7 Day Caribbean Cruise

06/11/07 - 06/18/07

Just Cruises - Costa Mediterranea

Clay & Pat Stahl

Puerto Rico

American V.I.

Dominican Republic

Bahamas

Sunday 03/11 Travel to Port Everglades, Ship Boarding & Caribbean Sea

We had plenty of time to get to the cruise ship from Deerfield Beach. Ft. Lauderdale is only 19 miles directly south, and even though we are going through some heavily populated areas, it is also Sunday morning. Again, we spent a great deal of time carefully packing the car with three kinds of stuff; (1) needed on the cruise: a suitcase, 2 carry-ons (with a couple of bottles of wine), the laptop, and the digital camera; (2) needed when we return from the cruise and wend our way home to Pennsylvania; and (3) not needed until we get home. In one respect it was easier to pack the car now because we no longer need golf club access.

We took our time, stopping for a car wash, popcorn for Pat at a Winn Dixie in Pompano Beach, and breakfast. In the Winn Dixie, we picked up a six pack of a new Florida beer, and the checker asked if it was alcoholic! We thought that was fairly obvious, but the "duh" was on us -- it was Sunday before 12:00! We only had a light breakfast in Pompano Beach, since we will probably have a substantial lunch at the ship's buffet!

Yesterday on our trip to Ft. Lauderdale, we got messed up on RT1 as there is a tunnel in the center of the city under one of the inland waterways, and we were in the wrong lane. Fortunately, after about 10 cars passing in the other lane and us holding up our lane, a kind soul let us change lanes and avoid the tunnel. We thought that maybe we missed lane instructions yesterday, but today we looked with intensity, and there weren't any! Today, we do want the tunnel and we hoped some out-of-town jerk wouldn't hold us up!

We sailed right through the tunnel, but missed the road for the cruise terminal, as there were no signs, and now we're pretty sure that you can't get there directly from RT 1. The Costa-provided and internet directions were all from I95, which was about a mile and a half west. So, by circling the airport and getting on I95 for an exit, we found our way.

There was a long line getting into the port as we needed identification, in our case passports. We then followed the signs to our ship, only to discover that we missed the parking garage! So, we dropped off our suitcase, and backtracked to a turn that had a sign with directions to the various ships (but no mention of the parking garage.) It is a hugh garage, we noted our location, parked the car, and took the shuttle to the ship.

Boarding was not too bad as we went through the usual stuff. It was supposed to start at 1:00, but we knew that you can do it quite a bit earlier. It was about 10:30, and we thought that there were more people than usual for being so early. Actually, it was 11:30 as we forgot about the early Daylight Saving Time starting this year! Good thing we didn't cut it too close. It was still pretty early, and we waited in various lines, but the whole process couldn't have taken much more that a half hour. We did get questioned about the bottles in the carry-on, but when we told them it was wine, they waved us through. Clay's hips set off the alarm, and he got a full wand and pat-down, but when later returning from the shore excursions, he would say "hip replacements" and either just get wanded or waved through with no problem!

Of course, the cabins are not ready yet, so we and everyone else headed up to the buffet restaurant. We had to convince a waiter that we could order a bottle of wine without our "Costa Card", as we won't get those until we get into our cabin. Other cruise lines give you their on-board charge card during the sign-in process. We met Ehor and Carrie, had a lengthy talk and vowed to get together later on the cruise, but it never happened. It was a nice buffet with a (naturally) Italian influence.

Ehor and Carrie at Lunch After Boarding		A Bocci Court?   Sure, it's an Italian Ship!		Disappointing View From Our Balcony

After a leisurely lunch, we got in our cabin and found our Costa Cards. The cabin is great, very nice and as roomy as any cruise we've been on. However, even before we step out on the balcony, we can see a lifeboat! That turns out to be the case on the majority of the balconies on the 5th deck. The top front of the boat is level with our balcony floor and we can see out horizontally, but not down at the sea. Higher decks do not have this problem. This was the first cruise on this ship that our travel agent has booked, and she wasn't aware of this. We usually ask for the highest deck, but didn't in this case and we were burnt. But, it is still better to have this balcony than none at all!

The Ship Has Four Pools.   Very Nice for Most Cruisers, But We Didn't Go in Any of Them!

There are more foreign passengers than on any ship we've ever been on, and that doesn't include the Canadians. Everything is announced in five languages: English, Italian, Spanish, French, and German! Sometimes, printed material will have a sixth language -- Portuguese! Surprisingly, we came in contact with more German speaking passengers than any of the other foreign languages. We found our room steward, requested wine glasses (very nice indeed), had him open the mini bar to use as a refrigerator for our wine, and asked him to help us with the safe. He had to call someone else about the safe, but it turns out that the (credit or Costa) card has to be swiped at just the right speed and angle, and it usually took us a few tries.

We Were in the Busy Harbor Here Yesterday on the Boat Tour.   The Ship Backs Up, Turns Around and Follows Celebrity's Millennium Out to Sea

Hyatt Hotel We Saw Yesterday From the Boat		Nice Houses and Lawns On the Way Out		Ft. Lauderdale Beach Looking North

We went to the mandatory life boat drill, typically crowded together, and waited 15 minutes for everyone to show up, but at least we were in the shade! After a somewhat humorous presentation, we were under way, backing up north, turning 90 degrees, and following Celebrity's Millennium east through the channel to the ocean. The terminals are in the intracoastal waterway, and there was a lot of traffic. Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) claims to have the busiest of the Atlantic cruise ship ports, and it sure seemed that way.

Some ships have two dining rooms separated by the kitchen making traversing that deck a problem, but here there is only one hugh two-level main dining room. In addition they have the a la carte Medusa restaurant which we tried once, but the only other restaurants are the standard buffet and a few pizza and hamburger places near the pools.

Our (first seating) dinner companions are June and Devin, a grandmom from Florida & granddaughter from Chicago and a couple our age, Joe & Virginia originally from Boston, but in Sarasota, Florida for the last 15 years. There were also two empty seats, and we think that no one was assigned there. Dinner was unusually leisurely for a cruise and very good. There is an appetizer, soup, pasta, salad, entree, and desert. We were encouraged to order the pasta course in true Italian fashion, but it becomes an awful lot and we usually skipped it. Another plus for Costa -- you don't have to find a wine steward, the waiter and assistant take care of that, so the wine is served promptly!

After dinner, we went to the show, with Van Presley Jr. He was very good for us with his old and do-wop stuff, but probably not so for the younger people. We were guessing who first made some of the songs popular with friendly couples (younger and older!) on both sides.

"Now, That's Italian"		The Ship's Band		A Former (But Not the Original) Lead Singer of the Platters

It is still not too late as we have the first dinner seating, so we searched a few bars for a musical group to our liking, and finding a violinist & pianist that we had seen earlier, but they were on break for a half hour, and nothing else appealed to us, so we called it a (busy) day.

Monday 03/12 Caribbean Sea

There was a lot of ship motion through the evening and night, even though earlier when it was light, the sea didn't look that rough. It was not enough to cause seasickness, but made it difficult to sleep. We've never had this last so long on any of our previous cruises. At the show this night, the captain apologized and said that the seas were rough last night! Whew, we thought maybe the ship's stabilization system was not so hot, and later there was another night of similar motion, but the rest of the cruise was fine.

This Beats all the Other Ships We've Been on by Far, for Decoration With Art of All Forms

Since we were at sea for the day, and had lots of time, we went to breakfast in the main dining room. It was just OK, and we did all subsequent breakfasts at the buffet. We used the main dining room for most of the lunches and dinners, and they were without exception the best of any cruise ship we've been on.

We found the ala carte Club Medusa Restaurant and asked if reservations are needed. They said "Si", but you have to make them at the service desk, and so we did that for the night that we are in St. Thomas and don't have an evening shore excursion.

Sandy Point Beach on San Salvador, One of the 700 Bahamas Islands and Probably Columbus' First 1492 Landing Site

The Costa web site gave us a lot of trouble prior to the trip. Out ticket booklet stated that you had to register 30 days prior to the cruise, so we filled in the on-line forms, but it wasn't clear that they were accepted. Also, prior to the cruise, we had spent a lot of time going over the shore excursions in the ticket booklet and tried to sign up for them on line, to make sure that we got the ones we wanted and to avoid a line on the ship when we board. But the web site only displayed the same descriptions as in our booklet, but not the form to actually book them. A telephone call to Costa brought the statement that two data bases had to be merged to allow us to do this! And they could not say if we were registered or not, but it really didn't matter as the "30 days" just gets you to register early to ease the boarding process! While boarding, we presented our ticket booklets and they took out the registration pages, and we have no idea if the tedious on-line sessions were used!

We finally did get a warm feeling about pre-selecting the five shore excursions on-line as it displayed the proper cost, but we did not receive the tickets after boarding. A visit to the shore excursion desk confirmed that we weren't signed up! However, all excursions were still available and we knew what we wanted, so the attendant filled out the form, and we received the tickets that evening. All's well that ends well, but the web site was really lacking in our case. There is a lot of fancy graphics that are unnecessary and take a long time to load when using dial-up as we were prior to the cruise. We think that it should be more friendly to those already signed up instead of trying to get new customers with all the fluff!

We can't get the TV to work! Finally, we discovered that the little light is on when TV is off, and off when the TV is on!. There are the usual things, here a few Italian language TV stations, pay-per-view movies, shore excursion previews, and things that take place on the ship. It was nice to use the "folio" which shows your bill and is current as soon as your Costa Card is swiped! Yesterday's beverages were charged, but not the hand-written bottle at lunch in port but that appeared later.

Even with our restricted balcony view, it is still nice to look out at the ocean, but the glass under the railing looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a few cruises. Our affable room steward cleaned it for us.

We had lunch in the dining room that was very good and also unusually leisurely. We sat with a young couple from Chicago, and ladies from "New Yawk". Later, after a lot of searching, we found the chapel tucked away in the front of the ship. There was daily mass, this is the only ship where we have seen that, and Pat went before dinner. Well, it is an Italian cruise line!

There is the typical "Welcome Gala Cocktail Party" in the theater, and the ship's band played for a half hour before the captain gave a little talk and introduced his officers. They have two doctors, but one of them was sick! There was plenty of free drinks, we had champagne, well probably Asti, but we skipped the hors d'oeuvres as we have dinner shortly, and we've had enough to eat already! Clay was relieved to hear the Captain apologize for the 7 ft waves last night & today, so he's not developing seasickness after numerous cruises!

This night is formal, and as usual there are a few tuxedos and evening gowns, but most wore suits and nice dresses, and of course there are always a few who don't go for that stuff. There was a special menu for dinner and was again very good.

More Art Than On Most Ships		Formally At Table "Due, Cinque, Due"!   L to R: Joe, Virginia, June, Devin, Pat, Clay		Art in All Forms

After dinner, we tried to find the bar with the violinist and pianist that we had glimpsed once before. They were in the big dining room with us this evening, but you couldn't hear them there. No luck, but we will find them later in the cruise.

Tuesday 03/13 San Juan, Puerto Rico

After a better night's sleep, we had breakfast at the buffet, very good. There is always prosciutto e meloni (and grits!) Pat went to a cooking demonstration (2 kinds of basil sauce) and mass again.

Lunch was in the dining room with a bottle of wine. As at all meals there are "Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva" and "Aceto Balsamico de Modena" on every table. We inquired about the advertised "wine package". It looked pretty good and you can save a little money on any of four six-bottle packages, but the specific wines are predetermined. We would rather have the freedom to choose at each meal, as they have by far the best (selection and prices) wine list of any cruise we've been on. Hmmm, best food, best wine list, Italian ship, maybe there is a correlation there!

We're not due to arrive in San Juan until 5PM, and Clay stared over a railing for an hour while sailing across northern Puerto Rico. When we got close to San Juan, it started to rain as we entered the harbor. There are three other ships already there. Fortunately, the rain stopped as we docked about 45 minutes early, but that was the only rain that we saw while in port, although we had some later at sea.

Very Rainy Entrance to San Juan Harbor.   (Not the Main) Airport on the Right With the Runway Starting/Ending At the Water

We've Seen This in Puerto Rico Advertisements		Nearing the Big Terminal Building in San Juan

It was good that we arrived early, so we could get off the ship while it was still light, and walk around for an hour or so. While we liked the itinerary for the ports, we are only here for a half day (Nassau will also be only a half day, but in the afternoon), and we would prefer full days, although of course we were aware of that before booking the cruise. Although making these two stops full days world probably add another day to such a trip.

The Costa Mediterranea -- Me·di·teur·an·e·a!		Quick Picture Taken by another Friendly Tourist

Probably the Wachovia of Puerto Rico		Nice Pastel Houses a Few Blocks From the Dock		Columbus Monument

We have a tour in the evening, and only had time to look around a little, but having a drink ashore is mandatory, so we found Senor Frog's, the typical Caribbean young hangout. Yes we were too old, but they let us in anyway! One drink's time was more than sufficient there, and we boarded the ship in time for dinner.

Nobody in Here Was as Old as Our Children, and the Music Was Loud -- to Accompany all the Raging Hormones on the Dance Floor!

We went to the assembly point (bar) for our "Latin Tradition" tour and showed our tickets. Panic! Clay can't find his Costa Card and asked the tour representative if it was dropped during the ticket presentation. No, she doesn't have it and of course you can't get off the ship without it, it is almost as important as your passport! Clay went back to the cabin, no card there but on returning, whew, Pat found it in the floor, as it was probably dropped when he pulled the tickets out of his pocket.

				About a 20 Minute Bus Ride From the Pier to Here
Only Place We Saw This		Security Was Tight At All the Ports: Passport & Costa Card		Inside, the Theater For Our "Latin Tradition" Show

We were led off the ship, and onto a bus, for a 20 minute ride through San Juan in the evening to a hotel/casino for the Latin Tradition show. We entered the hotel and went into the theater just opposite the casino where we were offered a fruity drink, with or without rum. It was fast paced from 9:15 to 10:30 and very good, a guitarist & three dancing girls. There was only a little Flamenco, but a big part was the girls with mariachis on their hips, and they got two (whew, young) guys from the audience to do the mariachi dance with them. They were underwhelming, but of course funny and that is the point! On the way out, we met Roland Cournoyer who seemed very interested in having some of the photos of the show. We have his E-mail address, and sent him the pix after we got home. We also ran into him later on the ship.

The Guitarist and Leader of the Show		We Were Close and the Dancers Were Fast!

Hip Belted Mariachis Make For Some Lively Beats!		The Show Was Fast-Paced With Some Guitarist Humor

Wednesday 03/14 St. Thomas, American Virgin Islands

The Harbor in Charlotte Amalie on the Island of St. Thomas, One of the American Virgin Islands.

Here we have a full day and dock first thing in the morning. The Carnival Valor follows and there are two other cruise ships in the other bay of the harbor quite a ways away. We did the breakfast buffet, Pat has not been feeling well, but nothing serious.

Point on the Entrance to the Harbor With a Nice Little Abode		We Usually Have One of These		Another Kind of Pilot in the Harbor

Our shore excursion is in the afternoon, so we got off the ship for a look around the tourist shops and a cable car ride up to Paradise Point overlooking the harbor. We decided to do the cable car ride early, and that proved to be smart as it became much more crowded later in the day. We rode up with another couple in the car, and stuck together for a while to take some photos. At the top are a few shops, a spacious bar, and a nature trail with an unspecified distance (which we both declined), but the trip up is mostly for the spectacular views.

The Skyride to Paradise Point, Just a Few Blocks From the Cruise Ship With a Great View of the Harbor

Bird Show on Paradise Point.   Probably Somewhat Standard, But She Did a Great Job!

10 Minute Ride, a Little Shaky With the Wind
Halfway Up.   How Much?   There is a Road		The Paradise Point "Honeymoon" Gazebo		Modern City, This Must Be For Tourists

Pat cruised the shops at Paradise Point, and we had a drink. It is not too busy now, but it will be before we ride down. There is a Virgin Island Brewing Company that used to be located in St. Croix. The company still exists and makes Blackbeard's Ale, a good brown ale, and a Pale Ale, both probably unique in the Caribbean among all the other run-of-the-mill thirst quenching lagers. But alas, they are contract brewed in the U.S. While sitting at the bar, a lady announces that the bird show(?) is about to start! What the heck, we sat on one of a few benches and spent about 15 minutes watching tropical birds ride bicycles, pretty good and only cost a tip! We rode back down, looked around some of the shops and went back to the ship.

Clay always sets off the x-ray alarm on returning to the ship, but when that happens, he mentions the hip replacements, and is waved on board! We had a light lunch at the buffet with June, one of our dinner tablemates.

We assemble in a bar for our Skyline Drive tour and were herded off the ship into an open air vehicle, a pickup truck with 4 rows of seats x 4 people. It appears that all the tours use these. We head off through the city, driving on the left side of the road, but with the steering wheel on the left side of the vehicle! The U.S. bought what is now the American Virgin islands from Denmark in 1917 although Great Britain and other countries took claim to them over the years, and the practice of driving on the left side of the road just never changed. Traffic out of town was pretty heavy and we started to go up hill right away to the first stop -- at a Home Depot parking lot! This was just so the driver could give a little talk about the American Virgin Islands. St. Thomas and St. John lie between the Atlantic and the Caribbean. St. Croix, 40 miles south, is surrounded by the Caribbean. The residents are American citizens and pay income taxes, but can't vote for the president!

First Stop on the Skyline Drive Tour, With Great Views From the "Valdemar A. Hill, Sr.(?)" Overlook

The tour continued on to an overlook, typical with great views and the usual vendor stands. There was a steel drum player catering to the crowd and playing requests. He was surprisingly good, but some of our group were really impressed and bought a few of his CDs.

We continued on to the St. Peter Great House Estate and Gardens, a former sugar plantation and a former governor's mansion, destroyed by hurricanes twice, but completely rebuilt. It is 1000 feet above sea level, and provides more spectacular views of other Caribbean Islands, but especially of "The World's Greatest Beach" at Magen's Bay. On the grounds also is a nature trail that winds past waterfalls and tropical flowers, and an orchid jungle, but we didn't have time for that.

The Great House With More Great Views			Magen's Bay With "World's Greatest Beach"

The last stop was at 1547 ft high Mountain Top with duty free shops, a bar, and again great views. This is the highest point on the island, and afforded the best view of 20 other Virgin Islands, both American and British!

This Is the Island's Highest Point, But "World Famous?"   There is Lots of Pretty Bougainvillea All Over the Island

Nice Views of Other Virgin Islands From Mountain Top, L to R: U.S. St. John and British Tortola.   We Were at Tortola in 2005
L to R: British Jost Van Dyke and Great & Little Tobago.   The Other Major U.S. Virgin Island is St. Croix, But Too Far South to See From Here

We left St. Thomas at 5:00 while it is still light, scheduled to reach Catalina Island just off the Dominican Republic first thing in the morning.

Sailboat in the Large Harbor		Hotel on the Harbor Point		Unusually Shaped Island Outside The Harbor

Costa lists a "Wine" Bar, and it is just a regular bar most of the time, except one hour after opening, it is also a Wine Bar! Then it has a larger selection of wines than in the other bars, and we both got a glass of prosecco.

Dinner was at Club Medusa, where there was an ala carte menu. Our other dining room partners gave the impression that we were foolish to do this, and maybe they were correct! We opted for the prix fixe menu with Clay getting three courses, and Pat only two, with a couple of glasses of white wine and a bottle of red. The service, decor, and ambiance were all superb, although outside our window was the regular deck with other passengers walking by and looking in. We both had the T-bone steaks, a little tough in spots, but very tasty. It was worth the extra money for the experience, although we had to remind the waiter to pour the wine! It was a nice change and we were only billed for two courses for each of us!

We went to the show in the theater, but with no waiter in sight, had to go out to a bar for drinks. Of course, on returning, the place was crawling with waiters! It was Edmondo Rahme, the "Talented Tenor" and the Costa Mediterranea Show band giving a very short but also very good show.

Thursday 03/15 Catalina Island and La Romana, Dominican Republic

We were anchored just off Catalina Island when we woke up, and will spend most of the day here. Catalina Island is very close to the mainland Dominican Republic, and at 5 PM, the ship will sail for only an hour and dock at the mainland city of La Romana for the evening. We have shore excursions for both stops and the morning tour is early, so we had a quick breakfast and went to the theater for the tour. This time, we received a sticker with a number, we think to denote the tour language. Naturally, we wait for 20 minutes or so, and follow a long line out and down the stairs with more waiting on the stairs for the tender. It is a big boat, carrying maybe 200 or so people, and we sat on top in the front row, prime seats and we wonder why they were still available.

Our Ship From the Tender		Dominican Rep. Flag		Baseball is Very Big, Sammy Sosa Grew up Near Here

Sugar Factory -- Probably for Rum.   Smoke From the Stacks is Very Dark and Visible for a Long Way

We thought the morning shore excursion was to Catalina Island as that is the destination on the itinerary, but the tender went right past it to La Romana on the mainland, the third largest city in the Dominican Republic with a population of about 250,000. This will be our ship's stop later this day. It was a long ride, about 40 minutes. We got off the tender and walked up to the bus which took off promptly.

The bus went through Casa de Campo, built in 1975 to be a Caribbean vacation destination. It is a very exclusive gated (well, security people in golf carts at all the roads leading in and out!) resort community with three gorgeous golf courses, a polo field and a private airstrip. There are many beautiful homes, villas, and nice landscaping all over. Owning homes here are Sammy Sosa, Julio Igleses, Sylvester Stallone, and many other famous (and of course rich) people. We also saw the home of their President, and the home of the owner of the Dominican Republic's largest brewery(!), their beer coincidentally named "Presidente", but they are of course not the same person! The tour guide said that the Dominican Republic has two kinds of alligators, one kind in the rivers, and the other in the President's house! It is very nice, but this is not typical of the Dominican Republic, although the description of the tour did not promise anything else!

Exclusive Gated Community/Resort		One of the Many Plush Villas		There Are Three Golf Course Here

On the other side of the Casa de Campo resort is the town of Altos de Chavon, a replica of a 17th century Mediterranean village built in the late 70s for the purpose of tourism. We stopped and went into the 5000 (stone) seat amphitheater. This is where our evening shore excursion performance will be, although we didn't realize this when we booked the two tours! At this time, there is a rehearsal for the evening show that we will see, with the amphitheater mostly empty except for a few tourists like us wandering in and out.

The 5000 seat Greco Roman Amphitheater		Dancers Practicing For Evening Performance		The Dominican Republic's El Presidente

After about a half hour, we followed the guide to the Altos de Chavon Village with shops, very nice looking (but closed at this time) restaurants, and a couple of bars. It also has some spectacular views of the Chavon River, used in the films "Apocalypse Now", and others.

Altos de Chavon Village		Church in Altos de Chavon		Another Golf Course Along the Chavon River

A short talk about amber was given by the guide in one of the shops, and people were invited to shop there while the others (us) waited! So we looked around and took some photos. The guide then showed us the church where Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were married(!), before getting us a free sample of a local liquor which tasted like cough medicine, Vicks Formula 44 was mentioned, but said to be an aphrodisiac.

Colorful Flowers in Altos de Chavon

The Beautiful Chavon River

Our group then had 45 minutes of free time to shop, get a drink and look around before boarding the bus. We had no trouble doing that, and were soon on the bus heading back through the Caso de Campo resort, although along a much more direct route and without much guide comment. Again, we were waved through at the security checkpoints, and we suspect that the general population would probably have to circumvent the resort resulting in a much longer drive.

Thankfully, we finally did go through downtown La Romana, also the name of the state. It is similar to many Caribbean cities, although appearing somewhat more prosperous than most. The guide said they only have two kinds of poor people in the Dominican Republic, those without money, and those with money but who are still not happy!

Downtown La Romana		Sculpture Near a Park		Gaudy Obelisk

We got on the tender for the ride back, and again sat on the top. It was really hot in the noon sun and Pat went below almost immediately. Clay followed after a beer and travelling only a short distance in 15 minutes or so, worrying about getting sunburned. The trip to the mainland was much faster. The tender surprisingly (to us) bypassed the ship and docked at Catalina Island. We could have stayed on the tender and returned to the ship, but got off. Many of the people went to Catalina directly first thing in the morning for the water activities, Catalina is Costa's private island and it was packed. We had a Costa-provided lunch, the usual hamburgers and hot dogs, but here including pasta (it's an Italian line, remember), looked around at the vendors and the beach, and took the tender (it was a Costa lifeboat this time) back to the ship.

Catalina Island Just Off the Dominican Republic's Mainland.   A Private Island Owned By Costa

When ordering wine on board, the Costa Card must be presented to be swiped and the waiter promptly returns with a chit to be signed. This time, our selected Nero d'Avola was out of stock and the waiter asked for our copy of the slip and to select another. That was no problem, as there is an excellent wine list and it was easy finding another Italian (natch!) wine, so we selected one and signed that chit also. The waiter confirmed that we would be charged for both, but the first would be taken off, however not right away. Both things happened as expected, as there is a TV function to display your bill (it is called a "folio"), but you have to contest discrepancies before getting off the ship, and that can possibly result in a lengthy line wait. From now on, we asked the waiter to make sure he has the wine before swiping the Costa Card, although in retrospect, it appears that the card swiping also orders it, and the waiter has no clue as to whether they have it or not!

We met for the night show shore excursion, got another sticker, and as we had previously sailed the hour or so to the mainland, got off on the same dock that our tender used earlier in the day! We also made the same walk up to the busses and went through the Caso de Campo resort again, but directly this time and with our non-English speaking driver. Costa provided a special entrance into the amphitheater, and we sat in the middle about halfway up. It's only 8:30, and the show doesn't start until 9, but there were floating waiters serving drinks. However, there was no Dominican beer available, only Budweiser! I guess the cruise ships usually have mostly American passengers. He suggested Rum & Coke! Fugetaboutit! Later, we heard that the Dominican Republic's water is not safe for us to drink, i.e. ice cubes!

Kandela Magical Night Beneath the Stars: Pyrotechnics, Fireworks & A Few American Songs at the End With Spanish Accents, i.e. "Jesterday"!

It was a great show, started on time, fast paced, with colorful dances, Caribbean rhythms, pyrotechnics, and fireworks at the conclusion. It lasted just about the advertised hour, and toward the end, we began to wonder about all these people going back to the ship at the same time and maybe we would have a long wait. In fact, some people left before the show was over, perhaps thinking the same thing. The theater seats 5000, but was only about a quarter full, and not all were from Costa, although we were the only ship docked there and this was the only Costa shore excursion. Still, there were a lot of people from the ship, but not to worry, there were plenty of busses, and we were back on the ship before 11, past our bedtime, but well before sailing time!

Waiting For Us At the La Romana Pier

Friday 03/16 Caribbean Sea

Today is a day at sea, not too unwelcome at this point, and we again had breakfast at the buffet as usual. We resisted the ship's urging to attend the important Disembarkation Talk, "One from each family should attend", as anything important will be on a piece of paper somewhere! Aren't we the experienced cruisers though? Of course, that proved to be true, and we saw some of the presentation on TV in our cabin later! We didn't miss a thing.

We had lunch at the "Fruhschoppen" with beer and music by the pool, sitting at a table with a German couple, soon replaced by 3 Canadians playing bingo! There was a steam table with German food, but not much music, only one German song, and unbelievably, no "Chicken Dance!" We had weissbeers to accompany bockwurst, weisswurst, sauerkraut, and spatzle. Costa even does a great job with German food! However, there was only about 20 minutes of music before segueing right into bingo, as popular on this ship as any we've been on. We don't know much about bingo, but being by the pool it was noisy, and they didn't have a board showing what numbers were called, so if you missed one, we guess -- tough! We only had to listen to a few numbers being called until we were finished eating, as the Canadian trio strained to hear, and we chewed and drank quietly!

Dinner was another "Gala" (meaning formal), the second one as is usual for a seven day cruise. Again it was very good with waiters parading baked alaska, waving Italian flags, and us sipping a few complementary glasses of Italian bubbly. After dinner, we ran into Roland who we saw at the San Juan Latin Tradition show and listened to a singer with a keyboard who played a few "countryish" songs at our request.

Another Special Menu With Baked Alaska & Champagne, and a Flag-Waving Staff			After Dinner Drinks w. Music & Roland Cournoyer

The show "Beat the Rhythm" was nice, fast paced, and ended with Irish step dancing to "Lord of the Dance".

We Only Saw a Couple of the Stage Shows, But They Were Great!   Left -- Caught a Laser Beam,   Right -- Irish Step Dancing

Finally, we had an after dinner (and after show) drink at the Roero bar with the piano/violin duo that we have been seeking all week. They were happy to play La Vie en Rose at Pat's request. The bar area was almost empty when we sat down, but soon filled up, probably with people from the second dinner seating.

Saturday 03/17 Nassau, The Bahamas

Today is a "morning at sea", as we will arrive in Nassau at 1 PM, and leave at 6 PM, i.e. another half day in port. We had breakfast in the buffet again, filled out surveys and the Customs Declaration form. As usual we arrived in port a little early. At all ports, the posted arrival time is probably worse case, and the ship usually cuts off a good portion of an hour.

Entering Nassau Harbor, Our Last Port		2 Carnival, 1 Celebrity, & 2 Royal Caribbean Ships Already Here.   1 Slot Left!

Woah, A Little More to the Right, I m-m-mean Starboard!		Yep -- We're in the Right Place, This is Nassau

Nassau, Capital of the Bahamas, From the Boat Taking Us to Paradise Island, and ...		... Later From Downtown

Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas, and is on New Providence Island. Our shore excursion "Discover Atlantis" will take us to Paradise Island just across the bay, and is scheduled to leave at the arrival time of 1:00, but as usual there is a bit of waiting before we are led off the ship and taken on a walk along the water to the boat that takes us to Paradise Island. Although we are going across the busy harbor, there are two bridges linking the mainland and Paradise Island.

Condo$ On Paradi$e I$land		The Atlantis Hotel is Built Over Water		Hotel Top Statues

When the boat arrived, we were led through the usual touristy shops up to the Atlantis mega-resort. There are 2,300 rooms and a casino situated on the beach. We were told that the rooms in the distinctive bridge connecting the two towers rent for $25,000 a night with a seven night minimum! The striking towers make the complex recognizable from any distance. Upon reaching the hotel, we were led in a bee line through the casino with instructions to only take photos of the sculptures, not the gambling! World famous Dale Chihuly, large-scale contemporary glass sculpturer, made the dazzling sculptures for Atlantis. There are 13 bars, nightclubs, and lounges, a cigar bar, and 17 restaurants, all of them pricy, we understand.

Dale Chihuly Glass Sculptures in the Atlantis Casino, L to R: Crystal Gate, Temple of the Sun, Temple of the Moon

Finally, we descend to The Dig, a series of 11 different lagoon aquariums located beneath the hotel and casino. It is the world's largest open air aquarium. The guide stated that The Dig provides guests with a taste of life in the lost city of Atlantis. We don't know about that, but it is striking. There is a Predator Lagoon full of sawsharks, barracudas and stingrays swimming over a 100-foot long acrylic tunnel allowing us visitors to get up close.

Some of the Fish in Atlantis' "The Dig"

Back outside, we walked along the hotel's 63-acre water park with slides and nice beaches. There is a "two-way" water slide, and you can ride up to the top of the slide tower via a conveyor!

A Gazebo (Bar) on the Lagoon		The (People) Lagoon at the Atlantis Hotel		On the Way Back To Nassau.   Boy, Were They Loud

The guide passed out maps with brief instructions on getting back to the dock for the boat back to Nassau, but it was only a map of the hotel area, and we got a little confused. However, all you had to do was follow the majority of the people and we arrived at the cruise building and had a Kalik (Bahamian beer) before getting on the boat and setting off almost instantly.

Back in Nassau, we walked up to the famous Straw Market for Pat to look around. Clay decided to bag that, got another Kalik, walked around town a little, and we met a short time later in our cabin.

We finished up packing and placed our single, but monstrously heavy suitcase outside our door to be picked up. There were togas in our (and all others) cabin for us to wear to the "Roman Night" show in the theater, but we are certainly not going to wear them there or anywhere! We did see a few of them in the restaurant, but only on young people! It is just a guest talent show anyway, and we don't care for that.

Sunday 03/18 disembarkation

For the last time, we ate a light breakfast in the buffet. Our purple baggage tags were supposed to be called at 9:15, but it didn't happen, and we wanted to get going as we need to travel as far north as we can today. We were called about 9:45, a half hour late, proceeded promptly through customs and to the shuttle and parking garage, but we forgot exactly where the car was and wandered around a little. A push on the remote brought a beep, but other people were doing that also and it sounded like a musical arrangement! Anyway, we exited the parking garage for $84, $12 a day and headed out through the gate, with no security check this time. We decided to use I95 initially to get just above West Palm Beach, as that is the most populous area in Florida. With a stop for lunch in Stuart, we made it to Jacksonville (Florida) for the night.

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ClaytStahl @aol.com

Created: 03/29/07 Changed: 11/11/08

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