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Caribbean Cruise
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Roger had wanted to spend a month or 2 in the south this year. Theresa couldn't. Our compromise was take a week long cruise in the coldest part of winter, namely the first week in February. Roger has several times watched an hour long TV special on building the largest ship in the world. It was launched in 1999 and is named, Voyager of the Seas. It is in the fleet of Royal Caribbean International. We'll be sharing the ship with 3,114 other guests plus crew members.
We originally planned the cruise with Roger's brother, Jim, and his wife Diane. And we advertised the cruise to all of our relatives. And low and behold, Theresa's sister-in-law, Una, and her husband, John, decided to make their first cruise with us. It is Jim & Diane's second cruise and Theresa & Roger's fourth.
We planned & booked our cruise late last summer. In the meantime, Theresa has had a severe tooth problem that requires it being pulled. However since she's had radiation, her blood circulation in the area is poor. And that can cause infection and could result in jaw removal and all sorts of complications. To exacerbate that situation, she will need a month of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in a chamber, followed by the extraction, followed by another 2 weeks of HBO. And if that isn't enough, while we were in Halifax in the fall (see Halifax vacation), she fell and now has to have knee surgery. So we've ordered wheelchairs for all the airports and an electric wheelchair scooter for on board ship... She'll be busy when we get home.
Here is an approximate map of our route:
Rather than write daily messages, we'll add pages & pictures here. And don't cheat and look ahead before we get there.
>Day 1 - Sunday, February 1, 2004 - Departure
>Day 2 - Monday, February 2, 2004 - On the high seas
>Day 3 - Tuesday, February 3, 2004 - Labadee, Hispaniola
>Day 4 - Wednesday, February 4, 2004 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica
>Day 5 - Thursday, February 5, 2004 - George Town, Grand Caymans
>Day 6 - Friday, February 6, 2004 - Cozumel, Mexico
>Day 7 - Saturday, February 7, 2004 - another day on the high seas
>Day 8 - Sunday, February 8, 2004 - Home, at last
To summarize, a cruise is simply one of the most relaxing, enjoyable vacations one can take. And now John & Una know about cruises. We had several talks on how to recruit more friends and relatives for another one. Perhaps the best advantage is not having to change hotels every time you go to a new place; and that is is almost "all inclusive"... meals, air transportation, cruise, food, all paid for... all you have is the souvenirs, photographs, which can add up, but all worth it. You are treated like royalty. Every cruise has been an experience of many extremely competent and polite service people from many countries.
The next paragraph is what I've sent to several of my colleagues describing the week. It does a pretty good job of summarizing the experience.
"Had a great cruise. Thanks for all the warm wishes. Theresa was able to "cruise" around the ship on an electric scooter, although she was only able to go ashore at one port. Recall she'll be getting new knees as soon as we can get it scheduled. I went snorkeling at 3 different ports and ended up with itchy sunburn on my back, but it was great - saw lots of beautiful tropical fish and lots of coral and even swam with the sting rays. Of course in Ocho Rios, we had to climb Dunns River Falls. Food was fabulous. Shows were loud. Even went ice skating on an ice rink used for an evening ice show. And cruising on the largest cruise ship in the world was great - it's so large it has a 4 story shopping mall down the center of the ship about 100 yards long - ship accommodates 3,114 paying passengers plus crew bringing onboard people count to about 5000 - as many as an aircraft carrier. To hear & see more, go to: http://roger-theresa.n0kfb.org/Cruise/Caribbean%20Cruise.htm."
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