Feb 2019 Caribbean cruise

We took a 9 day Caribbean cruise this Feb. going to Grand Cayman, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao with 5 sea days. We had an aqua class cabin on the Celebrity Silhouette.

Since Virgin America was absorbed by Alaska I searched for another airline that flew non stop to Fort Lauderdale and that offered the extra legroom in the main cablin like Virgin and discovered Jet Blue.

I purchased the tickets and paid extra for the even more space option. Price did not include a  checked bag so I paid $30 per bag for ea. of us.

When we boarded the plane we noticed the newness of the aircraft, comfortable seats and nice screens for the movies.  Plus free wifi during the flight.

After take off the steward came around with coffee and drinks and then a big tray of snacks. Movies were free as well as non alcoholic drinks and snacks during the flight- one just goes to the pantry and gets what one wants.

Both flights to and from Fort Lauderdale were smooth.

We stayed at the Sheraton Four Points hotel since we arrived a day before the cruise.
Hotel room was ok, small menu for lunch and dinner (only one entree the special) and no room service.
Breakfast was ok but service not so good.

Paid $6 pp for the bus transfer to the hotel- we were overcharged $2 pp and when in the van asked if we wanted to give it as a tip or a refund. Of course everyone was embarrassed to ask for the $2 so it went to the driver as a tip. Personally I think it was a scam.

Grand Cayman was the first stop and our group decided to go to the beach.
We decided to walk to the 7 mile beach but got tired after the first mile and got the public bus and rode to the Westin Hotel. We walked along the beautiful sandy beach and then went to the outdoor restaurant for lunch.
After our delicious lunch we took the public bus back to town. Some of the shops were closed since it was Sunday and after some window shopping we got on the tender and went back to the ship.

We had a sea day after Grand Cayman and then arrived at Aruba, one of our favorite islands.

Weather was beautiful when we arrived in Aruba- perfect for a morning at the beach. Our group met and we took a taxi to Palm Beach near the Hilton.
We rented sunbeds under a tent and went swimming and sunbathing.

Afterwards we took a taxi back to the downtown. We walked around and went into the Renaissance Mall for a coffee at Starbucks and then went back to the ship.

We arrived in Curacao the next day at a new pier which was not walking distance to the town. There was a golf cart shuttle that took us to the entry of the walkway to downtown.
Our friends went to Mambo Beach for swimming. We will try it next time in Curacao.
 We strolled around the downtown and then stopped at the Iguana Cafe by the water. Here we watched the floating bridge open and close for the ships going in and out of the harbor.
I do not recommend the Iguana as the service is poor and beverages not so good.

Afterwards we headed back to the ship.

Last port was Bonaire- quiet island and perfect for snorkeling and scuba diving.
We all gathered together to go to the beach. The taxi driver recommended Sorobon Beach - 5 mins away. Actually it was more like 10-12 mins and the resort was more suited to windsurfing. One of the group found a good swimming hole about 200 feet from the sunbeds and we enjoyed our time there.
Back to the ship for lunch.

We had two sea days before getting back to Fort Lauderdale. Weather and sea very good.

Arrived on time in Ft. Lauderdale. Since our plane does not leave until 7pm we took the hop on hop off excursion in Miami that transferred us to Fll at 3pm. Plenty of time to catch the plane.
The Hop on Hop off worked great.They stored our luggage and we took the one hour 45 Min tour of Miami and South Beach. The HOHO terminal was across from the Bayside Mall.
We headed there after the tour and went to the Hard Rock for lunch. Sat outside and viewed the yachts and sea.

The bus took us to the airport as scheduled, plane left on time and we got home on time.
Great cruise. Can't wait until next year. Cruise will be 12 days and starts Feb 23, 2020- no superbowl on board..

April 12,2018 time to leave Sydney and fly home

April 12, 2018

Today we checked out of the Radisson and get ready to go to the airport.
We had a delicious breakfast buffet as we did every day we were at the hotel and then gathered our luggage up and met our driver who put the luggage in the car and away we went to the airport.

Checking in the luggage was quick and easy with Qantas. We had time to walk around the airport which was very modern and had lots of well known shops.

Since we were early enough we had lunch and then waited to be boarded on the plane.

We had chosen premium economy seats on the 747 and so we were in a small section of the plane which was nice as it was quiet and had roomier seats.
We had flown on British before which had the same seat configuration and location in the plane and made the flight enjoyable.

Food and service was very good.

Watching movies and sleeping made the 14 hours go by quickly.

getting ready to land at SFO

We arrived on time in San Francisco.  We went to the self service Global Entry Kiosk (we have Global Entry) and checked in by scanning our passports, got a form and then went by the customs officers to the baggage claim where we got our bags. Since we had the Global Entry form we did not have to submit the customs form and went straight to the exit.

I called our car service driver and he said to meet him at the departures gate.

We met the our driver who loaded our bags in the car and he took us home.

April 11, 2018 we arrive in Sydney

Our ship docked at Circular Quay at 6:10 AM.

Weather was beautiful.

We had our breakfast in the dining room and then headed up to the Tuscan Restaurant  to wait for our call to disembark.
We left the ship at 8:30am and got the luggage.

Collecting our luggage and going through customs was fast and easy.

We went out to the curbside to wait for our car service.

The driver arrived a little late due to all the traffic  (9:40 am), we got the luggage in the car and he drove us to the Radisson where we arrived at 10am.

Our room was ready which was really great. -#614

This meant we could put our bags in the room and do our last sight seeing of Sydney.

Since we heard so much about Darling Harbour we decided to go there and walk around and have lunch there.
We walked up to the Westfield pedestrian mall and then made a turn and walked down to the harbour and there we were- Darling Harbour.

It is a beautiful promenade with ferry boats and yachts and water on one side and hotels, offices, restaurants and cafes on the other side. We walked down a ways and spotted Bel & Brio cafe and stopped there for coffee and pastries.- both were great.


We then walked around some more until 12:15 and went to George's Mediterranean Bar and Grill for lunch. We had an appetizer and side dishes and Sophia had Barramundi (fish) and I had the lamb souvlaki.

We then went out to search to buy Uggs and t shirts for our family and us. We ended up at the Harborside Shopping Centre.  We found a lot of shops that sold Uggs and ended up at one where we bought slippers for everyone. We could not find any t shirt shops that sold shirts with Sydney, the zoo, Koalas or other touristy shirts that would be a reminder of our trip when we wore them.

On the whole trip the best place to buy these shirts was in Melbourne at the flea market. Maybe the big flea market in Sydney may have these shirts and other souvenirs but it was located far from where we were and would have involved taking a taxi or Uber.


Afterwards we took an Uber back to the hotel and chilled for awhile.

We decided to go to a Fratelli's that the concierge said was closer to the hotel.

It was located in the basement of an office building and the hostess led us into the back of the restaurant. It was packed with young people drinking and eating and it was very loud.
Food was good- we ate and left and back to the hotel. The backs are packed and we are ready to go home tomorrow.

April 10, 2018 a day at sea before we arrive in Sydney tomorrow

April 10, 2018

Today is a sea day and the sea is calm and the weather sunny.

We wrapped up a few loose ends-check bill, packing etc.

At Noon  we went to the main dining room for lunch. We met the couple from Florida ( we had several meals with them over the course of the trip) to catch up and compare notes on our trip experiences and travelling home.

We sat next to Marek and his lady friend and I started talking to him about the cruise. I met Marek on my first day aboard ship and ran into him several times during the cruise and every time he had a different cap on.

Today he had one on with name tags from all the ships he has sailed on including a Celebrity captain name tag.

He started telling some interesting stories and  we traded emails so I could send him photos.

I did send the email with photos but it took him a while to reply. He was on several cruises and he then proceeded to tell me about his cruises in 2019. Unfortunately his were based in the Australia area and our paths would not cross again.

At dinner we said our goodbyes to the waiter, asst. waiter and wine steward- all who were super people.
We bid goodbye the New Zealand couple and the Australian couple who were our constant dinner companions. The other couple rarely came to dinner so I at this time cannot remember much about them.

Tomorrow we land in Sydney. Since we are staying in Sydney for one more day we elected to have a late disembarkation.

April 9, 2018 our last port Brisbane and a visit to Steve Irwin's zoo

Monday April 9, 2018

Today is a beautiful sunny day and a nice change from the windy weather we had for the last two days.

We are excited to go on the tour today and see the Irwin zoo and get photos with a koala.

Our tour leaves at 9 am so we went to the meeting point at 8:45am. Our guide told us to make sure to see the show at the Crocoseum at noon.

We headed into the zoo and made tracks to the koala photo booth and bought our tickets for the 12:30 appearance.
There was a large enclosed park like area with kangaroos and wallabies which were tame enough to get close and pose for photos with them[ very cool.

We then went to sit in the Crocoseum to see the show which only lasted about 25 mins and featured some birds, a croc, and some other wildlife- not very impressive compared to shows we have seen in the US.

We got in line for the koala photo next and we found out it was ok for people in line to take photos which was a nice surprise. I handed my iphone to the man behind me in line and asked him to take photos of us with the koala and he did and the photos turned out really nice.
This was another highlight of our trip!!

Since we only had 30 mins. left to meet  the bus we just walked around and went to the gift shop planning to have lunch on the ship.

At 1:30 we boarded the bus for the trip back and got back on board at 2:45. We were famished so we headed up to the buffet for lunch.

Tonight was the last formal night so we dressed in elegant casual for dinner which featured lobster as the main and baked alaska for dessert. Dinner was great.

Tomorrow is a sea day.