Tender on the Sea

To get from the ship to the little port of Coco Cay, we boarded a "tender" which held a couple hundred passengers. Once it filled up, we were ferried over quickly.

Geographic note: This is in the Bahama Islands which are in the Caribbean. The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea and over 7000 islands, reefs, and cays. A cay is a small island formed on the surface of coral reefs.

View from Coco Cay

Cruise Ship in the Bahama Islands

Starfish and Seaweed

Coco Cay, A Tropical Island

Royal Caribbean calls it an exclusive island "reserved exclusively for Royal Caribbean guests" and a "tropical paradise." It's less than 200 yards wide and about a mile long. And it's in the Bahamas.

Although a variety of water sports were available (for a fee), we planned to spend our hours there relaxing on the private beach. Just us and (it turned) about 4,000 other people.

There were two cruise ships there at the same time. Our ship carries around 2400 passengers but some did not come ashore. A significant number of staff came ashore to work though, serving food and drinks, keeping the grounds clean, and taking pictures of passengers to sell to them later. (One compliment I must give Royal Caribbean is their staff: plenty of them, well-trained and hard-working.)

It took us a while to find vacant chairs and when we did, they were on a rocky section of beach. Still, the sun was warm but not overly glaring, so we enjoyed the luxury of sunbathing on the first of December.

Message in the Wake?

I took this picture looking down from our balcony at the turbulence caused by the ship moving through the water. Here the light blue shapes look almost like letters. Wait, does that say HELP?

Port of Nassau at Night

I took these photos from the balcony of our state room. Other cruise ships were docked near us.

Touring by large ship turned out to be rushed and crowded. As I mentioned before, we did not have enough time in Nassau. Just part of a single afternoon does not allow you to explore much of the city. I suppose if your only goal is to buy some souvenirs, it would be adequate.

Back to the Ship, Nassau

After a brief afternoon in Nassau we went back to the ship. Reboarding always takes a while because everyone has to line up to go through security. Ship security is not as intrusive as security at an airport in that you don't have to remove your shoes but it's still a nuisance, especially if you are tired and need to get off your feet.

A Quiet Spot in Nassau

We stopped at Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau to rest a few minutes and admire the stained glass windows.

Unfortunately we did not have much time to see all the sights. Other than visiting the church, the museum of slavery, and the souvenir markets, we walked up and down a few blocks, stopping for refreshments at Dunkin Donuts. We also spent 20 minutes in an internet cafe checking email because it was much cheaper there than on the ship.

Bright Colors of Freedom

The pier for the cruise ships in Nassau leads directly into a building with shops and tourist information. You can pose with this replica of a Junkanoo costume.

The Junkanoo Parade is a celebration of freedom left over from the days of slavery. The slaves had very few days off so when they finally got a couple of holidays around Christmas time, they held a celebration.

We were not in Nassau very long but I was fortunate to come across the Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation. I was reading a book called Sugar Changed the World in order to write a review for Amazon Vine and it went into detail about slavery in the Caribbean, which was generally more horrific and deadly than slavery in the United States. (The death rate of slaves on sugar plantations was so high that huge numbers of slaves were imported just to replace those who died or were maimed. Did you know that 96 percent of slaves taken from Africa to the Americas went to the sugar-producing areas of the Caribbean and South America?)

Welcome to Nassau

The second port of call on our cruise was Nassau, capital of the Bahamas.
You probably know that Columbus landed in the Bahamas. Did you know that over half the country's workforce is involved in tourism? I suppose we did our part by buying a few things in the straw market.

Here's an interesting statement from Wikipedia: "By the terms of GDP per capita, the Bahamas is the third richest country in the Americas (following the United States and Canada), the richest one that lies south of the Mexico - US border, as well as the richest one in the world whose population is predominantly of African origin."

An Atlantic Sunset

State Room on the Cruise Ship

I was glad that my husband had insisted on booking a room with a balcony. We enjoyed sitting out there when we didn't feel like mingling with the crowds in the public areas of the ship.

The room itself was not fancy. There was no artwork, no coffee pot, and no iron. Royal Caribbean does not allow you to bring appliances on board so don't bother packing your own. We did get a small TV set, a tiny safe, and a mini fridge. No clock though, and the little lamps on the wall were too dim to read by.

Towel Origami

The housekeeping staff on our cruise did an impressive job. They tidied up our stateroom twice a day and kept it pretty much spotless. They also made a towel animal every evening and left it for our amusement.

The Ship's Solarium

The Enchantment of the Seas has a lovely solarium. Unfortunately it was very crowded when we wanted to use it.

Flower, Cocoa Beach, 29 November

The nice thing about Florida is that you can enjoy warm days in the winter.

When we got back home, the cold weather had arrived in Virginia. Since then we've had very few days with temperatures above freezing. And then our furnace stopped working.

The folks from North Mountain Heating showed up promptly and diagnosed the heat exchanger as the worn-out part. Unfortunately, our unit was old and parts were no longer available. It took a couple of long cold days for the new unit to arrive.

We used space heaters in the interim but they did not heat the great room very well. We bundled up as the room temperature hovered around 50 degrees F.

The repair guys are local and were able to get here this morning in spite of a snowstorm. By 1 PM we had central heat again. It feels great.

Surf Shop, Surf Museum

The shuttle bus that took us from the ship to Cocoa Beach dropped us off behind the Ron Jon Surf Shop. That location is reportedly the largest surfing shop in the world. Next door is the Surf Museum.

	I was surprised to see several large sculptures in front of the store and museum. One had a plaque explaining that it was honoring Kelly Slater, a local resident and world champion surfer. See this blog entry about Slater.

A View of Cocoa Beach

A rainstorm had been gone for only a quarter hour when we walked out to see the Atlantic Ocean at the Alan Shepard Beachfront Park. Tourists were already gathering, many in bathing suits, and a few were venturing into the surf.

The sand there is a light brown color and I thought that might be the reason behind the name of the beach. However, Wikipedia says that early residents of Cocoa Beach named it for a nearby town called Cocoa, which was named for either the cocoa tree or the chocolatey beverage made from its beans.

I read that the first non-native settlement in the area was by a family of freed slaves following the Civil War. In 1888, a group of men from Cocoa bought the entire tract of land that became Cocoa Beach, although it went undeveloped until 1923.

Our ship's newsletter introduced Cocoa Beach with the statement that it was the fictional location of "I Dream of Jeannie." I wonder how many of the younger passengers even know what that was — the show ended in 1970.

Birds at Cocoa Beach

Cocoa Beach, Florida

I believe these are royal terns. When they took off and flew around together, they made an impressive display.

Frank at Cocoa Beach

When our cruise ship arrived at Port Canaveral, the weather was discouraging. A heavy rain pelted down, forcing some of our fellow passengers to cancel their plans for outdoor tours. We had only planned to take the shuttle bus into town so we decided to go in spite of the rain.

The town was Cocoa Beach, and we arrived just before noon. We headed for a nearby restaurant to have lunch and see if the weather improved. It did. By the time we finished lunch, the rain had stopped.

We walked along the beach for a while and then walked a few blocks to do some shopping. By the time we took the bus back to the ship, rain clouds had moved back in, so I'd say our timing was excellent.

Linda at Cocoa Beach

Port Canaveral was the first port of call on our cruise, and the nearby town of Cocoa Beach seemed like a promising place to buy some decent coffee. The shuttle bus driver pointed out some sites near our bus stop: a drug store, a surf shop, and a couple of restaurants.

After two days of cruising with no drinkable coffee other than a few packets of Taster's Choice Instant Decaf that I had brought with me, I was anxious to buy some coffee. Even though I drink only decaf, I craved the taste and smell of decent coffee. The ship only served one brand and it smelled burnt and seemed too vile to drink.

The drugstore did not have the little packets of decaf so I bought a plastic can of Folger's ground decaf, some filters and a coffee maker. (The staterooms do not have coffee makers; they don't even have clocks or irons!) Unfortunately, when we boarded the ship my coffee maker was confiscated -- turns out they are not allowed. (Eventually I got it back when we returned to Baltimore.)

Still, I was able to make single cups of decaf using a filter, a cup, and a pot of hot water provided by room service. And at our final port I found a French Press to purchase.

Window Views on the Ship

The Ocean is Deep

I've never been a big fan of visiting the ocean. Looking at it is interesting for a while but it quickly gets monotonous. And sometimes the sunlight bouncing off it is blindingly painful.

Then there's the fear of drowning. I don't know whether this is an attitude I picked up from my parents or whether it's a result of my first swimming lesson being scary but I'll explain about the latter.

I was about six when I went to swimming lessons at a community pool with my older siblings. The lifeguard noticed I did not like putting my face in the water and decided to convince me to do it by holding my head under water! I thought he would drown me! Never really got over it, although I doggedly returned to lessons because my brother and sister were getting ahead of me in learning to swim. It took me two summers but I finally managed to swim the length of the pool and passed the test. After that, I stopped going to the pool. I didn't like swimming. Still don't.

Remembering a Disaster at Sea

The cruise line chose DiCaprio and Winslet for the covers of their in-room magazines. Also, I heard the musicians in the lobby playing the theme from Titanic.
That movie gave me nightmares about drowning! I wonder if the folks from Royal Caribbean even saw the film.

On the Balcony

Frank had booked us a room with a balcony on the Enchantment of the Seas. The balcony turned out to be somewhat sheltered from the wind so there were times when we were comfortable out there even though the ship's outdoor deck was too windy to even walk across.

Port of Baltimore

"Farthest Inland" Port in the USA

Our cruise began in Baltimore, traveling down the Patapsco River into the Chesapeake Bay.

Souvenir Photo

Frank and Linda at Dinner

The cruise line has a troupe of roving photographers who run around snapping pictures to sell to the passengers. We only bought this one.

Our Cruise Itinerary

We just returned from an ocean cruise, our first. It's not really my "thing" but Frank really enjoyed it except for the crowds and my frequent whining about the coffee. Here's a summary of our route.

• Drove to Baltimore (3 hours)
• Boarded Enchantment of the Seas, cruised to Florida
• Port Canaveral - shuttle bus to Cocoa Beach
• Cruised to Nassau, Bahamas
• Cruised to Coco Cay, Bahamas
• Cruised to Key West, Florida
• Cruised 3 days back to Baltimore, drove home.

Mountain View in Early November

Winter weather has forced autumn behind us, but I still have pictures to share. This is our view a month ago.

We are facing Great North Mountain.

Historic Staunton Railroad

The old railroad station in Staunton still offers passenger service, albeit only a few times a week. There is no ticket office there, buy them from Amtrak.

The historic marker tells a bit of the Civil War history of the location, starting with:

Staunton

Vital Link

Near this site on April 17, 1861, nearly a hundred local citizens, many of whom had just enlisted in The Staunton Artillery, met to board trains for Harper's Ferry. They were led by prominent local citizen John D. Imboden, who would remain an active figure throughout the war during which he served as a Confederate General.

For more about this see HMDB.