Cruise - Tortola - #3..

This is the sight that greeted us as the ship was docking in Tortola.

it was raining!

Pouring down in fact.

I didn't care though because today I was about to fulfil one of my dreams.

We had breakfast at 7 a.m. and by 8 a.m. the ship had docked and we were allowed to disembark.  I had to meet for the trip I'd booked on the dockside at 8.50 a.m., so I kissed MWM farewell saying 'see you at lunchtime' and walked down the gangplank.  MWM went up onto deck 14 to wave me off.

MWM didn't want to share my adventure as it involved water - he doesn't swim, so he was quite happy for me to go without him whilst he read his book.   My adventure was just a short bus ride away and I sat next to a lovely lady called Pushpa, who was just as excited as I was.

We arrived at our destination and were given instructions on what would be happening, then we were given a life jacket before being led to the water, where we entered in single file waiting to be introduced to 'Galileo'.

Have you guessed yet?

Galileo is a dolphin!

Here's a short video of me fulfilling my dream of swimming with a dolphin.

I cried each time I touched Galileo, he was just so beautiful, his skin was velvety to the touch and he talked to us.   We were in the water with him for over an hour and it was the most magical time, I could have stayed there forever, unfortunately our time was up and we had to return to the ship.

MWM was waiting for me when I got back and I told him all about it during lunch, unfortunately he had to wait until we got home to see what I'd experienced.    MWM copied and edited the DVD I'd bought to what you see above.

After lunch we took the umbrella from our suite and took a walk into Road Town (the port at Tortola).  It was such a grey day that we didn't take any photos - besides I'd had my excitement for the day.   At least the rain was warm.

By the time we got back onboard it was time for the general knowledge quiz in Connexions where we scored 130/200, which wasn't bad considering there were only two of us and the other teams were all teams of 4 and 6.

We set sail around 5 p.m. and the ship was rockin'n'rollin let me tell you.  It was funny watching people at dinner (including us) starting off with a full bowl of soup only to find most of it on the tray by the time we got to our table!

That night's show was an Abba tribute, which was excellent - everyone joined in singing, then we watched the comedian at Connexions.     We retired to our cabin to sleep and looked forward to our next stop on the cruise.   The rockin'n'rollin didn't bother us and I think I dreamed of dolphins!

PS Did I mention that the ship's captain, Charlie Carr, was born in Wigan, Lancashire, about 20 miles from where I live?

Join me next time for St. Maarten.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction #105 Down to Earth....

Back from a fabulous cruise, a dream realised.

Tanned, relaxed, happy.

Looking forward to retirement.

No pressure, no stress.

The doctor calls - "I need to see you".

Take this tablet, take that tablet, more blood tests

You have diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure.

"What?"

Thanks doc.

My medication is free, so that’s good news!

 
 
This is not fiction.   I should point out that I have absolutely no symptoms or ill effects and it was purely intuition that made me ask the doctor for a cholesterol test, which uncovered the problems.  I am thankful for my intuition.


Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Cruise Sea Day #2 ....

After a great night's sleep we awoke at 6 a.m. and sat on the balcony with a cup of tea watching the sunrise.  We read the ship's daily newspaper 'Out and About', to discover what was going on throughout our first day at sea, then went for breakfast in the Plantation Restaurant.

There were four restaurants onboard - the Plantation (self service and open 24 hours per day), the Waterfront (open for breakfast and dinner also self service), La Luna on deck (open lunch and dinner with an extra charge) and The Bistro for which James Martin the TV Chef creates the menu (open for dinner only with an extra charge, silver service).    We booked a table in The Bistro for 7 p.m. to celebrate the first day of our holiday.

There were numerous bars on the ship too - Blue Bar (5 p.m. - 1 a.m), Connexions (4 p.m. - 1p.m.), The Oval (10 a.m. - 1 a.m.), Splash (on deck 9 a.m. - close), Sunweaver Ice Cream Parlour (10 a.m. - midnight), Plantations Bar (11.30 a.m. - midnight) and Bayside Club ( 10 p.m. - until late).

There was also a theatre - The Marquee - which put on shows twice nightly, as well as entertainment in Connexions Bar and The Oval.

So you can see from the above we were never short of entertainment or somewhere to eat and drink - which is why we both gained in excess of 7lbs each!

We spent some time exploring the ship for which we needed a map.   Even by the end of the cruise I still managed to walk round in circles!

One of the swimming pools on Deck 12 taken from Deck 14.

We found a lounger on deck and did a little sunbathing until lunchtime, not too much as we didn't want to get burned the first day, then went for some lunch.  There was a great selection of food and we ate far too much.   We then made our way up to deck 12 and found a table where we had a drink and watched the Strong Man competition and Champagne Hoopla which was great fun.  I tried to persuade MWM to take part but he wasn't feeling very energetic!

By this time we were tired so we went back to our suite and sat on the loungers on the balcony watching the sea and had a little nap.   By the time we awoke it was time to shower and change for our meal at The Bistro.  

Our friends had been on this cruise and recommended The Bistro and their description of it and the food was spot on.

From an extensive menu we chose the following:

Me: Sliced Parma Ham, pecorino cheese and Savoy cabbage salad with truffle oil/ Line caught cod with braised puy lentils, pancetta, Parmentier potatoes and noilly prat shallots with a selection of vegetables/ Pineapple and rosemary tart tatin with vanilla bean ice cream.

MWM: Deep fried smoked haddock fishcakes with hollandaise sauce/Roast breast of corn-fed chicken with creamed leeks and pancetta and a selection of vegetables/Iced caramel parfait with peppermint crisp.

Does that sound delicious?   It was, and guess what - it only cost us £12.50 each!

You're not allowed to take your own alcohol on board, so we had ordered a pack of wine - six bottles of a mixture of White, Red and a sparkling Rose to keep in our cabin fridge, which you are allowed to take to the restaurants to enjoy with your meal.  You can also take them into the bars.  The wine wasn't being delivered to our cabin until the following day so we ordered one off the menu at The Bistro - very nice it was too!

After dinner we went to the Marquee where we saw a magician/comedian called Manuel Martinez who was extremely funny. Click on his name to watch him on Youtube.  He was Cuban but spoke very good English but somehow his accent made everything he said funny.   He flew back to England a few days later to appear on 'Britain's Got Talent' and apparently got through to the next round, so we should see him again when the show airs.

The Connexions Bar was our next stop as there was another comedian on - Martin Beaumont, he was so good we stayed after his performance and took part in the quiz until he did his second show at 11 p.m., which was totally different to the first one.

By the time the show had finished we were ready for bed - well it was 12.30 a.m. and we'd been up since 6 a.m., so that's where we went next.

Join me again for our first stop - Tortola.

Going to Barbados #1.......

Right here we go......

Our friend (who is a taxi driver) arrived at 6.45 a.m. on the 13th January to take us to the airport.  Unfortuntately we were still snowed in, so it was impossible for him to pick us up at our front door, we had to 'slide' the suitcases up the Grove to meet him.    Thankfully it wasn't snowing and our journey to the airport was without mishap or delay.    Our flight was on time until we boarded the plane, it had started snowing so the plane had to be de-iced, which meant a 90 minute delay.  This wasn't as bad as the flight from Gatwick which was delayed by about 6 hours!

We had paid for Premier seats on the flight and they were well worth the extra - loads of leg room and very comfortable.    Also complimentary drinks throughout the flight were included! It was a really nice flight, which we spent reading and watching films and we arrived in Barbados at approximately 4.15 pm local time.   We were taken straight from the plane to minibuses to be transported to the ship - no customs, no collecting baggage - fantastic!

We alighted from the bus and were ushered into a 'hanger' where we had our photographs taken, registered my credit card and were given our cruise cards, which we used to charge all purchases on board and which were scanned each time we left or boarded the ship.

Then we got our first glimpse of the Ocean Village.  Here she is!

Once aboard we were directed to our cabin, after being given numerous leaflets and information about the ship.   We had booked a suite with a balcony and were thrilled with it, when we eventually found it - the ship was huge!  I had booked a little treat for us as a surprise for MWM which was waiting for us when we got to our suite.

Beautiful exotic flowers, fruit and a box of delicious chocolates.

Here are some views of our suite.

Our beds

Our lounge area

Walk in wardrobe

(with iron/ironing board and trouser press - not that we used them)

Dressing table, tea/coffee making facilities and TV.

You will notice that it was dark so here's two photos taken the following morning from our balcony.

We had to attend an evacuation drill at 6.30 pm, then we were free to settle in.   We unpacked all the clothes that needed to be hung, then went to one of the four restaurants for something to eat before returning to our suite to finish unpacking.   By this time we were totally worn out so decided to go to bed - it was 9.30 p.m. local time but bearing in mind Barbados is four hours behind the UK it was actually 1.30 a.m. and we'd been up since 4 a.m. the previous day.

There had been an announcement that the Gatwick flight was late which mean that instead of sailing at 8 p.m. we wouldn't actually be sailing until about 2 a.m.  We woke up at 1.30 a.m. as the ship set sail and went out on the balcony to wave goodbye to Barbados until the following Wednesday.   We then went back to bed and slept soundly, being rocked gently by the sea, until 8.30 a.m.

Join me again for our first day at sea.

I'm back!..

We got back at 6 a.m. this morning (Thursday) and went straight to bed until midday! Since I got up I've been washing and sorting out the mountain of mail that was waiting for us.

We had an absolutely brilliant time and we have taken loads of photos, but you'll have to bear with me until I can download the photos and write it all up - I'll start early next week I promise.

Thanks for all your well wishes on my last post, we did as you told us and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

It felt BLOODY COLD when we got off the plane this morning - 3 degrees C when we've been used to 29 degrees C for the last two weeks!

I'll be back before you know it....

from my two week Caribbean cruise.

We're flying out to Barbados at 10.15 a.m. this morning from Manchester - weather permitting - keep your fingers crossed.

The bags are packed and we're ready to go.

Be good whilst I'm gone and I'll tell you all about it, with photos, when I get back.

Coconut Airways by Typically Tropical

(with adjustments)

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is captain Tobias wilcock welcoming you aboard

Coconut Airways flight 372 to Bridgetown Barbados

We will be flying at an 'ight of 32000 feet and at an airspeed of approximately 600 miles per hour

Refreshments will be served after take-off, kindly fasten your safety belts

And refrain from smoking until the aircraft is airborne

Woah, I'm going to Barbados

Woah, back to the palm trees

Woah, I'm going to see my 'cruise ship'

Woah, in the sunny Carribean sea

I look up at the sky and I see the clouds

I look down at the ground and I see the rain go down the drain

Fly away on Coconut Airways

Climbing high, Barbados sky

Woah, I'm going to Barbados

Woah, back to the palm trees

Woah, I'm going to see my 'cruise boat'

Woah, in the sunny Carribean sea

I laughed........

when I heard this so I thought you may enjoy it too.



A woman says to her husband "Do you notice anything different about me?"

"No" he said.

"Guess" she said.

"You've had your hair done?"

"No"

"You're wearing a new dress?"

"No"

You're wearing new shoes?"

"No"

"You've lost weight?"

"No"

"I give up" he said.

"I'm wearing a gas mask!" she said.

Friday 55 #104 Love in the LIbrary.....

"He's here again" the librarian noticed.

"Every day for the past two weeks, he's quite handsome, perhaps he comes to see me!"

"Excuse me, can I help you at all?" she asked fluttering her eyelashes.

"Errm not really, to be honest I've no heating at home and I come here to keep warm" he said.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.