Saturday, December 22, 2012 – Cartagena, Colombia – Sunny – Hazy – 90F

Distance from Ft. Lauderdale to Cartagena: 1142 Nautical Miles

A humid, warm day in Cartagena…

Cartagena Condos and Bay

Our only plan today is find some WiFi in the area of the Visitor Center.  The Visitor Center is just a short walk from the commercial pier (and an ugly one) where the Century is docked.

This time around, the Center has brought in some beautiful flamingos to brighten up the complex.  We were able to get some nice pictures of not only the birds but also got into some of the pictures ourselves.

 

The two of us among the Flamingos

Cartagena was our first opportunity to get a picture of the Celebrity Century docked.  It is not a pretty port but I did get the ship with just a bit of commercial stuff in the background.

Hoping to get some free WiFi near the port, we ran the gauntlet of taxi drivers and tour guides and went across the street to a gas station.  Ellen was able to get the WiFi code from the attendant and I really felt like having a local beer.  The clerk opened a bottle of Aquilla beer ($1.50).  I didn’t have any change and neither did the clerk; in a true international cooperation move, the customer behind me bought me the beer.  I thanked him – so a beer on a local and free WiFi.  Mission accomplished.

We headed back to the ship for lunch…

This picture of the Century may look identical to the one above but look carefully and you will see Ellen near the bow of the Century.

While we were having lunch in the Islands Cafe, another cruise ship pulled in.  The Pullmantur ship looked an awful like a Celebrity Ship that had been repurposed by this cruise line.  In fact, the name of the ship was the Horizon.  My guess is that this used to be the Celebrity Horizon, the ship we took to the Panama Canal (non transit) years ago. (NOTE:  confirmed later in the cruise by a bartender in Michael’s Club).

The Pullmantur Horizon docked in Cartagena

Also visible from the deck – through the cargo crates and containers – was La Popa Monastery – the highest spot in Cartagena.

La Popa Monastery

The sail away was early so we could take some fine pictures of the departure from Cartagena.

 

  

The fort below was described in a previous cruise as being a deterrent to pirates.  There is another fort on the other side so locals strung chains between the two forts which prevented pirate ships from entering the Bay of Cartagena. 

It is always fun to watch the pilots depart the ship.  It took a while but the pilot did jump to the pilot craft from the Century.

 

Top: Pilot boat snuggling up to the Century; Bottom: Pilot back on his on boat.

 

Relaxing on the Sail Away

We have successfully worked out a Dining Arrangement in Select Dining in the Grand Dining Room thanks to the wonderful hostess, Tenisha.  We have a nice table for two (Table 1), which is both quiet and affords a view of the sea.

Pedometer: 4353 steps / 2.03 miles / 213 calories

Friday – December 21, 2012 – At Sea – Caribbean Sea – Sunny – Windy – high 70s

Choppy day at sea…

Not a good night – first, real coffee instead of decaf (they do look alike) and second, noisy neighbors at 1:55 AM (what could be on CNN that’s so important?) – Perhaps they were watching CNN so they could see “The End of the World” as it was happening.

 

I had breakfast on the back deck again – a bit windy but very nice.

 

All around gorgeous day in the Caribbean Sea.  The noise level on this ship continues to be very passenger friendly.  Even the party band – Celebration – playing on the pool deck is keeping the decibel level in the “comfortable” range.

 

Celebration playing on the pool deck

My second talk is today at 2:30 PM again in the Cinema.  I got there early again to set up.  The projector wasn’t quite ready so I decided to chase down an AV guy working in the theater to help me set up (just in case the AV tech assigned to me did not show).  Soon I was all set up and waiting to see if the talks had “legs”.  At 2:00 PM, there were about 50 people present.  As the start time approached, the theater was packed, people were sitting on the stage, in the aisles and simply giving up (the couple that had been with me for two previous cruises came in late and didn’t stay).   Somebody in the audience had gone to the Guest Relations Desk earlier to complain about the crowding and another guest went there now to let them know about the seating issues.  As I was getting ready to start, I noticed that Jamie was standing there.  She proceeded to apologize for the crowding and assured the crowd that the next talk would be in the theater.  Wow…

Well, the talk - “Landmark Cases” – went well especially the ditty about London bus drivers and spit kits.  Apparently, this is a big deal in London.  Many Brits chimed in on this one.  A few folks stayed after and chatted.  Lot of fun.

We attended the Shabbat services in the Cinema at 5:00 PM led by one of the rabbis on board.  This service was well attended and very well organized.  The booklets supplied by Celebrity were also very helpful.  At the end of the service, everyone took their turn introducing themselves.  It was nice all around including – of course – the Manischevitz Wine.

Showtime tonight featured our old friend, Greg Bonham – Aussie and Las Vegas showman.  His show was fabulous – we caught the end of the early show and then the beginning of his show at the late version.  Much of his show is the same but he added a new video-enhance song (he wrote) called “You Must Love”.  It was great – shots of his parents, wife, and daughter taken back in Australia mashed up with his singing the same song in a desert setting (synched with his stage voice).  Pretty cool.  He also ended up with his other showstopper, “Who Will Stand for Freedom”.  The last time we saw him, he had a video backdrop for this song which make it more powerful.  No video this time but still a great song.  He puts on a great show.

Three above: “You Must Love” – Greg Bonham

After the show, we went to the Rendezvous Lounge and caught a set from the Celebration Band.  The band is good and exotic sounding because the lead female vocalist is from Ukraine and sings with an accent – like listening to ABBA.

Celebration in the Rendezvous Lounge

Tomorrow: Cartagena, Colombia

Thursday, December 20, 2012 – At Sea – Caribbean Sea (North of Cuba) – Sunny – Breezy – mid 70sF

Lots of wave slap during the night – seas are a little choppy this morning but…

A beautiful day at sea…

Breakfast in the Islands Cafe – Waffle plus cottage cheese, sour cream, whipped cream, and blueberry compote.  Just like home…very good.  Ellen had a nice room service breakfast – omelet and lox.

We are both in the Hemisphere Lounge on Deck 12 watching the waves and Cuba off the starboard side of the vessel.  Light chop – no big deal.  An acupuncture lecture is going on the background.  I stepped outside to get this great picture of passengers enjoying the full sunlight on the Pool Deck.

  

The Hemisphere Lounge has this little compass that tells you the direction the ship is going.  Low tech but interesting.

 

Ellen and the Compass

My first talk - “Forensic Science: The CSI Phenomenon” is scheduled for 2:30 PM in the Cinema on Deck 6.  There are advertisements for the day’s activities around the ship (for example: a “digital frame” scrolls the activities at the Guest Relations Desk).  There is plenty of exposure for all of the Celebrity Life Activities.

I arrived about 40 minutes early for my talk – another talk had just finished up so the LCD unit was up and running.  It took me only five minutes to set up and test all of my equipment.  The projection unit is very good quality and delivers a HD like image.  The Cinema has 144 chairs (what – they couldn’t find one more) and even though it’s early some people are in their seats (it is a quiet place after all).  As I mingle, I met a couple that had sailed with me twice before – the last being on the Jewel of Seas transatlantic cruise.  She told me that she still remembered the talk about the cats and trees.

As 2:30 PM approached, more and more people arrived and by show time, all of the seats were filled.  People were standing along both walls and some people just didn’t stay.  I would say that the attendance was about 160 plus people.  About 90 percent of the folks were CSI fans and the crowd was very interactive.  The talk finished right on time and drew a nice round of applause.  Positive comments followed and people said they would return for the rest of the series.  I had to use a hand held mic which was not as efficient as the headsets but it all worked out fine.

 

Left: Getting ready; Right: Introduction and Full House

Post talk, we spent time in the Cova Cafe (Deck 6) prior to getting ready for Dinner in the Grand Cafe.  We still don’t have seats but we checked in with the Maitre D’ to see what’s available.  He always tells us that he has nothing and that Select Dining is 150 percent  overbooked but then tells us to check with the hostess in Select Dining who will be able to seat us.  We did get a table for two in the center of the action – loud and hectic with wait staff flying all around us.  I ordered the Black Salmon (Cobia) and Ellen had the salmon.  I believe I might have to remove the Cobia from my list – just not my type of fish.  The rest of the meal was fine.

Right around dinner time, I was able to get some great shots of the sunset.

as well as the northern coast of Cuba (below).  It’s difficult to see in the photo but the lights of Cuba were visible from the ship.

Show time tonight was the first Production Show: “Dancing Around the World”.  We had seen this show on other ships but every version is slightly different.  While waiting for the show to start, the monitors on the side of the theater broadcast the events of the following day including my second presentation.

 

Preview of Celebrity Life Activities for tomorrow

The show was good especially the dancers.  I tried to get a picture of my favorite segment – the Irish Step Dance – but the lighting and speed of the dancers made that difficult (I did get one shot).

Irish Step Dance (they need more dancers)

The acrobatic duo performed some scary moves on the cable – even scarier than previous duos – e.g. releases and grabs.

Acrobatic Duo

Finale

After the show, we went to Michael’s Club to hear Eddie Covarrubias sing and play.  He is an excellent pianist and his songs are all recognizable – he even did “Hallelujah”.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Sunny – 82F

Embarkation Day

The Cruise Itinerary

No need to get up real early as our shuttle ride to Port Everglades is scheduled for 11:00 AM.  Our ride is complimentary since we booked our reservations (ages ago) before the ride picked up a surcharge of $8.00.

Waffles for breakfast (a La Quinta tradition) and soon we are on our way to the port.  There are five ships in port today including the Celebrity Silhouette and the Crown Princess. 

Not much of a crowd at our terminal and although they didn’t have our sea passes printed, they soon came and we were on the ship.  The buffet was not quite set up for the passengers who were starting to come aboard but eventually we did get some pizza and salad.

Tugs maneuvering a freighter into position

Ft. Lauderdale Condos

We made our usual visit to the Maitre D’ who gave us the usual news – no openings at the first seating.  We asked for Select Dining (open for us on the last two cruises) but that was also booked.  He assured us he would find us something in the next day or so.

We are in Cabin 5015 – Port side forward (in front of the “Door:).  5015 is a nice cabin with a “roomy” bathroom. 

 

Cabin 5015 – Pretty nice

I met with the Cruise Director, John Grantham (from the US) and Jamie Potter (Activities Manager from the UK) at 5:15 PM in the Library.  There are several enrichment personnel on board – me, or course, Uncle Marty Harrington (Destination), a Smithsonian Journey speaker (Dik Daso - Aviation), a water color artist (Maggie Nevens), a certified Zumba instructor, and two clergy.  Even though we are speaker heavy, Jamie indicated that I would be giving all eight lectures.  John and I taped an interview during which I sweated like a porcine (the lights are hot). 

Interview with John Grantham

We missed the initial sail away but we did get out on the deck just after sunset and got a nice sail away photo.

Sail Away and Sunset

Ship’s Position at Sail Away – check out the wind speed on deck

Dinner tonight is in the Garden Cafe Buffet.  Not that many choices but I did get a very nice made to order pasta (sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, garlic, and onions).  A nice option the next time we wind up in the buffet.

The Rendezvous Lounge features the “Celebration Band” with a girl vocalist (with a foreign accent), and three backup musicians.  They are very entertaining and perform at a comfortable volume level.

Celebration Band

Kindling in the Rendezvous Lounge

The Opening Night show was pretty short – A Swedish A Cappella (yes from Sweden), Trocadero took up most of the half hour.  There was a demo number by the Celebrity Singers and Dancers and a description of the Celebrity Life activities by John and Jamie.  Short and sweet.  Best of all, the volume of the music and microphones were set at a comfortable level and not at the deafening level on previous cruises. 

Note: The background music on this ship is actually “background” music and set at acceptable volume levels. 

Opening Night Celebrity Theater

The rest of the evening was spent in Michael’s Club listening to pianist-vocalist, Eddie Covarrubias.  Not the classical type of vocalist but he makes it work and the atmosphere in Michael’s is very relaxing.  It looks like we have two nice acts to keep up entertained during this cruise.

Lights out at 11:30 PM. 

Seas are smooth.