Panama Canal Cruise – Azamara Journey – January 30 – February 15, 2011

Friday, January 28, 2011 – Travel Day

Cold but clear morning – our cab is on time – our trip to airport smooth and fast. 

Our flight (UAL 449) boards on time and actually leaves a few minutes early.  This Airbus A319 has 3X3 seating so we are sitting across the aisle from each other.  The flight is relatively smooth and we have a nice lunch (tuna salad in pita and chips). 

Once in San Diego (75F), we contact the hotel and wait for the shuttle to arrive.  Soon, we are in our room at the Best Western Harbor Yacht Hotel (actually the third room in this case was the charm) enjoying the view from our balcony.

After exploring the harbor area and walking the length of both Scott Avenue and Rosecrans Avenue, we decide to have dinner across the street from the hotel at Pizza Novo.  The dinner was great – sharing a house salad (walnuts, cranberries, gorgonzola cheese) and Pasta Novo (Fettuccini Alfredo with smoked salmon and capers) plus olive oil and garlic soaked dinner rolls.

A long but nice day is over…

Wednesday, December 29, 2010 – Miami, FL – Mostly Cloudy – 60s

Disembark is relatively easy and we are off the ship by 9:00 AM and on our way to the airport for our long wait for our 3:10 PM Flight to Chicago.

Miami has one of those soft-X Ray Scanners.  Everything has to be out of your pockets – all you can have on is your clothes (no belts).  The scan is quick and Star Trek like and then you need to wait to be cleared (I kept my eyes on my stuff on the conveyor while I waited).  TSA must not have liked something on my scan so I had the complimentary and interesting pat down.  It is quick but all people say it is.

About an hour to flight time our 757 arrives

Just as we are about to board, an announcement is made that the flight will be delayed an hour (ATC hold on traffic into ORD) and we would not board at 3:30 PM for a 4:10 PM Departure.  We do actually board and push about 4:10 PM but only to park in the “penalty box” awaiting our turn to go. 

At about 5:00 PM, we hit the runway and we are off.  The flight is a little bumpy but OK.  As we near Chicago, the pilot indicated that we will be holding for about 30 minutes about 150 miles from the airport.  The revving of the engines about 30 minutes later indicated to me that he was moving to another holding pattern (indeed another 30 minutes) – touchdown was not 7:05 PM as announced.  We finally left that pattern and the pilot indicated a preparation for landing.  However, I did not feel the plane descend or employ flaps and slats.  Sometime later, the flaps did deploy along with the gear and it was soup until the wheels hit the ground.  I think we touched down at 7:35 PM. 

In spite of all of the holding patterns, the most bizarre event was leaving the plane quickly through the port side emergency door, which, all of a sudden was open to the jet way (the door opened before I could get my stuff from the overheads).  This was a first for me (coach folks leaving before first class).

It took quite a while for the luggage to appear but our cabbie waited for us. 

We finally got home after 9:00 PM to find that a power outage had taken down our U-Verse system. A few calls to ATT eventually got the system back up an running. 

What an ending to a unique cruise.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 – At Sea (near Cuba) – Cloudy - 60s

Our final day at sea is cool and cloudy. 

We did not take in the Brunch today but rather ate upstairs in the Aqua Spa Cafe (Salmon on a bun – very good).

Bill is speaking today at 3:15 PM about “The History of Catapults” and I follow him at 4:15 PM in the Cinema with “DNA Testing:  Cold Cases Solved”.  Again,I get some signs made to make sure people know where the talk is because it was not announced at the 12 Noon activities briefing.

I have a good enthusiastic audience (40 plus – the biggest crowd on this series of cruises).  Two couples (one from France) stayed after for about 30 minutes discussing crime and criminals. We had to quit so we could go to dinner.  Overall, the crowds weren’t the biggest but, considering the length and demographics of these cruises, they were successful.

The farewell show tonight are Juggler/Comedians “Will and Wally”.  The kids really liked them.

Suitcases out by 11:00 PM.

Debarkation Day tomorrow.

Monday, December 27, 2010 – Ocho Rios, Jamaica – Cloudy - 70F

Today we are the only ship in Ocho Rios but at least we are docked.

I was thinking of going ashore and looking around the port area (not the actual town which is a few miles away).  However, from the ship, the port area does not look all that inviting so I am planning to spend the time on Deck 12 (Hemisphere Lounge) finishing my book. 

Not sure why, but the ship is really swaying even though it is docked (do they need to pull the mooring lines tighter?).  The ship is moving but it is not a problem for me.  I actually finished the book and plan to read another titles by the same authors (the book involves the adventures of Aloysius Pendergast, FBI Agent (and Sherlock Holmes type) extraordinaire).

Note to self:  Try to avoid itineraries that include Ocho Rios.

Since Ocho Rios is a short Port day, I am giving a talk after departure at 4:30 PM (Cinema) on “DNA Testing: Secrets of the Royal Families”.  Bill, speaking right before me, had a very small crowd, expected from being scheduled late after a port stop.  My expectations were low but when the talk started, there were about 30 – 40 people in attendance.  The audience was into the subject and I got some good questions following the presentation.

At dinner, I am introduced to a new concept - “The Martini Flight” – a assortment of different flavored (and colored) martinis in taster sized portions.

The show tonight is “Touch of Broadway” and I still enjoyed the Hairspray, Jersey Boys, and Mama Mia segments.  There were a few numbers I could not associate with any play – except many “Be Italian” from “Nine”?

Tomorrow – another welcome sea day

Sunday, December 26, 2010 – Georgetown, Grand Cayman Islands – Sunny - 75F

Today is a beach day – specifically, Seven Mile Beach, which is supposed to be one of the best beaches in the Caribbean. 

The Century is not docked (and not anchored either – thrusters and azipods are being used to keep the ship in place.  The Crown Princess and the Disney Wonder are also doing the same thing.  The tender ride is short (5 minutes) and smooth and soon we are in Georgetown.

 

Celebrity Century from the Tender

The New and Old of seafaring vessels

The best way to go is by cab ($4 per person), which gets you there (4 miles from the port) and allows you to use the sand and facilities of the resort hotel.  You bring your own towel and can rent an umbrella ($10) or beach chair ($10). 

Seven Mile Beach and Cruise Ships

The sand is nice and the water is warm.  There are a lot of folks at the beach today but there is still plenty of room to stretch out and relax.  The kids play in the water or build sand castles.

The waves are pretty strong and frequent – a portent of things to come. 

Not wanting to wait in a long line for the last few tenders, we take another van back to the pier.  Delighted that their no line, we hop onto our tender boat.  The wave and wind action were so intense that the tender was slamming into the pier with major force (strong enough to move people in their seats).  The boat was also rocking in all directions.

Soon we were on our way back amidst strong waves and winds.  The splashing was so intense that people sitting in the unprotected areas of the boat got drenched.  We were in the front and closed our windows to keep dry.  The chop was severe – some people were getting queasy.  The worst part was that the boat was unable to maneuver its way to the tender docking area on the Century (too much chop).  It took three passes and a total of about 40 minutes for the tender boat to finally move close enough to the ship for the crew to secure the boat.  It was a treacherous trip from the tender to the ship over the gangway but eventually we all made it.  What an adventure at no extra charge – by the way, the kids thought it was a ton of fun.  The adults – not so much.

The ship itself was pretty smooth (hard to move around 95,000 tons).

Being at the beach was great – it had been quite a while since I had beach time.  It took a major shower to clean out all of the sand but it was worth it.

Steve did his Comedy act again…still funny.  He did change it and added some new and funny elements.

The seas are choppy and the wave slap against the bow is pretty loud.  Thank goodness for earplugs.

Saturday, December 25, 2010 – At Sea – Mostly Sunny – 75F

A nice day…time for some reading, playing games with the kids in the game room.

Today’s talk is a bit earlier in the day – 1:30 PM – in the Cinema.  “The CSI Phenomenon” draws only about 25 people.  Not many fans of the show and the audience is not very enthusiastic.  After the talk, a few people wanted to talk about their favorite programs.  Where were they when I wanted to get the crowd involved?

Just before dinner, we were treated to a terrific sunset.

 

We attend the Holiday Show in the Celebrity Theater (the same show that was a matinee event during the other cruises).  A lot of Christmas music (but “I had a little Dreidel” snuck into a song by the Tideflats).  Many of the songs were secular and the production cast did a nice job. 

Friday, December 24, 2010 – Miami, FL – Sunny - 70F

The family is aboard for this one.  Their embarkation was apparently smooth.

 

Another scenic sail away from Miami and a great sunset as a bonus.

Another welcome aboard show and some more time with Justin and Will in the lounges.