Blogs from Oceans and Seas - page 87

Geo: 18.3428, -64.9265Light creeped under the drapes to cabin 11664 heralding the arrival of a new day and the chance to explore the US Virgin Island of St Thomas and its neighbour St John. We arrived at the Crown Harbour pier at 10am with disembarkation starting soon after that. We ordered room service as we were on a shore excursion today and so thought breakfast in the room was an easier option. We made our way ashore shortly after 10.30 to a sea of people all trying to find their tour guides. It was slightly chaotic, not helped by a vicious sun beating down upon everyone. Eventually we were tagged and told to walk round the harbour following a young man called Carlos to a small boat called Independent Sea. Once aboard we made our way ... read more

Geo: 22.3758, -70.7516I awake to the smell of coffee. Always a good sign.Today is a sea day as we continue our journey southwards towards the Caribbean Virgin Islands. It's a little cloudy first thing but the weather on the Cruise Compass says it will get better later in the day. The ocean is very calm and the swells of yesterday have died down. Each time I venture out onto the balcony I keep a lookout for dolphins. They usually pop up at some point during a cruise which I always take as a good sign. But no sightings yet.Again we take breakfast in the main dining room and Joyce and Jerry, who are already seated with their friends call us over to join them. Eggs Benedict again for me, I love it. There are several places ... read more

Geo: 20.4475, 99.8808I can't believe I'm right at the Burmese border, I never thought my journeying would bring me here but I suppose there have been many changes recently! I checked out of Thailand and crossed over to Tachilek in Burma via a bridge and the usual border signs for leaving and entering which I love, it always fills me with such a sense of excitement. As I am not on my own with my bike it's also my first experience of queue on a land crossing and there's a different attitude towards you. When I'm on my own with my bike you really do get a greater deal of respect and wonder I think, but when with a big group of tourists you're more just a number. I have to admit that the Burmese officials ... read more

Woke up around 8:30. The captain was announcing that there would be a safety drill for crew members including lowering a life boat, so Ken went downstairs and got our lattes, I quickly got dressed and joined him downstairs. We saw Bobbie and Annie. We were all hoping to see the drill. We couldn't see anything. We shared stories from the night before. They had went to see a show: The Chapman Brothers. Annie thought it was fabulous and Bobbie thought it was horrible! We went upstairs for our breakfast and back downstairs for showers. They had announced that some of the power may go out during the drill, but never mentioned water. I successfully took my shower, no problems. Ken got in and just as he soaped up, the water stopped. He had to wait ... read more

Around 3 am, I was woken up by Ken opening the curtains and then the balcony door. I said what are you doing? He said, "didn't you hear that?" I said "hear what?" He said "the fog horn". I said "no I was sleeping; what can you do about it? Do you think you can help,the captain?" He said he just wanted to make sure everything was ok because he also heard some loud noises above us. He came back to bed. For the next 40 minutes I tried to go back to sleep; the fog horn went off every two minutes and it was loud. I finally got up, turned on the light , took half a sleeping aid and read my book until I got sleepy (the fog horn still sounding). Ken told me ... read more