Cruise Maven's Cruise Diary

Two Islands Down-Four More to Go

St. Maarten remains one of my favorite ports of call. The shops at the pier, rebuilt after Hurricane Somebody three years ago, offer a microchasm of all the usual island jewelry, camera and electronics shops. If you don't want to take a $6 water taxi into Phillipsburg on the Dutch side, you can shop til you drop right there at the pier. Being a Francophile, I opted for a quick taxi ride to Orient Beach. When asked by the taxi driver where I'd like to go on Orient Beach-which is quite a long stretch of sand- I tell him to drop me off at Bikini Beach. This is a little less liberal than other areas, i.e. only a few topless people, not total nudity. There is a favorite restaurant of mine, Kakao. It's a small French restaurant directly on the sand, with rustic wooden tables and chairs. You can order a Chardonnay to have with the best prepared mussels I have ever tasted. They are twice the size of those we get in Florida, dusted with bread crumbs and baked in a garlic, lemon and wine sauce. Mon Dieu! If you are still hungry, make your way across the sand directly behind the beach to a small shopping area. There is a French grocery store where you can buy freshly baked croissants, pain du chocolat, baguettes, cheese, just about everything. They will convert Euros to USD for your convenience.

Back on the ship by 5:00 for sailaway. The Lirica is the cleanest ship I have even seen as well as one of the easiest to learn your way around. The public rooms are spacious enough that even before dinner, when usually you are bumping into people en route to/from the adjacent dining room/lounge, there is ample passage way. The color schemes throughout the ship are easy on the eye, in shades of peach, blue, pale rose and a soft purple. The dining rooms are configured so that you are never sitting on top of a service stand, nor do you feel that you are sitting in the kitchen. Pasta is always al dente, and the bolognese sauce is perfect. Tonight's predinner show was a classical performance including a pianist, a soprano, a tenor and two violinists. I've heard the two singers and they are fabulous. I have to say that the entertainment in the Broadway Theater is of a very high caliber and without resorting to usual glitz and lasers of the mass market lines, MSC knows how to put on a show!

Extended to me was an invitation to dine at Captain Romano's table. There were two couples from Florida and five officers. Service was,of course, excellent, as were the selection of Italian wines served to us during and after dinner. Thank you, Captain Romano for a memorable evening.

San Juan, Partly Sunny 82 Degrees

Well, it looks like I didn't make it to either of my two choices of restaurants. But that is OK as I really enjoy the buffet lunch onboard. This morning I decided to take the photos of the ship (which I will upload shortly) and enjoy the solitude. Everyone left for an excursion. The pools were totally deserted as was most of the ship.

Pictures done, notes taken, time to go ashore. Just a little walkabout through town was all I needed. Back onboard in an hour, in time for stretching out by the pool. Interesting pool chairs. They have an attached canopy, just the right size to provide shade for your head! Great contraption and quite handy in the Caribbean sun.

Tonight's entertainment is a magician, who is quite fun to watch and a Michael Flatley-type dance presentation. As I said before, the dancer team knows their "stuff." While actual tap shoes would have been the icing on the cake, they danced in leather-soles, but in perfect sync to a tap rythm played over the sound system. I would be that many in the audience could not tell the difference. Again, their presentation brought a standing ovation.

I haven't tried the Las Vegas Casino and I may not for the entire voyage. Walking through there, I noticed some happy smiles so perhaps Lady Luck was in the room afterall. The casino is diminutive in comparision to the mega ships, but there were still empty machines and places at the tables. Maybe the large contingency of Europeans means less gambling than with Americans. I'll have to listen carefully to the languages spoken in the casino next time I walk in there.

Dinner always provides interesting conversation at our table. The hard-of-hearing Austrian seems to make a remarkable improvement when our Swiss friend says something in a Germanic lilt. Our New York Italian American is very funny and along with Mr. Switzerland, they keep the conversation lively and flowing. The salmon was very nicely prepared and not too salty or overcooked. Dessert was a fabulous chocolate parfait duo, with a light but really rich chocolate mousse topped with a whipped cream layer and dusted with cocoa.

Again an early night. Tomorrow I have planned the Beach Break excursion with two of my tablemates and we depart the ship at 8:30am for a morning at Orient Beach on the French side of the island.

Bye for now! See you at the beach!

Second Sea Day En Route to San Juan

One more day at sea and then we arrive in San Juan. I am getting familiar with the Lirica and find that I really like this size of ship. At a "mere" 58,000 GRT and 750 cabins, I find it a very pleasant change. There is never a line in the buffet and the amount of uncluttered open space on deck is amazing. Something else new...for a small fee of $3.00 you can select from a list of 36, your favorite hometown newspaper for delivery to your stateroom.

Tonight's entertainment is a concert piano recital program by Alexei Filimonov. There are five spacious lounges (not counting the disco) which have musical entertainment every night. Tomorrow I will photograph the ship when everyone leaves for their San Juan shore tours.

Once again, I chose the lunch buffet and was very pleased. Again, this isn't a pile-your-plate-to-the-ceiling buffet. There is always a varied selection of salads, cheeses and breads along with three or four hot dishes. A small selection of pastries is offered for dessert. One of my tablemates remarked that it seemed that the selections were healthier and lighter than on other "American" mass market cruise ships. I would agree. Did I mention that my Prime Rib at dinner last night was right up there with the best that I have had on a cruise ship.

So...after two days of rolling seas, I'm going to call it an early night. Ciao!

Force 7 Winds and 12' Seas....

Fell asleep with a starry sky and near gale force winds.  Woke to same.  Ordered my coffee for 8am delivery and the knock on my door was right on time.  This isn't your grandmother's coffee...it's real coffee.  And for the first time that I can remember, my croissant was wrapped in a cloth napkin and still warm from the oven.  I call this my pre-breakfast.  An hour or so later, I saunter down to the dining room for a "real" breakfast.  Eggs Benedict is high on my fav list, so I order it.  Be forewarned: it is not served with the usual gloppy sauce.  This was fresh, very light and nicely complimented the perfectly cooked eggs. 

My afternoon was spent checking out areas of the Lirica that I missed yesterday and getting some sun time on my verandah.  Luckily, I remembered to check the Daily Program and I scrambled up one flight of stairs and scooted into the buffet with only minutes to spare. Heaven forbid I should miss a meal.  Soon, my plate sported a nice portion of Greek Salad and they didn't skimp on the feta cheese. The Seafood Shepherd's Pie looked interesting so I tried that also and was not disappointed.  Instead of lamb or beef, there were good-sized pieces of salmon, clams, squid and a few other species I did not identify other than being a mild white fish.

Since shopping onboard is important to some people here is the lowdown.  There are five shops onboard: the Boutique, with really nice quality logo items; the Duty Free Shop (a.k.a. the liquor store); a not-too-small, elegant jewelry store; the Perfumery and a Colombian Emeralds Jewelry store.  There was 35% discount on makeup and cosmetics (Lauder and Lancome) which was indeed a bargain.  Time to stock up on mascara!

Formal night.  Not sure how or what to expect in the way of dressing up.  So I donned my usual formal night "uniform" and headed to the Captain's Gala Reception.  Lately, I have been known to skip this event, but on a small ship it is much more personable.  To my surprise, added to the list of the customary champagne and fruit punch were martinis and manhattans.  The pass-around tidbits looked nice, too.  Afterwards, I mosied over to the Beverly Hills Bar and met Charlie, the bartender.  We chatted a bit and I listened to a one-man band with a repertoire of Elvis, Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdink, among others.  Quite a few septuagenarians were dancing up a storm.

Onto dinner.  We were down to only four people at our table.  The lady from New York and the man from La Mancha were missing.  Prime rib was the featured entree and was prepared perfectly for me.  I also sampled the gnocchi in a marinara sauce, a Caesar salad, lobster bisque and the assorted cheeses for dessert. Afterwards, it was time to watch the Guests' Dance Contest, then up to the disco for a few minutes.  Very large dance floor, good sound system and DJ Tapia can get everyone movin'!

That's it for Day Two. 

 

Day One Aboard the MSC Lirica

Counting down the miles as I drove from my home to Port Everglades, I was anxious to begin my 10-night southern Caribbean cruise aboard the MSC Lirica.  Walking into the terminal at 1:30PM enabled me to just miss the embarkation crunch.  I breezed through registration and was onboard within ten minutes.  As guests enter the Lirica’s lobby, as on all MSC ships, they are greeted and escorted to their staterooms by a white-gloved staff member.

I am in cabin 10010, a mini-suite of over 250 sq. ft.  There is more storage and closet space than I have seen on any ship, ever.  My stateroom has a walk-in closet with a built-in bureau.  As you walk into the cabin, on your left are floor-to-ceiling cabinets flanking a mirror and glass shelf.  More storage.  There is the triangular desk over which is a huge mirror which cleverly conceals more storage and a safe.  Near the sliding verandah door is credenza which houses the mini-fridge and two more storage cabinets.  Even the two night stands have sizeable storage compartments.  The verandah is a very nice size, with two faux-wicker upright chairs and a smoked-glass table; perfect for having my morning coffee.

 

Right after a very painless muster drill (one of the advantages of a 59,000 ton ship with 780 staterooms), it was time to become familiar with my new surroundings.  Starting at the top and working my way down deck by deck, I have to remark that this is a very uncomplicated deck plan.  There are four elevator banks, perfect for someone who has trouble walking the long corridors to an elevator.

 

Moving ahead to dinner, my tablemates are five solo travelers.  Comprising a mélange of nationalities, there are three men and three women.  In the male category is a congenial 60-yr old Swiss banker, a 43-yr old Lithuanian-American (don't know his occupation yet) from the Midwest and another man who can't hear very well and speaks only German.  The female contingency consists of a 30-something from Provence who is fairly fluent in English, a retired Italian-American Florida transplant from New York and myself.  Once again as on a previous cruise, I have been randomly seated with a group of strangers who could easily resemble characters in an Agatha Christie novel.

 

 After dinner, we made our way to the Broadway Theater.  A troup of very skilled dancers and operatically trained singers entertained us for over 45 minutes.  Definitely a smaller scale compared to the mass market mega-cruise ships, but never a dull moment and very crisp performances.  I am actually looking forward to tonight’s entertainment…something I have become very jaded about attending on other cruise ships.

 

Just before midnight, waiters are passing through the lounges with trays of small snacks; little sandwiches and slices of Italian bread with different cheeses.  Each evening, the late-night treats will feature different Chef’s Specials.  I was looking for the 24-hour coffee/tea stand which I found on Deck 11, La Pergola.  More on this lovely sheltered outdoor eatery later. 

Good night.

 

 

My Diary Begins.....

Welcome to the my cruise diary.  No key needed.  Read about my cruise experiences, ports that I visit and people I meet along the way.  Next up...MSC Lirica for 10-nights to the southern Caribbean at the end of March.