Tuesday, December 21, 2010 – Key West, FL – Sunny – 75F

Another beautiful day in Key West – this time around, there is no chilly start – Warm and Bright.  I am up early so I catch the moon set over Key West.

 

Our plan today is to walk the town of Key West – many shops, bars, and restaurants.  We did see some real houses on the walk so people do live here.  We ended up at the south end of the island where everything is the “Southernmost”.  Chabad has a presence here and has placed a Menorah at the Southernmost spot – the Southernmost menorah in the US.

 

As was the case last cruise, my talk is late afternoon after the early departure.  I take in the other talk: “Science Askew” by Bill Gurstelle (engineer – DYI engineering).  He is a writer (seven books on technology) and contributes to MAKE magazine.  His talk is about Rube Goldberg and others (people who see humor in technology). 

My talk: CSI Phenomenon – Cinema – is attended by about 30 people.  They are enthusiastic and the talk goes well.

Pedometer: 9465 / 4.49 mi / 459 cal/ 2 hr 34 min

Monday, December 20, 2010 – Miami, FL – Partly Cloudy - 70s

Re-embarkation was pretty simple and quick.  Our group of six back to backers (including Steve the comedian and the wife of a crew member) went from the Martini Bar to swipe out, then to Immigration to turn in our declaration, then back to the ship (we already had our new Sea Pass cards) to swipe in and get our pictures taken.  Done and Done.

Had a relaxing lunch while everyone else tried to figure out where everything was.  The best part of back to backing.

Another very picturesque sail away from Miami including a great sunset.

We are staying at our same table at Flexible Dining for this cruise (worked it out with our Hostess) so we can be assured of good service.  We are already aware of the menu:  Spanish Merluza, Chilean Sea Bass, and Halibut for the fish entrees mixed in with pastas without meat. 

No checking in with Alejandro on the talks.  Both will be in the Cinema on the same days as the first cruise. 

Sunday, December 19, 2010 – At Sea – Caribbean Sea – 78F – Partly Cloudy

A warm and relaxing day at sea. 

I am trying to finish “Book of the Dead” and tuning up my second presentation (“Cold Cases Solved”).  Some changes need to go into the talk since the Daily listed it as “The Science of CSI”.  To make everyone happy, I am putting together a hybrid of the two talks.  The trick is to keep the talk from running long.

Glorious Sunrise

Cuba off the Starboard side

My second talk is at 4 PM in the Cinema – a great venue that is difficult to find.  The talk is also scheduled opposite the matinee Holiday Show so seating shouldn’t be an issue.  About 30 - 35 people attended the talk which went well if not a bit long.  The mix of the two talks did not work that well and will be a one time only thing.  I did meet an attorney associated with the New York Innocence Project, Larry Golden.

Dinners on the ship have all been good – menus are identical to what we had recently on the Equinox.

After dinner, we take in Justin Wade in the Cova Cafe.  He is a really good guitarist-vocalist from Forth Worth.  We had a chance to chat with him after his set.

Showtime Tonight: “Liverpool Knights” – a loose musical story set in 1960’s Liverpool.  The songs are a big obscure but they are well performed by the cast of singers and dancers.

After the show, we go to Michael’s Club to catch a jam session with Justin and Will, that turned out to be very entertaining.

Tomorrow – re-embarkation.

Saturday, December 18, 2010 – Cozumel, Mexico – 81F - Sunny

We are at the International Pier today so we are about three miles from town.  So today, we will walk from the ship toward the town and back.  It is a late departure, so we can relax on a nearly empty ship.

There a four ships here today – the Radiance of the Seas and two Carnival cruisers.

     

 

We are at our new table for Flexible Dining and we are pleased with our new set up.

The headliner tonight is comedian Steve Caouette from Maine.  He was so funny (especially in his interactions with audience) that we caught both his shows (even though they were very much the same).

In between shows, we listened to Will in Michael’s Club.

Tomorrow: A welcome Sea Day

Pedometer: 10,122 Steps / 4.80 miles / 491 calories / 2 hr 13 min

Friday, December 17, 2010 – Key West, FL – Sunny – 74F

Beautiful Day in Key West, FL after a chilly start.  The ship is docked right near the town.  We are on a tour today, “Discover Key West”, which involves touring the city in a trolley.  The guide was very funny and informative.  Transportation in Key West is unique – besides cars, there are Trolleys, Mini-Trains, and bicycle cabs.  Other folks rent bicycles to see the town.

  

Ellen on the dock in Key West

On our trolley for “Discover Key West”

The Trolley Tour takes us to the four corners of this tiny island and eventually drops off passengers at the Aquarium and Shipwreck Museum.  Not much escorting to be done on this tour.

Really?

Hemingway House (moved to Key West in 1931)

Southern tip of the Key – Cuba 98 miles ahead

Southernmost Hotel in US

Southernmost point in US

Southernmost Menorah in US

This is the end of US 1 (Mile 0), which goes from Key West up the East Coast of the US.

Marilyn in her iconic pose outside a local theater.

According to our guide, this Banyan Tree is the third oldest tree in the United States.

James Audubon House

The Key West Hard Rock Hotel was at one time owned by one of KW pioneers.

Once the tour was over, I spent a few minutes in the Aquarium.  I was amazed by the bioluminescent jellyfish.

 

Key West is a town made up of stores, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants.  These are located on the main drag, Duval St. Also found on the streets near the Port at the Key West Museum of Art and History (at the Custom House) are a population of statues.  These statues are arranged in the most amusing poses and scenes.

One particularly amazing installation is “Time for Fun”, two statues approximately 20 ft tall in front of the Museum.

We posed with some of the other statues in the museum area.

 

Another unusual exhibit is a statue painting a series of statues.  On the porch of the museum is another statue taking a photo of our artist and his models.  Very clever.

It was an early departure from Key West (1:30 PM) and my first talk - “The CSI Phenomenon” is scheduled for 3:30 PM.  It was supposed to be in the Cinema but the venue was commandeered by a large group of self help folks.  I was now in the Hemisphere Lounge on the top deck.  All windows, a makeshift screen, uncomfortable seats.  The slides were impossible to see and the projector went out in the middle of my slides but the 20 people who showed up bravely put up with the suboptimal conditions. 

We are staying with “Flexible Dining” but will switch our seats tomorrow night.

 

Beautiful Sunset – Gulf of Mexico

Before the first show of the cruise we took in the Muzemarine String Quartet (from the Ukraine) in the Cova Cafe.

Tonight’s Show: Touch of Broadway.  A production show featuring the Celebrity Singers and Dancers.  The entertainers are very good but the songs included were not the best (from Cabaret, the Producers).  Numbers from “Hairspray” and a tribute to Queen were more enjoyable.

The engineers are unable to figure out the noise in our room (“steam pipes” they say) but we determined it was air rushing under the door.  Two pillows placed at the base of the door eliminated the noise.

Should be able to get a better nights sleep.

Pedometer:  10,451 steps /4.953 mi/506.8 Cal / 2 hr 38 min.

Thursday, December 16, 2010 – Miami, FL – 74F – Embarkation Day

Up at 6:30 AM – quiet night – no earplugs – just an occasional jet taking off from MIA.  Our room at the La Quinta Airport East is pretty nice (not a new hotel but it seemed clean).  We had the usual waffle based breakfast and are now waiting for our 10:00 AM shuttle to the Port of Miami.  Three more folks signed up for the shuttle so the ship won’t be empty.

   

In Front of the Luxurious La Quinta

Plane taking off over the hotel

The shuttle picked us up at 10 AM for the 10 minute drive to the Port of Miami.  The Celebrity Century was the only ship there – unusual but expected for a Thursday departure.

 

On the way to the cruise port

We dropped our bags and went to a waiting area for security to open.  I informed the agent that I was the speaker on board and he said we could go through security first (how about that?).  We did and we were literally the first people on the ship.  A few minutes later, the buffet opened and we ate on the back deck.  We sampled a bit of everything – the food was good. 

Next stop:  The Library to check out books for the voyage.

We also checked in with the Maitre D on our dinner seating.  We are in “Flexible Dining” for tonight.  We’ll see how that works out and if we need to be in the regular dining room for the rest of the trip.

We stopped by our room, 4003, to drop our stuff.  It is a passenger cabin with an enormous bathroom and shower, lots of storage, and a large picture window.  In fact, the whole ship looks likes it’s been renovated.

 

At 6:00 PM, we arrive at the Grand Dining Room Flexible Seating desk.  We asked for and got a table for two at the aft windows.  Pretty quiet in that location except for the slight rumbling of the engines.  The menu was essentially the same as the one we had just had on the Equinox but the food was good.

After dinner, I met with Alejandro, the Activities Manager, and Mike, the Cruise Director to go over my two topics and to film a short promo.  I plan to do  “The CSI Phenomenon” and “Cold Cases Solved”.  I usually like to bridge these two with “The Science of CSI” but the cruise is too short.  The other speaker on board is also a Special Interest Speaker, Myrna Goldberger, who will be talking on First Families and Lies and Spies.

The Welcome Aboard show featured many of the acts on board including a guitarist-vocalist (Justin Wade) , a piano-vocalist (Will), aerialists, and an A Cappella Group (Tideflats) .  The Celebrity Theater is very nice but the seats are not tiered enough.  The crowd at the second show was pretty small.

We had a message from Shore Excursions that both of us were escorting tomorrow in Key West.

There is an annoying whistling sound in our room that we want engineering to look at.

Trying to get a good night’s sleep even though the noise penetrates my earplugs.

Triple Caribbean Cruise – December 16 – 29, 2010 – Celebrity Century

Travel Day

Bitter cold in Chicago (low 2F – high 20F) so we are going to Miami for a triple Caribbean cruise (4 – 4 – 5 days) aboard the Celebrity Century.  Our taxi is right on time and – safety first – wouldn’t leave until we had our seat belts on.  A first.

Weather is good today and our aircraft is here for an on-time departure.

This plane has a special paint job supporting the Susan Komen Foundation.

On time departure, a relatively smooth flight, and an early arrival.  The temperature in Miami is in the mid 50s so no complaining there.  Our shuttle is there to take us the La Quinta Airport East and now we are in our comfortable room. 

We are apparently the only two people taking the shuttle to the cruise port tomorrow.  The last time we were here there were several shuttles going to the port – there is only one tomorrow.