Today will be the last post of my Carribean cruise Vacation.
I'll end it the way I often do, with one last look at all of the extra photos that I took on our trip, with some random thoughts to accompany them along the way.
I hope you enjoy. Here we go.
I've started at the begining with some photos Fort Lauderdale, taken from our balcony as we set sail on day one.
It was a last look at the city before hitting the open seas.
It was our first time getting a balcony and we got quite bit of use out of it on this trip.
We spent quite a bit of time reading out there one day when there weren't any chairs on the deck because of bad weather.
Speaking of chairs, the chair situation on a cruise can be a real nightmare at times. I may have said this previously (I do that sometims) but people will wake up at the crack of dawn around 6-7am to claim chairs and then they often don't even use them until 11am or later in the afternoon. It can be a real pain in the ass on any cruise.
There were days when my wife and I would spend hours reading in our chairs and not see the person or couple or family who had claimed the chair beside us before we even arrived that day. Then we often still did not see them by the time we left. I can understand grabbing a chair and then quickly going to have breakfast for 45 minutes or so before coming back to use it, but some people go way too far with it, claiming a prime space that they don't intend to use for hours, if they ever come to claim it at all.
We saw one couple claim two chairs beside us in the sun and leave their stuff there, then hours later when we left the location we saw them in two different chairs behind us in a shaded spot...!?! It doesn't get anymore selfish and inconsiderate than two people claiming 4 chairs holding them in reserves.
Port days are the only days that chairs aren't an issue on a cruise ship. It's glorious!
On one of the days I was walking through the ship and came across this small rubber ducky with a tag attached to it directing the finder to post a photo to their duck Instagram account. Apparently this is a thing where people hide ducks around the ship for others to find. I re-hid the duck in a new location and then ended up finding like 6 or 8 more ducks throughout the trip.
One day I noticed that someone had thrown a bunch of the ducks (maybe 6 or so) from the staircase into the decorative molten waterfall. you can't see them in the photo but that was another really inconsiderate act in my opinion. Its not because of the ducks mind you, but more so because someone from the crew will need to somehow retrieve them at 50+ feet in the air. It wasn't just in the basin that they landed either, a few got caught in the ripples of the structure near in the middle and near the top. I have no idea if they have some sort of lift on board or if they would need to repel down on ropes from above since those ones were probably 150 feet in the air. It seems like it would be a little dangerous to me either way though.
Okay now how about a few food photos to lighten the mood again?
I always tried to get a table by the window in the buffet restaurant.
There is always a lot of random artwork on a cruise ship.
It creates interest and ambiance of course but I also think that they help create a visual landmark for people.
I took some pictures of some of the pieces that I liked.
Okay now I'll get into some of the pictures from the different Islands that we visited starting with Oranjestad Aruba.
Port / Harbour.
Morning vs afternoon.
Pelican on a boat.
Free Range Rooster.
Random resort hotel beach we stumbled upon.
A little grungy building but I like them.
And lastly my favorite photo of all that I took in Aruba, this beautiful tree along the water. It stood out for me like a beacon when I saw it and its one of the best photos that I took on the cruise, if you ask me.
Okay now for a few photos of Willemstad Curacao, starting with a view from our balcony.
Something that I noticed about the resort above was beach and how hotels and tourist attractions often put a lot of money and effort into creating these various illusions for guests.
Its like when a hotel takes a perfectly aimed photo for their website that shows their beach oasis on the water, but then in person you come to learn that the hotel is located in the downtown of area of a major city and that beach is tiny and you can hear the bustle of traffic 30 feet away.
This isn't that bad, but it reminds me of that a little.
I wonder if you can hear workers doing construction on the other side of those shipping containers?
Coast guard escort?
I wonder if drama is a foot?
View of the fort ramparts.
I love the color combination here. It doesn't get anymore Carribean than that.
A colorful staircase.
Okay that about does it. I'm going to end this post with ice cream. Cheers everyone!
The Germans are quite well known as deckchair baggers, dunno if that's true or not, or if all nationalities does it
I hear about the rubber duck thing on cruises, wish I'd find one or two or maybe three 😁 in my previous cruises as I collect them, but sadly no luck
I think it's an everybody thing. It's mostly North Americans that travel on the cruises that we go on and everybody is doing it. Some people definitely go too far with it though. We often end up falling into the trap as well sometimes but we do try and be reasonable about it. If we are going to be gone longer than 45mins then we give them up.
This was my first time seeing ducks but I found a lot of them
I find reserving chairs annoying. My m-i-l told me that when my husband was a kid, on holiday, he and his friend threw towels that German guests had reserved with towels into the pool at night. When the guests arrived and complained, all the guests showed them that their towels were not lost, but were floating in the water. They were livid 🤣
🤔 What was the purpose of placing the legs of the footrest inside your shoes, on the balcony?
The tree stood out for me too and it's one of my fav photos. I also love the vibrant colours of Curacao... and I just had my second serving of ice cream for the day:)))
That's pretty funny. The staff will actually remove towels if they are placed on chairs at night and there are signs on the chairs stating that. They will occasionally remove towels that are sitting for a long time with no one claiming them also but it's rare. I saw it once.
I think it was windy that day and I didn't want my shoes to blow away 😆 🙃
I haven't had ice cream in a while now. I'm due for some!
It is a pain the selfishness of some people who believe they have a right to everything and fuck the world! Hogging the beds, throwing the ducks into the artwork,( it is like when people using the buffet pile their plates to the extreme and waste half of it, that annoys me get small portions and go back for more!) I guess it didn't spoil the trip overall though.
That artwork is pretty damn good including the steps, shame about the instagrammer hogging the limelight LOL
Very true.
Yeah some people definitely have entitlement issues. The funny thing is, if everyone only put their stuff in the chair when they were using it then there would always be chairs available to everyone at all times. It's not often that all chairs are in use during the day. It's just that people want to claim the best chairs just in case they want to use them at some point during the day...
tbh, if the press can be believed, the british are the worst, when they get time off from the factories and spend their time at all inclusive resorts, hogging the sunbeds, drinking as much as they can, beer bellies hanging out cheap tattoos everywhere, going a bright shade of pink (and that's just the women). Tacky tourists, should not be allowed out of their own back gardens.
Just the women 😆
Tbh that sounds like most north Americans as well 😂
guess so, having dined out there and being faced with humungous portions it is no wonder!!
All the shots are incredible, but the shot with the tree is my favorite
Yeah the tree photo turned out nice. That's my favorite too
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 55/65) Liquid rewards.
Thanks!
Wow
Your Caribbean cruise is really crazy
I love all the pictures
Nice one!
Glad you liked the photos!
Yeehaw! This blog post is like a sunset after a long day on the ranch, full of adventure and stories. Keep on sharing those wonderful moments and spread the joy like a cowboy spreading kindness!
Thanks partner!
Saddle up, pardner! Your campfire tales are like stars in a dark night, brightening all who gather 'round. Keep that fire burnin' bright! Happy Midweek to you too!
Is this a bot that just keeps responding to replies?