When we returned to the Emerald Princess yesterday after our day on the beach in Aruba, we immediately heard about an accident that occurred yesterday on the Main Street in Oranjestad that morning. All that we know for certain is that two cruise ship passengers were crossing that street, NOT at a crosswalk, and were struck by a car. The following is all second hand, but it was related to G by someone who was there when it happened...one person had a broken hip, a second person was pinned under the car and the car had to be lifted off them. It sounds like it was pretty bad.
So, for today's PSA (public service announcement!: please don't ever cross the main street in Oranjestaad except at designated crosswalks. A woman was killed two years ago (I think) crossing that street; it's a caution on the best days, but yesterday, with 7500 cruise ship passengers in port (the Maasdam arrived about 11am) it was a horror.
Which leads me to my second point: Aruba has really screwed up the area around the port in Oranjestad. When compared to neighboring island Curaçao, which used to be a caution but is now beautiful, Aruba's port and the town of Oranjestad are really quite ugly and are absolutely packed with cars, tourists and junky little shops. We first started coming to Aruba over ten years ago, before those still-unfinished condos were built right at the port, and it was possible to walk right from the ship into town that way. Now, all the cruise ship passengers are funneled through a gate and onto a five-foot-wide sidewalk where they are bombarded by twenty offers of island tours. Yesterday, that sidewalk was torn up, so there were 7500 passengers plus crew plus hawkers squishing through an area three-feet wide.
At the same time, 7500 passengers probably brought at least $120,000 in port fee revenue to Aruba. In one day. What's wrong with this picture? We love Aruba, and it has some of the best beaches anywhere. But there is some serious work to be done there to ease congestion and increase pedestrian safety. Not to mention to increase the visual appeal of the entire area.
On to other things...
With the Caribbean Princess docked right behind us yesterday, we could clearly and closely see its passengers walking on the area above the navigational bridge. We used to be able to do that on the Emerald Princess, but haven't for several years. When we saw Captain Pomata at the most travelled party last night, we asked him about it, and he told us that, on this ship, that area (or off to the side of that area) is where the ship's "black box" (actually, it's orange) is located, and is therefore off limits to passengers. Two thoughts: 1.)Hmmmm...where is the black box located on the Caribbean Princess?; and 2.) Darn. I remember that that was a great place to be at sailaways.
On another other topic...
On Saturday, during our turnaround in Fort Lauderdale, there will once again be seven other cruise ships in port (which we also had on Saturday, November 17th). We're going to turn that to our advantage and will be having lunch and a tour on the Caribbean Princess (which was docked behind us yesterday). This is known as the Princess Bon Voyage Experience (or BVE), and while it's most often done by people who live near a departure port, as a means to get a glimpse of what a cruise would be like on a particular ship, this is the first time we've done it. The cost is $39 per person, applicable to a cruise on any Princess ship booked within 90 days (no problem there!), and we'll get lunch and a tour and be able to spend about 4 hours on a ship we've never been on before. We're looking forward to this, and I'll post about how it goes afterwards.
It's bound to be a lot more fun than my normal turnaround day activity: getting a root canal. ;-)
And, finally, on to today...
We were awake early. Lots of alcohol at last night's party and spending yesterday on a beach had worn us out. We slipped out to the Terrace Deck, sipped our coffees sitting in two loungers by the back railing, and watched the sunrise off the back of the ship. We were so comfortable that we got cereal from the Cafe Caribe and ate our breakfast right there.
What a way to start a day!
I moved only long enough to change into my swimsuit. G rotated between a lounger and the hot tub, and I did the same with the Terrace Pool. By lunchtime, it was hot enough that a shower and lunch in the dining room held more appeal. Afterwards, I walked for an hour on the jogging track on Deck 19, enjoying the view of the Caribbean Princess also making her way from Aruba yesterday to Fort Lauderdale Saturday. We can see her in the distance far behind us (G thinks about 30-45 minutes behind us). I'm a little disappointed...since we're on the exact same route, I was hoping we would slow down or the Caribbean Princess would speed up so that we were much closer to each other and could play cruise ship games, like having horn blowing competitions. :-) At the very least, it's a beautiful thing to see a cruise ship after dark, all lit up, and we could sail side by side, allowing the passengers to take photos of the other ship.
Just sayin'. ;-)
After my walk, I made a quick decision to color my hair. Actually, I'd been considering it since yesterday morning when, alone in an elevator, the door opened and an ancient old man stepped in, looked at me and asked, "Do you dye your hair or tint it?" Really. He did. After he got off on the next floor, I turned around and looked at myself in the mirrored walls of the elevator and was shocked. First, how bad is the lighting in our cabin that the lighting in the elevators is better? Second, I was blonde, blonder, blondest. And gray. I had't known. The same lighting in our cabin that allowed me to paint my eyebrows jade green was disguising how light I had gotten. Some personal maintenance was in order, and we're far enough along in our winter at sea that I should be set until I return home. Hopefully.
Finishing that project, it was almost time to get dressed for formal night, and at 5pm we went up to Skywalkers for pre-dinner drinks and hors doerves. We're going to really miss our Skywalkers friends Janet and Bob and Claudette and Ross and dinner friends Jim and Marcia when this cruise is over. It always takes us a day or two to find our social footing when a new cruise begins, especially in this case, as all three couples have been with us for 20 nights. Janet told me yesterday while at the beach that they've just booked for next year, which will make at least four Januarys that we've cruised together.
Sutti was concerned when I ordered just a salad with my lobster entree tonight. So much so that he doubled up on the lobster. Have I mentioned that I love Sutti? Yes, I know, but have I mentioned it lately?
For the SIXTH time this cruise, we had two main entertainment options this evening! This is even an improvement over the past three cruises, which were a huge improvement over the November cruises. The choices were production show Disco: Blame it on the Boogie (which G refuses to see anymore, as he was just not that impressed), and comedy-magician Christopher James. I was initially not thrilled to be going to his show, but, wow, am I glad we did. He was the best magician (and the best comedian, for that matter) that I've seen in a long time.
We are now going to listen to the Emerald Princess orchestra playing Jazzio in the Adagio Lounge.
What a way to end a day!
Life is good!
Photos: sunrise at sea