Carribean Cruise

Happy New Year-
It is good to be home again after a hiatus of 18 days 'travelling by air and by sea'. We had a prolonged flight going- we had to wait in  the plane in Edm for 1 h as the plane needed to be de-iced. Another h in Toronto due to some technical problem. When we arrived in Ft Lauderdale we were bushed and were happy for our 2-night stay at the Hilton. N-i-c-e!
Our cruise was very restful although we had 2 choppy days which made it almost too difficult to go from A to B. We finally resorted to in-room-dining. But we could walk in the corridors holding on to the railing.
Most of the support staff was from the Phillipines/Indonesia. They are great workers and very attentive to your every need. Holland America has training schools in both these countries - smart way to hire their help.
We took 4 land excursions: Puerto Rico, St Thomas, St Lucia, Barbados. My favorite was Barbados.  The other excursions were Bahamas, St Maarten, Martinique. We chose these as they had bus tours and a minimum of walking. We also toured part of Ft Lauderdale and cruised the New River to see huge mansions and yachts moored in front.
We enjoyed our cruise and feel well-rested but I would never go away from home during this season of the year. It is too special a time of year not to celebrate with your family and friends. On board was no Christmas Eve celebration, Christmas dinner was nothing to write home about and New Year's was celebrated 'in Babylon' And I did not enjoy one bit the music piped over their sound system - how many times can you enjoy 'Let it Snow'? I know they tried to keep a festive atmosphere catering to all nationalities and religions. The decorations were very lovely - Christmas trees, Gingerbread Houses, poinsettias,  even  a beautiful Creche. At their nightly Show Time the support staff entertained us with a choir - even sang O Holy Night!
 Everyone could do whatever they wished and there were many options. We even saw 2 movies - The Way, The Help. I had brought a book from home which I was determined to read on deck -  'Ukraine- a history'. I highly recommend it - especially if you want to learn about your roots. We enjoyed very much the  Captain's brunch invitations - really a promotion to sail again with them!!  On the whole, we did have a wonderful time - and it was fun to mingle with others and to see families enjoying being together.
Thanks for your gifts, emails, phone calls, visits. We are blessed to have such a wonderful family.
Again, Happy Hew Year to you all!
Love
Grannie
Grannie