| 04/27/11, 05/15/20 |
| 2011 Cruise, Page F, Disembarkation, Titi Mery/Camel, Etc |
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| While waiting to disembark, I took these photos. This is the chandelier in the dining room. Magnificent! Deck 5 is the Mozart dining room, Deck 4 Strauss and Deck 3 Vivaldi. |
| The last meal! |
| Waiting to disembark. |
The cruise line did not have airline representatives at the pier so we could not check in our luggage. One of the RCI representatives told me there was a luggage storage facility at the airport. Since we had transfers to the airport, we dropped off the luggage to a waiting truck at the pier then took a van to the airport. Once at the airport we got our luggage from the RCI truck. We stored our luggage ($6.00 per piece) then took a taxi to visit my aunt, Titi Mery. We were with her for a few hours. As always, she treated us to lunch. We had a delicious lunch, including chicken mofongo. It was great spending time with my aunt, my mother's last living sister! See photo below. May God watch over Titi Mery!! |
Flights down to Puerto Rico were on time. We flew first class on US Airways to San Juan (via Charlotte, NC) because the fare was cheaper making a connection than going on a direct flight! Coming back the American Airlines flight from San Juan to Miami was on time but the one from Miami to JFK was late due to bad weather in the New York area. Like I have mentioned in 2011 A, the cruise was great. The ship is beautiful. The shows were nice, especially the ice show in Studio B on Deck 3. One night we were entertained by Herb Reed's Platters! The main dining room was very elegant (and I didn't take any photos of the dining room), and the Windjammer Café had excellent choices and had many selections. Elton and I enjoyed the tours very much. In St. Maarten we were hit by a huge wave which flipped us over and caused us to lose our glasses. Luckily for me, the pair I lost was a second pair. Elton was not so lucky. He could hardly see without his glasses. The only island with rain was St. Maarten, which took place while we were getting ready to have our lunch. It lasted about 10 minutes. Would I go on this ship again? A definite YES! There were many children on board but they were well behaved. There were many activities for all ages so they were kept busy. At the airport I had an incident with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel. First, they insisted I go through the new x-ray full-body scan machine. I told them I wanted to opt out. The agent said no. I told him I had the right to opt out. He told me to proceed to the full-body scanner. Again I said no. They then allowed me to proceed to the old scanner and called someone to do a full body pat down. The agent should have allowed this as soon as I said I opted out of the full-body scanner. In my luggage I had a papaya-banana jam that was 3.5 ounces. They only allow 3.0. When the agent found it she acted as if she had found what would make me guilty and get arrested. Before getting to the TSA checkpoint, I had warned Elton that my beard and long hair would create problems for me. When the female agent found the jar in my suitcase, she said loudly "Aha". Sounded like she had found gold or a gun! I tried to knock the jar off the table but was not successful. That infuriated the agent. The agent's face turned red. Suddenly there were about 5 agents at the table. I found it hilarious but refrained from laughing. I know what the limit is!! The carry-on bag was scanned a second time. They thought they had found something "illegal" but it didn't turn out that way!! When I asked the male agent what they do with what's confiscated he said that it is discarded. I said, "Yeah, right." He said he would not jeopardize his job for an $8.00 jar of jam. I repeated, "Yeah, right." It ticked him off even more. (How many agents have they found stealing from passengers?) Since they found nothing illegal they allowed me to proceed. I communicated with the agents in English. Could I have avoided all this? Yes. All I had to do was place the jar in my checked in luggage. But I didn't do it and I didn't think .5 ounces over the limit would create such a show. I give it to Puerto Rico's TSA agents going above and beyond what is expected of them. (A Black man that was behind me and wore his hair in dreads was also given a hard time.) Also see the bottom of 1980 for another incident in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As you can imagine, I enjoy going through San Juan's airport! |
| Jorge with Titi Mery (right) and Camel (left, cousin). |
| A mural made of tiles in the complex where my aunt lives in Hato Rey. Elton can be seen in photo on the right. |
The following photos were taken by Elton. |
| St. Lucia |
| St. Martin |
| Represents Freedom, St. Croix Conch shell was used as form of communication. When blown it could be heard for long distances. |
Left - Drummer in Antigua. Right - Century Plant, Antigua. Century Plants bloom only once in their life, the blooming spike is so large and grows so fast that it saps all the resources of the plant, which then dies, leaving a tall wooden seed stalk. The plant is called the "century plant" because of this "once a century" bloom (actually the plant lives an average of 25 years). It was also an important plant to indigenous people, being used for medicines, fiber, needles, and food. Ma had a century plant in her garden for many years. I remember it bloomed only once. |
| Elton finally getting off the ship. |
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