......Review on another website. It seems only fair that I torture you, er, share it with you guys, too....I'll post it in several parts starting from long before we leave until we arrive back home......I don't expect you to agree with me. In fact, it's more fun when you don't! If you find it interesting and maybe gather a few useful tidbits for your cruise then my mission was accomplished. Writing a review helps me to relive the great times and maybe vent a little about things that weren't so great. I never dwell on the negative when I'm on vacation. So hang on to your hat, it's gonna be a wild ride!!!!
MrTractor<------always has a story to tell........
Part I: Go or No Go?
Just last month, Barb and I had to cancel a cruise. I stopped to think (doesn't happen all that often!).....this was the first time we have ever booked a cruise and cancelled. We never take out insurance. (Well, except the time we cruised in Alaska with my 82 year old mother). Barb and I are just too healthy and have so too flexibility in our lives to worry about “what ifs.”
But things change in a hurry sometimes. Just when you think you have the world be the tail, your realize that’s YOUR tail caught in the door jam. About three months before final payment, Barb was diagnosed with breast cancer. Weeks later, after more tests and second opinions, we felt like we had a doctor who could give us answers.
But the words were cruel and still ring after all these months. Barb cried. I sat in steely silence for a moment. I felt strangely prepared for this. We left there pondering lumpectomy, mastectomy, radiation, chemotherapy. Barb with no hair and no breasts. It took us both a while to get our minds around this. But nothing could prepare us for “the rest of the story.”
Later that day, it dawned on me that we had to make a decision about whether we will be going on this cruise. If I cancel now, I’ll get my money back.
At our next appointment, I asked the doctor what we should we do. The answer was, “Live your life.“ Then she dropped the bomb. She said the results of the latest tests indicate that Barb had Stage IV metastatic breast cancer.
There is no stage V.
The doctor said, “You cannot be cured.“ And, “This will shorten your life.“
Have you ever felt like a house fell on you?
Hearing that from her doctor was sort of like that. Nothing outside of that room mattered. I became more determined than ever that not only would we fight this together with every ounce of life left in us, but that we would win. The battle would be long. The battle rages today as I write this.
Those of you who know Barb as the “Bronzed Goddess,” must have thought it pretty strange to see her sitting in the shade all day. And she never entered the water above her waist. A woman that learned to water ski as a child around the Great Lakes of Michigan and was SCUBA certified couldn’t enter the water. No sunning because direct sunlight can lessen the effects of the chemo and immunotherapy. And surgery to install a Power Port into the major vein leading to her heart just before leaving on the trip prevented her from getting the area where it was installed wet. Barb was always the one with the great tan. The one still at depth when the rest of the divers were at the surface. The first one to climb the rock wall. The one leading the conga line around the pool deck. Talk about a challenge to change your lifestyle. This is something that happens to those slothful dolts sitting around the TV, right?
We talked about this cruise. We were determined to go. If we let this disease prevent us from doing everything we love to do, prevent us from being with the people we love to be with, prevent us from being who we are, then the disease wins. With 3 weeks to go, reality started setting in. Once again, we considered cancelling. At least we’d get half our money back. Again, we fought back the negativity and fear. It didn’t matter to us if we spent one minute in the sun or set one foot in the water. We were going on this cruise. Together. Always together.
Some of you knew what we were going through, agonizing over our situation. Thanks for your support and encouragement. Your friendship and love is what will make this a victory in the end, no matter the outcome.
It gives new meaning to the “Friends of MrTractor.”
We rented a hotel room the night before our flight so we would be sure to reach the airport at around 6 AM for our 8 AM flight out of Dulles International. It was worth the extra money to be close enough that the notorious Washington, DC traffic would not be a factor. Barb had missed her flight to meet me in Las Vegas last year after being stuck in traffic. That wasn't going to happen this time. NOTHING was going to prevent us from getting to our destination.
Or so we thought.
Everything we could control went like clockwork. We got our bags checked and got through security without a hitch. We reached the gate just before boarding. The stewardesses even let me stow my guitar in the first class closet. (This is the first time I’ve ever taken my guitar along on a cruise I didn’t drive to, but it worked out so well, I may try it again!). We settled into our seats on the Boeing 757 and felt a sense of relief and accomplishment, our plan having worked like clockwork.
We sat there.
And sat there.
And….finally the captain came on the intercom. He said that during preflight inspection they had noticed that one of the tires was cut. Deeply enough that it may have to be replaced. Hmmm….very thorough I thought to myself. I’m sure they’ll have that taken care of in a jiff. After all, things were going so well!
WRONG!!!
You’d think that a company with probably 25 or more 957s flying in and out of Dulles every day WOULD HAVE A STINKING SPARE TIRE FOR ONE!!
Well, you can guess the rest of the story.
We sat on the tarmac for over and hour and a half until someone came on and told us that a spare for our 757, one of the most flown and common aircraft in use today, would have to flown in from Dallas Fort Worth!
WE WOULD HAVE TO DEPLANE AND COME BACK FOR A 1 PM FLIGHT!
A collective groan was audible at that revelation. I pulled out my web connected PDA and checked AA.com for another flight. No dice. We had no choice but to drag our carry ons and my guitar out to the airport concourse and wait it out. We had a crummy overpriced breakfast at one of the airport restaurants and chatted up some other stranded passengers from our flight. They were supposed to be in a wedding that afternoon! At least we were only hosting a party at our hotel that night. No big deal. At least not to American Airlines!
I told the first officer as I was leaving the airplane that I had a full sized spare in the trunk of my car if he wanted to borrow it. I hope he understood what I was saying…….
THAT I HAVE A SPARE TIRE FOR MY STINKIN’ CAR IN THE AIRPORT PARKING LOT! WHY ON GODS GREEN EARTH COULDN’T AMERICAN AIRLINES HAVE A SPARE TIRE AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR A THIRTY MILLION DOLLAR AIRPLANE THAT FLIES IN AND OUT OF THERE 30 TIMES A DAY?
SHEEESH! Whew. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!!
We finally touched down in San Juan, made our way to the cab stand, the driver weaved our way through Friday night rush hour traffic (which we would have missed at our scheduled arrival time!), and pulled up at our hotel. The wine deck at the Gallery Inn is the highest point in all of San Juan. A spectacular place to drink in not just the wine but a sense of place. To see the sunset with the soft glow of tomorrows sun settling gently into the fluffy white clouds of the Caribbean Sea is to get a glimpse of heaven.
We arrived in the dark. Thanks AA.
At least we had good friends and the twinkling lights of Old San Juan to greet us. Thanks AA for turning what could have been one of the best days of our lives into a painful experience. And thanks to our friends and family waiting for us at the Gallery Inn for having a glass of wine waiting!!!
Coming up next.... Part III: The Gallery Inn, Old San Juan and NAKED SUPERMODELS!!!!!
Part III: The Gallery Inn, Old San Juan and NAKED SUPERMODELS!!!!
I look at the port of embarkation as and important part of the cruise itinerary. And San Juan is one of the most horrible places in the world to cruise out of. The airport is unclean and uncivilized, the streets are dirty, the restaurants are awful, the hotels are nasty and there is just nothing worth doing or seeing there.
Oh, wait. I’m on the wrong chat board!
All I heard before we decided where to go, was a number of people on another chat board had to blather on about the reasons THEY would NEVER sail out of San Juan again. I’m guessing that was because they are both ignorant and they simply weren’t going to go with us no matter where we sailed from. I can’t speak for anyone else, but San Juan is probably my MOST favorite place to start a cruise from. The reasons are many. A modern airport, realtive safety on the streets of Old San Juan, it’s a warm and generally sunny place to start a cruise any time of year, old world charm, blue-grey cobblestone streets and colorful row houses. Historic forts and panoramic views. Among the reasons for starting in San Juan is The Gallery Inn. It’s a place like no other we’ve ever stayed in. A quirky, unique, warm, stimulating and friendly place at the top of San Juan Hill. Once the Spanish Paymaster’s quarters, it sits across the street from Il Morro along Calle Norzagaray. A seemingly endless maze of nooks and crannies, courtyards and decks, lounges and sitting areas. The only way to describe it is that it is a work of art. The owners are local artists and have made the place into an exposition of their art, sculpture and flair for decorating. Robin and Frank stayed there also and upgraded to a balcony room overlooking the ocean. They’ve traveled a lot in Europe and the U. S.. They agreed it was the coolest place they had ever stayed in. Despite a nice mini suite and some wonderful ports of call, they thought it was the highlight of the cruise!
Tropical birds greeted us as we entered the gate to the main courtyard entrance. If you didn’t know it was there, you could walk right past it. It sure didn’t look like the entrance to any hotel you’d ever been to, with its rough and uneven ancient brick steps leading to a private courtyard. It is filled with tropical plants and fountains. Bronze sculptured faces line the walls and the bird calls seemed to pierce the heavy humid air. Some friends were waiting. We felt a great sense of relief and excitement at the same time. It was about 7 pm, five hours behind schedule, but we had made it. Let the party begin!!!
We checked in as we chatted with Frank and Robin who were happy to act as hosts for the gathering. At least somebody who was staying there was in attendance! I suppose Frank and Robin could have been on the same plane as us, then what? BAMA being left there alone charging drinks to our room!?! It was just like staying in someone’s house in a way. The Owners were in the small lobby chatting up the guests and Jan was showing off her babies - the large Macacs and Macaws that populated the indoor as well as outdoor areas. One of them, Campeche, even has his own business cards with the title, “Social Director.“ Jan hoisted Campeche above her head and he twirled and flipped above her and around her as he fluffed his feathers to the delight of the lobby guests. Manny and I got in a brief discussion of the relative merits of being a Commonwealth but we decided we were wasting good drinking time and would never fully agree on a definition. (Both Virginia and Puerto Rico are considered Commonwealths, but in very different contexts!). The fully stocked bar was “honor system.” You pour yourself a glass of wine or grab a beer or mixed drink. Then you mark a chit and drop it in a little box. No one was watching. (Come to think of it, no one was watching BAMA. I didn’t let BAMA see my room key, either!) When you check out they have it on your tab. Our friends had already gotten the tour of the hotel by the time we got there, so we went right to drinking! I was starting to relax now. Good friends and good hosts all gathered in the small lobby area and a little portico with a conversation pit. I could have hugged every one of them, but didn‘t have the energy. We scooted back to the room briefly to clean up and we all headed out to the Parrot Club for dinner.
On the way to the Parrot Club we walked the charming and ancient streets of Old San Juan. The steep narrow streets give a feeling like being in an old European town. We walked single file down a couple blocks until we got to Calle Fortaleza and then made a left. As we did we noticed that there were barriers to keep cars from entering. That could only mean one thing - a street festival! Old San Juan is famous for them. Seems like every time we go there, something is going on. This time it was a Restaurant Festival. Fortaleza is known as sort of the “Restaurant Row” of old San Juan. As we got closer to the Parrot Club, the activity level was reaching a frenzy. Every restaurant had an outdoor area on the street. Some had full service table service. Others had food stands set up with free food samples and special beverages for sale. There was a different musical group on just about every corner. The whole street was packed with people. It was alive with music and the smells of the local culinary arts made for an orgy of the senses. BAMA said it best when we were leaving the Parrot Club, “It’s like being in a movie!!” I couldn’t have said it better myself. In a way it was a movie. One we were starring in!
We smoozed our way to a table for 13 at the Parrot Club by telling them we were good tippers. Well, we ARE! A fascinating little place that is a converted hair cream factory, we sat and soaked in the atmosphere, the people, the art, the music, the food, the mojitos, the Parrot Passion drinks and the kaleidoscope that was our night in San Juan. As we left the Parrot Club, we soaked in some more of the street scene, the music, the constant motion of the crowd and the smells of food being cooked on open charcoal fires. We said our goodnights and the four of us that stayed at the Gallery Inn headed up the hill. We stopped at a little restaurant when we came upon a woman standing in the doorway. She looked bored and we noticed the big dark mahogany bar was empty. The waiters clad in white linen looked like they could use some company. She asked me to remove my hat as I sat at the bar. I kind of liked that! We had a last mojito as the ceiling fans slowly turned and the stereo played a song with a Latin beat. I saw our reflections in the massive carved mahogany framed mirrors on the walls and wondered if we would remember this special night. I think we just did.
Oh, I almost forgot about the NAKED SUPERMODELS………I’ll have to let someone else tell you the details about that. They were sitting at the next table over from us at the Parrot Club and every one of them was fully clad. But earlier in the day, they were doing a photo shoot at the Gallery Inn and running all over the place without a stitch of clothing on!! Or at least that’s how the story was told to me.
But then I wouldn’t know…..SINCE AMERICAN AIRLINES DOESN’T CARRY A STINKING SPARE FOR A THIRTY MILLION DOLLAR AIRPLANE AT DULLES FREAKIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT!
Sorry, I said I was over that………but we’re talking NAKED SUPERMODELS!!!! RUNNING ALL AROUND OUR HOTEL!!!
No amount of Frequent Flier Miles can make up for missing that!!!
OK, that’s if for tonight. I gotta get some work done.
But stay tuned for the next exciting installment…….
I'm sure everyone here at CLF would love to hear updates and show our support with that page. One of my clients has one. I can read her updates whenever she posts them. She's going through her 2 bout with cancer.
Thanks, Princess cruiser. We've actually thought about setting up our own website to keep a running diary of what's going on. It's so much easier than having to tell everyone everytime we meet them. But maybe this will be a better alternative than all the work in setting up our own site. I'll check it out and let you all know!!!
MrTractor<----has limited time and more than he can do already.........
We awoke to an absolutely gorgeous morning in Old San Juan. I got up early as I usually do. I looked at my watch and it said 6 AM. But it was about 7 AM local time, as I had forgotten to reset it. I moved it forward an hour and felt like I had wasted an hour in San Juan. But in a way, it was then I realized…I was on Caribbean Time now! Barb was still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her and she probably needed the rest. I walked up the back steps to the lobby and grabbed a cup of coffee and some fruit and sat in the courtyard and read the local paper. The headline seemed to be the great controversy over the local landfill, so I decided I’d walk around a little. I went up the wine deck and sat with my coffee and watched the world waking up. I looked down the hill and sure enough, there at the downtown pier was our ship. It was backed in, so I got a full view of the aft balcony we’d be calling home for the next week. I though about how sad the folks that were in our suite, the whole ship for that matter, must be feeling. Disembarkation day is so sad. But this was EMBARKATION DAY FOR US!! I could feel a great sense of anticipation sitting by myself up there in the relative calm. Although it was quiet and peaceful at that moment, I knew the day would be a tumultuous one.
I climbed back down and checked in on Barb. She was still snoozing, so I went back and got another cup of coffee. Finally, Robin popped in looking for a caffeine fix. I asked her what they wanted to do this morning before we got on the ship. She said Frank was in the shower, and would probably want to walk around and get some last minute supplies before heading to the pier. But she wasn’t leaving her fabulous veranda suite and hot tub until the very last minute!!! Can’t say I blame her. So I grabbed a cup of coffee and some fresh cheesy muffins and fruit and headed back to our room to wake up Barb. But she was already up and getting dressed. She said she slept so well on the Temperpedic matresses that the Gallery Inn has on all it’s beds that she didn’t want to get up. We met Frank in the lobby and headed into town armed with directions to the local grocery/liquor/pharmacy.
The three of us spent the morning walking the colorful streets and Barb popped in and out of the shops in search of a cute trinket or a new Christmas ornament (an inexpensive way of remembering all the wonderful places we’ve seen). Frank took me to the shop where he bought his Panama “Cigar Smokin’” hat and with the help of Barb and Frank picked out a “Plantation Hat” for our cruise. $65 for a hat! I think my first car was less than that! But it seemed like the right thing to do and did keep my bald head from getting too burned.
We were at the end of Calle de Christo where normally the blocked off street leading to the chapel would be full of outdoor tables for a cold beverage. But it was Sunday morning and they weren’t open yet. But they proprietor told us about a place around the corner that was open. So Frank and I camped there while Barb made a last ditch effort to leave some of our money in Old San Juan. On the way back we grabbed some water and rum to take on the ship. It was getting close to time to leave and Robin was done soaking in the private hot tub on her veranda when we got back. We gathered our bags and asked the desk clerk to get us a cab for the pier.
A small van showed up and with some encouragement all of our bags and the four of us and a buddy of the cab driver all piled in and headed down the hill. When we arrived at around 11:30, the pier area was teeming with passengers coming and going. The line was long, but the porters were making their way through the crowds collecting baggage as we got off the buses and out of cabs. Then we went to the back of a very long line. We met Brad and Denise and after a moment of assessing the situation, all came to the conclusion that there was no sense in waiting in that line. We walked into town to get some free Don Q Rum! It’s just to your left as you leave the pier and they are happy to share as much rum as you’d like in little cups. You just can’t leave with it. But you can buy as many bottles as you want. It’s great rum and really hard to find in the states. Bama bought a bottle, and somehow convinced me that I should carry it on the ship because I had bigger pockets in my cargo pants.
After a quick snack and a couple more liquid refreshments, we walked back to the pier where a line was still queued up. It was a relatively short line to get through a quick passport check. On the other end of that, however was a much longer line. Being the tallest one, I looked ahead and noticed that the line ended halfway to the entrance to the pier’s main building. Turns out it was the line to get the porters to take your bags. So we walked right around that, into the building and up the escalator. Just prior to check in, there was a big duty free liquor store. Surprisingly, you could walk in and buy just about anything you wanted, put it in your carry on bags and stroll right on the ship with it! A lot of folks did. All that smuggling for nothing!!
We weren’t expect to be carried on the ship by litter bearers. But we were in a penthouse. So we sort of expected some sort of VIP treatment. There was a Penthouse and higher level past passenger line (Diamond??), but it really wasn’t any big deal. In fact we had to wait longer to board than some of the folks in the regular line. I brushed it off. I’m sure we’ll be treated with some special perks eventually, I thought. Well, past the liquor store we went. After all, we had a few bottles in our regular luggage and remember, I had a bottle of Don Q rum IN MY POCKET!
Normally, I can just walk on the ship with a bottle in my pocket. After all, the cap on this bottle was plastic, too! But when I got to the scanner, the danged thing kept going off! I took off my dive watch and made another pass. BEEEEEEEEP!!!! I took off my belt and tried it again. BOOOOONK! By this time I had garnered the attention of the lady security guard. She took one look at the bulge in the leg of my trousers and said, “what’s in your pocket?” I sheepishly pulled out the bottle of Gold Don Q. She said sternly, “Put it on the belt,” with the same look on her face as your second grade teacher would have given you if she caught you smearing glue on the red haired girls lunch box handle.
Noooot that I’ve ever done that, ahem. (I remember her name was Suzie Peebles).
Anyway, I put the bottle on the belt and walked through the scanner without so much as a blip. DANG THOSE GUYS ARE GETTING SMART! The security guard was waiting for me at the end of the belt. As I reached for the bottle, she got RIGHT UP IN MY FACE! I was sure this was the part where I have to tell you what it’s like to have handcuffs on. I’m thinking to myself, “I wonder if I have enough bail money.” And, “Will I be able to get out of jail soon enough to make it for sail out?”
Without taking my eyes off of hers, I grabbed the bottle, put it back in my shorts and walked towards the gangplank. Cool under pressure that MrTractor. But I have to admit, I just noticed how hot it was in there. Gulp!
We pulled our bags and my guitar up the narrow gangway behind wheel chairs and seniors who were doing their best to navigate the long chute. But finally, we reached the entrance to the ships atrium. I thinks it’s always a good thing when you enter there rather than the lower decks like on some ships. It just gives you a sense that you’re not on and ordinary land vacation. That you’re on a big beautiful ship that is more than a dozen stories high. The atrium on this ship is pretty impressive and makes a good first impression.
We quickly got our bearings and made our way to the elevator to head back to the Isla Margarita Suite. (I love it when our room has a name). In fact the directory as you entered the hallway on our floor did not list an A750. It actually had an arrow pointing toward the Isla Margarita Suite. OK, at least that made us feel a little more special. It was a long hallway on this big ship. But there we were, standing at the threshold of our cabin. The adventure was real. Barb slipped her key in the slot and we opened the door.
....con't.....
It was a large and comfortable suite. We had seen pictures of it on the internet an knew pretty much what to expect. Not the largest or most extravagant we’ve ever stayed in, but still very nice. A large whirlpool tub and shower separated from the commode and a single sink with ample counterspace. Too bad they couldn’t have put two sinks in there. That’s when you know you’ve got a really nice bath on a cruise ship! The bed was a queen pretty much like all the others on the ship with two twins pushed together. The living room had a medium sized foyer, a couch, cocktail table and a chair with one end table and nice little wet bar with a modest bar set up.(I thought it was interesting that there was no welcome wine or Champagne, though. Later we got two glasses of Champagne from our room steward). But the best feature of the suite was the expansive veranda. Separated from the inside by two large double sliding doors, it was bigger than many cabins we’ve had! It plenty big for two full sized loungers, a small table and then a larger dining table with four chairs. All of the furniture was teak and had a comfortable warm feel to it. This veranda would be perfect for our traditional Anniversary Champagne Gala Sailaway later in the week.
Our room steward popped in to welcome us and asked us if we’d like our allotted two glasses of Champagne. We’re not really champagne drinkers and usually try to swap it for regular wine, but what the heck it was included! He also offered to sell us a small bottle of rum and a few cokes, so we decided to do that. Rum was the only thing not included in the modest minibar and we both like to drink rum in the Caribbean, Barb with coke and me with orange juice. This was assuming that BAMA would soon return looking for his bottle. He never did until it was too late!
We had time to unpack as all of our bags soon arrived. But we had little time to explore the ship. I had some things to work out with the maitre’d and also spent some time with the head of room service deciding what to have at our party and how much it would cost. Later on, I’ll compare and contrast how everything was handled by the Princess crew versus what we have come to expect on Norwegian. But for now, I’ll just say it was a cut above our experience in a suite on Royal Caribbean, but we didn’t feel as pampered as we feel in a suite on Norwegian. Stay tuned for that discussion.
Well, I’m running out of gas now after a long day and my fingers are getting tired. Stay tuned for the next installment where I‘ll write about the Muster Drill and some brief observations about the ship…….
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Keep them coming!! Prayers and Hugs for you and Barb!!
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