Caribbean Cruise

Mon, Jan 20

Day 1 of the 5 day cruise.

Waiting to get on the ship

We picked Tony and Jill up at the place they were staying, got all the luggage to the port, got the car parked, checked on board, and started trying to find our way around the ship. It didn't take long before we didn't know which direction was the stern and which was the bow, or whether we were starboard or port. It really is confusing at first. I'm sure that after 5 days we will know our way around.

Our friends from Asheville, Bill and Jan Bass were on the cruise with us.

Leaving New Orleans

We are on this cruise as a part of the meeting of the Arc Light Young Tiger reunion. This group is made up of crew members who flew B-52's and KC 135's in South East Asia during the Vietnam War. We went to the groups earlier reunion in Savannah and are excited about renewing old acquaintances.

We have several people whose home base was Blytheville, Arkansas. Some of the people we know best are Hal and Susie Martin (Hal was a pilot), JT and Lou Plummer (JT was a Radar Nav), Tony and Jill Pimentel (Tony was a Radar Nav). Bill and Jan Bass are joining us on the cruise. Although Bill was not on a crew, he was a Air Traffic Control Officer at Blytheville when we were there (there's a long story on how we got to know each other).

Hal and Susie Martin

We had a short meeting of the reunion guest this afternoon, followed by a great dinner (the joke is we will all gain weight on the cruise because we can eat as much as we want when we want, and so far everything has been great).

After some getting reacquainted, we went to a live show – and then after a busy day, settled in. Tomorrow is a day at sea on the way to Progreso, Mexico.

Tues, Jan 21

Day 2

There is a very well equipped gym on the ship. Interestingly, it's located in what I would consider one of the premier locations on the boat, on the front, 12^th deck, with a great view of the bow and ocean. Anyway, I took advantage of it this morning.

At breakfast I observed something very unusual in today's world. Not one person was using a smart phone or IPAD. It struck me because it looked like people were talking to the people seated with them. Perhaps there needs to be a regulation against smart phones in restaurants. It was very pleasant.

I'm gradually finding out how to get from one end of the ship to the other. There are many ways, but with some you have to climb and descend a bunch of steps.

Bill, Tony, Jill, Jan and Clara enjoying the nice weather on the stern deck

The atrium in the center of the ship was quite interesting - and helped us learn our way around

Tonight Maine lobster was served for dinner. The wait staff comes around when we're about finished and asks if anyone would like seconds. J. T. and I both had another round of lobster. Obviously it had been frozen and wasn't quite as good as fresh – but it was still pretty good.

Sunset

After a comedy show in one of the lounges, we're calling it a night.

Wed, Jan 22

Day 3

Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico

The boats-a-rockin. The winds are around 25 knot, sometimes stronger, creating what seem to be small waves from the boat. But obviously they must be bigger than they look because this big thing definitely does some rocking. Makes for some fun walking on the stairs or along a hall way. Everyone is weaving a little.

Soon after we docked in Progresso, Clara and some of the girls took off on the shuttle to the town. The town is about 2 miles away even though it's at the end of the dock. This whole dock complex is on a man-made extension which extends into the ocean. I haven't seen anything like it before.

When docked at Progreso, it was only a short walk to the Duty Free shops and the cruise ship shops on the docks

In this view, you can barely make out the shore and the town of Progreso about 2 miles away

After the girls left, I got off the boat with the intention of taking a stroll to the little set up that is built near the cruise dock. However, the drinks were cheap and I enjoyed the rest of the day in the shopping area.

Tonight after dinner, we went to one of the small rooms where a great singer/pianist was playing. We had heard about him today, and it was really worth the time. I had heard that there is usually some good talent on these cruises, but this was the first we had seen of it.

The pool and hot tub at night

Martyn Lucas

Thur, Jan 23

Day 4

We've reached the furthest point in our cruise, Cozeumel We arrived at 9 am and immediately got off, caught a taxi and went for our scheduled Sail/Snorkel trip.

We didn't really know what expect – and were pleasantly surprised. The coral was not necessarily interesting, but there were lots of fish.

While waiting to go out snorkeling, we watched a guy doing some pretty impressive stuff on a water powered pack

Tony and Jill went on their first snorkeling trip

This is the boat from which we snorkeled

The trip took most of the time that is allotted ashore, but Clara and Jill did manage to get some shopping done.

Heading home

Each night, we had a nice sit down dinner with Susie and Hal Martin, and JT and Lou Plummer

Tonight we're headed back toward New Orleans with an expected arrival Saturday morning.

Elation and her sister ship

Fri, Jan 24

Day 5

Today was a day at sea on the way back to New Orleans. As we gradually moved North in rolling seas, the temperature started dropping noticeably. We can catch the weather in the USA, and it ain't pretty. It was below freezing in all 50 states today, and that's what we're heading back to.

I had signed up for a behind-the-scenes look at the ship operations, covering everything from the kitchens and laundry to the engine control room and bridge, including meeting the Captain.

A few quick memories.

The ship has about 960 crew members

The laundry has a $700,000 machine that dries and folds the sheets

The crew hails from 46 countries.

The officers are generally from Italy and Croatia

The Captain has 22 years experience and has been Captain of this ship for only 2 months.

The Captain is basically the CEO of a small company

He has 3 direct reports

After a short workout and lunch, we had our business meeting of the Arc Light Young tiger Association. The next meeting will be held in June, 2015 at Wright Patterson June 14-20.

We had a nice time getting together with our fellow warriors

After dinner, we listened to Myrtin and start packing to leave the ship in the morning.

There were several ships docked at Cozumel

This map shows our voyage

Sat, Jan 25

Day 5 

Today ends the cruise with a return to a very chilly New Orleans.  This morning on arrival, the temperature here was 34 degrees - very unusual for this part of the country.  It certainly made for a rather uncomfortable disembarking because none of the shore side facilities are set up to handle passengers in cold weather.

I had parked the car in a parking garage a few blocks from the terminal, and by the time I had caught the shuttle and battled the traffic back, everyone was pretty chilled.   We took Tony and Jill back to their car and they're off to Wichita.

After checking on the motor home and getting the heat going and all utilities reconnected, we decided to ride South along a road that borders the Mississippi River.  I don't know what we expected, and it was more or less just a chance to reconnect with land.  It turned out to be rather interesting, but we found ourselves quickly showing signs of too much partying on the cruise and soon turned around and came back.