Monday, February 12, 2018

Cruising Under A Full Moon

Courtesy of V.Tups

EMBARKATION: Due to weather, the ship was late in arriving and we were late in embarking AND a cap fell off my tooth.

(First full day and) SECOND NIGHT :


We were at sea watching the dive-in movie on the upper deck when an announcement came over the speaker that a passenger needed to be medevacked off the ship. Imagine a black night in the middle of the ocean and a helicopter landing on a ship.  It took them awhile but they finally got the job done. Kudos to the pilot.

SECOND FULL DAY:



We were waiting for debarkation when the announcement was made that due to the choppy sea we wouldn't be stopping at the first port of call but going on to Nassau where we arrived that night. Passengers were allowed off the ship but we weren't comfortable roaming around alone in a city we didn't know so we stayed on board ship.

THIRD FULL DAY:
HH wakes up with a raspy throat AND..
We take the Ardastra Gardens and City Tour.  Best day ever. I got to mark one off my bucket list: feeding birds from my hand.
Bad hair, no makeup day.
More pics of the gardens tomorrow.

FOURTH FULL DAY
We take a tour in a glass bottom boat, another bucket list item, though unfortunately I need the bucket.  We were packed in like sardines, the waves were high and choppy, and the way this boat was setup if you were seated on one side of it, you had to get up and walk to the other side and cluster around the 'glass bottom' to see the bottom of the ocean. Many of us suffered from motion sickness. I spent a good portion of the time with my head hung over the side, heaving. The captain of the boat did stop and feed the sharks which would have been fun to watch if I hadn't been sick.


DEBARKATION:

The HH has gone downhill. When we stop for the night I can hear his breath whistling in and out while he sleeps.  The next day we get back to town early in the p.m. and head straight for urgent care where he is diagnosed with acute bronchitis and sinusitis.  And then, finally, home.

Has anyone else been on a glass bottom boat? If so, what was your experience?

46 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Sounds like an exciting adventure. Sorry about the little mishaps, but am sure it was still memorable. I went on a glass bottom boat on the Red Sea, it was fun, and I loved watching the fish. Great photo with the birdies! Hope your hubby is back to health now. Have a great week, hugs, Valerie

nashvillecats2 said...

WOW what a grand time was had. Wonderful to read and those awesome photo's are great.

Yvonne.

Romance Reader said...

Wow, sounds like an adventure for sure!

Anonymous said...

Good bits and not so good bits. My glass boat experience was ok. We sat in two long rows beneath the deck, with glass panels beside us and at our feet. I don't recall that we saw anything very interesting, mostly reeds and rocks. Mind, I have snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef, and that was fantastic, with brightly coloured corals and a million different highly coloured fish. I trust your spelling, so I note that we spell the word medivaced quite differently. I hope HH improves soon.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'm not sure I would call that a VACATION, but more of an exercise in futility. I hope your tooth is now fixed and HH is getting better.

Yes, I was in a glass bottom boat once, but don't remember too much about it, other than you could see the ocean below you. Let's just say it wasn't all that memorable. You DO look good feeding the birds, though.

Pat Hatt said...

Damn, sounds like a fine trip but lots of side effects. Needed a hazmat suit it sounds like lol heaving from a glass bottom boat doesn't sound very vacation-y either.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Bummer, sounds like your cruise was a bit of a bummer. One of those things would've been all right, but all of them add up to a not-so-fun experience.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Oh my gosh, I'm so glad our cruise wasn't that miserable. We had one choppy day but nothing like that. I'm sorry the glass bottom boat tour wasn't better. We thought about it while on our cruise but opted to go horseback riding among ruins instead.

RO said...

I think I remember The Glass Bottom Boat with Doris Day, but that's about it, Super Sandra.(lol) That picture with you guys feeding those colorful birds is priceless. I've stayed away from cruises because I just wasn't sure if I'd react well to a boat on the sea. But the water looks so fabulous and makes me want to get out my fishing pole. I'm so sorry that you both weren't feeling well, but glad that you're back home where you can rest a little bit. Welcome back! Huge Hugs...RO

Jamie Ghione said...

The birds look so pretty--what are they?

Adam said...

I think they have the same birds at the Columbia zoo

CJ Kennedy said...

What an adventure! I am prone to motion sickness especially on a boat. We did a cruise for our honeymoon and dinner mates was another newlywed couple. The young man was a sailor in the Navy. Advised me to eat something. Now I rely on Sea Bands. You can get them at Target. They are small, elasticized cuffs with a plastic button on the inside. You wear them on your wrists about 3 fingers down and you place the plastic button where your index finger is. There's a pulse point. They really work. I also carry a small roller bottle filled with refractionated coconut oil (stays liquid) and a few drops of peppermint, lemon, and lavender essential oils. I rub the oil mixture on pulse points like perfume and the tops of my ears. The essential oils help with nausea and smells pretty too.

A girlfriend and I skipped the glass bottom boat ride when we were on a tour in Bermuda. Most of the couples were second honeymooners and we decided to go sit by the pool instead. It rained while the boat was out on the water. Tour people said the boat ride was underwhelming.

Looks like you had fun feeding the birds. Love the pic of the bird on Hubby's chest. Hope Hubby is feeling better.

Sandra Cox said...

Hi Val, It was definitely exciting:) My question on your glass bottom boat ride...was there a view of the ocean for everyone seated or did you have to get up and go to a rail to see the bottom? The HH is much better. Thanks.
Hugs back,

donna baker said...

OMG Sandra. What a cruise. I've been whale watching and the glass bottom boat sounds like a blast, but that is my limit in the deep blue sea.

JFM said...

Oh Sandra...what a vacation!!!
It sounds as if life at sea is similar to being on land..."lots of ups and downs!!!" Pun intended :)
I am sorry that you became seasick but it's understandable.

That poor person who had to be airlifted must have been worried on top of whatever made that happen.

Great photos!!!

Happy you are back safe and sound and that you did the things you wanted to do! BTW...you look lovely~

Hugs and Love
xoxoxo

Out on the prairie said...

I had the same experience with the glass bottom, yuck. I had motion pills for my cruise

Birgit said...

Oh boy..It sounds like you had highs and lows on your trip. It sounds like you made the best of it though. I am so sorry your hubby had to deal with such a sickness and I hope he is much better now. Those parrots(parrots??) are so beautiful and I have done this but with different birds, at the Bird kingdom in Niagara Falls. We went on a whale watching tour-no glass bottom but plenty of heaving from most of the ship including our friends. I was fine and my friends hated me when I took a bit of a sandwich while looking at them. Thankfully, I never experienced seasickness

Sandra Cox said...

Thanks, Yvonne;)

Sandra Cox said...

That it was:)

Sandra Cox said...

Snorkeling would be a wonderful experience.
I'm not sure my spelling deserves your trust. Some days I get quite creative. Actually, I had to look this one up. I was surprised there was a K in it.

Sandra Cox said...

You are very kind, Elizabeth. Smiling.
Going in for a root canal this week and from there a new cap. Oh yay.

Sandra Cox said...

That's for sure, Pat:) We're in no hurry for another tropical cruise:)

R's Rue said...

Happy you're back.

Jeanie said...

Oh, most all of it sounds fun, even the glass boat, although being packed in and motion sickness would put a big damper on it. Sorry about that. And sorry about the bronchitis/sinus. Nothing is worse than feeling poorly on vacation. But on the up side, those birds eating from your hand are just gorgeous. What a marvelous experience!

Sandra Cox said...

It was a little on the strange side and we'd had such a great experience the year before.

da tabbies o trout towne said...

sandra; don't let on to the tabbies I said awesome post and
pictures !!! the trip sounds amazing though I know everyone could have done without the sickness ~~~~ sorry about that; nothing worse then when you feel bad on a vacation ~~~ ♥♥♥

Sandra Cox said...

I would have loved to do the horseback riding along the ocean which was offered, something I've always wanted to do. But there's no way I'd get the HH on a horse.

Sandra Cox said...

The birds were definitely the highlight of the trip. The food ranked up there pretty high too:)

Sandra Cox said...

Parrots. They were amazingly gentle. One nibbled on my cheek:)

Sandra Cox said...

I hope the parrots like their homes there.

Christine said...

Oh Sandra, I see that you made the best of it, what else can one do? What can go wrong will go wrong sigh.

Sandra Cox said...

Hey CJ, Thanks for the info on motion sickness. I'm passing it on to the baby girl who's going on a cruise the end of the year.
Underwhelming pretty much sums up the glass bottom boat ride:)

Sandra Cox said...

Hi Donna,
I would LOVE to whale watch.

Sandra Cox said...

You are so kind, Jan. Thank you.
We never did find out what was wrong with the person who had to be airlifted but it must have been pretty serious.
You got that right about the ups and downs:)
Hugs back,

Sandra Cox said...

I didn't have problems on the ship but I sure did on the boat. Sorry you had problems on the boat too. Did the glass bottom you were on run the length of the boat so everyone could see or was it half the length?

Sandra Cox said...

Glad your stomach held up. I was okay, till I had to get off the seat, which was the only way we could see the glass bottom. After that it was all over except the heaving. Ha.
Wasn't feeding the birds fun?
These parrots were so awesome, very beautiful and gentle, and not the least bit afraid of us.

Sandra Cox said...

Thanks, Regine. I'm glad to be back:)

Sandra Cox said...

The bird experience was indeed marvelous:)

Sandra Cox said...

Mums the word to the tabbies:)
Going to the gardens that housed the birds was just amazing. I loved it.

Sandra Cox said...

Isn't that the truth, Christine?

Magic Love Crow said...

Wow Sandra! So much happened!! I hope your hubby is ok? I hope you weren't in pain with your tooth! I love the picture of you and your hubby with the birds! Priceless! I have never been in a glass bottom boat. I think it would freak me out too much! Big Hugs!

Truedessa said...

I am sorry your cruise didn't go so well. I've never been on one. I have a bird so I get to feed her often and I have been on a glass bottom boat once. I thought it was rather cool to see all the fish.

Sandra Cox said...

The HH is much much better. Thanks, Stacy.
I'd had a partial root canal. They'd shot medicine into it to get me through the cruise, before the crown fell off:), and I go for the full root canal this Thursday. Oh joy!
The glass bottom boats aren't what we normally imagine. They have windows along the side of the bottom, but the bottom itself isn't glass. At least this one wasn't.
Feeding the parrots was definitely the highlight of the trip.
Hugs back,

Sandra Cox said...

Hi True,
What kind of bird?
Question on your glass bottom boat. Did the 'glass' run the length of the boat or did you have to get up to see through it?

Magic Love Crow said...

So happy to hear HH is much better!
I am so sorry about your tooth!! Sending you lots of good energy for thursday!! I hope they give you lots of "funny gas", LOL, to get you through it!
That's interesting about the boat! I still think I would freak out. I remember once, a long time ago, at Walt Disney World, they had the 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea , Submarine Voyage. It's not there anymore. But, they took you under the water. And, I felt like I was going to die! Although, it was a cool ride! LOL!
The snow has stopped and tomorrow, we are heating up, but after that, back to normal temperatures! I am hoping to get some pictures today of my new art!
Take care of your tulips! Big Hugs!

Lee said...

Those beautiful lorikeets are around this property here where I live. They're a cheeky, noisy, but lovely bird. They get drunk on the nectar.

A number of years ago I cooked in a restaurant called "Lorikeets"...we'd feed them right on 5 pm every afternoon...if we were running a little late, they didn't hold back in letting us know! :)