Cruising on the Allure of the Seas, a nice little boat...

Jumping off

Allure of the Seas at Falmouth, Jamaica

Summer vacation 2014 started from Phoenix – a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s big ship Allure of the Seas to Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico.  Just for comparison, Titanic is still regarded as a large ship.  Allure is larger than was Titanic by almost a factor of five times. (46,000 gross tons vs 225,000 tons for Allure). Allure is presently the largest cruise ship in the world, by about ½ inch length over her sister, Oasis of the Seas. There's not much out there that's bigger -- maybe a super tanker.

The week was spent with my friends, the Melians – Jim, Gloria, David, Denise, Sarah, and four additional friends.  I traveled to the embarkation point separately from the rest – I got a non-stop flight KPHX to KFLL while the others flew through Chicago.  I arrived in Fort Lauderdale around the same hour they did, but we didn’t meet until we were all shipboard.

Locking keys in van

I had to wait quite some time at the airport for the hotel van to collect me – the Best Western Oakland Park was several miles away from the airport (and the cruise terminal at Port Everglades), but they had a free airport shuttle while some other more expensive places do not.  I also thought it was a nice clean place, friendly staff, even if the hotel was an older one. 

I had a nice long chat with the driver, Ms Dora, who was from Central America – Costa Rica I think, or Honduras.  We talked about cruising and traveling, pets and humidity.  On arrival at the hotel, I accidentally locked the doors while getting out (I was sitting in the front passenger seat and was the only passenger).  It took a while to get an extra set of keys – meanwhile the van was sitting there running in the Florida heat.  Finally, with baggage retrieved from the unlocked van and profuse apologies offered to the hotel managers and driver...

I got my room and walked next door to the Fort Lauderdale Ale House for supper.  I had a substantial steak dinner with shrimp scampi, plenty of sides and an iced tea, and an apple dessert for less than $25.  My server was Hope – I told her my name was Despair… and we got along fine after that.  Hope and despair… great food, nice “sports grill” surroundings, good service, all in all a hit and right next door to the hotel.

I slept in a bit on Sunday morning -- and walked to a nearby market for things for breakfast.  I got an Oscar Meyer Lunchables tray (ham, cheese and crackers...), a banana, a bottle of juice.  I sat around, relaxed and drank a diet Coke -- and reported to the hotel lobby for my ride to the ship at about 11:45 AM.  A young Florida native delivered me quickly and in friendly fashion to the dock.

The long boarding process

The ride to the Port Everglades Cruise Ship Terminal took about 10 or 15 minutes.  Pulling up on the curb in front of the terminal, which looked like a large warehouse, the luggage was already starting to pile up.  The facility opened for business at 12:30, I was early by 15 minutes and already things were piled up.  I left my luggage in a likely spot in the pile, and started walking toward the entrance. Well, I didn’t really know where the entrance was – so I just followed the crowds of people.  The first step was lining up for security, which went fairly quickly.  Then we were directed to a line to meet with the RCCL boarding agent (the equivalent of an airline customer service clerk), where we got our Sea Pass (combined id card and credit card while on board the ship - you use it for everything). 

Then we were directed toward the ship.  Every time I have ever been on cruises before, all with RCCL, this was when you got on the ship.  You walked through the terminal to a gangway, and you walked on.  But not at Port Everglades, not for the Oasis of the Seas, or the Allure of the Seas.  Along the way, we were directed to a large seating area, and we couldn’t even sit where we wanted.  We were lined up in groups and told where to sit – even in what seat.  And we waited.  And waited.  And waited. I got the sense that we had to wait because others who paid more than we did had “priority” boarding rights, even if we had to sit there for an hour or two.  Can you tell I didn’t care much for this obvious elitism? 

I’m not sure how long we had to wait, but it must have been at least an hour and a half, probably longer.  Then, finally, we were herded like cattle in groups onto the ship.  You would think that with a ship that had about 6500 passengers, there would be crowds everywhere you turned, but that wasn’t the case.  I only encountered uncomfortable crowding in two instances for the entire 7 days – this interminable wait and crowding at the embarkation, and then getting off the ship at Cozumel, where they funneled everyone through a gauntlet of peddlers – which is exactly why I dislike going to Mexico on cruise ships.*  In that case (at Cozumel), I just turned around and got back on the ship.  I do not tolerate crowds well.  It was like the experience in a border town, only concentrated into a small space.  The HELL with that.



The Customs building, and the shopping plaza
at the Port of Falmouth

*[A note on Mexico].  There are many, many things I love about Mexico and its people.  The tawdriness of border crossings, or in this case terminal areas and their associated "hawkers" are not among them.   So my comments here do not reflect my general feelings about 99.9% of the Mexican nation and culture.  A good example of a classier way to provide a "border shopping experience" was evident at Falmouth, where the shops were arranged around a plaza-like area and the proprietors met you inside their shops, without trying to drag you in off the street. If you want this more relaxed experience in Mexico, you have to get away from the tourist "district" choke points and find the places where the "locals" shop.  It's not hard to do.

Oh, and as long as I'm ranting about crowding, there was one other place where you encountered the crowds on the ship (and it's the same on all cruise ships in my experience).  It's the elevators.  There is a generally a diminishment of human courtesy and respect in our culture, and that of others around the world, and one place that dearth of manners and courtesy shows up most glaringly in my opinion is at the elevator.  When the elevator doors open, you let those inside exit FIRST, before you push your way in.  And if the thing is full of people, you let it go and wait for the next one.  I prefer to let a crowded elevator go on without me -- and then as soon as it moves away (up or down), push the call button again - doing so often brings another empty elevator immediately (since all the impatient ones crowded into the first one and are gone).  This strategy works a good part of the time.



The view from balcony 12210

Once on, I went straight to my state room – number 210 on Deck 12.  This was very high on the ship, an outside-facing stateroom on the port-side, about centrally located (between the elevator banks).  This was not optimum – either direction we had a little bit of a hike to the elevators and the public areas – this is a huge ship. That said, Jim and I loved having the balcony facing the sea.  While we didn’t spend a lot of time out there, it was very nice and there wasn’t an hour that went by that we didn’t stick our head out if we happened to be in the room.  And the walk, while tedious at times, didn’t hurt us.  A word about "staterooms."  I think they are mis-named...  they should be called county rooms, or village rooms, not STATE rooms (or maybe closets), because they are very, very small.  This doesn't really bother me, I don't mind small rooms as a small space is all I really need.  I just want things named correctly, that's all.

Sailing Away

Jim was already there to greet me, and my first thought was to get lunch at the buffet, one of only a few venues open prior to sailing.  Jim had already been there – but he accompanied me there again for lunch, and he had another burger right along with me.  We looked around, and by then, it was time for sailing.  We found some of the rest of our group up on the very top – Deck 16 – and we all watched as the ship came to life, and the water around it started to be churned up by the azipods and the thrusters – and this giant ship inched away from the dock. We moved slowly down the channel, then made a tight turn toward the sea, past harbor-side homes and high rise

Heading out to sea at Port Everglades, June 15, 2014

condos – smaller boats passing us coming in after a day on the ocean, residents sitting on their lawns and waving to us as we left, and slowly past the beach and the jetty and out to sea.  Just like that.  I think this all occurred over a span of less than ten minutes. David said that as these ships pass the beach near the jetty, the massive displacement of water caused by their passing sucks all the water off the beach - so I suspect the locals probably stay out of the water at sailing times. We were accompanied to the ocean by a coast guard patrol vessel with a machine gun on the foredeck, manned by a serious-looking young sailor. A Sheriff boat was also idling nearby, and we were accompanied by a pilot boat. Once the pilot climbed off the ship and the pilot boat turned back toward Port Everglades – the Allure of the Seas headed out into the Atlantic for a seven-day cruise to Labadee, Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, and Cozumel.  We were ready.  Not just for the cruise, but for DINNER.

A surprise addition, dinner number one in the dining room and sunset over Miami!

Soon, it was time for our first dinner in the dining room.  One of the first things Jim told me when I got to our room was that “Kathleen is here!”  Kathleen is Jim’s sister and one of my favorite people – and I had asked several times if she would be joining us for the cruise and the answer was always no.  Kathleen and her family live in another state so I don't get to see her that often. But as a great surprise, she had decided to come along at the last minute and only David knew that she was coming until we got there.  They didn't even tell her mother, Gloria.  Our seating time for dinner was 6 pm each night, and most of our group was there each evening with only a few exceptions.



Jim waits for his steak! Gloria and Kathleen and Earl's wife...

I found the food to be uniformly good, not stellar, but only once or twice did I not see something I wanted to try.  I fell back on the always available strip-steak only once – RCCL just doesn’t excel at steaks.  They usually are cooked to your specification, but the cut is not of particularly good quality – I don’t believe in four cruises I’ve ever been served one that could be called “tender.”  This first dinner I ordered fish (cod) along with an appetizer or two and dessert.  I found more appetizers that I wanted to try than I could manage – even more so than entrees.  Once or twice, I intended to eat ONLY those, and skip the rather unattractive (to me) “specialty” entrees that were offered that day. 



A dinner at the Windjammer

As the days went by, I began planning my evening meals early in the day (and days ahead, even) – each day’s menu was posted on the ship’s TV programming if you knew where to look.  Once or twice, seeing nothing that excited me on the menu for the evening at Adagio (the main dining room), I made plans those evenings to eat at the buffet (the Windjammer). Of course, in doing so I missed out on the social event of having the meals with everyone else, so I tried to avoid doing that when I could (I think I only did that twice, and once it was because I had to leave the group table early to print my return trip boarding pass).  Note to self: always be sure to do the airline’s “Early Bird Check In” – which is well-worth the slight expense when 400 miles out at sea.  It costs more to access the internet from a cruise ship than it would have to just arrange that with the airline in advance. 

Another meal I had really looked forward to was the one occasion when lobster was available.  Unfortunately, the lobster was almost tasteless.  This was most unfortunate because lobster is one of my favorite things.  But it tasted more like tofu than lobster; tasteless, just tasteless.  They offered a second tail and I turned it down.  I wasn't the only one either; they couldn't even give it away.

Hot Dogs on the Boardwalk

As usual, our table service (a waiter and an assistant) was excellent and attentive.  Seeing them each evening at dinner always makes a cruise a memorable experience.  There are many other food choices or venues aboard the Oasis class ships -- and among my favorites were the hot dog stand on the Boardwalk and the Park Café in Central Park.  I did not try them all though -- and of the pay-to-eat venues the only one I tried was the ice cream shop.  You already pay a premium price for a cruise, and I am less than enthusiastic about adding expense to it when there is decent food available at no additional cost. What irked me is that it appears clear that the cruise lines are reducing the quality of the included fare in an attempt to push people toward the additional cost offerings.

At this first meal, I sat nearest Sarah and Denise on one side, and Jim and Gloria on the other -- and we tended to sit in the same positions each evening with small deviations once or twice over the seven days.  David, Kathleen, Dane and Kim, and one other couple, Earl and Diana, sat at the other half of our table.  As a result, I never really talked to Earl and his wife much – I saw Dane and Kim at other times, but I think Earl and Diana must have done other things most of the time (or perhaps I did.)

After dinner, the first evening, I went up on the top decks to watch the scenery – we were cruising south past Miami and later, directly down toward Cuba, where we sailed along its north coast, along the Old Bahama Channel, ESE toward Haiti.  Day 2 was spent transiting to Haiti, and our first stop on Day 3 was Labadee, an RCCL private oasis on the island’s northern coast.

Miami Sunset

Day 2 sunrise off Cuba

The roiled wake in Caribbean Blue

I got some spectacular views of Miami’s skyline with the sun going down behind it, silhouetting the buildings in a pink and orange glow against the sky – and the sunrise the next morning was also gorgeous.  Jim and I hit the rack early most nights – and on this first night I lay there and watched the moon, the clouds, the moonlight shining on the sea, and lights on the small islands we passed, until I fell asleep.  For the entire cruise (the seven days), the skies were mostly cloudy – and at times, distant thunderstorms tracked the ocean expanses around us.  However, we never saw more than calm seas.



I learned on this cruise what the phrase Caribbean Blue means.  The waters were a deep blue, a cross between royal blue and cobalt.  Wherever the ships propulsion churned it up and mixed it with air, it turned a luminous turquoise blue.  It was altogether gorgeous.

For me, cruises are not about show-time entertainment, about shore excursions or sports and pools, and not even so much about the food (although I certainly enjoy that).  For me, the cruise is about the ship, and the sea.

Labadee

Day 2 was spent entirely at sea, cruising toward Labadee, Haiti.  We could see the Cuban coast, but it was distant and any detail wasn’t visible.  I thought several times of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea as we sailed these waters.  I should have brought a copy to read.  I spent the day exploring the ship and all its “neighborhoods.”  The main areas are the Royal Promenade on Deck 5, the Boardwalk aft of that on Deck 6, and Central Park on Deck 8 (I think).  The other "main” area is the pool and sports decks on top the ship on Decks 15 and 16.  The best sea views are from Deck 16, from the Deck 5 “boat deck” jogging track, and from the Sun Deck on Deck 14 (which overlooks the bow of the ship).

Central Park

Central Park and the Boardwalk are both open to the sky, although the Boardwalk is sheltered somewhat and backed by the Aqua Theater at the stern.  An incurious person could spend an entire cruise on this ship and never see the ocean.  But that’s not me. 

On the morning of Day 3, early, we pulled into Labadee.  I watched from the Windjammer Buffet and from our cabin's balcony as the ship sidled up to the pier – although I was facing the open water so didn’t see the docking itself.  I had no plan to leave the ship on this port call; a visit to Labadee is for swimming, beaching, zip lining, parasailing, and similar things.  Probably 5,500 of the 6,500 souls on board Allure of the Seas got off the ship and paid lots of money for shore excursions there.  But every single one of those activities except beaching and parasailing were available to me and the remaining 1,000 people onboard… so I had no desire to get off.  Stormy weather ruined some of the activities that were scheduled ashore – the zip line for one, I was told, which was too risky to operate in the midst of an electrical storm and gusty winds.

Allure of the Seas at Labadee, Haiti

I had a great vantage point onboard to watch most of the water-sports activities occurring around us, which is all I would have done ashore anyway. Had we been in a part of Haiti where I could have met the locals, I might have ventured out.  But Labadee is a private RCCL reserve.  There were probably more Haitians on the ship than off of it.  I’m serious – on RCCL’s private facilities on Labadee, the locals are fenced out unless they work inside. 

So I relaxed, had the pool deck and whirlpools mostly to myself, wandered around and it was probably one of the best days of the whole week.  I ventured ashore in the mid-afternoon (just to the end of the pier) so I could get a couple of good shots of the ship, but after doing so, I hustled right back onboard. Do I regret my lack of curiosity about Labadee?  Not one bit.  We sailed at 5:00 PM if I remember correctly.  Jim and I sat in a couple of deck chairs at the stern of the ship and watched the turquoise blue roiled wake of the ship and Haiti recede into the distance. This was where we’d have smoked ten-dollar cigars, if we were gentlemen smokers!  But we’re not, so we just went to supper instead.

Jamaica mon! 

We arrived in Falmouth, Jamaica at about 10:00 AM on Wednesday, June 18^th.  The ships dock right next to the Customs House, which opens onto a decent-sized sun-drenched plaza on its “town” side.  My original plan for Jamaica was to visit Rose Hall plantation, where legend has it that an 18th Century matron (Annie Palmer) murdered three husbands and numerous slave lovers as she tired of each one.  Johnny Cash sang a song about it.  I couldn’t find any tour information for Rose Hall prior to the cruise – so I intended to check it out once there.  And then I never got it done.  Instead, I got off and wandered around close to the ship in the Customs house plaza, bought some gifts for family and friends, and attempted to walk along the water-side to a point at the end of the little corner of Jamaica’s north coast where we were parked.  Alas, there was a locked wrought-iron gate blocking that particular endeavor.  Jamaica interests me and I will have to go back there someday if I can swing it (I have a long wish list when it comes to traveling though, so who knows). 

Leaving Falmouth

I watched the ship depart the dock from the boat-deck’s aft rail – it was a straight shot out into the Caribbean from the pier – and I filmed the departure shot by shot as we moved away.  As we did, it was time to dress and meet the others for dinner.  The next day was spent cruising across the sea past Georgetown and Grand Cayman Island toward Cozumel.

Musicians

Playin the music, mon!

I stopped alongside the ship (on the quay) at Falmouth to listen to some musicians playing Caribbean music – I’m not sure but I think you would call it reggae music.  They were very good and had simply brought a folding chair and a box to sit on, sat down with their instrument, a hat for tips and played some pretty great music.  I stopped to listen and asked to take a picture.  They said I could for a “good tip.”  I started to toss all my change in their pot – but they said no, American coins weren’t useful for Jamaica – bills were spendable but coins were not.  It was very indelicate… I didn’t have change and I wasn’t about to give ‘em a twenty.  But they said they could make change and I gave them a fiver instead.  I only took one photo, because after all, I am a frugal Scotsman by blood.  The music was probably worth the twenty.

Favorite things...

1.     Friendly staff.  The RCCL staff that you encounter about the ship is usually always friendly and helpful, and the lower their station the more friendly they are.  This is a simple thing but it colors your attitude all day long.

2.     The boat deck.  I can’t imagine being on a cruise ship without an open air boat deck.  This deck is nearer the waterline and is more closely involved with the passing sea, than are the higher-up “sports” decks; also the “Sun Deck,” which is forward on Deck 14. It looks out over the ship’s prow and had bridge wings where you stand OVER the water.

3.     Central Park and the Park Café.  The Park Café had a “signature” roast beef sandwich that was one of the best entrées I had all week. And Central Park is like a garden, and open to the sky of course.  I sat on a bar stool there one evening and listened to a wonderful string concert (mostly baroque) and chatted with Kathleen.

4.     The hot dog stand. With deli-style wieners in different varieties, it was a hit.  May RCCL never abandon the concept.

5.     Sunrise/sunset at sea.  Well, who doesn’t like those.

6.     Early-bird disembarkation. If you can carry your own bags, they allowed you to walk off the ship before everyone else.  There was still a reasonably long line at Customs, but I was on my way in probably one half hour or maybe 45 minutes.  Yay!
 

Not so favorite things...

1.     Settling the Bill. RCCL almost never gets your onboard charges correct, and it’s nearly impossible to get any adjustments.  Once they’ve got your money (and they get it up front thanks to that sea-pass thing), they’ve GOT it and you’re not likely to get any of it back.  They must be related to the IRS.

2.     Elevator crowding.  And the rude people associated with it. I hate that.

3.     Tough steaks. My advice: Eat something else if at all possible.

4.     Unsupervised Cookie Crunchers. Despite RCCL curfews, kids pounding the passageways late at night - loud voices and running feet. Bah!

5.     Hamburgers and hot dogs, served on COLD buns.  What the hell is so hard about warming or toasting a bun?  (The buns at the hot dog stand were the only exception).

6.     Whirlpool water. Had such a high ratio of chemical to water, I felt like I had chemical burns when I got out.  Even after a shower I still smelled like chlorine all evening. Yuck. (Of course, the REASON for that is also pretty disgusting).

Cozumel

Gloria Melian

We arrived at Cozumel early on Friday morning.  After we docked, Navigator of the Seas and a Carnival cruise ship also paid port calls.  This made for extreme crowding for those getting off the ships for shore excursions or shopping.  Gloria wanted to get off to do a little shopping and we decided to do that together.  But we didn’t get far – she got a couple of gifts fairly close to the pier – but we didn’t even get past the taxi stands after that.  As soon as we could wend our way back through the crowds, we got back on the ship.  Jim got off the ship with Kathleen and some of the others for a day of snorkeling and running around in the taxis – David retained a taxi and driver to haul them all over wherever they wanted to go.  Gloria and I had lunch together – and for the most part, I had another easy day.  Jim and I watched the Navigator prepare to sail at the end of the afternoon, and the transfer of the local pilot to the pilot boat as they did so.  Then we sailed, and the Carnival ship left perhaps 30-45 mins later.  After dinner, I watched the lights of the Yucatan peninsula and Cancun slide by, and we headed out into the Florida Straits for our last day at sea.  

 Sailing the Straits of Florida  

The last day was an alternately sunny and cloudy day, with thunderstorms dancing around on all points of the compass, but never where we were at the time.  The straits are a busy sea lane and we passed other shipping frequently throughout the day – mostly container ships going west, maybe toward Mexico or Houston. I strained to see Cuba – but it was just a distant ridgeline.  We passed by Havana, and the Captain mentioned that we wouldn’t be able to see the city – but just the mountains behind it.  I believe I did see those.  I paid one last visit to the whirlpools – soaked for a few moments with one or two other people.  Then I went back to my room and showered and scrubbed vigorously to remove the fresh, chemical smell I had obtained from it.

The view from the Viking Crown

In the afternoon it was mostly sunny, so the pool and sports decks were crowded.  In the afternoon, I found the Viking Crown lounge virtually empty and sat in the huge windows watching the top decks below me – kids playing, people sunning.  I couldn’t believe that on a ship carrying 6,500 people I was relaxing in a signature venue in which there was only one other person. I got myself a fruity rum drink – a Captain’s Bahama Mama.  It was tall and reddish-pink, very tasty, and it set me back $8.50.  I was supposed to be able to keep the glass, but I left it unattended in our cabin and I think the attendant spirited it away.  Perhaps on the day I bought it, it wasn’t in a take-home glass.  The “special” had actually been advertised two days before.  I don’t know what was in it – but I think along with Captain Morgan it was at least two additional shots of different things – and I was definitively “moved” by it.  And as that little buzz wore off, I took a nice nap.  Yes, I am definitely a "lightweight."

I played a game of trivia in the Schooner Bar - most of the contestants were teams of 4 or 5 people -- and I came within two answers of beating them all, all on my own as a team of one.  Then again, almost only counts in horseshoes. I got twelve out of twenty correct, the winners had thirteen, so fourteen would have done the trick.

A Caribbean Sunset

After dinner, I spent some time on the stern, and on the Sun Deck (forward) getting some great sunset photos.  I watched the lights of small communities on the Florida Keys off in the distance.  I believe I saw Key West, but am not positive it was – it could have been another of the larger communities in that chain - maybe Marathon.  As we sailed along that evening, the ship slowed down to a crawl to time its arrival back at Port Everglades.  I went to sleep as early as I could, and woke up when Jim got restless at about 0400 to find that we were standing and drifting off Miami. We could see the lights for quite some time before the crew finally cranked up the engines and we cruised the remainder of the way into port.

Gettin' off de Boat...

The ship arrived back in Fort Lauderdale by 0545 or 0600 - I had already showered and gotten my last little bit of "kit" packed up.  I didn't bother with breakfast. 

One last thing I saw while on the ship; the dawn at Port Everglades was very pretty and peaceful, and I was standing out on the balcony watching and taking a photo or two (see photo)...  Down below, there were a couple of little ducks swimming around and diving for fish.  As I watched, they both turned tail-up and dove.  Then a split second later, a small shark that had been lurking invisibly nearby turned tails-up right behind them.  Those ducks. Never. Came. Up.  In the next few seconds I saw a total of three of the little sharks right there -- so I figure the feathered critters hadn't stood much of a chance.  One can only hope the sharks choked a little bit on those feathers.

Anyway, my plan for the day involved getting back to the airport and picking up a rental car for the day, as my flight didn't leave until almost 7 PM.  The very first thing I thought I'd do with that rental car was find myself a decent breakfast.  Yes, that's what I said.  It occurs to me that the very best breakfast I had all week was that final morning at a Fort Lauderdale Denny's. 

Anyway, at about 6:25 AM, dragging my roller behind me and a duffel over a shoulder, I headed down that long corridor to the elevator and the Deck 5 gangway for the last time.  The first stop once off was TSA and Customs -- the line was about thirty minutes long, max.  It probably wasn't that -- it just seems longer when you're standing in it.  Then outside to the transfer bus and back to the airport.  I picked up

The end of a cruise is an aluminum tube!

the car from Dollar and hit the road north to Hillsboro Beach.  That was about 15 miles each way – and the return drive was along the beach the whole way. 

I had tried to change to an earlier flight - there were reasons to get home earlier if I could.  But anything I could change to got to Phoenix later than the flight I was on - and changing would cost me about $300 extra for the last-minute fare.  So I fooled around near the beach and the harbor most of the morning - then since I couldn't think of anything else to do, I returned to the airport and waited for the evening flight with the rest of the crew. While waiting for the flight, we got to watch some thunderstorm cells pass by the airport, delaying things for a time, and we watched the Allure of the Seas sail off on her next cruise, since the cruise terminal is not too far from the airport.  My friends and I arrived back home in Phoenix after a reasonably quiet nonstop on-time flight. 

If I should decide to cruise again - it would be (1) transatlantic! or (2) New England/Ste Lawrence Seaway, or (3) Hawaii.  I would also do an Alaska cruise again if I ever got the chance, especially if Sitka was on the itinerary.  While the Caribbean was beautiful -- and I've nowhere close to seen it all -- it was warm, and I was less than thrilled with those ports.  Still, it was a good time and I enjoyed the company of my friends.

Uncle Bob - July 9, 2014