Roger's Web Site | Caribbean Cruise 2014

ROGER'S WEB SITE - CARIBBEAN CRUISE 2014

On February 16th, 2014 we set off on a week's Western Caribbean Cruise to celebrate Dick and Aline's 50th wedding anniversary. There were 8 of us aboard Royal Caribbean's ship "Freedom of the Seas". We had a great time in excellent company. Along with Dick and Aline (Barb's sister) were their adult kids, Deb and Rick, Debby's husband Eddie and son Max. They are all a lot of fun and it was delightful to be with a 'normal' family - no arguments, backbiting, whining or complaining, just a lot of laughs.

Freedom is one of the second largest class of RCCL's ships and is way too big, in my unhumble opinion. There are 14 passenger decks groaning with 3,600 passengers and about 1,300 crew. The pool deck is huge and noisy with few nooks and crannies to crawl away and read a book. The tiny Caribbean ports were overwhelmed when we landed and the locals seem ill-equipped to deal with this huge influx. Cozumel, in particular, was swamped with six large cruise ships in dock, which probably doubled the native population. Everything is ruthlessly commercial. Whatever remains of the local cultures is monetized in hundreds of kitschy gift shops and 'feel-good' tours led by relentlessly cheerful hucksters. We were herded on to buses and taxis and whisked away to expensive pseudo adventures. Then aboard again to shop, add flab in the numerous restaurants and snore the night away while the ship moves on to the next honeypot.

Lifeboat Drill

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The Promenade on Freedom of the Seas

Stateroom

To be fair, Barb and I are not really in the target audience for this kind of thing. There is so much for kids to do and it's great for families. On board there is a water-skiing simulator, a rock climbing wall, a grand parade of shops, a spa, an exercise deck, a gym, a splash water park, an ice rink and so on. Ashore, the kids can swim with dolphins, pet sting-rays, swoop down long zip lines, snorkel above coral reefs and ride Sea Scooters. The adults can enjoy all of the above plus wreck diving, sailing and various excursions to ancient Mayan ruins, etc. For us degenerates there were many bars and surprisingly good gourmet food in the formal dining rooms. Our cabin was really nice with lots of storage, a huge bed and a balcony.

Towel Art Rabbit

Towel Art - Dinosaur?

Towel Art Elephant

CLICK on any IMAGE to ENLARGE

We were at sea the first day and in the evening we had a splendid meal in Chops Grille to celebrate Dick & Aline's 50th anniversary.

50th Anniversary Dinner CLICK on any IMAGE to ENLARGE	Dick and Debbie	Rick and Aline
Barb and Max	Eddie and Roger CLICK on any IMAGE to ENLARGE	The infamous wine decanter or "Wine Bong" as Dick called it.

After about 36 hours of cruising the Atlantic from Cape Canaveral, the first port of call was Haiti, but not the impoverished and disaster-stricken Haiti we gawp at on Frontline or in the New York Times, but a carefully groomed pristine peninsula of sandy beaches, cafes and tastefully arranged attractions which RCCL leased for 99 years from the Haitian government. Port-au-Prince is a long way away, but at least a few Haitians can scrape a living off the rich tourists. We boarded a small boat and cruised up the coast in rough seas for a while, past little villages clinging to the steep cliffs (90% of Haiti is mountainous) and a few foreign-owned opulent houses on the waterfront accessible only by boat. We also saw Haitians spear-fishing off small boats with ragged sails. They bring half the fish home and sell the rest with which to buy vegetables for the nightly meal. This simple life and daily subsistence of fish and veg earns them an average lifespan of 90 years, according to our captain.

Freedom!

Labadee

A favorite occupation - watching Dick EAT!

Next stop was Falmouth, Jamaica where Barb and I went on an all-day tour to Bob Marley's birthplace and mausoleum while the others did the watersports stuff. We enjoyed the 2 hour ride through the hills of Jamaica more than the destination at Nine Miles, which was hokey in the extreme. Bob must be chortling in his marble tomb, which we walked around with a lighted candle to bring us luck. The tomb and visitor centre is the only place in Jamaica where ganga smoking is legal, according to our guide. On a TV in the visitor centre played an "Old Grey Whistle Test" recording of Bob and the Wailers when they were on their British tour in 1973. I remember it well because I worked in the control room next door to the studio. I had never heard anything like it and have been a fan ever since. They played "Stir it Up" and "Concrete Jungle".

Docked in Falmouth	Jamaican Hill Country CLICK on any IMAGE to ENLARGE	Nine Miles - Bob Marley's Birthplace
Nine Miles Tour Guide	Bob Marley's Bedroom	Lunch on the Way Home
Argentine Couple at our Lunch Stop	Jamaican Bar (They were watching Arsenal play Bayern Munich)	All the Schoolkids Wear Uniforms

On to George Town, Grand Cayman which we toured by taxi - actually an 18-seater minibus. We booked this on the dock at a fraction of the price of an 'official' RCCL tour available on the ship. Our driver/guide was excellent and we went to a sea turtle sanctuary, the Governor's mansion and other highlights. The Cayman Islands are still a British colony and I asked our guide if there was any movement towards independence. "No," she said, "we like being governed from London. That way the politicians can't mess everything up." 'Hmm', I thought, 'they seem to be able to screw up in Britain, so why not here'. "Look what happened to Jamaica," she added. As Dick pointed out, there are various levels of political incompetence.

	< Aline Swims with a Dolphin >
...and Boogies	Three Generations	The Dining Room Staff

The final stop was Cozumel, a Mexican island. I had always thought this was on the Yucatan peninsula but it actually lies 6 miles off mainland Yucatan. We did our own thing here again and looked for a boat tour. We ended up on a glass bottomed boat that took ten of us out to a couple of reefs to snorkel. The snorkeling was optional and as I had a bad cold by then, I declined along with four others. I managed to pass on my cold to Barb, Aline, Dick, Max and Deb and probably half the ship by the time we returned to Canaveral after a final day at sea. It was a particularly nasty virus, probably imported from Cambodia or Singapore by some friends (who shall remain anonymous) who we saw just before we left for the cruise. We are still suffering now as I write, a week later.

The final day at sea was my birthday, and the family presented me with a pristine copy of the infamous 'wine bong' which we had chortled at on our first night (see photo above). I shall treasure it forever as a memento of a hilarious time with the Grimes and Van Dijks.

Our attendant left us with a final towel-art monkey (right).

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