Enchantment Of The Seas (August 13th – 18th, 2007) A young lady (probably not over 40) told us that we were "an inspiration"! A second young lady near her 30s told us that "she was adjusting her own time schedule on the ship so she could be there when we danced". All during our five-day cruise people who expressed pretty much the same idea approached us. Even though we try not to let it go to our head, it is difficult to ignore all this continuous and sustained flow of admiration and not personaly being touched by such remarks. The only thing one can do in such instances is to acknowledge the people's praises for our dance techniques with a big smile and thanking them for expressing these feelings. The Royal Caribbean "Enchantment Of The Seas" is a vessel that we are familiar with since we took it about 5 years ago - earlier in our cruising career - but it has been expended from the middle about 70 feet, so it is today a different ship than it was then. Expansion in the middle for middle age "entities" is certainly not a phenomenon unfamiliar to the human race. There were 556 youngsters aboard the ship, which are as many children as I have ever seen on any one ship. Unfortunately most parents seem to lose their common sense – assuming that they ever had one - just as soon as their board the boat, and the kids were allowed to roam the place free, unfettered by any adult supervision whatsoever. In some instances when I entered the elevator, there were two 10 years old young boys inside, with wide-open-mischievous eyes, and every one of the buttons of the lift had been pushed in. In another case two girls - maybe 13 or so - were banging on our cabin door passed midnight. When I opened the door they apologized but then went on to other doors and banged even more loudly on these doors, and that for quite a period of time. No wonder you hear about young girls in drunken stupor disappearing overboard from the ships! And then the parents sew the ships! There are two big problems with summer cruising for mature adults. 1) The children are out of school, and 2) It is hurricane season in the tropics. Both are serious and important considerations to keep in mind when scheduling cruises. The children I have already alluded to, but the Hurricane Dean is striking this morning the very same area of Mexico where we stopped just a few days ago. Of course the Cruise Company does not wish to lose any of its ships - never mind the cruising public – so they reroute the trip to go to different destinations. In the trip that was to follow ours, they were stopping in Labadee, Haiti and Nassau Bahamas, instead of stopping at Key West, Cozumel Mexico and Bahama's Coco Beach Island. Still in spite of the problems one can encounter on any cruise ship, it remains unquestionably one of the very best existing vacation one can take. Besides that, I now own 100 shares of Carnival and 100 shares of RCL so keep cruising on these lines, it might make my holdings more valuable and "I might be" - and then perhaps not - forever grateful to you. Best to all. Roger Holstein copyrights 8-21-2007
If anyone was to ask me, which one of my many original communications since the beginning time I started sharing them with you is the most important and urgent email, I would have to answer that I believe that this present message is the golden key. And I want you to consider the content of this present message, V E R Y seriously. Many of you are by now fully aware that both my wife and I had suddenly faced extremely and severe health issues last winter that left us both stunned, incredulous and completely bewildered. After all, previous to these events, we seemed in extremely good healthy condition and we paid much attention to everything we did. We tried to eat what we thought was right – based on the limited and controlled information that we had access to - and we had a regular daily ration of exercise. So why did these breakdowns of our body optimum functions suddenly befall on us? Unfortunately, what we did to stay in good health was not enough and the error of our ways became quite apparent as suddenly as a flash of lightning last month and reached us totally unexpectedly in the form of a book and especially, of an eye-opening and somewhat upsetting DVD. This video recording was gifted to me by a very good French Canadian lady-friend of mine, called Marriette Ouellet, whom I had the great pleasure to know for quite a few years already. She claimed to me on several occasions her faith in alternative medicine and I basically did not delve to deeply into her set of beliefs. Why the lady would give me this invaluable gift at this time, is a surprise to me but a welcomed and totally appreciated mystery. The book and DVD is titled "Eating" and it comes with the book "the Rave Diet" which was written by a gentleman by the name of Mike Anderson. The book and especially the accompanying DVD can be ordered through a web site called ravediet.com and it cost only $19.99 but from my perspective it will be the best money you will have ever spent on anything in all your life. I loaned the DVD to my younger son Paul and he too was equally overwhelmed and appalled by its content. In fact he in turn loaned it to one of his vegetarian employees who was so totally taken by the content that he purchased 3 copies directly form the Internet. The Rave Diet is described on the cover as "The Natural Food Diet with Meals that Heal. It is important for you to start with an open mind and to view this whole video production without skipping any part of it, no matter how painful it is for you to do this task. For only after you have done so, will you be able to understand the extent of the calamity our so-called civilized society is presently facing – and I am NOT exaggerating! It will open up to you a window on the "uncivilized cruelty" with which we treat our farm animals and the fact that most of these beast when they reach our dinner plates are more often then not,… totally sick. We force-feed gooses so as to enlarge their liver to many times their normal sizes and then we savor these sick livers "as delicacies". We milk cows so strenuously to the point that they are so weak that they can no longer stand on their own and then they are killed for your meat consumption. Animals are fed antibiotics for faster growth and to prevent them from getting sick because they are turned into cannibals - forced to eat their own kind – this is the latest trend in raising farm animals. Then, when we eat these sickly creatures, along we all the antibiotic they were fed, we claim to be totally surprised that the medicine administered by doctors to reduce our own infections have no further influences on our well being. Chicken are raised their whole lives in such miniscule compartmentalized cells amongst their own excrements that often their feet grows around the wire cage floors. We pretend to be horrified that Orientals eat dogs and cats, occasionally snakes, rat and bugs and yet we eat beef, which Indians shudder to think that we eat such sacred animal. It is all a matter of local customs! How can we be so cruel against all those poor beast who trust us and look up to us for protection especially when they have eyes just like our own and they are undoubtedly cursed by many feeling similar problems to our own, but can’t express them! The "Good Christians" would say that God made the animal "for us to harvest" as though animals were unfeeling inanimate objects. The same stupid affirmations were often made in the past to subjugate whole races of people into slavery conditions on the basis of ridiculous affirmations that "they were inferior to us", "not as intelligent as we are!" The problem with the unclean raising and slaughtering of animals has already been approached on several occasions by network TV in the past but it was never presented in such a complete and comprehensible package and format as the video I am talking about. Believe me when I tell you that "The Rave Diet and Lifestyle" production is a must see product, but also believe me also when I say to you that it is AN EXTREMELY URGENT MATTER for your health and that of all your beloved family members. Many meat inspector have banned meat entirely from their own homes because they saw with their own eyes the horrible things taking place in the meat processing plants and perhaps you shall as well after you see this video. Several doctors have contributed to the story presented herein and have added their rich personal comments. For those of you who will watch the DVD I would very much like to have your feedback after the fact. As for Flavia and I, after following the Rave diet and lifestyle for over a month we are now in better shape than we have been for a long time. As my weight was hovering around 168 pounds even just last month, after following this particular diet for about one month already, this morning the reading was only 160. In addition to the diet we also go to the gym "religiously" every day for the last 3 months. We are positive about the future, but I want you all to be in good health as well. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT! … After all it is YOUR LIFE, and YOUR HEALTH that is at stake here. Let me ask you, IS YOUR HEALTH WORTH $19.99? Copyrights Roger Holstein 7-17-2007
Brooklyn-born coloratura soprano Beverly Sills passed away quietly in her residence in Manhattan earlier this month, on July 2, 2007. She was born May 25, 1929. The cause of her demise was " inoperable lung cancer". This health problem is a rather surprising outcome in her case because she never smoked a cigarette in her life. Of course there are always all those super-nice, friendly people in show business who don’t give a darn about gifting you with a good dose of cancer when they smoke like chimneys near you, seemingly oblivious to the often terminal health issues they are saddling you with. Beverly was undoubtedly one of those nice people who did not have the heart to ask people to extinguish their cigarettes in her presence. In my youth this was the norm, if you objected to someone’s smoking with their heavy poisonous smoke in your own face, choking you to death in the process, you were considered a TROUBLEMAKER! Strange world we live in! As a result of this constant abuse of smokers upon my lungs in my early years, today I have a most serious Asthma condition and I have also never smoked! Not that my singing voice is anything compared to Mrs. Sills, but I was lucky enough to sing with the Palm Beach Opera chorus and the Gold Coast Opera for several years; unfortunately today, my voice became totally unreliable and it isn’t worth the effort for me any more. Those of you, who may not be fans of classical music or specifically of Opera, perhaps do not know whom that great lady was, or what a fabulous singer she incarnated. Every so often the world is privileged by the presence of a True incredible even MONUMENTAL talent. No offense intended to the likes of Britney Spears or other similar popular marginally talented teen pop icons, but Beverly would put these people instantly to shame if placed side by side in a competition! Flavia and I had the unique privilege to hear Mrs. Sills from the stage of the Palm Beach Grand Opera, and in addition we sat up close - because on the side of the stage, next to the really expensive chairs - they have very affordable seats. This event took place over twenty years ago when the Prima Dona was totally in her prime and what an incredible heavenly performance it was! I will never forget that experience. You might think that with such a unique talent, this magnificent lady could behave accordingly and make you feel small compared to her. But this would be the furthest thing from the truth, for Beverly had this special down-to-earth quality that made you feel like she was one of your own close relative and she was always delighted to see you again. In fact, I defy anyone to find me a picture of this most talented person without a smile gracing her face. On July 2nd 2007, the heavens lost a most brilliant shining star in its firmament, or perhaps that is where she returned because that is where she belonged, having been loaned to us for a short time to experience what perfection might sound like! Perhaps the angels were getting ready for a big concert and they just could not do without Beverly? You can learn a lot more about Mrs. Sills from the Internet by inserting her full name in the search window. 2007-7-13 Copyright Roger Holstein
The Carnival Imagination. Have you heard of the Carnival’s new destination port called Calica? Well I had never heard of it either, but I was very much looking forward to discovering this probably exciting "New Mexican location". Oddly enough as I was trying to locate this port of call on the map, in advance of my actual trip, perusing over the travel brochures and the Carnival Web Site, the location of Calica did not seem very clear at all. In fact it appeared quite elusive, seemingly jumping from the Island of Cozumel in one map, to the main continental land on the other. As it turns out, Calica is nothing more than a hole in the wall … literally! And I am NOT exaggerating here. Imagine a port cut out from boulders made up mostly of Coral Rocks … and no city in sight. We were told that Carmen Del Playa was located about only 2 miles north of there - so under the hot Mexican summer sun you can multiply that distance by a factor of 10! Since I caught glimpses of that run down city on a previous trip about 6 years ago, on my way to the ruins of the ancient city Mayan City of Tulum, I did not see the point of wasting ten dollars each way to get there on a taxi cab. I was able to verify afterwards from some of my co-travelers that they felt cheated for having taken the cab to this backwoods community! They said they saw nothing worthwhile seeing there! Perhaps the ship was named "Imagination" just because you needed a lot of it to visualize any potential excitement in this particular stop. Still the ports-of-call are not necessarily my main point of focus in cruising - because I have pretty much seen most of them already in the Caribbean seas and some even many times - but they represent a opportunity for me to stretch my legs – so to speak. I find it interesting to compare various ships amenities or lack thereof, and have decided to experience every one of Carnival ships, so far I have traveled on 14 of them. Also I can often find enjoyment where others may not, for instance I love watching people. I noticed a lot of first time cruisers aboard the Imagination, people from up north who probably don’t get to see long summers, swimming pools and slides into pools. So they seemed to delight in the meager offering of this cruise, they had big smiles on their faces as they were frolicking around half naked the Lido deck. Actually the production shows were not too bad, they had two major ones, but unfortunately they were scheduled a little late since they were beginning only at 10:30 PM. Because I am now a platinum member of Carnival – having traveled with them over 10 times – I get to have additional perks that other travelers don’t get, which makes cruising with them just a little bit more fun. I get concierge service with quick, priority boarding and debarkations, special gifts and receptions, occasional free upgrades in cabins etc… In fact, I partook in the slot tournament and won! Which was a VERY nice event to experience. People came to me to congratulate me but I assured them that there was no merit in my winning, it was just a matter of hitting the ONLY button … repeatedly the right way. On my way back to Pompano Beach this morning, using the facilities of TriRail, the young black lady at the cashier’s office asked me twice if I were a "senior" after I asked her for the senior rate. Well it is nice that there be "any slightest" element of confusion on that subject. When one is very young one wants to look a little older but things tend to inverse as you grow older. The Miami skyline continues being the most spectacular and gorgeous of all the places visited, the view is absolutely stunning to my sense of visual esthetics. However the many high rise cranes visible all over the place forebode that we are still far away from the bottom of the real estate downturn. And I am happy about that, because the RE prices are still WAY out of bound from my perspective. In the turning basin as we were about to leave the port of Miami, we saw a couple of beautiful dauphins swimming in unison near the vessel as the ship was rotating to exit the channel. People were cheering at this delightful and pleasing sight. Regrettably, I am unable to recommend this "Imagination" trip to anyone. Carnival needs to become serious about keeping satisfied customers and not just on how much they can squeeze out of you. The ballroom dance program is practically non-existent on board, and often the music - if passable - start too late in the evening. However Royal Caribbean is similarly disinclined so it isn’t just happening with one company. I still like the two Italian companies of Costa and MSC the best and Holland America is gaining a lot of merit these days in my views. Copyrights Roger Holstein 2007-6-18
Copyrights Roger Holstein 12-26-2006
Our Cruise aboard the MSC Lirica, December 7th to the 18th 2006. I don't know what it is with Italian cruise ships … But I like them VERY MUCH! Is it the crew's wonderfully human attitude? Probably so, for most Italians seem to display a fraternal, very approachable attitude; you get to be friends with them from the very beginning no messing around with long and complicated introductions. In spite of their best efforts I felt that the Animator crew - people who constantly go around trying to get everyone involved in the ship's activities - on the Lirica was very tired. It might have been due to the fact that the cruise Director Franco (Something), a gentleman I had first met on the MSC Opera 9 months ago had been transferred to the Lirica? Sometimes these transfers of power have a demoralizing impact on the crew for various political reasons, information that an outsider is not privileged to. Still the Animators did their best and we knew every one of their names by cruise's end and every one of them surely knew ours. We participate in mostly everything and "Flavia" first name goes over big with Italian anyway. So they delight in repeating it over and over again. The best thing about this ship has to be the shows! While other ships seem barely able to put together one show every second or third day, the Lirica produces something new every day and a BIG stage production at that! The girls - all British - are deliciously tall and slender, a total visual delight. Thank God for that, Italians take their classical music VERY seriously and we were privileged to audition a couple of magnificent concerts made up of the voices of several outstanding singers, but the best were the voices of Tenor Giovanni and Soprano Suzy. Ohhhh! How their singing penetrated my body and my soul. To have the privilege and thrill to hear such voices alone would fully justify the passage price on that ship but there were a lot more worthwhile offerings, especially in the dance department – which as you may know by now, is our territory!!!!! Soprano Suzy, was the world champion winner of the European Lyrical singing competition of the main role in the Opera "La Traviata" – just so that you know that she was no small fry. It turns out that Suzy was also the lover of a fine musician who played, outstanding dance every night. Often, if not nearly every night - just as to be near her paramour, she would sing with his accompaniment. But once I discovered the young woman magnificent voice and I had expressed my deepest appreciation to her, she seemed totally delighted by the personal acknowledgement of her talent and she gave my wife and I private concerts to die for, including passages of Carmen. I was in total 7th heaven, I wish I could translate for you the ultimate excitement of that moment, but it surpasses any actual words I could use! You don't know the thrill of having a soprano sing full voice in front of you, until you have been there. The private concerts were so good that when she started, it was just the three of us and when she ended (because she had to make a stage appearance) the place was packed with people who applauded wildly. You just had to be there to appreciate the excitement. I was concerned that she gave us too much of her voice and might not be relaxed enough for the concert but she is just a kid and at that age they rebound very quickly. Touring islands in the Tropic even at this time of the year can be physically demanding on account of the ardent sunrays. The island where we dedicated the most time and which impressed me the most on this trip was St Lucia. As I informed you before, the tours available on the ship are ALWAYS overpriced, So armed with our faithful friend Don and Dale Di Pasquale we decided to book a trip directly by ourselves on shore. Because the dock is hard to reach for outsiders, the taxi-group on the dock was still in a position to ask for high prices. Through the fence this nice 28 year-old black guy called "5 Cents" (A name attributed to him because he always undercuts the competition) attracted our attention. We did a little bit of haggling over the price and finally agreed to a figure that we felt comfortable with. "5 Cents" drove us to the famous twin peak mountain called "les Tetons" (French slang word signifying a woman chest) Then we drove right into the crater of the volcano "La souffriere", so called on account of the strong sulfur smell present there. The place is totally active but thankfully quiet with a limited amount of sporadic vaporous activities. We concluded the trip at the base of a magnificent waterfall, easy of access and surrounded by the most incredibly lush and extravagant vegetation that you may have ever seen in your life. We also drove through several rain forest areas. St Lucia being totally mountainous offers an incredible large number of mini-self-sufficient and apparently independents climates. When we returned to the ship we knew everything about "5 Cents"s life, his illegitimate children and the general perspective and customs of the people of St Lucia. Regrettably and to my horror, I had found out early in the trip that I had forgotten my camera large memory card. So I was unable to take as many pictures for your voyage as I would have wanted. Oh Well!!!!! Such is life! We must take the good with the bad – we have no choice anyway! We of course, had our own following of people on board the ship who delighted to our every move on the dance floor - including Soprano Suzi who danced occasionally with us. I was also honored by some of the animators young beautiful women who called me a "professional dancer" and who asked Flavia's permission to dance with me.
The Norwegian Pearl. 2007- Jan. 14-19th
There are few experiences in life that can be more irritating to me than to find out that I ended up paying at least $300 more for the same cruise crummy accommodations as it seems the majority of my co-travelers did! Moi … an "alleged" expert in cruising and always getting the best deals available in town! And yet that is exactly what happened to me on this most recent trip aboard the NCL Pearl.
My original thinking was when I booked the cruise at least 4 months in advance, that it being a new vessel, chances were that they would not reduce their prices so soon into the season! But they did, shortly after I paid for the full fare.
My various attempts to get at least a cabin with window afterwards for the same price failed. You would think that NCL would show a little more consideration for their repeat customers who traveled with them many times before, but no … They don’t!
Morality: don’t book cruises more than one month or two before departure unless you absolutely need to have a particular voyage for a very special reason. Consider the cruise companies the Hunters and you the Hunted. You must attempt to be wiser than they are. Instead of them predicting your next move try to predict their next moves. Presently they cruise industry is awash in extra cabins that they NEED to fill before each departure.
Of course occasionally cruise companies or agencies decide early, before a scheduled departure and based on previous similar previous year experiences that they need to lower their price early – they do this so as to not miss the boat so to speak! In such cases they only increase prices later in the season as they did with the instance of the MSC Lirica December 7th departure. And that seems to me a fairer approach. The early bird catching the bird!?!?
The room sizes were ridiculously small, the smallest we have seen on any cruise ship, EVER! You barely had a full one-foot of space to maneuver around the bed. One area blocked by a small table offered a maximum 4 inches crawling-gap.
However the ship was nearly new and that fact can be compared to moving into a new house. But for several days in a row, right before dinner - when I like to take my shower for the evening - the water stopped running leaving me for a short while with plenty of soap all over my body and in my eyes waiting for the bloody H-O2 to return.
I think that one of the nicest thing about any cruise always turns out having the opportunity to meet truly outstanding, wonderful new people and it seems there were many great enjoyable friendly people aboard the Pearl.
On stage "the Jean Ryan stage company" – a Fort Lauderdale based show company putting together shows mostly for NCL - featured an incredible assemblage of 9 gorgeous, smiling, statuesque women, 6 feet tall dancers on high heels. Quite a sight! They also had two young male dancers, one being a Polish guy – Poles it is widely known (or it should be) are some of the nicest people in the world, my own mother was born in Poland.
They also featured a young, very attractive couple of gymnast who contorted, lifted and generally displayed talents that would put most of us to shame with our limited physical abilities. The guy was Polish but lived in France for a while so he was able to speak French flawlessly and the young lady was born in France but probably from foreign ancestry considering her darker complexion.
Cozumel and Belize did not change much from our last trip except those places were cooler at this time of the year. You usually can’t stay too long under the fierce heat of the sun for the balance of the year.
The ship only cost $510,000,000 to build and when you think about it, that is NOT a lot of money these days for a boat this size. Of course the techniques for building these vessels are highly organized and the identical cabins are assembled just like a gigantic complex puzzle that ends up looking like a ship.
For a much-reduced price – like my co-voyagers paid - it was probably worth taking this cruise but not for the higher price we paid. Couple this with a $15 daily parking fee, and cruising from Miami becomes a less desirable prospect. Leaving from Fort Lauderdale seems like a better approach and it will be the direction that we will concentrate on in the future.
Before ending this little dissertation, let me bring to your attention that the Miami skyline is doted with $1,000,000 Condos being built with high cranes delivering materials to their high floors. So if purchasing a Miami condo is on your own private horizon, just wait a couple of years and you may end-up with a very good buy when all these builders and speculators will go under.
2007-1-20-Copyrights Roger Holstein
Caribbean Princess, February 4th to 11th
It was Sunday, February 4, 2007, the day of the Super Bowl in Miami this year. As we were boarding the Caribbean Princess early in the day for our 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise, South Florida appeared excited by the top sport event due to follow that day. But the area was covered with heavy ominous, forbidding dark clouds and then, the rain came! The day looked pretty gloomy and wet, seriously curtailing the sail-away party scheduled on the top bridge!
Was this an Omen of things to come?
South Florida is usually pretty dry in the wintertime so this was an unusual day to say the least. The ship left the dock 3 hours later then scheduled because one of the passengers' flights had not yet landed.
As the evening progressed and the ship left the dock of the Fort Lauderdale port, it became obvious to me and undoubtedly to all other passengers that we were going to experience rough-seas. I saw women thrown violently from one side of the hallways to the other that evening, screaming. I was starting to seriously wonder about the sea worthiness of this vessel. I am not sure why the stabilizers did not seem to work well that day.
Perhaps it was that the captain wanted to regain the lost time we had sustained, by going faster and thus hitting the waves harder. Maybe it was just that the seas under this particular tropical weather depression were just a lot more agitated than I had seen for quite a while? It is amazing and to a degree quite surprising to witness to what degree the clouds impact the seas.
Tuesday, February 6th evening, there was a dance contest organized by Claire Lovely, a cute British blond young woman who was working on this boat as the assistant Cruise Director and we befriended her in the course of the trip. Actually the ship had many more people working on board who originated from England.
Flavia and I were drafted to perform a very fast swing along with 5 other lucky couples in front of a crowd of between 300 and 600 people. I don't like to dance those extremely fast dances because it can be very difficult to perform the details of some of the more complex moves we do in our dancing. But since we had been drafted and we were on the spot, I figured that we were going to do our best and that would be it.
Our first two elaborate moves – in spite of the very fast tempo - were reasonably well executed. I chose these moves because of their inherent complexity and they usually tend to impress the audience. But when I followed by guiding my wife into a very fast spin later, it must have felt to her as if the floor was quickly escaping from underneath her feet. A dreadful fall ensued; fast as lightning my dear poor wife hit the floor.
As I helped her to stand and regain her composure we did not suspect at that very moment that by the next morning her left foot ankle would have nearly doubled in size. In fact we even finished the night dancing at the top disco nightspot located on the back of the ship on the 18th floor.
The next morning we were of course quite concerned by the worsening sight of her swollen left foot. We consulted the purser's office that recommended seeing the doctor ASAP and this we did.
The doctor was concerned enough by what he saw that he took an X-ray of the area involved. Thankfully no bones were found to be broken, but now and even today, Flavia hurts when she walks or if she stands on her feet for a little while. She also walks with a limp. She will probably be handicapped for the next 2 weeks or so.
Following that unfortunate incident I witnessed the Assistant Cruise director nearly falling herself 3 times on the same spot where my wife fell. The young lady explained to me that she believed that maybe a passenger had spilled a drink there, making an already slippery floor even more so.
There was going to be another dance contest on Friday the 9th, we had planned to perform a nice rendition of an Argentinean Tango that often brings us applause and recognition from other dancers. My wife in spite of her condition - valiantly but also foolishly - wanted to enter the competition anyway, to which I strongly objected of course.
There was no way that she could follow the routine with her damaged foot and it would have brought embarrassment for both of us. Besides that, the effort involved in such an over-exertion on a weak limb could have set her recovery way back in time.
Now, Flavia was unable to accompany me for the promenades we usually do in the ports of call that the ship landed on, like St Martin, St Thomas, and Princess Key. So, I was stuck with visiting alone, but somehow it is less fun.
Still we did the best we could to enjoy the balance of the trip by attending recent great movies that I had not yet seen, showing in the large theater. We also attended various stage-shows and other activities that were taking place on board in different areas. The Caribbean Princess has a gigantic screen on the 15th floor deck where additional movies are shown outside day and night.
Even though this trip was marked by a most unfortunate event I still must say that there are no "bad cruises". Some are just better than others! In general we like Princess cruises but this one did not distinguish itself by the best ballroom dance music offerings we have ever seen; in fact, far from it . One good thing for me was that they had plenty of seafood, something that I relish a lot.
Copyrights Roger Holstein February 11th 2007
Our cruise aboard the Costa Magica - February 26 to March 4th 2007.
The Magica is a beautiful two and a half-year-old newer ship, which we have already taken once before last year. This time we occupied an outside, very specious cabin, about as large as they come on any ship – this was quite a change when compared to the over-priced, tiny room we had on the new NCL Pearl in January.
As usual we met lots of very nice people – some say that "you never meet people by accident", implying that all the people you meet in your life have an impact and some significant importance to you. I don’t know that I necessarily adhere to this philosophy but undoubtedly you can learn from every person that you get to meet in your life.
We also met again many crewmembers and musicians we had the opportunity to meet on previous trips, which was also nice. The dance music we experienced aboard the ship was not the best we have ever heard but it was satisfactory nevertheless and it ranked near the top range of cruise ship’s dance music offerings.
The food was NOT good. I was hard pressed to find much that I appreciated, and this feeling was echoed by most of the other passengers we talked to. I heard that Costa hired a French chef that was supposed to turn the situation around, but if it were really the case, that great man must have done it only around his own and the captain’s table.
We met more French and French Canadian travelers on this voyage than on any other ship before; everywhere people spoke French. This situation points to a sharp increase in cruisers from other countries. There were also many Italians, Germans, British AND we also we met a few Americans.
Poor Americans they were in the minority and they did not know what to make of the situation. Just for my own edification I asked several of USA citizens how they felt about this predicament and they responded that it disturbed them but they simply wished they were able to speak other foreign languages especially French in this instance.
The major shows were few but good. The producer made many technical mistakes in putting these presentations together.
Since my wife did not totally recoup from her sprained ankle I did not ask her to accompany me during my daytime outings in the ports of calls. She preferred to save her energy for the evening dancing. And she did fairly well.
In Jamaica I returned to a favorite spot of mine located just behind the shopping center referred to as the Taj Maha. Most people seem to not be even aware that this place exists. It is called "the Ruins". But if you like to see a little piece of heaven within a paradise, then you can’t afford to miss it.
Basically, it is a private restaurant where you can take a coffee or a meal if you are so inclined. But it is not mandatory. A Jamaican worker on the premises usually approaches you and attempts to engage you in a discussion by asking you where you come from. If you answer in earnest you are doomed to give him a tip for visiting the premises. In my case when he asked me, I replied, "why?" and that did it! It is not often that he meets people like me and he ran out of options.
So he replied with the magical answer stating, "You are here to take some pictures and then you will take a lunch?" I said, "yes" and that seemed to satisfy him. He did not bother me after that. Still even if you have to pay him a tip it is totally worth it.
The restaurant is nestled at the base of a mountain from where a magnificent waterfall is cascading down. In addition there is a path with a staircase to climb up some distance into the mountain. What you see as you climb up there is totally charming even bewitching if you are like me and you love nature.
I am attaching a couple of pictures for your enjoyment.
Copyrights Roger Holstein March 5th, 2007.
The Carnival Liberty April 8th to 14th.
The 14-year-old kid said, "It was awesome" his 13-year-old friend added that it was incredible, he had never seen anything like that. The 40-year-old middle age young man said, "it made him envious", and the older lady who came to hug and kiss us confided that, "You will never know how happy you make people who see you dance."
And so it was a continuous stream of people all through the day, at the least expected places and times that were seemingly very much taken by our dance routines and felt a strong urge to communicate their feelings of emotion to us. Of course this is all very flattering and somewhat rewarding.
While we got many more spontaneous reactions from the people, we were hard pressed to find any good ballroom dance music on board the vessel. The musicians were not seeking nor accepting any musical requests, in fact from their very behavior it was obvious that they did not like playing what they were asked to do. In addition they came late to perform – often by half an hour - which by itself can be quite irritating. So if dancing is your passion as it is for us, the "Liberty" is not for you.
That ship accepts 3,600 passengers and a crew of 1,200 employees. Amongst all these passengers during this Easter holiday week were 1,000 children!!!!!! So while at first they seemed reasonable well behaved and cute, as the days passed, you could progressively and easily identify in some of these little monsters the future traits of hardened criminals. One of these young derelicts even farted - or let out some bowel gasses if you will – timed to take place at the very moment he was passing by me. But what was I to do? I chose to ignore the event – which is contrary to my usual nature.
Smoking was rampant and totally uncontrolled on the ship, even in places designated for non-smokers, so people with asthma like me, watch out, you may be in for a rough ride.
As I met a father-of-two near an elevator I asked him where were the parents of these poorly behaved creatures. He responded that, "On a ship like this, parents needs not worry where their children are because they can’t get much in trouble"! Obviously the man did not read about the 13-year-old girl who got drunk and fell in the ocean never to be found again. Besides that, these mentally limited parents are only concerned about the welfare of their own children and not about the very negative impact and inconvenience on the more mature co-passengers. A very "ME" world we have out there!
The ship offered very good food, the shows were mostly excellent. The place is new, thus still quite clean. The housekeeping staff and the waiters were most deferential, they know that at the slightest excuse they might be history and sent back to where they come from. Since their jobs don’t require much expertise, they can be easily replaced so they don’t make waves.
As usual, the people one meets on board a ship make a difference in the trip. The housekeeping young man who attended our room was all broken up because he had just left his 3 years-old daughter 2-days ago back home and would not see her for the next 8 months – which is the length of their contracts.
The young man sudden sharing of his being so broken up, instantly saddened me but I try to suggest to him to saves his money so as to open a future business in his home country. Actually outside of working under nearly slave conditions these people make a very good salary with their tips, seriously much more so than they could in their own country.
A middle-aged woman sitting close by listening to a concert was displaying the face of a very pretty young lady on her blouse and I asked her who this person was, far from expecting to hear the answer I got. Actually it was the image of her young 15-year-old daughter who died last year in an automobile accident caused by a drunk driver, and the person responsible for this dreadful event is still walking free.
I am not often speechless but I nearly was upon hearing this incredibly sad story. Realizing that I had walked into an emotional minefield I watched the lady from the corner of my eye and I could sense and read the thoughts that she was reliving at that instant. What a horrible nightmare this poor woman must have gone through, I could feel a chill in my back just relating to her emotions. I just had to hug her a few moments later and I guess she appreciated it.
The Philippine waiter who served us at dinner time decided to give Flavia and I a little magic show, I am not really sure what made him decide to do that but we appreciated his efforts. His tricks were quite good and enjoyable coming from an amateur.
An incident worth relating, involved a 60ish Norwegian man living in Margate Florida - a community located immediately west of Pompano Beach - who approached me and affirmed most seriously that I resembled "like a spitting image" his grand-father who was allegedly famous for discovering the North Pole. He offered to show me the pictures proving his allegations but in my moment of surprise it did not darn on me to take him up on his offer – maybe I should have, but I did not even record his name!
The on board activities included some old perennial and corny events such the hairy chest contest and the not so newly wed show, which are all designed for the new cruiser, but people who cruise often may find these events rather unappealing and hollow.
The trip went rather quietly overall, kind of what the doctor ordered following our own great mental turmoil last month when we discovered my own wife’s unexpected health problems. But things are looking up now, the future will be good.
Copyrights Roger Holstein 4-14-2007
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