Karl’s Korner

Good morning, family and friends,

Last night’s entertainment was great again – same show we saw on the last cruise, but still wonderfully presented by these marvelous dancers and singers who work so hard every night to please us. It’s like being in Las Vegas every night.

Dinner at Sabatini’s was nice, but we’re not particular fans of Italian food. We had lobster tail, which was great, and the pasta was good too, but the appetizers, although presented nicely, weren’t our bag. Don’t get us wrong, we love spaghetti, lasagna and other Italian dishes. I guess the other items are an acquired taste.

We diverted from St. Bartholomew to St. Marten’s due to bad weather in the vicinity of St. Barths and having to tender into the port. At St. Marten, we dock alongside the quay. Easy walk to the shopping centers. We will probably rent a taxi with our friends later this morning as we have until 5 pm here.

There were a few minutes – almost an hour – when we thought we might not be able to even dock here in St. Martens. There was a “swell” from the storms far away that kept this ship rocking and rolling at the quay. After an hour of real seamanship on the part of the entire crew and our brave Captain, they finally secured the ship enough to where we could get off, carefully, as the gangplank was rolling forward and back about four feet as the swell came in and then retreated, over and over. It was an adventure.

Ten of us got together and rented a van for $25 each for a three and a half hour drive around the island. We saw some beautiful sights. The ocean is so blue and green, quite a change from the murky waters of the Amazon. White sand beaches abound, full of tourists while sail boats and yachts of every size bob leisurely in the bay. The island is very clean and commercially inclined. They used to rely on salt for export, but now import tourists for their dollars. The US dollar reigns here.

We stopped at several overview areas and saw the pastel roof colors along the coast. As previously noted, the white sand beaches were beautiful. And, then, there was the TOTALLY NUDE BEACH! Of course, I held my hand over my eyes. Believe me, there were sights you never want to see again in your life. Yes, there were some shapely young ladies and some naked men letting everything hang out; but, there were people there who should NEVER take off a piece of clothing.

We returned to the wharf area, which is very modern and features kiosks with everything imaginable for the tourist trade. We picked up our usual key chain, magnet and hat pin at a stop along the way, so only paused long enough to buy a beer for both of us and then had to drink them in the shade of the terminal before we could enter the restricted area.

So, we are back on board; hamburger and fries for lunch washed down with lots of icy iced tea. I think I’d like to come back here for a vacation some day, as they really seem to cater to tourists. There are beautiful hotels all around the island and lots of casinos on the Dutch side; there are none on the French side.

Not much happening this afternoon as we don’t sail until after 5
pm. We’ll probably do trivia again. Forgot to mention that we actually WON the last time we played.

Time to relax and take it easy around the pool. More later.

Dinner was nice; we opted for steaks, medium well – tender and juicy. A shared slice of NY cheesecake swirled with Carmel plus strawberries and whipped cream. Not bad.

The variety show was good again, but the lame comedian with his old, old jokes and the same routine was at it again, word for word. He gets more groans than laughs. But, we had a great juggler who was the best we’ve ever seen. He promises a better show tomorrow night. He will let someone in the audience mess up a ruby cube and then solve the thing while juggling it and several other items. Should be interesting.

Well, tomorrow marks the last day of 2009 – doesn’t seem possible, but it’s true. We hope this year has been good to you – we are very happy with our experiences during 2009 and look forward to many more in 2010. Our resolution is to get Carol’s eyesight restored somehow so she can see the wonderful world around us.

We have a big poolside party tomorrow night to ring out the old and usher in the new, weather permitting. I believe it will be okay, as we’ve had such wonderful weather on this cruise, as we have on all our cruises. We claim we bring it with us from Texas.

I don’t know if I’ll be blogging tomorrow night, so will wish all of my readers and fans the very best in the New Year. May all your resolutions come true as well as your wishes for health and happiness in 2010.

Happy New Year to all our friends and family. We love you all.

Goodnight and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Via con Dias,

Karl & Carol

Hello again. It’s late, but I thought I would comment on the show tonight. Tom Preston did the very same show, old, worn-out and out of date “groaners” that got very few laughs. I gave him about 30 new jokes and he tried to use one and got it wrong and it fell flat on its face. I really wanted to walk out on him, but couldn’t, what with “working” on the ship. Several people did.

So, I guess I’ll get my chance to “up-stage” him at the passengers’ talent show. But, for now, off to bed. Got your message, Carla, good to hear from you. Tell your brother to write!

I didn’t comment much on Trinidad other than our tour. It was the cleanest island we’ve visited so far. Every car appeared to have been washed that morning. No trash anywhere. The trees and flowers were well maintained. The wealthy community and those of the middle class were surrounded with privacy walls – you could only see the upper floors or roofs of the places enclosed within.

The people were very friendly and helpful. Our little Indian driver was coolness personified. He drove in whatever lane he wanted, stopped where we asked, even if others “tooted” their horns, and let us take pictures. He did as I often do, “talked” to the other drivers to let them know that he was “doing his thing”.

Now, it’s morning again, temperature is 80 degrees F at 8 a.m. and it is going to be a hot, hot day in St. Lucia. From what we can see from the fantail while eating, it appears to be a very modern town, but there are the seemingly mandatory shacks and other better homes hanging here and there from the hills surrounding the city. Jewelry stores abound here. I hope to find a barber to get a haircut as I am looking “shaggy” after 30 days without a haircut.

So, it’s off to explore St. Lucia. More later.

Well, where Trinidad was clean, St. Lucia made up for it! You would think with a name like St. Lucia, the place would be paradise, but think again. The streets and sidewalks were a challenge to Carol, cracked, broken, patched, full of drain covers in bad repair and just dirty.

An open stream (?) of what looked like raw sewage ran along one side of the main street. The only living organisms we could see were mosquito larva skittering across the cruddy surface. The bottom was slimy black – not what you’d expect to see in the main shopping area. Who knows what’s in there!

We were harassed from the minute we stepped ashore by hundreds of taxi drivers and others attempting to get us into their vehicles for a tour of the island. We passed and just walked around the shopping area for an hour or so. Then, I found a barber shop!

I feel lighter on the head, but he didn’t do a very good job – different levels on top. But, for $10, it isn’t bad. First stop when we get home, (after What A Burger), is Great Clips to straighten this mess out… LOL

It was stifling out, the sun beat down cruelly on us and we are drenched once again. But, there is free Beck’s beer in the refrigerator we’ve been saving for just such an occasion, so we are enjoying them now. Life savers!

There’s not much on tap for the remainder of the day. There is a veterans’ get-together at 5 this evening. Last cruise, only four of us showed up. Let’s hope there are more today.

We bought our usual items, plus a nice t-shirt for me to match the one we bought for Carol in Trinidad. This one is not embroidered, but is very nice, so I’m happy.

Jewelry shops were everywhere, along with thousands of small stalls and rather dirty looking, dingy food stands stretched out down an equally dirty, narrow walkway to one side of the main market. Others, equally disgusting were spread out here and there all over town. The only clean places we found were the jewelry shops and the barber shop, which was air conditioned.

It appears we’ll have lots more security at the airport in Florida. Thank goodness we have plenty of time as we don’t leave until 1:05 pm. We won’t carry much on board, as we never do, but will have my laptop and small carryon bag and a bag I carry over my shoulder. The cowardly lion, Leo, and Curly, our traveling doll will be packed in a suitcase and smuggled into the country.

I still have more than two hours of internet time left with only four more days to go until we pack the rest of our things and get ready to disembark. It’s been a fun trip, even with the lost luggage, so long ago. It is amazing how many people know us by name on this small ship.

They claim Princess and Carnival, which owns Princess, will be letting these smaller ships go and concentrate on the monster, 2,000 plus passenger ships. It will be a shame to see the small ones go, as they are so much more intimate.

We gave the last book I had to Ivy and Miko, our two favorite waiter and waitress, as a token of our affection for them. So, we have an additional empty suitcase now. I have two packed already, and believe I can get everything into the three remaining.

Casual dinner tonight, but we are eating at Sabatini’s Italian restaurant with the free meals we won a few days ago. Will be interesting to see what they have.

So far, the meals have been okay, but nothing spectacular. Service continues to be lackluster, (judged by previous cruises). I think Carnival runs as cheap an operation as possible with nothing but the “bottom line” in mind. Cruising is great, but it has been much better in the past. Sour grapes, I know, but it’s true.

So, we’ll close for now and let you know how our meal is tonight. The entertainment is a full blown production, Cinematastic, which we also saw on the first cruise – but what else is there to do? The dancers try to hard to please us, so we can’t let them down by not being in the front row, smiling at them and applauding loudly after each number.

An hour or so with Brad again and our day will be history. Tomorrow should be interesting as we travel to St. Bartholomew, only 8 square miles in land mass with 8,500 residents. St. Barths as it is known is another playground of the rich and famous. Guess I’d better check out the local accommodations for when my novels are made into movies. (I can dream can’t I?)

See you tomorrow,

Until then,

Via con Dias,

Karl & Carol

Good afternoon, friends and family,

I hope you liked my early morning blog entry about holding hands. I managed to get back to sleep easily after that session.

We woke up early to the ringing of the telephone, as we wanted to get off in Trinidad and see the sights. Our sister ship, the Sea Princess, (one of the BIG ones), is moored just behind us. It holds over 2,000 passengers.

After the usual breakfast of fruit and a slice or two of bacon and a muffin washed down with decaf coffee, we met our friends, Hank and Helga. Hank wanted to rent a car, but I talked him out of that – they drive on the wrong side of the road here, and traffic is just a little heavy!

Instead, we hired a cab driven by a little old Indian man with white hair and a long, white beard. I thought Santa Claus came last week. He took us all over the island and showed us the main attractions before dropping us off at a shopping area. All of this for $60, (plus a $20 tip). It was a nice trip and we saw everything other passengers will see for much more on their much higher priced tours.

We drove through the poor section of town, the middle class neighborhood and then the wealthy, gated community, plus Embassy Row. We toured a beautiful Royal Botanical Garden and park with the President’s house in the background. Then we drove high into the mountains to an overlook to see the city from above.

We also saw the Queen’s Park Savannah, the Holy Trinity Cathedral and “The Magnificent Seven”. No, the gunslingers weren’t here – those are the names of seven huge, old, mostly abandoned mansions along the main road. Two of them have been restored and are being used for government offices, but the others are in a poor state of repair. When the island was granted independence, it seems the “Royalty” of the English residents moved back to England and left these relics behind. They were once very beautiful, and with a few million dollars, they could be returned to their prior beauty.

Hooray, we actually found our magnet, hat pin and key chain for Trinidad, Tobago all in one place, plus an embroidered t-shirt for Carol.

Today at 5:15, I’ll apply to take part in the passenger talent show. I hope this time there are enough talented people so they will actually put on a show. I was disappointed last cruise. I will make the audience laugh.

Almost time for lunch again. We can’t believe how quickly the time flies by.

A few brief showers disrupted many passengers’ quest for more sun rays. It is HOT! We sat and talked with several new friends after lunch of beef stew and rolls. We drank a gallon of tea.

We sail in another hour. Next stop is the small isle of St. Lucia, which I am reading about as I type. It appears to be the center of the jewelry trade; but, I’m lucky, I purchased Carol’s Christmas gift yesterday. There are only 160,000 people living on the island, compared to 1.3 million here in Trinidad.

From the map the ship provided, it looks like an easy walk into town, or the jewelry shops may provide a free shuttle to their doors. The directory lists 26 “accredited” shops at Pointe Seraphine, next to the docking area. I don’t believe this is a big “tourist” place to see the sights. The island is very small and after spending 3 years in Bermuda and 5 in Hawaii, we’ve seen enough islands.

Off in an hour or so to watch us sail away from Trinidad and then Trivia at 4:30, followed by signing up for the talent show.

Then, of course, it will be time to eat (again). The comedian I gave most of my jokes to is on tonight. We are waiting to see if he’s added any of mine or any new material to his monologue. I’ll report tomorrow.

For tonight, we’ll watch Brad tickle his ivories again – it’s becoming a good habit. The Casino lounge is becoming packed after the first show.

So, until tomorrow and St. Lucia,

Via con Dias,

Karl & Carol

Good early morning, friends and family,

It’s 4 a.m., but as always, words are running through my mind and I must climb out of bed, put them down on paper and then climb back in bed to sleep with a smile on my face.

Here’s what has been running through my mind. I hope you like it.

Something “Neat” is happening aboard the new Royal Princess:

Some of you may know that the “original” Royal Princess was the site of the TV show, “The Love Boat”.

Now, it appears perhaps the replacement ship could be called the same. And, it all has to do with holding hands.

I think Neal Diamond says it best in his song, “Sweet Caroline”, when he sings, (and I may not be quoting him accurately), “Hands; holding hands, reaching out, touching you, touching me”.

Since we first met, Carol and I have always held hands, and because of her current problems with her eyesight have made it even more necessary for us to continue this “old fashioned” method of displaying our love for each other, it seems to have become contagious. And, that’s really a “neat” or wonderful thing which seems to be spreading throughout the ship.

Our favorite waiter, Miko and his lovely wife, Ivy, who also works as a waitress, came up to us last night. Ivy smiled as she always does and her eyes were sparkling when she addressed us and said,
“Karl and Carol, we will never forget you”.

We both wondered why, and she told us: “Miko saw you always holding hands and now he holds mine everywhere we go. He used to be too proud to hold my hand, but now we both love it. Thank you”.

Isn’t that a great compliment?

Several other couples have commented on our holding hands in the lounge as we watch the show, and we’ve noticed a lot more of that going on around us. And that gave me an idea.

Wouldn’t it be great if we all held hands? Perhaps the world would be a lot better if we reached out to others.

Remember how warm your mother or father’s hand felt when you were small? And, what about those first puppy love dates when you held hands first and waited for that “first kiss”?

Isn’t it a good feeling when you reach out, take the hand of a good friend, shake it and say, “Hello, how are you”?

I once had a very good friend, Jack Remualdo, who was like a brother to me. Every time Jack would introduce me to someone new, he would say, “This is my friend, Karl. Not just an acquaintance, but a friend”. That was such a great compliment. Think about it.
Jack passed on early in life, but I still remember how warm his hand was when we shook.

Our children grow older, move away and we miss holding their hands, but realize they must go out and make their own way in this world. But it’s always so great to feel their hands in ours when we meet again.

As our days dwindle down here on Mother Earth, I often wonder which of us will go to meet our maker first. No matter who it is, I know the other will still long to feel the hand of his/her partner in life one more time.

But, if you don’t hold that hand now, won’t you miss it just a little bit more when it is no longer available? When that time comes, you’ll kick yourself for not taking the opportunity while it was available.

Thank about it; then before its too late, reach out, touch and then hold the hand of the one you love and let them know you care.

Set an example now and pass it on. You’ll be glad you did.

Love is alive and well aboard the new “Love Boat”. Look at all those people holding hands!

Via con Dias,

Karl & Carol

Good morning, friends and family,

This is another glorious day at sea. The sun is shining down and it is hot already at 9 in the morning. We are out and about, getting more addresses of friends and talking with them as we roam the ship.

Attended another “sale” on the top deck and picked up some more magnets for Carol and key chains for a friend in Wal Mart back home. I was going to buy Carol a nice watch, bracelet, earrings and necklace set in pink stones, but the watch and bracelet were way to big for her tiny wrists, so we gave it to our tablemate, Melody, to purchase. It would have cost too much to get the extra links taken out at home, and who knows if they could?

So, we are cooling off in the cabin watching a little news for a change and waiting for 1 pm and my last book signing of the cruise up by the pool on deck ten for an hour or more. I only have 8 books left, so hopefully they will be gone in a hurry.

Well, I came “home” with only three remaining, so will donate two to the ship’s library and bring the one remaining one home to sell there.

Today Carol got her Christmas present. We saw a very pretty gold and rhinestone necklace in the jewelry shop and I decided it would make a great addition to her array of jewels. So, tonight Carol will look “splendific” when we eat dinner.

The show tonight is a repeat of “Motor City” which we saw on the way from Rome, but it is a good review with all the dancers and singers, so why not?

We’ve had some slight showers off and on today as we’ve steamed more than 400 miles from Devil’s Island and will arrive in Port-of-Spain Trinidad tomorrow morning. But, overall, it’s been a beautiful day.

A new friend, Hank, and his wife, Helga, want to rent a car and tour the island on our own, so we will share the cost instead of taking one of the high-priced tours on the ship. Remember my previous hint – go on your own and see the sights.

After dinner and the show; probably Brad and his piano again. He is an artist. We still have half a bottle of champagne to finish.

So, for today, we’ll say,

Via Con Dias – order those books now! I want lots of orders when we pick up the mail.

Karl & Carol