabulous dinner and another show. Tonight's entertainment was a couple of brothers who call themselves Whyte. they were a Beatles cover team that were just out of this world. the show was spectacular and on to another night of late night parting at the "Northern Lights" disco with DJ Sparky (Daniel) until the wee hours. We made some new friends in the disco as well and had a blast!


Tuesday (Day 4) brought us (later in the day) to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Since we arrived a little late we got right on a taxi that took us to a ferry boat to get us out to Virgin Gorda to the Devil's Beach and the world Famous Virgin Gorda Baths. The ferry boat ride was long and the day was getting late. After the ferry another short bus ride to the top of the path to take us down to the beach and the baths. We took a short but fun hike down to tho the baths through caves, tunnels and lots of water - but the end result was paradise on earth (see my Flicker photos) The water was incredible and the sand was the softest I had ever felt. Our friend Krista was able to come along with us and I think she enjoyed it as much as we did. I took tons of photos and enjoyed a swim with the wifey.

On our way back up the path the wife kicked a rock like a soccer ball and broke her toe. She was in a ton of pain, but was a true sport "What can i do, I broke my toe, get me up to the top of the path so I can have some Rum" she said. She hardly complained and we did everything we could to help her out, buut she just wasn't going to let it ruin her vacation - **Important side note** She's a Dancer and Dance teacher - kind of a major deal for her. Back at the top of the hill Rum Punch and a fantastic view of the sunset over Virgin Gorda. Another ferryboat ride back (this time right to the ship) and on the ship to dinner...but...

My bloody phone is beeping and buzzing while I'm at the dock - You see I use a Sony Ericsson K790a camera phone for my camera and so it's getting reception when we gert back into town in Tortola. Who the heck is IMing me? Jayce - that piece of crap (just kidding jayce) is messaging me reminding me that I need to hook up with a friend of his while I'm in town. I was supposed to call her when I first got into town but because we were running so late it completely slipped my mind. He told me I could meet her at the a local pub just off the pier and that she had something special for me. Sun soaked and a few Rum Punches and Red Stripes later I was off the ship onto another adventure. Jayce and I were IMing (Thanks T-Mobile) and he was talking to her from his landline in Seattle to her mobile in Tortola (isn't technology great). I met Miss Simone just outside the treehouse and we had a nice, but short conversation. She was just the nicest lady (and very attractive might I add - hook it up Jayce). She had brough me all kinds of goodies and RUM to share and take home. We had a few laughs and I was on my way about a half an hour later back to the ship. Side note to Simone - Our good friend Krista is in Tortola once a week and it's always good to keep good people connected. I will be sure that each of you gets the other's contact information so you all can vist with each other!

Tortola was a late night sailing and of course there was fun to be had as usual after hours with DJ Sparky at the Northern Lights. I think this was also the night that I was yanked up on-stage to play family feud by our new friends Gary, Tammy, Auntie and Grandpa - sorry guys that I let you down, but did I mention there was lots of RUM this day???? What a ride!

Wednesday brought us to St. Thomas... where you can buy anything and everything. We took an "Ultimate Island Adventure" tour and saw more things than I can even remember, but Meghan's Beach was one of my favorites. Again beautiful crystal blue waters and incredible weather. We also went to Blackbeard's castle and, of course, the Cruzan Rum factory. St. Thomas had lots of shopping and we window shoppend and picked a few things up, but overall the downtown area was hectic and busy. Traffic was terrible.


More to come in my second post (tomorrow I promise)