JOHNNY'S JOURNEYS: PANAMA CANAL CRUISE 2023

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JOHNNY'S JOURNEYS: PANAMA CANAL CRUISE 2023



February 6, 2023 (Monday)

After ten hours of driving from Mobile, AL yesterday to Kissimmee, FL, this will be a shorter travel

day for us. As we drive along the Turnpike towards Miami, Bethany calls us to sing Happy Birthday to

me. I'm now 68 and going on 38. Going through a tunnel, we reach the Port of Miami and see the

Norwegian Sky. There is a parking deck just across the road from our terminal. We then rolled our

luggage to a designated area and left them there.

I had preregistered online, so checking in was pretty simple. Our scheduled time was from 1:00 to

1:30. We went inside and showed our passports and Covid vaccine cards. A paper with our individual

barcodes was scanned and we entered the big ship at 1:20.

Staterooms won't be ready for a little while, so we went up to Deck 10 and walked past the pool. A

Jamaican band called Vibe Unit was playing Caribbean sounds... nice. We went to the Garden Cafe for

lunch. Three meals a day are served buffet style here. As there were no empty tables, we went outside

underneath a huge canopy to eat. There was a lovely view of Miami skyscrapers, blue waters and palm

trees. After lunch was finished, there came an announcement that we could enter our individual rooms.

Our room will have a balcony! A Day 1 Freestyle Daily was waiting for us in our room. An itinerary

of daily activities are listed here. We rested a little, then I would check my phone. Wow, I have received

120+ Happy birthday wishes from Facebook friends.

Before 5:00 we leave for a mandatory life boat drill. Sure hope that we never have to utilize one of

these. Afterwards, we found a retail shop where we looked for lanyards. Then we go back to our

balcony for the most relaxing 30 minutes. By 6:30 the sun had set and we passed the last jetty. A cruise

ship a few miles ahead of us was turning north... maybe taking people to the Bahamas. And just like

that, as we entered open waters, my cell phone reception had lost internet connection. I had tried to

download the Travel Pass about a dozen times, before leaving AL. Error messages popped up each

time. I though I was being smart and called Verizon's 800# to request international service. That should

be easy. I would receive a text message and click a link. By the time we returned from supper, we were

out to sea and no reception to click a link. Hey, on our next cruise, I will handle this two weeks in

advance. Janet gave me a wonderful birthday card.

At 8:15 we're in the Bliss Lounge and watch the Majority Rules Game Show. Contestants had to

answer “worst place for a first date?”, “best pick-up line?”, “which celebrity would you throw over-

board?” and “what is the first thing you look at when a woman walks by?” There were plenty of fun

answers.

At 9:00 we're in the Stardust Theater for a Welcome Aboard Show. Nine of the senior crew are

introduced, then Captain Viktor from Croatia. There are 800 crew members to make this the best

cruise experience. It looks like there are more crew members from the Philippines than any other

country. Our Program Director, Jeffy, introduces himself. He asks what countries we are from. The

majority are from the U.S.A. Also, there are passengers from Canada, Romania, Japan, Hungary and

Chile. We are here on a cruise ship for 11 days and are here to have FUN and celebrate. He asked if

anyone was celebrating a birthday today. I was the only one. He asked for my name and where I'm

from. “Johnny from Alabama”.

After that, the Jamaican band, Vibe Unit, came out. There are three men and one woman singer.

They sang four songs, including Proud Mary. A comedian from Cleveland, OH, Mike Jones, came out

next. I would like to see his entire show. We return to our room and go to bed early this evening.



February 7, 2023 (Tuesday)

I awoke around 7:15 and am greeted by a beautiful sunrise! Janet wanted room service with a pot of

coffee and muffins. I went up to the Garden Cafe for breakfast. I sat out in the pool area and enjoyed a

pleasant breeze.

Free charm bracelets are offered in the gift shop. We will purchase many charms during the rest of

our cruise. Buy eight and receive one free. I arrived late for the Morning Trivia contest, missing seven

questions. I listened to a few before leaving. Returning to the room, Janet was pleased with all that

coffee for breakfast. She then had a chore for me.

At 11:00 I went to the Shopping Talk in the Stardust Theater. There is a HUGE effort to encourage

guests to buy jewelry, diamonds, tanzanite, korite, etc. These items are tax free and Duty free on these

Caribbean destinations. There are very good prices on bamboo items and colorful shirts. My raffle

ticket did not win me anything today. Maybe I will win something by the end of this cruise.

I sat on our balcony with Janet. She says this is her happy place. The sapphire blue water was just

mesmerizing. Dazzling reflections of sunlight looked like sparkling diamonds! It is too early for lunch.

I have plans to be at the pool before 1:30.

I'm going to participate in the Mr. Sexy Legs contest. Yes, I had won it before on a 2016 cruise in

the Mediterranean. Twelve men came out and three ladies volunteered to judge. We were introduced,

danced, showed our moves and tried to impress the judges. 250+ people were watching. Some of us

had great dance moves while others did not. When my song was played, I pulled off my knee length

swimsuit and danced in my purple Sporti. There was so much cheering, yelling, screaming, whooping

and hollering... that I made the final 3. There was a dance-off with our three judges and then the crowd

cheered for each of us. I WON!! I was given a deck of playing cards, a nice white shirt and a paper

certificate showing that I was the winner! I became sort of a celebrity the rest of the cruise. Lol.

Each time we entered the Garden Cafe, crew staff were there to squirt hand cleanser on you. “Clean

hands are happy hands” and “washy, washy!” At lunch I enjoyed three different meats, veggies, salad,

kiwi-strawberry juice, tropical mango juice, and a few desserts. Now it's time to return to the room for

a well deserved nap.

At 5:30 I joined in on a Geography Trivia game. Called Where in the World Am I?, there were 20

questions. A photo was shown on the screen, and we had to identify which city it was. Some were easy

like the Eiffel Tower. For others, I had no idea. I did get 13 out of 20 correct. I'd like to do this again.

In the gift shop, there's a sale on charms: 5 for $10. Janet already has a rhodium plated bracelet. It

is very shiny. Janet and I soon go up to dinner. The theme tonight is steak and seafood. Walking to our

table, one of the Canadian trivia ladies called out “Johnny Sexy Legs”. An adjacent table with four

ladies cheered for me. Janet just laughed. The shrimp are spicy. And I have three different desserts.

There is a show at 9:00 in the Stardust Theater. It is the Rock You Tonight Production Show. Eleven

young men and women put on a high energy show for 45 minutes. So many of our favorite rock and

roll songs. Very talented...we would like to see them again.

Next was a trip to the Sugarcane Lounge. Guitarist David was playing Oldies but Goodies. After he

finished, Janet was ready to go back to the room. I then went to the Bliss Lounge at 10:15. The Asian

band Hotwire was playing and singing Dancing Through the Decades. A few dozen people were out on

the dance floor. I probably danced to ten songs... with four different people. When it was over at 11:00,

I got complemented on my high energy level. It has been a FUN day!



February 8, 2023 (Wednesday)

I set a wake-up call for 6:20. And at 7:00 I join lots of folks to pick up tender tickets. We will need

these to take a smaller boat to the pier. We are at Grand Cayman. I go and retrieve coffee and muffins

for my wife. I then went back to the Garden Cafe for my full breakfast. I'm greeted by two members of

the crew. One has a tambourine and the other plays a ukulele. They sing “you are my sunshine” and “I

want to wash your hand”. There are omelettes, bacon, dates, walnuts, hash browns, a sticky bun, sliced

peach and cranberry juice.

The harbor waters are too shallow for our large cruise ship, so we have to tender in. These boats

can hold up to 250 passengers. As we reach land, this is now our 7^th territory to see. A sign at the pier

reads “Cayman Islands... Where holiday dreams come to life”. Our excursion is called “Turtles, turtles

and more turtles”. We assemble with our tour group at 11:45. As we waited a few minutes, I went to a

nearby bar. They offered free samples of mango margaritas.

A short bus ride later and we arrive at the Cayman Turtle Centre (British spelling). This is a

Government owned and operated facility that was opened in 1968. The largest land-based tourist

attraction in the Caymans, over 34,000 endangered Green sea turtles have been released into the wild.

Currently, there are 57 males and 232 females here. When the females lay eggs in the sandy area of

Green's Breeding Bay, workers come along and scoop up all the eggs. They are placed in a temperature

controlled Turtle Education Center and Hatchery. Between 82 – 84 degrees, there is a mixture of male

and female. Below 82 and the hatchlings are all male. Above 86 degrees and they are all female.

Two of my favorite areas were the Turtle Touch Tanks and Wading Pools. With about 8 green sea

turtles in each pool area, we were instructed to use two fingers to stroke them on their backs. Cool, they

were leathery soft! After washing our feet, we could wade in the small pools. Dozens of times, these

juvenile turtles (aged 8 months to 1 year) rubbed against my leg as they gently glided by. They are so

docile.

Several of the larger turtles have been named. A few weigh over 300 pounds! Of course I had to

visit Smiley's Croc Cave. I saw the 12 foot long caiman / crocodile... but she was not grinning today.

After that, we passed the Turtle Lagoon on our way to the Predator Reef. There were two nurse sharks

and different species of fish: snapper, tarpon, horse-eye jack, bermuda chub and a barracuda named

Houdini.

Next up was the Caribbean Aviary. There were Cayman parrots, scarlet ibis, and lots more. Very

colorful! Walking past the mangrove system, we saw a peacock. I'm fascinated by the mangrove root

structure.

Next was a short trip to the Butterfly House. There are different stages to the life of a butterfly in

here. I wish we could have seen more. And the last item was to see a 15 minute video about the turtle

center. They have done so much good work these last 50+ years.

We return to the pier at 3:45 for a tender boat. Looking back at the island, there is a huge sand dune

towering above everything. I think I'll do a little research on this later. We get back to the Norwegian Sky.

Our room is clean and we watch a little television. The Garden Cafe opened at 5:30 and we're

ready for tonight's feature: barbeque ribs. I usually get a strawberry-kiwi juice; then on a 2^nd trip I get

tropical mango juice. And for dessert, I get a slice of buttermilk pie and lime mousse.

We rested a little before I went and bought two charms for Janet's new bracelet. There is a butterfly

and a heart. I then listened to the guitarist David play and sing a few Country songs. I have to walk

through the Casino to get to and from the gift shop. So much smoke in there... and Janet is quite

allergic to smoke.

My wife goes to bed early this evening and I go to the Bliss lounge for “Sing it if you know it”. 150

or so people in there are divided into two groups. One side is called “Rich and Famous” and my side is

called “Sexy and Beautiful”. Lol. The band Hot Wire played. The object was to be the first to a micro-

phone and call out the name of song and who sang it. On the third song, I was first up there with "Sweet

Caroline" by Neil Diamond. There soon were 40 of us, from both teams, singing very enthusiastically!

A few songs later, our emcee, James from London, called on two of us to come and sing and dance. It

was “I can't get no satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. He chose one of the other guys. Then he called

for Mr. Sexy Legs to come on out and pointed at me. Yes, we're gonna have a dance off. Oh no, just 3

minutes ago I developed a massive charley horse cramp in my leg. That was not my best dance

performance.

YMCA by the Village People was the next song and the dance floor was filled with happy people.

Well, the other team beat us 30 – 28 points. That's okay because we had a blast out there. An Auburn

University graduate from Clanton, AL came over to congratulate me. I chatted with a few other folks

before going to talk to my teammate, Helen.

I returned to the room and gave Janet an update on the activities. There will be no more dancing for

me this evening. I step out onto the balcony. I watch the full moon for about 10 minutes. This is so

peaceful. I take a photo and a video. This will be a nice memory. So I make it to bed early tonight.



February 9, 2023 (Thursday)

When I awoke, this ship was rolling on some rough seas. I got up at 9:30 and walked up to the

Garden Cafe. I ordered a specialty omelette for Janet before getting her a cup of coffee. I then went

back for my breakfast.

Janet was on the balcony when I returned. We stayed out there about 45 minutes. There are plenty of

tall swells out there in the Caribbean Sea today. Aquamarine and larimar blue waters are just beautiful.

A surprise was seeing rainbows in the misty whitecaps our ship was churning up. We guessed that the

swells were close to 12 feet high.

At 1:00 I went down to the Sugarcane Lounge. It's time for the Afternoon General Knowledge Trivia

contest. I asked a woman from Belgium to be my partner. That was a good move, for Joka was pretty

smart. And such a wide variety of questions. We answered 15 out of 20 correctly. That's good enough

for 2^nd place. The winning team had 16 correct answers.

As I walked through the Bliss Lounge, they were playing Beatles songs. Next for us was a 2:30 visit

to the gift shop. The charm of the day event had just begun. We bought two charms: a flower and a tree

of love charm. Walking by the pool, Vibe Unit was playing more Caribbean Blues music. Two pools

and the upper deck were closed, due to inclement weather.

Today at 5:30 I'm back in the Sugarcane Lounge for a Progressive Trivia game. There were some

mighty tough questions today. My team of one... only got 9 questions right. I saw my Canadian friends.

I said "hello Canada". Andy replied "hello Lynyrd Skynyrd". Ha!

I had chosen not to eat lunch, since breakfast was fairly late this morning. Let's try something new. I

made dinner reservations for us at the Palace in the Main Dining Room. This is where we order off a

menu. Our appetizers were smoked ravioli with lobster sauce and she had potato croquets. I had the

Crispy Asian Spicy Red Snapper and she got chicken cordon bleu. And for dessert, I got a cream cheese

filled carrot cake and she got warm bread pudding with whiskey sauce. It was superb. Going on to bed

at 9:00 tonight.



February 10, 2023 (Friday)

Hello South America... and it is Janet's first trip to this continent. We have arrived in Cartagena,

Columbia. The city was founded in 1533 and now has a metro population of about 1million residents.

This is our first trip to Columbia.

Our group tour meets at the end of the pier at 7:45. We are ready for a 3 and ½ hour Mangrove Eco

Canoe Journey. We first drove to a 400+ year old fortress named Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. The

old walled city is listed as a U.N. World Heritage Site. The military fortress, built in 1536, protected the

city against the plundering of English, French and Dutch pirates. From our bus, we could see plenty of

the original colonial architecture, cobble stoned streets and historic old churches.

We could spend about 20 minutes in a souvenir shop, across the street from this most impressive

fortress. Emeralds are a major gemstone in this part of the continent. An informative sign showed 5-6

photos each of Emerald Color, Emerald Tone and Emerald Hue. That was interesting.

A short while later we reached a wooden pier. It's time to get into the four seat wooden canoes.

These guides did not use motors, but a long pole to glide us through the brackish lake. I count 9 heron

on a sandbar. We slowly went through a few patches of dense mangrove canopies. There are a few

huge termite mounds up in the trees. They can easily accommodate one million termites each. Most of

the thousands of white heron that roost in these trees are gone by now. The noise of the busy city drives

them away during the day.

We return to the lake and stop in a few feet of water. A fisherman, Wilbur, gives a demonstration by

casting a fishing net. On his 3^rd toss he catches a nice sized fish. He walked over to each of our eight

canoes and showed us his stringer with 10 fish. He then retrieved a crab cage and there were 6 crabs in

there. Of course... he graciously accepted tips.

Returning to our launching area, we slowly glided through the thick and dense mangrove swamp. I

was surprised to see hundreds of barnacles growing on the water line of these trees. There are so many

roots to the mangrove. There were spiderwebs in each little niche in this swamp.

Upon exiting the canoe we were offered a free coconut water. Tips were appreciated. And we drank

straight from the coconut. It was just too sweet for Janet. We all boarded the bus and passed beaches as

we returned to the port. One side is for heavy cargo containers. This is the largest port in Columbia.

The other side handles cruise ships.

We go back to our room to freshen up and then go upstairs for lunch. Now it's time for a 2-hour nap.

I go out to the pool at 4:00. And at 4:15 the band Hotwire performs. I go and get Janet to accompany

me to the Sugarcane Lounge. The Progressive Trivia game began at 5:30. Well, that was humbling as

we answered 6 out of 20 questions correctly. My new Canadian friends also got 6 answers right.

We planned on going to see the comedian, Mike Jones. I spoke to my sing and dance teammate,

Helen from N.C. We settled into our seats in the Stardust Theater and laughed for 45 minutes. Many of

his jokes dealt with challenges of growing old. He talked about when your leg goes numb... it's because

of the “psychotic” nerve. He then talked about commercials that were funny when we were kids. “Help,

I've fallen and I can't get up”. At our age, we walk by the television when that commercial is on. We'll

stop, take a second look, and tell ourselves that we ought to write that number down. I'm glad we went.

That was funny!

Now it's time for supper in the Garden Cafe. Once again there is an abundance of items to choose

from. And we made it just in time for an 8:30 raffle at Effy's Jewelry. They are giving away an emerald!

Complementary champagne was offered. That was a nice touch. Alas, we did not win tonight.

We returned to the Bliss Theater to listen to the Jamaican band, Vibe Unit. She sang Soul and

Motown hits for about an hour. What a wonderful performance. In bed by 10:30.



February 11, 2023 (Saturday)

I awoke at 5:12 and looked out the window. I see the lights of Panama. Hello Central America! Less

than 10 minutes later, I had joined 100+ passengers on the top deck. It is still dark. Our Norwegian Sky

went under the newly opened Puente Atlantico (Atlantic Bridge). There are two large towers with about

40 cables connecting to the concrete bridge beneath. It looks like sails on sailboats. Can't wait to see

them in the daytime. And straight ahead is the Panama Canal.

We are going through the Gatun Lake lock system. This is a 3-step flight to raise us 85 feet. Our

ship goes into the first lock chamber. The gate closes behind us. 26,700,000 gallons of water fill it up

and raise the ship 28 feet. The front gate opens and we slowly reach the end of another lock chamber.

Water raises us another 28 feet. And we repeat until we are raised 28 feet in the third lock chamber.

These lock chambers are 1050 feet long and 110 feet wide. So, cargo ships, cruise ships, freighters, etc.

are limited to a maximum of 108 feet. That gives them one foot of clearance on each side.

As the final gate opens onto Gatun Lake, our elevation is 85 feet higher than when we began. I have

enjoyed talking to a delightful couple from New York. He's from NY City and she is Filipino. They

both enjoy photography.

Now it is time to find Janet. She has been on our balcony, taking in a different view than me. With

her families' engineering backgrounds, this has been so interesting to her as well. As we approach the

entrance to the Garden Cafe, we hear the familiar ukulele playing. At the hand washing station, You

are my Sunshine, West Virginia and I Want to Wash your Hands songs are being sung. These two crew

have to be the happiest two people on the ship. As we're eating breakfast, my trivia partner, Joka,

comes by. I introduced her to Janet.

At 11:00 we went to the Stardust Theater. A native Panama resident will be answering any questions

we have and talking about the history of “the World's Greatest Shortcut”. The French had begun this

massive project across the isthmus in the 1880s. After the death of over 20,000 people, they abandoned

the idea. The USA took control of the French property in May 1904. And along came the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers. Tens of thousands of workers were needed.

The canal builders had to contend with a variety of obstacles. There was hot and humid weather,

heavy rainfall, challenging terrain and rampant tropical diseases. Between 1904 and 1913, about 5600

workers died due to diseases and accidents. Yellow fever had been devastating to the workers. Dr. William

Gorgas of Mobile, Alabama was in the US Army Medical Corps. He was assigned as chief

sanitary officer on the canal project. With his work in Florida, and Cuba, he worked with a few other

doctors to prove the connection of mosquito transmission and yellow fever. Some of the projects in

Panama included draining of ponds and swamps, use of mosquito netting, fumigation and constructing

clean public water systems. That made a tremendous difference. That was so interesting.

There was a short stop at a pier in Gatun Lake. 300+ passengers had scheduled excursions. After

they left us there was a slow return to the canal locks. I went outside again and took lots more pictures.

At 1:00 there was a General Knowledge Trivia contest in the Sugarcane Lounge. With 8 teams that

participated, we actually had two rounds of 20 questions. When our scores were combined, my total

score was 23. Another team had 23. The winning team, with 24 correct answers, took home a bag of

goodies.

Back in my room, Janet was watching the movie “Sweet Home Alabama”. Okay, it's time to go up

for lunch. I introduced Janet to Veronica, from Mississippi. She had wished me a happy birthday on the

first night we were aboard. There is plenty of lush green growth adjoining this route. I'm surprised to

see so many islands. Life here looks to be in the slow lane.

After resting a little, I made my way down to the Guest Services desk. I had a few questions. Janet

and I will team up for the Progressive Trivia. We correctly answered 8 out of 20. Good grief... Were

there some off the wall questions?? How about this one. At 118.1 decibels, Paul Hunn holds the world

record in which event? That would be the sport (???) of burping. Maybe we'll improve the next time.

We are through the last gate of the canal at sunset. We are scheduled for three hours in the town of

Colon. We arrive at the pier at 6:30. But first, 300+ passengers have to come back on the ship. After

7:00 we are on land inside a newly developing shopping area. One store is open. Hello Panama! This is

now country / territory # 40 for me! 20 tables are set up by the local people selling little souvenirs. Two

men, a woman & her daughter were dressed in native Embera clothing. Across the road, only a

pharmacy is open. The streets were very dark. I had seen videos concerning safety issues. We stayed

and shopped at the tables. Janet was pleased to find a bamboo / bead necklace from Artesanias de Mary.

Wow, we only had our feet on the ground about 30 minutes. That is just not enough time, after dark, to

get a good feel for the country. I think we would like to come back and stay at least one week.

At 8:00 we make our way to the Bliss Lounge. They feature musicals from Broadway Shows for 45

minutes. Then we go to the Garden Cafe. Asian food is the theme for dinner tonight. As we left and

went to the elevator, I held the door open for four people. “Thank you, Johnny” one said. Hmm, did he

know me from the pool or a trivia game? We had to hold onto the hand rails as we returned to our

room. This ship is being tossed by huge waves, more than we are used to.



February 12, 2023 (Sunday)

The alarm goes off at 6:45 and Janet immediately needs coffee. I walk through a nice rain shower by

the pool. I don't see any land. As I return to the room, I see a small card reminding people of a time

zone change. When??? I don't know. My cell phone clock has not automatically changed to the new

time. As I go back for more coffee and croissants, the two clocks by the pool show 6:20. Well, 7:20 is

showing on my clock. So I change it back to Central Time. Hey, I guess I did not need that one extra

hour of sleep. Now is my time to go for breakfast. With the crowds, I had to sit outside. The seats were

a little damp, but that was okay.

Passengers can start disembarking at 8:00. The meeting time for our tour is 8:30. Hello Costa Rica!

I was here just last July. That was my 6^th missions trip to my favorite Central American country. The

kind Christian brothers and sisters at a special church in Guapiles were on my mind. Our southern

Alabama team had worked on the foundation of a new home for Pastor Daniel and his family. Visits

from five more teams and their house is almost complete!

Our 3-hour excursion today is a Tortuga Canals and River Cruise. We will be in the rainforest. And

we are even greeted with a rainbow before we exit the ship. Looks to be around 500 passengers will

exit at the same time. We reach the end of the pier in Limon and climbed onto bus #1. Our guide gave

us lots of facts about the country. Then Humberto gave many interesting statistics. Christopher

Columbus reached here on his 4^th voyage to the New World in 1502. With such political stability, this

country is known as “the Switzerland of Central America”. Also, pineapple is now the # 1 export. Other

products include coffee, bananas and sugar. As passengers spoke to others, one said he was from New

York. Normally it is called the Big Apple. But in Costa Rica, he called it the Big Pineapple. As we

drive through this city of 90,000 people, there is a park with hundreds of tall palm trees. They look so

majestic. And I see a familiar ice cream store: POPS. We're soon riding thru the lush, green rainforest.

We will now come aboard a covered boat which is part of the EcoJungle Cruises fleet. We went slowly

down the canal, looking for wildlife. All of us passengers were looking too. When we spotted

something, the driver would often turn us around... for a better look.

Were we successful? Oh yes. Our tour group saw 4 sloths, 3 monkeys, 2 caiman, iguanas, yellow

crowned heron and many butterflies. We turned the boat around at the Coast Guard building. They had

strongly encouraged us to put on the life jackets. There were gentle breezes, warm weather and mostly..

lots of relaxing! This was so enjoyable, slowly drifting among the lush green rainforest. We saw a few

dozen banana trees, with the bananas growing upward. We went under a railroad bridge. There were 20

bats in the concrete area. One palm tree had 6 coconuts growing 2-3 feet above the river bank.

Hunberto brought a cacao fruit to show us. The individual pods are covered in a gelatinous

substance. It was cool to see those again. These will be processed to become delicious chocolate! When

the lovely ride was finished, we all hit the souvenir shop. Coffee and caramel covered almonds were a

big hit.

On the bus ride back, I chatted with the man near me. I found out he was also a pharmacist, from the

University of Michigan. Gary and I are also Phi Delta Chi Pharmacy Fraternity brothers. I was glad we

had a chance to talk. We passed Bonita Beach on the way back. Reaching the port, there are two cruise

ships visiting Limon today.

After returning to our ship, it was time for another wonderful lunch. It was topped off with Zuppa

Inglese and Italian cassava cake. Yum! Such lovely views as we looked out the huge windows.

Afterwards, we were able to take a 3-hour nap. Hey, we're on vacation. Nice!

At 4:00 our ship leaves Costa Rica's only Caribbean port. I wonder when, or if, I will return here.

With about 30%!o(MISSING)f the entire country under environmental protection, it is a model for other countries

to save the rainforests and protect these natural treasures.

At 5:30 I walked down to the Sugarcane Lounge. This is day 6 of Progressive Trivia. There is a

cumulative point total for teams that are participating. The 5-member Poseidon team is in first place.

Team Johnny from Alabama has moved up to a 16^th place tie. Golly, there really are some off the wall

questions.

The captain announced that there are 786 miles from Limon, Costa Rica to Harvest Caye, Belize.

I went to the gift shop and purchased three charms for the past two days. So, we add a dog paw, a shell

and a turtle to her bracelet.

Janet let me go by myself to the Sports Trivia contest. With the Super Bowl football game going on,

about one dozen were interested in playing. I WON!! On my 7^th cruise, I've finally won a trivia comp-

etition. And my prize was a NCL tee-shirt. On the front it reads “The Best Version of Me is When I'm

at Sea”. I kinda like it!

I joined Janet in the room for some football, before going up for supper. I had veal scallopini with

lemon and capers. And they were followed by a few beautiful desserts. Returning to our room, we

watched the last 8 minutes of the Super Bowl. Neither team was my favorite this season, but I did

drive through Kansas City last June. I had taken a road trip to Omaha, NE for a college World Series

baseball game. So I was sorta pulling for the Chiefs. In bed around 10:30.



February 13, 2023 (Monday)

I'm up a little after 7:00. This will be another “at sea” day. Which means... a lot of leisure. I was able

to reset my phone's clock to Central Time. At breakfast Janet wanted milk and cereal. I added fruit to

my normal items. An older couple behind us was talking on the phone to their daughter. She had gotten

very sick and her doctor thought she now had monkeypox.

Returning to our room, the Welcome Aboard Show from the first night was being replayed on our

television. I turned on my video. The cruise director, Jeffy, asked if any passengers were celebrating a

birthday or anniversary. I got the video as he wished a happy birthday to me.

At 10:00 there's a Morning Trivia with Cruise Staff. I gotta check this out. About 40 people played

this morning. I correctly answered 7 out of 20. That seems to be my average... 7 or 8. I next went to the

Excursions reservations desk. I inquired about an inner tube float down a lazy river in Belize. That was

not available for this trip.

We went to lunch at 11:40. Another big variety of good things to eat. At our window table we saw

plenty of seaweed and two birds diving for fish. In the distance, I spotted either a yacht or a sailboat.

It may have been 10 miles away so I couldn't tell.

Janet went to the Mandara Spa and Salon and bought two different “youthful” beauty cream

products. She was pleased with her purchases. I went up to the pool for the 1:30 Ms. Biceps contest.

Nine ladies participated. All flexed their biceps, trying to impress the three male judges. Most tried to

dance and a few had some good moves. Three finalists danced and flexed their biceps. Then one winner

was announced. All three received tee-shirts. Well, the winner is from Canada. A few days ago, I

watched two couples playing shuffleboard. She was one of them. Several folks congratulated her. When

I did, I wanted to have my picture taken with her. I asked her husband, who was wearing a Toronto ball

cap, to take our picture. He said no...because I had beaten him in the Mr. Sexy Legs contest. He then

laughed and took a photo of us... Ms. Biceps and Mr. Sexy Legs.

At 5:30 Janet joined me in a Progressive Trivia game. We got 16 out of 20 correct. That's the best

that I/we have done. Tomorrow, we will see an updated tally for the teams' scores. Now I've moved up

to 16^th place.

For a special dinner this evening, we have 7:00 reservations at Le Bistro. We chose the same appetizers:

pan seared bay scallops, cauliflower veloute with truffle oil. I got Baked Onion soup, while

she got cream of mushroom soup. For our entrees, I chose Mediterranean Sea Bass. Janet got Coq au

Vin, which is red wine-braised chicken. And for dessert, I had chestnut bavarian cream, citrus filling

and sables crunch. Janet wanted strawberries with Diplomat cream and Pistachio-Almond sponge cake.

Of course, she needed coffee. 2 hours and 10 minutes later, we happily return to our room. And we're in

bed by 10:00.



February 14, 2023 (Tuesday)

Happy Valentine's Day! Janet gave me a lovely and sentimental card. I had bought her a shiny

bracelet last night. After breakfast, we will take a tender boat to Harvest Caye. Hello Belize! Just

14 months ago, we were on a cruise which stopped here. In the Atrium area, 200 red balloons were

arranged to form a very large heart.

There seem to be only two tender ships. Normally, there is only one NCL cruise ship here at a time.

The Bliss was already at port. We should have gotten off at 10:00, but it was actually 12:15. We slowly

strolled along in this beautiful tropical island location. Janet could not walk too far today. So, she

grabbed a seat at the Laughing Bird Bar and Grill. I walked amid hundreds of palm trees and settled

into a lounge chair. I caught some sunshine rays before splashing around in the azure waters of the

Caribbean. On the way back to the ship, we had to stop and purchase Mayan Chocolate. Delicious!

At lunch, there was a huge heart shaped cake. Mostly red and white, there were 24 roses which

decorated it. And there was the traditional Happy Valentines Day on it. Nice... And we had time for a

90 minute nap. I'm enjoying these. With a later than normal exit onshore today, the Progressive Trivia

started at 6:30. The theme was Movies and Television: Lovers and Spouses. I'm pleased to get 13

correct. And I got to talk with the Canadians: Andy, his dad and Jilly. They're such nice folks!

I get to listen to Vibe Unit and Mango Duo as I return to the room. And I get a Coke for Janet, as she

requested. At 8:30 I was on my way to Effy's Jewelry. There was a special sale on Tanzanite jewelry...

up to 50% off. And a free gift for everyone that shows up. Well, I did not win the raffle. But I did

receive a glass of champagne.

About 9:00 we both went up to the Garden Cafe for dinner. And we returned to the room a little

before 10:00. We watched the end of a movie and changed our clocks / watches back to Eastern Time.

After catching up on my diary, I'm in bed by 11:15.



February 15, 2023 (Wednesday)

We get up around 9 a.m. and leisurely go to breakfast. Afterwards, I go to the hot tub. 20 minutes is

enough time in there for me. The ship is on the way to Cozumel, Mexico. But we won't be able to exit

until 12 noon. Cozumel is derived from the Mayan word “Cuzamil” which means island of swallows.

We leave the Sky and meet our tour group leader at 12:45. We have reserved a 5-hour Playa Mia

Day Pass with transfer. Within 15 minutes we have arrived at another gorgeous beach resort. We chose

two lounge chairs, before renting an umbrella. We spray on our sun protection and I walk up and down

the beach a few times. I got into the calm, blue water a little bit. This is one of the prettiest places in

Mexico. Seems like there are hundreds of palm trees on the beach. And I see a large iguana. Since this

is home to a coral reef, I'm not surprised to see a few small coral pieces that have washed ashore, along

with shells.

What's for lunch? I order Janet a Playa Mia burger, fries and a coke. After my large breakfast, I don't

need lunch today. But I do decide I want a strawberry daiquiri as I walk along the beach again. I had

checked earlier at a Fish Spa for price and time. It costs $25 for 20 minutes. I enjoyed Ichthyotherapy

many years ago in Corfu, Greece. The small Garra Rufa fish nibble away at dead skin cells on the feet.

Well, they had closed early today. That was a disappointment. At 5:30 our bus returns us to the port.

Janet is my partner as we play another Progressive Trivia game. And we get 12 out of 20. Argie

from the Philippines shows a cumulative score sheet. I have moved up another place. I really think my

score would be higher if I had not missed the first games. We will see what tomorrow brings.

After supper, I get a hot tea for Janet and we sit outside for awhile. The Cozumel city lights are

mesmerizing this evening. I get a chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream cone. Since this is our third trip to

this island, we wonder if we'll come back again. Getting into an elevator, I see my singing and dancing

teammate, Helen. And I introduced her to Janet.

At the bar I get a Mango Meltdown for Janet. She kinda likes that. As we walked past the Bliss, we

saw Argie singing a Whitney Houston song. He was out there, lip syncing in a long dress. Looked like

he was having plenty of fun!

At 9:00 the Rock You Tonight Production Show will have a repeat performance. Janet and I are at

the door at 8:30... when the doors open. We were able to get second row seats, in the very middle. It

was such a high energy show. They sang and danced for 45 minutes. We heard “We will rock you, Life

in the fast lane, Born to be wild, Proud Mary, You make me feel like a natural woman, Heart Breaker,

You give love a bad name, Don't stop believing” and many more. The theater was rocking tonight! Yes,

another high energy show from the 11 singers/dancers. Our cruise director, Jeffy, told us what was

scheduled for the rest of the night... and tomorrow's highlights. My North Carolina friend, Helen, was

sitting on the front row. I spoke to her and she introduced me to her husband. Yes, you meet some nice

folks on a cruise ship.

Janet settles into bed and I go up to poolside for a 10:15 Glow Party. 15 months ago, on another

cruise ship, glow sticks were handed out at the Glow Party. Not tonight, though. The Production Show

singers danced two songs... to get the party started.

It began with the Cupid Shuffle. (Lots of “to the right, to the right, to the right, to the right”). Next is

The Wobble. This is my all-time favorite cruise dance song. But this is the first time I have heard it on

this cruise. I danced for 30 minutes before sitting out for a few songs. I needed a little break. When I

returned to dancing, Victoria was right in front of me. She's our MS friend we met on the first night.

On the Cha Cha Slide, one of the lyrics is “how low can you go?” Well, she did the splits and needed

some assistance getting off the deck. I'm happy to help. There's more fun dancing before returning to

the room at 11:00 to check on Janet.

I told her I was going to the Bliss for an After Glow Party. Couples and solo dancers filled the dance

floor. After a while, I danced a few songs with Helen from Raleigh... then with a few of her friends.

There was some fun music to dance to, such as “Funky Town and Play that Funky Music, White boy”. I

return to the room at midnight.



February 16, 2023 ( Thursday)

We are at sea all day today. We got up about 9:30. Janet ordered a pot of coffee and a few other

items from Room Service. I went up to the Garden Cafe for my normal breakfast variety. Then I go and

make 7:45 reservations for us tonight. We will eat at the La Cucina Italian Restaurant.

Back in the room and I pour out two heavy plastic bags holding our dirty clothes. We rolled them

tightly and placed them into both suitcases. Then we went looking for tee-shirts for me. The 2 / $25

sale starts at 3:00. Okay, we will return later.

I passed by the pool and chatted with an Ohio State fan. Then went for pizza slices from the La

Cucina. And that was our lunch. At 3:00 we wanted to see a special music preparation, the High Seas

Choir. Two of the crew joined 25 passengers and they had practiced three times. They sang 3 songs and

accompanied in 2 others. We enjoyed it.

We went and bought the last 2 charms today. That qualified her for a free ship charm. Now, she has

a total of 15. And it's such a shiny silver! I went to Guest Services and picked up Lime colored check-

out luggage tags. These have to be on the luggage later tonight, when placed outside our cabin door.

Janet went looking at jewelry and I wandered around outside the gift shop. I was looking for the

tables for the tee-shirts. They had the same sale 5 days ago. I saw my fun-loving Raleigh friend before I

found the tee-shirts. Since we did not really look for shirts when we were ashore, I wanted one from

Belize and one from the Panama Canal. I found exactly what I was looking for. We then returned to the

room.

At 5:30 Janet and I participated in the 10^th and final Progressive Trivia game. Tonight, we got 10 of

20 correct. Our cruise trivia emcee, Argie, then showed us the totals through 9 rounds. My friends from

Canada came in 11^th place and Team Johnny finished in 12^th place. Not too bad... with 24 teams. This

has been most enjoyable and I've learned a lot of useful / useless trivia. Above all, it was fun. ]]

Janet and I make one last trip to the gift shop. I've had my eye on Baileys Irish Cream. One-liter

bottles were $25 and duty free and tax free. When I bought two bottles, I received 20%!o(MISSING)ff. Alright...

2 bottles for $40. I don't drink much alcohol, but I like this taste. I might be finishing the 2^nd bottle

this time next year. We return to our room to fill out and apply the luggage tags. They are color coded

for when we leave the ship tomorrow morning.

We make it to the La Cucina restaurant for out 7:45 dinner. We look forward to Italian food tonight.

For an appetizer, Janet chooses antipasta while I get Calamari fritti with Marinara sauce. She chose red

snapper with shrimp, clams and mussels. I got sauteed pork scaloppini, marsala sauce and mushrooms.

My dessert was cannoli with sweet pistachio filling. She wanted chocolate tarlet with raspberry and

vanilla sauce. A wonderful feast!!!

In the room we were finishing our packing. I needed to return two pool towels to the poolside towel

desk. As I passed the Atrium piano bar, I listened to Mango Duo singing soothing Caribbean music.

Both of our suitcases were placed outside our cabin door before 11 p.m. And we're ready for bed.



February 17, 2023 (Friday)

We arise at 6:40, shower and go up to breakfast. We plan on leaving by 9:00. Well, there seems to

be an issue with Customs officers checking the luggage of every single passenger. We chatted with a

lovely couple from Idaho as we had a very long wait. And at 11:00 we were finally leaving the Sky

cruise ship. I said good-bye to James from London. He replied “good-bye Mr. Sexy Legs”. FUN!!! I

think my celebrity days are now over.

Key West, Florida, here we come. Or, maybe not. It has been 25 years since a family vacation in

Key West. Since we had a two hour delay leaving the ship, and finding the correct road from the cruise

ship terminal was not easy, and the skies were cloudy and overcast... we decided to just make the four

hour long trip to Key West another time.

Our Plan B was to visit Biscayne National Park. This is now our 31^st National Park. Out of 63, we

have now been to almost half of them!! 95%!o(MISSING)f this park is water. It protects coral reefs, mangrove

forest, the Bay and the Keys. We watched an interesting video and saw several exhibits in the visitor

center.

We had reservations tonight at a TraveLodge in Florida City. And we found a Cuban restaurant,

Havanna Spice for dinner. We had a Cuban fajita, Cuban sandwich & two guanabana juices. The hotel

had a heated swimming pool. I was there for an hour. It was quite relaxing. We get to bed early, as we

will drive all the way back to Mobile tomorrow. What a wonderful trip. Life is good!

---

Photos

IMG_8195
Norwegian Sky... 2000 passengers and 800 crew.

IMG_8069
My favorite cruising shirt!

IMG_8117
289 turtles here this week.

IMG_8182
Turtle egg hatchery center.

IMG_8214
Cartagena, Columbia. Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas... built in 1536.

IMG_8240
Mangrove Eco Canoe Journey.

IMG_8242
A relaxing time for Janet and 30 others. No motors... canoes are powered by long poles.

IMG_8350
Entering the Panama Canal.

IMG_8402
Panama Canal was opened in 1914.

IMG_8403
Panama Canal's Atlantic Bridge

IMG_8444
Limon, Costa Rica.

IMG_8453
Our rainforest canal and river adventure awaits.

IMG_8490
Tortuguero Canals and River Cruise.

IMG_8496
One of four sloths we saw today.

IMG_8504
My prize for winning a Sports Trivia game.

IMG_8510
Ms. Biceps winner.

IMG_8522
Beach at Harvest Caye, Belize.

IMG_8538
Parasailing.

IMG_8539
February 14.

IMG_8554
Iguanas are inquisitive.

IMG_8570
High Seas Choir.

IMG_8579
Mango Duo.

IMG_8582
Airy Atrium area.

Comments

[prestigeparkridge]

Prestige Park Ridge
That was good article. Thanks for sharing.