Caribbean Cruise, December, 2011

Day One & Room

The Navigator of the Seas is a fairly large ship (about 3600 people).

Group Shot

Gangway

Room with a View

Balcony

Working Out

The stateroom attendants created a different animal every night with the used towels.

Meerkat Towel

Bat Towel

Monkey Towel

Sights Around the Ship

The pool deck was the main hub of activity during the day.

Pool Deck

Pool Deck

Decks

Front of Ship

Antennas

Bridge

Our Course

Inside the ship.

Atrium Bubble Sculpture

Christmas Tree

Casino

Casino

Casino

Blown Glass Sculpture

Blown Glass Sculpture

Ubiquitous Purell

Activities on Board

First, our main activity -- eating. Especially at the Swan Lake sit down dining.

Swan Lake Dining

All dressed up

Formal Dining

Dan, Dan, the Party Man

Poolside dancing before we left shore.

Some of the dancers were having a really good time.

We played some trivia and had some well-established nemeses. Of course, the highlight (pun intended) was winning and getting a bunch of brightly colored pens.

Daily Schedule

Trivia (Team Idaho)

Trivia (Team Vroom)

Trivia (Cosmopolitan Club)

Game Room

Mini-Golf

Resting between Strokes

The nightly high points were the shows. Big productions at the Metropolis Theater or Studio B, and smaller shows at the various lounges. The S95 did not do a good job in the poor lighting conditions, F2.0 notwithstanding.

Jazz at the Ixtapa Lounge

On the last night, there was a circus parade.

Circus Parade

Circus Parade

Circus Parade

Circus Parade

Meera and Vijay both scaled the heights on deck.

Rock Climbing

Rock Climbing

Grand Cayman

On the Tender

Welcome Trolley Roger

Margaritaville

Trolley Roger

Banking[note] (dubious and otherwise) is obviously the most interesting thing in the Cayman Islands. Not much to be seen, except for a couple of above-board banks (and Ugland House.)

One of the 16 Class A Banks

Another of the 16 Class A Banks

Ugland House

... and the most famous building in the Cayman Islands ... Ugland House, home to more than 18,000 (mostly) hedge funds and the "biggest tax scam in the world."

Many of the homes had swings in the front porch.

There were a surprising number of cemeteries, some of them seemed to be the front yards of houses.

Thompson House

Thompson House [note] is home to the founder of the Cayman Island's Home Depot.

The tour stopped for a while at a beach where we spent some time.

The Atlantis Submarine ride.

Atlantis Submarine

In the Submarine

Looking out the porthole

Shipwreck

104 feet depth

Mermaid

Finally we took a short walk around the island before returning to the ship. The best part (for me, anyway) was the Penny Black store.

Canonical Shot

Memorial Plaques @ Elmslie Memorial United Church

Penny Black Store

Penny Black Store

Penny Blacks!!!

Other Ships

Six Ships @ Cayman

Allure of the Seas

Labadee, Haiti

Getting in to Labadee

Walking off the Gangway

We went on a guided tour of Labadee. Our tour guide, Lamy Docteur, was very well informed and interesting. Most interesting was his description of life before and after Royal Caribbean came in and leased the private area from the Haitian government. RCI seems to have done quite a bit to raise the standard of living of the local area, including building schools -- although even this is not above criticism ... see this piece in the NY Times.

Tour with Lamy Docteur

Almond Tree

Almonds

Columbus Cove is a great beach.

Columbus Cove

Columbus Cove

Artisan Market

Coast Line

Lookin' good

Also looking good

Jet Skis

Meera & Rajeev went snorkeling.

Getting Ready

Taking Off

Priya and Vijay went off to the beach and play area.

Building a sand castle

Swimming/floating

In the Play Area


Footnotes
  1. Here's an interesting blog on Thompson House.
  2. For more details (from the Cayman folks' perspective) on banking and related topics, see their official web page.


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December 26, 2011

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