Today’s port was Bridgetown Barbados. We had breakfast in the buffet, as usual, and left the ship a bit late because we had a lovely chat with a Marisa, a fellow passenger from NJ.

The port is nearly two miles from the center to town. But Marlene and I like to walk, so we hoofed. it, with some stops in shops along the way. There was more shopping in town. Marlene got two more items of clothing. I got a snow cone. Then we walked back and split a hamburger aboard the ship while I blogged.

Dinner was short ribs. Excellent!

After dinner we went to the show which featured the Conquest Rockband. This is a good band, but the sound guy absolutely destroyed the show by amplifying too much and using WAY too much bass. For the second night in a row we walked out. I filed a complaint at the customer service desk.

The casino wasn’t great and I was down over $100 at one point. But I recovered and ended the evening up $5 (down $85).

Our itinerary has 5 straight port days where we arrive at 8:30am and depart at 4:30pm. Today’s port was Roseau, Dominica. We had breakfast in the buffet and then disembarked to wander around the town. It is less “third-worldy” than Antigua, but more so than St Maarten. We bought two clothing items for Marlene and a couple of magnets, then returned to the ship.

I had two hot dogs with sauerkraut for lunch. Very good. Then I did some blogging and did my monthly laptop backup.

We both napped before dinner and I read a bit. My dinner was antipasti, Seafood Newburg and hazelnut mousse, all terrific. The best meal so far.

We attended a show by Consuela Ivy. She was good, but the sound guy was terrible. The background music was WAY too loud. It drowned her out. There is no excuse for that.

The casino was exceedingly kind. I was up over $150 at one point but settled for a $75 victory, leaving me $90 down 6 days into the cruise. I can tolerate a loss of $15 per day.

Another day, another port. Antigua this time. This is one of the two ports on this trip that will be first-time visits for me. Based on what I saw I won’t be eager to return.

We had breakfast in the buffet and chatted with the people at the table next to us. It turns out that he and I both claim Madison WI as our home town. He was a few years younger and went to a different high school so we didn’t know each other. But we had a good time talking about our old home.

After breakfast Marlene and I walked into town (St John’s). We didn’t have a long walk this time as the cruise port is right in town. We tried very hard to find something to buy but failed. The was no shortage of women’s clothing shops. Antigua must be the shoe capital of the Caribbean. But everything was either too expensive or the wrong size.

The only thing we bought was a bottle of rum, for $11. Very cheap. We won’t open it until we get home and I don’t have high hopes that it will be very good. But $11 for a liter of rum? Worth a try.

I wasn’t impressed with Antigua. At least not impressed in a good way. It has a “third world” feel. It was similar to Bitung Indonesia in that the infrastructure was crumbling. But there were no mopeds and the people were not nearly so friendly. I won’t hurry back.

After we returned to the ship, had a light lunch in the buffet and I blogged. Then a brief nap and some time at the pool (but not IN the pool) before dinner. Grilled fish, very good.

The casino was good to Marlene but not so kind to me – lost $115 (down $165).

Our first (of 8) ports on this trip was St Maarten. an island with two halves – one a Dutch colony (which we visited) and one a French colony (which we did not visit). It is a highly developed Caribbean island with nice shops (including high-end ones) and some very nice hotels and restaurants. We didn’t dine there, but did interrupt the shopping for a rum punch drink and some gelato. The shopping was mostly window shopping, but I did buy one shirt and Marlene got a pair of shoes.

We walked the the 1.2 miles into Phillipsburg and all around town, then back again. A total of over 12,000 steps. Perhaps this was one cruise day when I didn’t gain weight.

We napped a bit and then had dinner in the buffet. Forgettable. But the casino was kind. I won $100 (down $50).

This cruise started with two days at sea. We didn’t do much these days except sleep (Marlene) read (me), spend time (and money) in the casino, eat and attend some shows. But Day 2 was a formal night and Day 3 was my 75th birthday, so we dined in the dining room both nights.

Before dinner on Day 2 the executive team for the ship was introduced in the atrium.

The Day 2 dinner was prime rib and lobster, neither of which was particularly good. We took some formal and informal photos then went to the casino which was more forgiving – won $20 (down $30). We danced to the Conquest Rockband which was a pretty good little band, though not nearly as good as the Luminosa Rockband.

The Day 2 show was a revue of 1980’s hits. Not bad. The midnight show was Oppenheimer and, much to my surprise, both Marlene and I stayed awake to the end. We lost an hour due to a time zone change so we didn’t get to bed until 5 am.

We slept in on Day 3 – my birthday – until after noon. Then I opened my gifts – 3 nice shirts. We spent some time in the hot tub then went to dinner. We both had the Beef Wellington – very good. The show was a pretty entertaining juggler/comedian.

The casino was cruel. Both Marlene and I were winning for a time, but we both ended down. I lost $120 (down $150).