Caribbean Cruise & Puerto Rico 2019 Part 2

 1/27 10:30pm 

Room 4602, Norwegian Dawn, Caribbean Ocean 

 

I am wiped out… 

After Starbucks, I walked west. I walked to the Paseo de la Princesa, which is a fountain sculpture. I read about it as a thing to see in Old San Juan. I read that it was best to see while sun was setting and there were some amazing pictures of it online. When I reached the fountain, I was disappointed to see that it was not on. And, while the sun was setting, there was one huge cloud that was hiding the sun.  

 

I walked really fast to get there in time for the sunset, so I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was walking by. As I turned around and headed back toward my ship, I saw a bunch of craft vendors and people in portable chairs crowded around a small band that played Spanish/Caribbean music. People were dancing.  

 

I noted the time: 6pm. I had only one hour to get back to the ship. I really wanted to go to Barrachina, which is the supposed birthplace of the Pina Colada. I had planned on going after getting a picture of the sunset. I started to worry about getting through the rest of Old San Juan because of how packed the streets were and I wasn’t sure if I could g

et an uber back to my ship. My stomach was being grumbly, as well, so I decided to head in the general direction of the ship until I found a less crowded street to order an uber. On my way, I saw a vacant taxi and asked the driver for a lift. It was only about a five minute drive to my ship. It cost twice as much as the uber.  

 

Once on the ship, I went straight up to the pool deck with plans of getting a burger from one of the two grill restaurants, but found that they only serve food there during the day. I ordered a Pina Colada and the bartender topped it off with shot of dark rum, which mostly pooled around the top of the drink. So, the first few sips was essentially like taking a shot of rum. 

 

I was starving by now and the quickest option for food was definitely the buffet. I had curry beef with white rice and seasoned green beans on the side. There was cheesecake, but supplies were dwindling fast. I grabbed one of the last few slices. Now, I had a cup of Pina Colada, a plate with cheesecake, and a plate with curry beef etc. I had to balance the cheesecake plate on top of the Pina Colada. It worked for about twenty steps as I worked my way through a crowded buffet restaurant. Then, the cheesecake plate slipped off of the cup. Somehow, I managed to catch the cheesecake and plate upside down on my plate of curry beef. A woman nearby said, “nice catch!” I thanked her and said, “that was really close.” Then, I went out to the much less crowded pool deck to eat.  

 

The curry was pretty good. The cheesecake was okay. I’ve definitely had better. 

 

I was nursing a pretty good rum buzz at that point and decided to go to Karaoke in the Bliss Lounge. It was sparsely attended, but there were a couple great singers and one phenomenal singer – Tony, I think, from Las Vegas. I did not sign up. Maybe if there is a bigger crowd next time.  

 

Karaoke ended at 9pm, which is the time that the ship was set to leave port. Right at 9pm, I began to feel the ship move. I hurried to the promenade deck and walked to the back of the ship where I watched the lights of San Juan shrink and disappear on the horizon.  

 

It was, as it often is, a beautiful sight to behold. The whole atmosphere of the Caribbean ocean at night is breathtaking. You get the smell of the ocean and the sounds of the waves, the feel of the warm breeze and those lights that slowly disappear into the distance. It’s lovely. And a measly picture cannot capture it.  

 

Next, I went back to the Bliss Lounge for a sing-a-long game. It was mildly entertaining. At 10pm, the Sail Away party began. It was an older crowd and I was exhausted, so I came back to my room, unpacked some things, put on pajamas, and laid out on the bed to decompress. I am going sleep right now. The bed is very comfortable on one side. The other side is more firm. I can hear the muffled sound of water gurgling and splashing lightly behind me. It’s actually very tranquil. I’m going to sleep well tonight.  

 

 

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1/28 8pm 

Atrium Balcony, Norwegian Dawn, Somewhere out to Sea 

 

I am not a fantastic guitar player. I strum some chords and pick some strings, but I'm relatively low on the scale of your great grandma (literally the lowest) to Jimi Hendrix (the highest). But, shoot me if I start playing “solo” along to full backing tracks. It’s like karaoke for guitar. It’s guitaraoke. And that is what a few performers are doing on this ship… and it’s killing me! Give me a solo acoustic guitarist with no backing tracks to this garbage any day. 

 

And that is my rant. 

 

I woke up around 8am this morning and the sun shone through my porthole, but was dimmed by curtains pulled shut last night by my rom steward, Michael. 

 

I rolled out of bed and went to use the bathroom and stepped in a puddle. Something had overflowed sometime in the night. There wasn’t an odor, so I’m hopeful that it wasn’t the toilet. I threw down some towels and then opened the toilet and found that the water was quite high. I brushed my teeth as a way to try to wake myself up enough in order to have the wherewithal to formulate a plan to address the overflow issue. 

 

I put on swim trunks and grabbed my backpack and left my room. I met my room steward right outside my door, thankfully, and I explained the puddle situation. He said that he was going to call the maintenance people right away and pulled out a radio. I thanked him and headed for the pool.  

 

I ran into Jared (it’s definitely “Jared”) and Katie in the elevator. We talked about the layout of the ship and getting around. Then we said, “see ya around” and went our separate ways. 

 

There is nothing exciting to talk about for the rest of the day – I just laid in the sun for most of it. At times, it got cloudy and sprinkled rain on me now and then. During such times, I walked about, used the bathroom, grabbed a snack, ate breakfast, and later on lunch in an enclosed area. And the clouds would eventually break and I would return to sun bathing or baking, rather. I am a little red in some places that I must have missed when reapplying sunscreen.  

 

I read and I am now about one forth of the way through the book. It’s starting to pick up action-wise. Mr. Brown tried to make me think that the attractive scholar is the villain, but I saw right through it and thought, “Hi! I knew it!” when she later provided an appropriate reason for her shady actions. I mean, she could still be a villain, but now she seems to be more of a pawn and so Tom Hanks escaped with her whilst being directed by the artificial intelligence that seems to be helpful, but is clearly the villain. 

 

Also, I’m not envisioning Tom Hanks as the lead for this story. He’s ancient at this point and barely believable as Robert Langdon in the last movie due to his ancientness. But, I digress. 

 

Around 4:30pm, I returned to my stateroom. The plumbing problem had been fixed and that was pleasing to discover.  

 

I noted some sunburn in the mirror and quickly applied some aloe gel. I wet a washcloth and placed it in the mini fridge along with the aloe gel and let those things cool down while I shaved and showered. I reapplied the now cold aloe gel and placed the damp, cold washcloth on the worst part of the burn. It helped immensely and, once I put a hat on, I confidently felt that people wouldn’t notice the burnage – because, after all, that’s what’s important; not that I’m going to be in pain tomorrow, but that people won’t notice. 

 

I put on my fancy clothes (black shirt with gray trim around the collar with gray pants that match the trip, gray tie and black converse all stars). Tonight is “dress up or not” night – most people are dressed like me or more casual. People look nice, but it’s not, like, ballroom level elegance, which is fine, I guess. 

 

I went to the atrium and ordered a martini. I sat at a small table near the band that was foursome called “Tropical Four.” They played some mowtown-esque stuff and some Caribbean sounding tones. There was a pianist, drummer, bassist, and a guy playing something that I somewhat assumed was a clarinet, but not really. I hope a picture came out well, because I can’t really explain it. 

 

The band finished their set, so I went to the corridor that had the TV with the wait times for restaurants. Most everything was filled and or had long waits, so I went up a level to O’Sheahans where there was no wait. While looking at the menu, I saw an item called the “Black and Blue” with the description “Cajun style with blue cheese.” I asked the sever, “What exactly is this? Cajun style what?” The server explained in detail what blue cheese is and that it tastes really good. So, I asked, “but what is it? Like, what meat? Is it chicken or beef or?” And he again explained blue cheese and spices. So, I ordered chicken fajitas. 

 

While eating, a duo set up. A singer and a guitarist. They are “playing” along to backing tracks of all other instruments for a full band sound. But, you can barely hear the guitar and not specifically because it is turned down in the mix. He is barely playing it. Granted, they are both fine singers. I just can’t get past the backing tracks. Get a band! Or don’t and just turn off the backing tracks.  

 

It’s almost 9pm and it’s time for the show in the main show lounge. I’m gonna go. It seems like the classy thing to do when you are drinking a classy drink and wearing somewhat classy clothes. Afterwards, there is supposed to be a dance party in the Bliss Lounge. I have big expectations. Big expectations that it will be lame…