Firefly

In St. Maarten, we’ve been out with these guys twice and had a great time. Small group on the boat so no crowds. Short walk to their boat from the cruise pier and they are make sure you are back to your ship before on board time . https://coconut-reef.com
In St. Thomas, we’ve been out with https://www.stthomasadventures.com . Absolutely amazing snorkeling with turtles and a reef that we were the only people snorkeling at...and there were 4 ships in port that day. Best excursion we’ve ever taken and worth every dollar. We are booked with them again for our visit in April. Can’t recommend them highly enough. 

Steer away from ALL CARNIVAL Ships...…   ???

Of COURSE @twangster would have a balcony cabin on the correct side of the ship to catch this! Thanks for sharing! 

The Legend about an hour before the assault occurred.

Glory's original approach from a distance.

Right after the crash the Legend had to reset some lines.


This was after the crash and near miss as she circled around for a second try.

She did a nice turn to expose her stern to us.

















If at first you don't succeed, try again.



Round two the Captain's girlfriend wasn't at the helm so it went a little better.  Practice makes perfect.

I understand based on news reports one passenger on the Glory was injured.  Thoughts and prayers for that individual.
Here is the video I shot from my balcony on Oasis.
Despite the collision with the Legend, the bridge crew on the Glory did a pretty spectacular job avoiding a collision with the Oasis.  When I first saw the bow of the Glory come into view it was close.  Too close.  It occured to me a collision was highly possible. 
As I was shooting the video I was keeping an eye on the stern of Glory.  It was getting closer.  I knew they couldn't apply a lot of stern thrust to keep the stern off us without driving the bow into the bow of Oasis.  As the bow of Glory began to clear the bow of Oasis I could see them apply stern thrust to avoid impact.  It was a tight near miss and excellent seamanship on their part to avoid a second collision.  
 
The wide angle lens is misleading.  The people on Glory were close.  I could have tossed them a bottle of water.  

I’m sailing on Brilliance this Saturday,  Dec 7, cannot wait!!!

Add me to the cruise addiction club. After an 18 lull in cruising (how the heck did I afford Disney cruises when I was just out of college?!), we cruised on Allure last June with my sister and her family. Loved that so much that it led to a cruise without kids in December and the obsession began. I love following along on live blogs here and spend my treadmill time each day watching cruise vlogs. I may or may not have been looking at future itineraries already this morning ?

So our friends treated us to our first Royal Caribbean cruise back in Sept on the Navigator, we all had such a great time.  Since this cruise I have become obsessed with cruising, I already have 2 more cruises booked and constantly looking for more, If I am home my laptop is opened to the PTZtv webcams on the cruise ports so I can watch the ships come in and out of port, My next cruise is in 22 days and it can't come quick enough. All my friends think I've lost my mind and I drive my husband crazy, please tell me I'm not the only one that has this cruise obsession!!
 

I informed my husband this morning that a Panama Canal cruise is now on our list of future cruises to book. Your pictures are amazing and convinced me it’s worth the time and price. Looks absolutely incredible.

I informed my husband this morning that a Panama Canal cruise is now on our list of future cruises to book. Your pictures are amazing and convinced me it’s worth the time and price. Looks absolutely incredible.

I informed my husband this morning that a Panama Canal cruise is now on our list of future cruises to book. Your pictures are amazing and convinced me it’s worth the time and price. Looks absolutely incredible.

Sail away was timed perfectly with the Costa Rica sunset.




Lots of small boats out tonight.


The flight of the Pelicans.

Beautiful pictures as always. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.

Day 1
IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!
But first, more Queen Mary pictures in daylight.

The Queen Mary was a fast ship.  Faster than today's cruise ships of this size or larger.  She routinely cruised at over 28 knots and during sea trials she reached just over 32 knots.






This enclosed promenade deck would have been popular on those cold North Atlantic winter crossings.


The Verandah Grill towards the aft of the ship was an extra cost restaurant.  In other words the concept of specialty dining started decades before modern cruise lines embraced the idea.

During World War II the Queen Mary was put into service as a troop carrier bringing troops back and forth between the US. and Britain.   She was painted grey and earned the name the Grey Ghost.  Her top speeds allowed her to elude german u-boats. 
On one crossing she carried a staggering 15,740 service personnel with a crew of 943 for a total of 16,683 souls on board.  That remains the highest count ever carried by any vessel, a record that is unlikely to ever be broken.   

During this time they removed all the fine china and crystal and converted every square inch to the goal of maximizing space for the troops.  Gone were the cabin class 1st class accommodations, it was all about squeezing troops on board.  During the war when she was a troop carrier he was fitted with anti aircraft guns.

A lego model has been constructed and is on display in a room called the shipyard.


Sir Winston Churchill would routinely sail her during the war to coordinate efforts with the allies. In this photo he is sitting by this very fireplace.

How about these lifeboats?


The bridge:







The Captain's quarters have been preserved in their original condition.



She even had a fitness center back in the day with modern exercise equipment.



If you ever get the chance I highly recommend a stay on the Queen Mary.


 

The Royal Up offer for my 12/7 Brilliance cruise came on 10/11. I don’t  expect to hear if it’s accepted or declined until a few days before we cruise. I am really not expecting an upgrade because my bid for a balcony was low,  but I am totally happy with the location of our current cabin. 

Another vote for Columbus Cove. There are plenty of loungers under the palm trees available, especially if you get there early. The water is much calmer than the other side where the beach beds are. Keep an eye open for the Beach Bungalows there too. We had one last year in June that we picked up on sale for $250 - best money we spent. There are only 8 available, so they can book up quickly. 

The Royal Up offer for my 12/7 Brilliance cruise came on 10/11. I don’t  expect to hear if it’s accepted or declined until a few days before we cruise. I am really not expecting an upgrade because my bid for a balcony was low,  but I am totally happy with the location of our current cabin. 

Another vote for Columbus Cove. There are plenty of loungers under the palm trees available, especially if you get there early. The water is much calmer than the other side where the beach beds are. Keep an eye open for the Beach Bungalows there too. We had one last year in June that we picked up on sale for $250 - best money we spent. There are only 8 available, so they can book up quickly. 

You might want to edit the calendar out of the video, unless you were trying to talk about planning something very different than the narration suggested.

I thought it was a subtle way of addressing the weird things some people do on their cruise.  Subliminal messaging.  
Come to think of it, maybe @mpoole3 can relate.

I didn't notice it at the time. I was looking for a calendar video and that was the best one I found. Alas, did not notice what was on the side.  

There was food available at San Gervasio to purchase.

I cannot comment on the excursions you are interested in doing but I have been on the ferry from Cozumel to the mainland. I have to say that we did not research the ferry ride because we live on the coast and are on boats often. We were totally unaware that it could be a problem. We did not get sick but a lot of people did. We were on a Disney Cruise excursion so there were  a lot of kids and young people. Adults got sick too. The ferry we were on was not a flat bottom boat. It bobbled side to side and back and forth. The ferry was well prepared for people getting sick and had attendants that passed out bags - so this happens a lot. This trip was in June a few years ago and we wondered if maybe the water was just really rough that day. If we take this ferry again, I will take motion sickness medicine just to be on the safe side. Our trip was only 30 to 40 minutes. The ferry had seating on the bottom which was air conditioned but all enclosed. It also had open air seating on top. If you want to be on the bottom in the air condition, I would get in line early. It also had restrooms. With all this being said, we had a great time at our excursion destination and it is a family vacation memory we won't forget!

Day Three - Sea Day
We have a gentle swell coming at us broadside from the West.

This is basically what my view will be for the next five days.


Not bad.

After dinner I caught a sunset over the Olympic Mountains.  

Always beautiful.

Following the Joy out towards the Pacific.

I seem to gravitate to the North Star bar.

Solarium at sunset.