Geo: 18.3428, -64.9265It's another 6am start. That's early for a couple of retired old geezers but our shore excursion starts soon after we dock at 8am so we need to get started. Today we're going on a catamaran ride to St John Island for some snorkeling, followed by snacks and drinks before returning to St Thomas Island. A room service breakfast will get things started. In 1917, St. Thomas was purchased along with Saint John and Saint Croix by the United States for $25 million in gold as part of a defensive strategy to maintain control over the Caribbean and the Panama Canal during the First World War. The United States Virgin Islands is the only place under United States jurisdiction where the rule of the road is to drive on the left. The population of St Thomas is around 50,000. ... read more

Geo: 21.462, -71.1365It's 6am when our wake up call comes in. I'm up but Mom needs more time. Our room service is scheduled for 6:30 so we need to be ready. Karen finally climbs out of bed and makes it to the bathroom just before our breakfast arrives. Ahhh. A continental breakfast with coffee, fruit and milk. I figured we'd never get out here on time if we went to breakfast in the Lido so the breakfast came to us and we were off the ship by 8:15am. It's a short day as we must be back on board by 2:30pm. We have a busy day planned on Grand Turk in the BWI starting with a golf cart rental. I made arrangements a couple of months ago to rent a golf cart so we could cruise ... read more

Geo: 26.1228, -80.1505It seems like a short night's sleep. The alarm wakes us at 7am but our bodies tell us it's 4am. We didn't unpack much so getting out of here won't be a problem. Mom makes coffee in the room and gets ready while I unplug battery chargers and watch the news. We were told to see the lady at the desk around 9am to arrange for our shuttle to the port. It's 8:30 when we head down for our free breakfast. With only a few small candy bars holding me over since last night, I can't afford to miss my free breakfast. That's right. I said free!We check out the people all hanging out around the pool as we make our way to the dining area. I've never seen so many old guys in ... read more

Geo: 39.103, -94.583Our sleep time in the restaurant is much like that on an airplane. Trying to get comfortable while keeping one eye open on the lookout for who knows what. We're in and out of sleep even with little outside disturbance during the night. It's about 4am when a few lights go on and I see some people rustling around at the counter, cleaning and preparing things. They don't say anything to any of us but I feel it's probably best to leave. Standing and looking around I can see some of our temporary tenants have already left while others remain, determined to get that last snooze. Karen breaks down our beds puts the chairs back like they were and we gather our things together to move along while additional lighting is turned on. They ... read more

Geo: 42.2514, -65.7392Today is our last full day aboard the Rotterdam. We leave tomorrow morning so today we have a few things to clear up as well as pack up all our belongings. We go up to breakfast at 8am and find it relatively calm. I think most people were sleeping in this morning so we had a nice peaceful meal. Two eggs, one sausage, English muffin, prunes, orange juice and coffee for me. Mom had scrambled eggs, ham and half a waffle with blueberries with jasmine tea. At 9:30 we walk out to the pool to check out a last minute sale on shirts, jewelry and accessories. It doesn't even start until 10am and the people are already grabbing stuff as the staff is trying to set it up. Mom gets two t-shirts for $5 ... read more