Day 9 - Port Limon, Costa Rica

Today we have an excursion to the Veragus Rainforest. Today everyone in our group took this excursion. We took an hour but ride to the La Amistad National Park to tour a research and eco-friendly adventure park. Our guide (Carlos) on the bus gave us a presentation on the history of the area and culture during the drive. Once we entered the park, he continued to guide us through the park. 

First we got a presentation of the animals the research center studies in the park. Then we took a gondola ride to the bottom of the rainforest with fantastic views of the rainforest. At the bottom, Carlos led us to a water fall that involved about 200 steps (up and down ) to reach. During the hike he pointed out various flora and fauna. 

We returned up the gondola for a nice snack in the visitor center with an opportunity for some souvenir shopping. We proceeded to tour the butterfly garden, amphibian and snake displays. Then back to the bus.

The hour drive back was soon enough to do some quick shopping at the port souvenir market, then back to the ship.

Day 8 - Panama Canal

This morning we woke up to the ship pullling into the Panama Canal. Because of our engin issues, we arrived later than expected and had to wait for a turn to enter the canal. There are two sets of locks here now. The old ones made in 1914 and the new ones (Aqua Clara) made in 2016. We navigated through the newer locks. It took 4 min for the doors of the lock to close when we entered. There are three locks to go through and it raised the ship 85 feet to the level of the man made Lake Gatlin. The history of this canal is very interesting and well worth the read if you have time. It is an engineering marvel.

Once in the lake, the ship anchored and we took tenders to start our excursion. Today we did the Authentic Embra Native Village excursion through Princess Cruise Line. The tour took us in air conditioned busses to Chagres National Park.This was a three hour drive (Yuck!). We were not expecting this based on the description of the tour. Our tour guide had a heavy accent and I missed most of the presentation of the history and heritage of these native people during the drive. 

We were taken on rustic wooden canoes into the village. The canoes were long and pretty stable. However there were powered by a motor, not paddles. (Not quite as authentic as I would have wanted.) We were greeted by the native people playing musical instruments and children running around.

The village Chief welcomed us and gave us a brief history of the Embra people (through an interpreter). A native woman then presented the native dress and crafts made by the tribe. Then we were served some native foods. Fried fish and fried plantains. They were served in a banana leaf. Fresh fruit was served as well. 

We had about an hour to walk about the village and tour the various buildings. You could get a “tattoo” by one of the natives for $5. I opted in and got a pretty cool looking arm band. The tattoo ink was applied with a stick and is only supposed to last for 5 days. It was warm and mine started to smear from my sweat and I did my best to let it dry (i.e. I sat around with my shirt off while we toured the village.) They had a shopping area where we could buy native crafts. Sandy got some earrings and I got a turtle keychain for my backpack. 

The villagers returned and we were presented with some native dancing. Unfortunately they did not explain what the dancing was about, so much of it was confusing (The women would dance in a circle, then stop and four of them would yell and “fight”.) Then the men and women danced together in what appeared to be the two step. (Not necessarily a native dance). It made more sense later when they had the audience join them. I figured it was a dance that most anyone could do. Engaging, but lacked authenticity.

Looking around, it seemed mostly staged. There were no older tribes people around. Mostly 20 somethings with modern haircuts. (But dressed traditionally). 

We returned to the bus via the wooden canoes and did the hour plus drive back to Colon to meet the ship.

We had time to shop the souvenir shops at the port before we got on. I got a Panama Hat and a few stickers for my suitcase.

Back on board, the time was gettting late and we went to dinner later then normal. Irene stayed on board and joined us. Sue and Steve did an excursion that was the last to return to the ship (past 7:30). They had messaged us just as we were going to dinner, so we saved a table for all of us. 

Everyone was exhausted and went to bed early. Sandy and I decided to go to deck 15 for Movies Under the Stars to watch Wicked from the hot tub (with cocktails). 

Tomorrow we make port at Costa Rica and they are on Central time, but do not observe Daylight Savings Time, so we needed to adjust our clocks back one more hour. Yeah! We get  an extra hours of sleep!

Day 7 - Port Cartagena, Columbia

Today we had an excursion into Cartagena Columbia. The ship made port at 7:00am and we disembarked at 8:00 to start out tour of the Aromas & Flavors of Cartagena. We caught a boat from the port across from where we tied up. The boat held 110 people then there were 50 of us on this tour. It had two levels and we were split into groups of 25 (25 up and 25 down). 

We started up stairs where there was a cooking demonstration of local foods. They started with a simple presentation of fresh cut mangos. The preparation was simple. Simply cut up the mango, sprinkled with salt, pepper and then drizzle with fresh lime juice. It was unbelievably good. Next, they prepared ceviche in plantain cups. The ceviche recipe was just fish soaked in lime juice with mango, red onions, salt/pepper and cilantro. It was fun to see how the plantain cups were made. Peel the plantain, cut into 2-inch chunks and deep fry for 5 min in low/med oil to cook the plantain. Then press the plantain pieces in a lime squeezer lined with plastic wrap to make the cup. Then it is fried in hot oil for one minute to make it crispy. The ceviche was scooped into the plantain cup and served. It was very good! To finish off the demonstration, coconut lemonade was prepared. Equal parts of coconut cream, fresh lime juice and simple syrup are mixed in a blender with ice, then served over ice with rum. Yum!

The two levels of the ship swapped and we went below for a coffee tasting. Two types of coffee beans were sampled. The first one was nutty/fruity and seemed very light. The second was stronger and had heavy notes of chocolate. 

The boat docked near the old walled city of Cartagena and our guide gave us a tour of the city. This former Spanish city was a key port for export of silver and emeralds to Spain. Because if the riches it held, the walled city was formed to protect it from pirate and privateers. We learned a lot about the history of the area including the indigenous people that were originally here. 

We were given an hour to walk the city on our own and do any shopping. Sandy and I opted for a nice cold Club Columbia beer at El Pasquin restaurant and a shot of Dictador Rum. This local rum is made from the fermentation of virgin sugar cane honey. We thouroghly enjoyed it and our waiter showed us where to buy a bottle to take home. 

On the way back we had a fruit cup (super fresh), chicken empanadas made with corn, fried yuca and cheese fingers. All were delicious. 

At this port, they have a “zoo” area and we walked through it to view flamingos, MacCaws and monkeys. There is also a shop but it was very expensive. We made it back to the port in time to catch our ship as it had to leave early to reach Panama.

 It was a long day and needed a nap.   

Day 6 - At Sea (St Patricks Day)

Started with my Thai Chi, then off to breakfast. I came prepared for this day and had my St Patricks Day shirt and beads to wear on the ship. Many people on the ship also came prepared. It was fun to see everyone getting into the day.  

Since it was St Patricks Day I was excited to get some lunch at Botticelli’s as it was showing corned beef and cabbage on the menu from the Princess App. However when we got there, it was not on the menu. The manager apologized and said he would have it available at dinner. It would not show up on the menu, we simply had to ask for it. 

The day was very hot. Went to the upper deck for a soak in the hot tub, but it was too hot. Nobody was in the hot tub. The pool was packed. I opted to play some eucher with Sue, Steve and Irene. 

We wanted to catch the 7:30 show at the Princess Theater, so we showed up early for our 6:00 dinner reservation at Botticelli’s. We asked to sit at the table where our favorite server Karem worked. We had to ask for the Corned Beef Brisket as it was not on the menu.

Tonight Don Ellis Gatlin preformed in the ships theater with his brother Darryl Ellis Gatlin. They are a country music duo that was nominated 7 times for a CMA. Unfortunately they lost to Brooks and Dunne each time. Don is song writer and has written misc for Kenny Rogers and Blake Shelton. They gave a great show performing music in tribute to artist that influences them. Everyone in the audience was up and dancing.  

After the show we stopped in the Wheel house bar for some St Patricks Day drinks. I got a round of Baby Guinness for the group. A baby Guinness is a shot of Kaluha topped with Baileys.

When we got back to our room, there was a note from the ships captain informing us a schedule change. One of the ship generators needed maintenance. As a result, they will need to reduce speed and we will need to leave Cartagena Columbia at 2:00 rather than 3:00. This will effect us as we had a tour planned from 10:00 to 2:00 in Cartagena tomorrow. We also got new tour tickets showing our tour would leave at 8:00am and end at noon. There goes sleeping in!

We are crossing into the central time zone overnight, so we needed to move our clocks back one hour before bedtime. As we all are in airplane mode, our clocks did not automatically change so we had to be aware of that. 

Day 5 - Port Willemstad, Curaçao

Ship made port at 8:00. Curaçao is also part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. I had time to run through the Buffet to pick up some cheeses and meats to use as a charcuterie board later tonight. 

We did the Ultimate Island, Beach & Turtle Snorkle with Lunch excursion. It left port at 8:20 on one of those tour buses. The tour took us to the west side of the island to West Point beach and Lagun fisherman village. We snorkled with leatherback and loggerhead Turtles. I also spotted a White Sea snake. They obviously feed the turtles. There was someone banging the wooden pier with a mallet to attract the turtles. But we did get to see the turtles! There was also jellyfish there.They were not too harmful but be aware. Again, also lots of schooling fish.

We drove to the Shete Baka National Park to see an underground cavern. There are limestone bluffs above the cavern with spectacular views to Curaçao rugged north coast. The inlets in the park are protected turtle breeding areas. 

The tour then took us to Knip, one of Curaçao’s most beautiful beaches. The tour provided a picnic lunch of chicken wraps, pringles and coconut cookies. We spent two hours there relaxing and taking quick dips in the water. There were lots of influencers there posing and taking pictures. Quite fun to watch them make faces and model.   

At the end of our time there, we returned to the bus and found out that our bus had broke down and we had to wait for a new bus. It ended up taking longer than expected since the new bus had to drive in from Willaimstat and there was a political parade going on that blocked many of the streets. 50 minutes  later our bus arrived and we were able to contiue out tour. 

Next on the tour was the salt flats to view the flamingos. However, due to the political traffic we ran into a complete stoppage in the road. The bus actually did a three point turn in the middle of the road to turn us around for an alternate route. Since we were running late the bus took us straight back to the port. The ship was scheduled to leave port at 5:30 and we needed to be back on the ship by 5:00.   

Sandy and I had signed up for a wine dinner with wines from Caymus winery. It started at 6:30 and ended at 9:30. We enjoyed 5 different Caymus wines throughout the dinner. The wines were excellent, the food was moderately ok. It was a small dinner with 10 other people. The sommelier described each wine before each course and the chef introduced the food for each course. The women sitting next to us were from Banff Canada and Alberta. Great conversations and possible plans to meet up in Canada with our camper. The wine was “unlimited “ so we had a couple refillls and took wine back to our room. 

We enjoyed a nice last glass of wine with some meat and cheese on our deck before we went to bed. Tomorrow is a day at sea with no excursions, so we can sleep in!

Day 4 - Port Oranjestad Aruba

Today we did our own excursion. The ship made port at 8:30am, We disembarked at 10:00. We had rented a car for the day and needed to catch a taxi to pick it up as this company was not at the port. 

Aruba is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is known for its beaches. We rented a car of drove to the northern beaches. The rental car agency (Top Drive) had a beach package for an additional $15 a day. It included two chairs, 2 snorkel gear and one cooler. We opted in! 

Sandy had found out about a small beach called Tres Trapi that has sea turtles. The beach is not shown on any maps provided by the car rental, but we knew is was near Malmok Beach. Apple Maps do show the beach once we were close. 

We were able to park right in front of the beach. 

It was less of a beach and more of a rocky lava flow. The surface was rough and shoes were needed. I had water shoes and sandy had her crocs. There was staircase cut into the rock that lead you into the water. Once there, it was a nice sandy bottom. 

The snorkel package only included a mask and a snorkel, but it was good enough. We had brought our own anti-fog solution, which helped. The salt concentration was be pretty high here. Buoyancy was not an issue. I did not have to do anything and I stayed up easily. It did not take long to find the turtles. We had to snorkel out to the sea grass about 30 yards out, but when we got there, there were green turtles feeding on the sea grass. These turtles do not get very big. The ones we saw were about 18-24 inches across. There were also many other fish to see: parrot fish, puffer fish, trumpet fish, palmettos and schools of many others. 

We drove further up the beach to Arashi Beach. There we found a nice little beach bar/cafe called Arashi Beach Shack. We drank some local beers (Chill and Balashi Beers) and ate some beach food (Tuna Sandwich and Ceviche). I was expecting a grilled Tuna and a bun, but was served a Tunafish Sandwich. It was still very good.

The sun was hot so we found a Palapa (A thatched roof structure much like a tiki hut). The beach was busy with families. Umbrellas and beach chairs were available for $30, but we had chairs and the Palapa is free. We did share it with another family which everyone was doing. The water was refreshing and it felt great to dip in to cool off. 

 We stopped at a supermarket on the way back to pick up a new toothbrush and more sun screen. The toothbrush cost $1.99, the Sun screen was $24. I held off on buying the sun screen. 

We returned the car to the rental agency and took a taxi back to the port. There was a Dollar store there and I picked up sun screen there ($16) and a few souvenirs. Then back to the boat. 

Tonight we ate dinner at Bottacelli again, then went to the Comedy Hypnotist show staring Nadeem Manuel. The show was fun to watch as she hypnotized a group of people from the audience. 

Day 3 - 2nd Day at Sea

Started the day with Thai Chi. Irene joined me. I did slightly better this time. We had breakfast at Botticelli Dining Room. We shared a table with a couple from Miami (originally from Honduras) and a woman from Pennsylvania. It is always great to talk to other people to get ideas of things to do and see. We enjoy the sit down breakfast at the restaurant versus the buffet. The breakfast is fresher. 

Sue and Irene helped judge the Mr Sexy Legs Challenge at the pool. I can’t take them anywhere!

Sandy and I signed up for a wine tasting and enjoyed an hour of tasting various wines from around the world. Sandy had to help some people with their phones, her IT background is paying off! 

Stopped by the Wine bar befor dinner. It was time for a full glass of wine, not a tasting. Ha ha.  Malik took good care of us and poured some wonderful wine. Grabbed an extra glass of wine to take back to the room for later. We needed to get back to change for dinner. Tonight is dress up night for dinner. Many people dress up in tuxes and shiny dresses. I had my sport coat and bolo, so I was close enough. 

On my way to dinner, I stopped by the restaurant where we did the wine tasting, I had left my hat under my chair and needed to pick it up. I did not want to have a hat on for dress up night, but was too lazy to return to the room. This choice would come to haunt me later. Had dinner at Botticelli. I had the beef tenderloin. It was very good. Our table service was from Peru and gave a great reccommenmdation for dessert. A hazelnut chocolate mousse layered cake. Yum!

After dinner we went to the Princess Comedy Club. We sat in the front row and as expected (because of my hat) I was the target of the comedian. It was all good and fun. Very enjoyable show. Checked out the Wheelhouse bar and listen to a musician singin traditional Irish music. 

Ended the day on our balcony enjoying a nice glass of wine while looking out on the ocean light up under the light of a full moon. Glad we brought a Bluetooth speaker to listen to!Started the day with Thai Chi. Irene joined me. I did slightly better this time. We had breakfast at Botticelli Dining Room. We shared a table with a couple from Miami (originally from Honduras) and a woman from Pennsylvania. It is always great to talk to other people to get ideas of things to do and see. We enjoy the sit down breakfast at the restaurant versus the buffet. The breakfast is fresher. 

Sue and Irene helped judge the Mr Sexy Legs Challenge at the pool. I can’t take them anywhere!

Sandy and I signed up for a wine tasting and enjoyed an hour of tasting various wines from around the world. Sandy had to help some people with their phones, her IT background is paying off! 

Stopped by the Wine bar befor dinner. It was time for a full glass of wine, not a tasting. Ha ha.  Malik took good care of us and poured some wonderful wine. Grabbed an extra glass of wine to take back to the room for later. We needed to get back to change for dinner. Tonight is dress up night for dinner. Many people dress up in tuxes and shiny dresses. I had my sport coat and bolo, so I was close enough. 

On my way to dinner, I stopped by the restaurant where we did the wine tasting, I had left my hat under my chair and needed to pick it up. I did not want to have a hat on for dress up night, but was too lazy to return to the room. This choice would come to haunt me later. Had dinner at Botticelli. I had the beef tenderloin. It was very good. Our table service was from Peru and gave a great reccommenmdation for dessert. A hazelnut chocolate mousse layered cake. Yum!

After dinner we went to the Princess Comedy Club. We sat in the front row and as expected (because of my hat) I was the target of the comedian. It was all good and fun. Very enjoyable show. Checked out the Wheelhouse bar and listen to a musician singin traditional Irish music. 

Ended the day on our balcony enjoying a nice glass of wine while looking out on the ocean light up under the light of a full moon. Glad we brought a Bluetooth speaker to listen to!

Day 2 - At Sea

Got up around 7:00am. The restaurants and do not open until 7:30, so I grabbed a coffee and watch the sun rise. At 8:00 I joined a Tia Chi class on the back of the boat. Had never done it before, but I managed ok. I made a lot of circles with my hands. It was a great way to wake up my body and stretch. 

After Tia Chi, I headed to the auditorium for a presentation on Aruba. We learned a lot about the Island and sites to see.

Sandy had prearranged a massage for me, so I was off to the Lotus spa for a 60 min massage. It was nice. First they consulted with me to identify areas of issues and what I needed from the massage. Susie was my massage therapist and did an excellent job with a seaweed oil to help detoxify during the massage. 

Headed back to the room to meet up with Sandy and we went to the Boccelli restaraunt for lunch. The restaraunt meals are much better than the Buffet meals and this is one of the few that are open for breakfast and lunch.

After lunch, Time for another soak in the hot tub. Beautiful sunny day. An hour in the sun was enough and we headed in for some afternoon cocktails. On our way, we ran across the ship scheduled dance lessons. We stopped and Irene and I did the dance from Thriller. It was fun!

A few more cocktails and wine. They had some fun cocktails at the Good Spirits at Sea bar. I had the Key lime Pie martini. Very rich, could only drink one. Moved onto wine agian from our favorite bartender Malik at the Wine Bar.

Sandy, Amy and I had a special dinner at the Crown Grill. I ordered three Manhattans as it was Diana’s Favorite drink. It was nice to be able to sit and talk about her amongst the three of us. We refer to ourselves as the three o’clock group as we were often up at three o’clock taking care of Diana towards the end. 

Met up with the rest of our group at the Crooners Bar. There was dancing in the Piazza below us, so Sue, Irene and I headed down for some fun dancing. After this, we returned to our group at the Cronners Bar and listen to a piano man play broadway tunes. (Sandy was loving it!). The dance band returned to the Piazza and the three of us returned to the dance floor as well. It ended up being a late night. We returned to the Crooners Bar after dancing and listen to the piano man play more piano music.

Day 1 - Port Everglades - Ft Lauderdale

Taking a Princess Cruise to and from the Panama Canal. Departing out of Fort Lauderdale. Boat leaves at 4:00pm. We arrived around 10:15 to board. There are two lines to enter as we arrived. The Green line for people that ordered their Princess Medalions ahead of time and the Blue line for people that need to pick up their medalians. We had our medalions, so we went to the Green line. The Blue line was very short and  was moving fast. As we approached the inside of the building, we found that both lines merged to go through security (why are there two lines!) After security, The Blue and Green lines resumed. This time we got through quickly and boarded the boat. 

Once on the boat, we started with a Champane toast at the Wine Bar. We have the Princess Plus package that allowed us 15 drinks per day included in the price. However each drink had a $15 limit. The Champane was $17, so we had to pay the $2.00 difference. We were offered to upgrade to the next Princess Package that would cover the difference, but declined. 

Since we still had cell service at the Port of Ft Lauderdale, we used our phones to connect with Amy, Sue, Steve and Irene. We all set up “What’s App” and our phones so we could connect with each other during the cruise. The phone plans on the boat are very expensive and we get free WiFi with our package. What’s App is free and as long as you have WiFi, you can connect.

Hung out in the hot tub and continued to work towards our 15-a-day drink limits. We had to wait until after 2:00 to go to our rooms. The bags we checked at the curb when we arrived were delivered to our room door. We unpacked and set up some of the cruise hacks we learned online. We brought magnetic hooks to create more hanging space. The entire ship is made of metal and these hooks will stick to any wall or door. 

After a quick nap, off we went to the wine bar for some pre-dinner drinks. Princess canceled our dinner reservation that we had made months ago (did not inform us, in fact it was till showling up the day before) Went to the only restaurant that did not require reservations. 

Prelude

This trip was the result of wanting to take my mother-in-law on a trip. Her name is Diana Strauss, she is 86, living in Florida. Due to some mobility issues, she does not like to fly or take long drives. However, she loves to take cruises. Therefore we found the Princess Cruise to the Panama Canal from Ft Lauderdale to be the perfect trip.

My wife, Sandy, and I planned this trip about a year out and included my wife’s sister, Amy. Amy is a retired school teacher and loves to travel with her mother. This would allow us to have two rooms that are connected. One for my wife and I and the other one for Amy and Diana.

Myth mother and Diana loved to travel together in the past and have done many trips, including cruises together. Diana, invited my mom and dad to join us and they accepted. This led to my mother (Hazel) to invite my siblings (Sue and Steve) to join us with their spouses. Neither spouse could make it, so my mother offered to pay for the trip for my siblings to encourage them to go. She wanted a family vacation with all her kids.

At a family gathering over the summer, by mothers sister (Irene) heard about the trip and decided to join us. This expanded family vacation was starting to shape up as a big adventure.

Seven months before the trip, Diana was diagnoses with Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. She was given 1-6 months to live. She moved from Florida to live out her days with us in Chicago. Amy also moved to Chicago to live with us to help care for Diana. We had a wonderful 5 months with her before she passed away. Knowing about the trip, Diana insisted that we still go. She covered the costs of Sandy and Amy as a Thank You for taking care of her.

Three months before the trip, my father, developed diabetic pressure wounds on his feet that became infected. After a bout with hospitalization and rehabilitation, his Dr. forbade him from travel for 4 months until the wounds healed completely. This caused my parents to drop from the trip as well. (We all had travel insurance for such occasions)

We are now a group of 6. Amy, Sandy, Sue, Steve, Irene and myself. Let the adventure begin!