December 28, 2022 – Oranjestadt, Aruba – Partly Cloudy – 85F

Up early as usual.  From our room, I took this picture of a lone Divi-divi tree on a sandbar.  When we got back later the tree was submerged by the tide.

There were a lot of people in the Oceanview Cafe when I got there for breakfast.  I did get my seat and had a great breakfast once again.  

We were here just after we restarted cruising in April 2022 – on Constellation – on that cruise, we did not get off at any port. We came back in May 2022 on Queen Elizabeth - all we did then was get some water to bring back to the ship. The city looked in bad shape with little activity on the main street and nothing but shuttered stores on the second street. The iconic trolley wasn’t running.  

I guess third time’s the charm.  Celebrity Edge got a better berth and the walk to the terminal entrance was quite a bit shorter than last time.  There had been some changes in the cruise terminal.  The facility had added some fast-food restaurants – a Quiznos, a Sbarros Pizza, and a Juan Valdez Coffee shop. That's Ellen in the picture below checking out the menu.  

The Quiznos was open, but the others were still being finished out. The young woman who was tending the Quiznos told us that she had been open for just four days.  I like Quiznos – we don’t have many stores in the Chicagoland area.

This time out, there were lots of people on LG Smith Boulevard, the main street 

– there was a least one more cruise ship here today – an Aida ship.  Also, “Freewinds” the vintage Scientology ship is also here today. 

The restaurants, bars, and shops were open, and people were buying stuff.  We walked down the main street and then over to Caya Ernesto Harms, which was mostly deserted this time.  There were two spas on this street in the past and they were both gone – there were, however, some restaurants open with patrons.  So that was a god sign.  Scattered throughout the downtown area were ceramic horses (mostly blue) 

and cows (black) 

– I didn’t get a chance to see which artists did these but they do add some color to the town. 

We headed toward the beach and the pier walking by the Aruba Renaissance Hotel and the Royal Plaza – there were some people in the building of the Plaza.  

It was hot so I thought it would be nice to get a local beer and a coke and enjoy the view of the pier. We found a couple of seats in the shade – not an easy feat – at Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant.  I had the local “Magic Mango Ale” ($6) and Ellen had the Diet Coke ($4). Ellen took a nice, sweaty picture of me,

The coke was normal size but the beer was Lilliputian – maybe 8.5 ounces – maybe a single swig on a hot day. No more longnecks, I guess. From our seats, I was able to get a nice shot of Edge docked.

We sat there a while – the wait staff is in no hurry – and then back to the ship.  We’re at port so the Eden’s Café is closed – lunch was in the Oceanview Café. Pizza seemed the best option for today. 

We spent most of the afternoon in the Solarium, where I got this nice shot of Aruba.

Tonight’s Headliner was Tommy Green, a multi-instrumentalist/vocalist. 

He’s been hired as an entertainer in residence until February 2023, so they will keep him busy.  He’s a rock-a-country singer with an emphasis on his guitar.  He did “Wonderful World” in his style, and I didn’t care for it.  He did a tribute to Glen Campbell which was visual heavy.  I think that too many visuals distract from the music but that’s me.

We next went to Eden to hear the Acoustic Music now featured in that venue.  Before we got there, I had Ellen take a picture of me with the "wooden people" that live outside Eden.

There are five performers, Lucy, Dalton, Kriss, Ilena, and one more whose name escapes me.  They team up different each evening to provide variety.  I personally like the Lucy and Dalton Duo.  They are not loud and very pleasant to listen to.  I don’t recognize that many of their songs but they are all pleasant.  

The viola, played by Ilena, just becomes too much after a while.  We’ll have to be selective by checking out the program (not the app), which does say who is in Eden.

A long day in Aruba.

The total steps for the day 10,023. 

____________

Note on Dining for the remainder of the cruise.

Breakfast – I did switch off to pancakes covered with cottage cheese and jellies – did like that option better than the waffles.  I was able to bring Ellen fried eggs and omelets from Oceanview Café if I get her plate totally ready and then took the fresh eggs right down to the room – faster than room service.

Lunch – Eden’s Café when it’s open and Oceanview when it’s not.  Really like Gorgonzola cheese.

I gave the Veggie Burger another try by getting one from the Mast Grill.  Usually, there are made fresh which takes 15 minutes but this burger came out of warming drawer and tasted worse than the one I had in the Cosmopolitan Restaurant. 

Dinner – we did go back to the Cyprus Restaurant – mainly for the Taverna Salad but when it came it literally was 10 percent of what it had been before – literally three cubes of tomato, one olive, and one cube of cucumber, and a sliver of red onion.  I should have said something but I didn’t.  I did have the seared Salmon (different and much better than the Broiled Salmon).  I kept looking for it on each subsequent day but it was there or in any of the other restaurants.  Because of the min-Taverna, I decided not to go back there.

We ate a few times at the Normandie Restaurant mainly because Ellen likes the baked brie starter.  Mushroom soup was on the menu one evening but it was not as good as I remembered it – kind of thin and without texture. 

Two dishes that I did not like at all – the Herb Crusted Haddock (had such high hopes) – Haddock is a very good fish – I should have asked them to broil it.  The other dish was the Tuna Putanesca – all I could taste was olives. 

At the dinner where we had the Haddock, we asked to be seated away from people. But the hostess put another couple (in an otherwise empty restaurant) about three feet away from.  As it turned out, most everything on the menu that night didn’t make grade so we left early and went upstairs for pizza.  The couple was very nice but if the food isn’t OK, there’s no need to chat especially in these times. 

 

So, back to the itinerary…

December 27, 2022 - At Sea - Caribbean Sea - Partly Cloudy - 85F

Another beautiful day at sea and another perfect breakfast.  Today, I swapped pancakes for the waffle and I actually like the pancakes better.  I brought Ellen some fried eggs today - I got them right off the grill and hustled to the room.  They were still warm.  A waffle and fruit completed her meal.

Today, I am giving my first lecture - "The Mystery of the Romanovs".  Crystal was supposed to introduce me, but no one came so I introduced myself.  The turnout was small - understandable in light of the passenger response to shows and other lectures and, of course, the terrific weather outside.  There were probably less than 100 people in the Theater.  Of note was that Gary Kramer's wife speaks Russian and she was able to read my Anna Anderson slide and she, too, said the grammar was incorrect. 

Tonight's entertainer is Marty Thomas, whom we have never seen before and 

who, as part of his claim to fame, beat Britney Spears head-to-head on "Star Search" a while back.  Marty was pretty entertaining - a good voice - if a bit loud - and he did sing songs we knew.  He spent a lot of time story telling but did finish up with "Defying Gravity" (you can tell by the green lighting)

and he did hit the last note.  Also, his entire show as signed for hearing impaired individuals.  The people signing are using a light to see the words to the song.

We visited the Eden's acoustic session for a few minutes before heading for the room.

December 26, 2022 – Panama Canal – Mostly Cloudy – 80F

We are going through the new Agua Clara Locks today, spending some time in Gatun Lake and then through the locks again and docking in Colon, Panama for a short time.  Traffic only moves in one direction in the new locks so we can't go back through until the afternoon sometime.

I was up in the Oceanview Café early and there were people up there already. After my usual breakfast (I did score my usual seat), we watched the transit from various locations on the ship.  There are no locomotives or lots of workers and noise in the new locks.  The ship goes into the locks – the pocket doors slide shut and the ship is raised and released into Gatun Lake. It's almost boring.  

We had lunch in the Eden Café again – I had the salad and gorgonzola cheese again along with the vegetarian avocado sandwich.  I honestly did not know what was in that sandwich.  I did ask for a scoop of tuna and the tuna outside of the pita was really good.

Eden’s Café has become quite popular and the two lines – one for salads and one for sandwiches - have gotten pretty long.  That, coupled with the relative lack of seating makes for an interesting lunch. We usually sit in the semi-comfortable high seats along the window.

In the afternoon, after dropping off some passengers on excursions (via tenders), 

the ship turned around and headed back through the Aqua Clara Locks on her way to Colon, Panama.  

We managed again to get some seats on the Magic Carpet and we had our soft serve cream.  When it's not breezy, the Magic Carpet is a great place to be - it's covered and comfortable.

The ship docked at the "Colon 2000" Cruise Terminal.  We decided to get off the ship and check out the new shopping center.  I really wanted to get a shot of the ship docked.  

The shopping center reminded me of the one in Fuerte Amador.  We didn’t stay long but the passengers were throwing around dollars thinking they had found a bargain. 

No show tonight. The only entertainment is the Canal.  We have discovered that the best place to be on the ship – in good weather – is on the aft deck just outside the Oceanview Café.  You can find a seat against the railing, put your feet up, and, if you are lucky, the screaming lady has turned down her volume.  We did this while docked in Colon.

Late departure from Colon but everyone was on board at big early so the ship pushed early as it set a course for the ABC Islands.

December 25, 2022 – Cartagena, Colombia – Party Cloudy – 85F

It’s a relatively short stop in Cartagena so we opted to stay on the ship – and since it is Christmas Day, it made no sense to even go visit the little shopping mall at the end of the pier.  Other people were getting off the ship because the buffet was packed when I got up there.  I had to sit at a skinny table next to the ice cream parlor to eat my breakfast.  I had the usual combo of waffles, cottage cheese, jams, and scrambled eggs.  There are pancakes but the specialty package seems to be craisin (dried cranberry) pancakes – not my first choice.  The food was good but it was too crowded to stay up there.

I documented our stop in Cartagena.

We had a late breakfast out on the deck in the Oceanview Café in lieu of lunch. I had a bagel with lox and cream cheese and some herring. They have very good lox and herring on this ship and while they can't find the sour cream, the herring was available the entire cruise (other ships run out in the first couple of days).  Bill Fall came over and joined us so that was a pleasant way to spend a morning.

The real lunch was fish and chips in the Oceanview Café – the fish was a little greasy but a nice change.  The chips were good as well.

Bill had a post departure talk in the theater that I went to see. It was about the new locks - I didn't know that much about the new canal so it all was all new to me.

  

Tonight, we had dinner in the Greek themed Cyprus Restaurant.  I had the Taverna Salad (a Greek Salad sort of), Saganaki (different from the last time we had it), a Boston Lettuce and Feta Cheese Salad (that was good), and broiled Salmon (underdone). Service was quick and efficient today.  The orders came right out despite the fact that the place was full.

The show tonight was “The Uptown Boys” - four guys who pay tribute to the music of Billy Joel and his musical, "Moving Out".  Although a musical cousin to "Jersey Boys", it has different choreography, and the songs are some of my favorites.  The four vocalists had great voices and the show was highly entertaining.  Best of all, the dB levels were tolerable, and we could enjoy the show.  Why can't they all be like this?

After the show, we tried the acoustic music in Eden but there was too much Cello tonight and not enough vocals.  

We went to the room for the night.

December 24 – 2022 – At Sea – Partly Cloudy – 85F

Another nice day at sea – slept pretty well.  The fridge was making a little noise so only one earplug was necessary.  

Found my usual seat in the germ-free zone (I hope) of the Oceanview Cafe and watched the Sun come up again - it never gets old. 

It is quieter than usual up here so I guess the screaming lady must be having a later gig today.  Breakfast is still good with a real waffle this time.  After some back and forth about whether there was sour cream out on the buffet, I was able to get one of the server folks to get me some sour cream, but it took so long that I had basically finished my waffle and cottage cheese.  The coffee was not hot this morning for some reason. Hot coffee is an important component of breakfast.  Here's the breakfast of champions.

We had lunch in the Eden’s Café – I remember how good the tuna sandwiches on freshly sliced bread were.  Unfortunately, the tuna was only available in a mini pita, and I did not care for the new version. What was good was the Salad with gorgonzola, beets, and walnuts along with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  Honey cake was the dessert instead of the honey walnut version of the past.  Still the salad was very good.  The place is very popular and fills up quickly – we got there right at opening. They have two lines to get food - the first line is like an assisted salad bar - you tell them what you want, and they assemble your salad.  The second line is for sandwich orders.  Iced tea is self-serve.  They use pagers to let people know when their items are ready.

No lectures again today – it’s a little odd but there are a lot of Christmas activities going on and the theater and Club are probably booked.  So, after lunch, we wandered up the Eden Fibonacci spiral to the hanging swings, where Ellen made herself comfortable.  

We went back to get ready for dinner and I decided to try and take a picture of the "Corridor of Weird", there are heavy metal figures that impede your way from the shop area to the Eden's area.  It's dark and a little tight in there and definitely creepy in an artsy sort of way.

When we got back to the room, we were greeted with a fantastic fresh flower basket.  I am guessing this had to do with our room issues early on.  It was beautiful and it lasted the whole trip and got more interesting as each set of flowers opened.

We had dinner up in the Oceanview Café and things have changed a lot since we were here last.  The biggest change is that the pasta station, my favorite, is gone – there is still a stir fry station but after looking at it, I opted not to try it.  Salad and pizza were the only things that appealed to us tonight.  The pizza is a little strange to in that there is not a lot of tomato sauce on the pizza just a lot of tasty cheese. 

We passed on the Christmas Show tonight in the theater and instead took in the acoustic set in Eden. No viola tonight just Lucy and Dalton.

First port of call tomorrow.  

Seas are smooth.

December 23 – 2022 – At Sea – Mostly Sunny – 85F

Our first sea day; it’s a beautiful day as the ship steams toward the north coast of Cuba.  I slept pretty well last night and I’m ready for my favorite meal of the day – Breakfast in the Ocean View Café.  Even though I got up there at just a bit after opening, the place was crawling with some of the 3000 passengers including a lot of kids.  I got my favorite seat in the far corner of the room where ice cream is served – there was no one in there with me so I could take off my mask, which I wore in the elevator on the way here.  No one else in my immediate vicinity is wearing a mask.  Maybe, Celebrity Edge is a floating herd-immune vessel – I doubt that since most of the passengers got on in the Republic of Florida, a land of anti-vaxxers.

I got a beautiful picture of the sun coming up in the Atlantic Ocean.  As you can see, the sea is like a lake.

 

I had a waffle with cottage cheese and jams plus some very good, scrambled eggs.  I tried to get sour cream, which Edge used to have as a standard item, but that didn’t work out.  The waffle was also kind of wonky, soggy and dark.  I might have gotten one of their “special” waffles (blueberry?) by mistake.

I brought Ellen her breakfast – lox, cream cheese, bread, fruit, and cucumbers. Our routine has been initiated.

The trick on Edge - we found out two years ago - is to find a quiet place – it’s nearly impossible but we started off on the pool deck (we are going to focus on outdoor spaces in case the ship is a COVID super-spreader) – that was OK but too many people talking around us.  So we headed out for lunch.

We decided to try the Cosmopolitan Dining Room for lunch – it is the only dining room serving lunch (only on sea days, I think). While waiting to be seated, I am still sporting my trademark 4-layer black mask. And yes, they made me lose the cap once I walked in the room.  While, that is a good thing, the dress code was enforced sparingly and inconsistently.  

Ellen had the egg and fines herbs panini, and I had the veggie burger. We both had the crispy mushroom in artichoke sauce (one of the best dishes on the ship).  We both had the Key Lime Salad which was OK.  The cold potato soup was thin and tasteless, and the veggie burger was thin and a little overdone.  It didn’t taste like either an “Impossible Burger” or a “Beyond Burger”.

It is very difficult to find a seat on Deck 14's breezeway - the inner, larger, seats require a fee and a reservation, and the smaller outer ones are always taken. We got lucky today and I documented that with this picture.

From there we went to the Solarium, which was pretty quiet and today had little if any chlorine smell.  I am reading “Colorblind”, probably the only Jesse Stone novel I’ve not read.

We had dinner in the Normandie Dining Room.  Cesar Salad, broiled salmon, baked potato, and creamed spinach for me.  Ellen had the baked brie and broiled salmon.  The Cesar Salad was OK, but the salmon was undercooked, and the baked potato was OK.  I also ordered some sautéed spinach which did not come out as I expected. I'll have to fine tune the cooking instructions next time.

The Central Plaza was hopping as we walked to the Theater.

Showtime tonight featured Alicia Hill, a vocalist who, according to her online background was a Cruise Director on Azamara.  

We never saw her on an Azamara Ship.  She is an Aretha Franklin type of singer, so we lasted about a song and half, and we were saturated with decibels.  I should mention that Alicia Hill is our neighbor, and we can hear her practicing every so often. 

We took refuge again in Eden where the singers are acoustic only.  I like the lead singers (Lucy and Dalton) and the guitarist while the viola played by the fourth member of the troupe is a little grating after a while.  

Headed to the room - another non-working sea day tomorrow.  Could get used to that.