Grandeur of the Seas - Day 5 - St. Croix (Part 2)

Our first stop once back on board was to the buffet now that our stomachs weren't doing flips on St. Croix's roads. On port days, the buffet is the only place outside of room service listed as open in the Compass. Certainly not the greatest but it was the quickest. On the plus side, I noticed a waffle station and real scoop able ice cream added to today's selections.

I think that English muffin thing was a ham and cheese sandwich with the rest being the usual pizza and fries

Today's suite treat plate was the same pastry assortment we get at Chops breakfast. Guess they run low on ideas on longer cruises?

After a stop at the cabin to drop off our stuff, we grabbed our soda cups and headed down to the Freestyle machine on deck 6. Perhaps the most convenient machine to our usual haunts but always the one with the most issues. The machine dumped enough ice for 5 cups but wouldn't dispense Dad's favorite orange soda for anything at first despite showing as in stock. The icon for any flavor that is out of supply greys out and doesn't let you select it. Once Dad had an acceptable choice in his cup, we headed over to Schooner just as True or False trivia was starting. Cori and Allan joined us for the usual 4PM trivia and we merged with some other new friends from trivia. We all made small talk about our day in port and it was funny to see people's reactions to hearing that we fed beer to pigs.

A little time back in the cabin where I checked out the side effect of our extensive walk being a new sunburn on my shoulders. I applied a spray on sunscreen everywhere skin was visible each day before going out but I still got burnt. We had brought along a 50 SPF bottle that was half used from a previous trip and one that was 100 SPF that we never got around to opening. Dad suggested that the 50 SPF bottle had expired its effectiveness and we left it behind when packing at the end of the cruise. The Caribbean sun is no joke even in the cooler months of the year so definitely check your sunblock and reapply especially if you're in the direct sun all day like at the beach. We also took the time to drink a lot of water once back on board and soon felt much better.

Tonight was the night that we decided to give Izumi a second chance so at 6PM we headed upstairs. Someone must have really put a bug in their ear so to speak because from the moment we arrived, they couldn't do enough to well...kiss our asses if you'll pardon my choice of phrase. Arden, the manager, seated us himself and asked if we'd gotten the chocolate covered strawberries he'd had sent to our cabin. Mystery solved on that 2nd plate of treats we thought were a redo for the rescheduled formal night. We explained that we didn't know what they were from and Arden was surprised to learn that his card was not included with the delivery. He gave us his card now and urged us to call him with any further issues regardless of wherever on the ship they might happen. He offered that if something went wrong elsewhere, he'd work with whomever to fix it.

This time our waiter was Prashant and it was like he'd been assigned just to us. He explained every part of the menu explaining the choices, covering what we could choose with the package, and giving his recommendations. I jokingly refer to him as our personal ninja waiter because I had no idea he was hanging out close behind me until I looked up to ask for a water refill and he was at our table immediately. We were pretty much the only table in the restaurant at this time until an officer with his guests came in near the end of our meal. Dad got the Pork Gyoza Dumpling (one we'd both tried and liked before, $8) from the Starters portion of the menu and liked it. I ordered the Snow Crab California for $13 from the Signature Rolls portion. This is a roll that sounded simple enough for me to recognize the ingredients to choose as a sort of starter sushi. Was pretty good.

Dad finally got to try his Tonkotsu Ramen bowl ($13) and liked it. He later agreed with Prashant that having that and the hot rock would be too much food. I got a good laugh out of Dad devouring the bowl before admitting that he didn't realize this was the same ramen I indulge in at home from the little packets.

I chose to also get the Crispy Philly roll again and even with Dad taking a couple I couldn't finish the rest of it from being too full.

Having enjoyed a complete 180 in service and continued good food, we definitely wanted to try the new Japanese Pancake with Vanilla Ice Cream dessert that had been added to the menu since we were last on the Grandeur. Prashant explained that it's made with slightly different ingredients than your usual breakfast pancake giving it more of a cake taste but not as dense. It did seem a bit odd in my mind to be looking at a plate of breakfast but following each pancake bite with an ice cream chaser. Overall delicious dish!

At one point, the setting sun came in through the side door at such an angle that it bothered Dad's eyes. Both Arden and Prashant were watching us so intently (plus we were at the table right next to the podium) that when Dad commented on the sun, they both moved the large sushi class sign over in front of the door to block the sunlight. They both stood on either side of the sign in front of the doors looking so triumphant with big smiles that I thought they might have stayed there blocking the sun with their own bodies for the rest of the meal if we'd asked.

At the end of the meal, Arden came back over to check in and invited us to come to Izumi's sushi making class for free to be held later in the cruise. I had briefly considered booking this class pre-cruise since our Ultimate Dining Package included a discount for these extra fee "culinary experiences." I told Arden I'd think about it (Dad had no desire for sushi making) and I'm not sure Arden intended to take no for an answer. Each time we saw him around the ship, he'd smile, wave, and yell out Hi Danielle! before reminding us about the class. A couple days later, we had a confirmation card for the class delivered to our cabin as Arden had signed me up anyway.

After dinner we headed down to the Centrum to sit and watch the second of the night's 60 Seconds or Less Game Show. We've participated in these little challenges on other cruises (patterned after TV's Minute to Win It game show) and saw several that were the same tasks. Dad didn't like how some of the contestants modified what they had to do (i.e. holding the weighted pantyhose tied around your waist to aim it at the water bottles rather than the rules of solely swinging your hips to do it). If it was a matter of them doing that to win and keeping me from winning a free cruise (and no not just a free cruise back to Baltimore), rather than a keychain I might have cared a bit more.

The next activity in the Centrum was the Battle of the Sexes Game. We've seen it played in various forms from straight trivia games to some trivia and some physical challenges. This time they split up the men and women to sit on opposite sides of the Centrum and Dad volunteered to be part of the group of guys to participate when Jeff was having a hard time getting anyone else. I'd been part of this game on the previous Grandeur cruise so I wasn't feeling the need to do it again. The bulk of the challenges were relay race based such as getting a keychain across the space and dropped into a cup while tucked between your legs.

After all the challenges, the teams had a tie score so Jeff added the balloon popping relay game as a tie breaker. When I last participated, the cruise staff member running that game had me be the one to sit in the chair (as the heaviest person on the team, not said but understood) while the other ladies blew up a balloon, tied it off, and ran at me to pop it in various ways between our two bodies. The final round required the runner to pop her balloon between her front and my back while I was bent over the chair. She got so into pulling me against her to pop it, I had bruises along my upper arms for the next several days. This time Jeff picked Dad to sit in the chair.

Dad started out standing in front of the chair to pop the balloon between the two guys facing each other. The first guy to run at him was so overzealous and most likely already getting the most out of his drink package that he knocked Dad so far back, Dad slammed his arms against the chair behind him before falling into the chair itself. Thankfully the chair was there or Dad would have hit the hard floor directly. I had moved over to get pictures of each balloon popping and caught the moment Biddy reacted to the fall.

The guy did apologize and the staff did ask if Dad was alright. Dad chose to continue on with the game.

The guys won the tie breaker round and were awarded gold medals:

By the time we'd gotten an elevator to head back up to our cabin, Dad's left wrist looked like he had his own balloon underneath the skin.

Dad didn't want to go down to medical (we had purchased insurance) as it was after hours so after a brief first aid assessment to make sure he could still move freely we followed it up with a dose of Advil and a makeshift ice pack made up from a cabin towel and our ice bucket. He sat with the ice pack on his wrist for the next hour and the swelling went down to looking more puffy than the original large bump. We had both planned to shower tonight which he was able to do despite the sore wrist and he sat with more ice afterwards for a bit before heading to bed. We set our alarm for somewhat earlier than necessary for our privately booked tour in Antigua tomorrow so we'd have time in the morning to head down to the medical center if Dad deemed necessary. Leave it to us to walk away from Battle of the Sexes with real battle wounds.

Grandeur of the Seas - Day 5 - St. Croix (Part 1)

After 3 1/2 days at sea, we have finally docked in our first port. Despite traveling all that way, I feel like we never left the USA. Technically we didn't because St. Croix is in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It houses Point Udall, a monument to mark the easternmost point of the U.S. After researching this new to us port and browsing all private and ship tour options we discovered a handful of things. One - we dock in Frederiksted which is like the little town of nothing except one fort versus the other side of Christiansted where there is tons of sites and shopping etc. Two - there was nothing in the same ole ship tours that interested us. We came close to booking the Panoramic Drive RCL tour just to settle for something but changed our minds. Three - while there was lots of private tour options for the island, no one was offering tours on the day we would be in port. There must be some agreement that the tour companies can't compete for cruise ship passenger bookings. So armed with a couple points of interest, we decided to just take it easy today, get off the ship after the crowds, and see what we could discover.

Breakfast once again at Chops - simple this time with scrambled eggs and sausage:

Attended the 10AM morning trivia and ran into Cori and Allan who'd opted to bail on their privately booked ATV tour after a rough night. 

One of the nice perks for suites and pinnacle is using Carlington to bypass the crowd and escort you directly to the gangway. Only drawback is that the 2 elevators that get you from your cabin to the concierge lounge are locked while Carlington is using his key to run people down. You'd have to get up to the lounge well in advance of docking or use the stairs. You come out of the elevator right where everyone else comes down off the steps so it's still a bit of a crowd to work through at the end. This notice was left in our cabin last night:

Once out on the pier, we ran into the usual guys offering tours, taxi rides, and info in general. I had read in my research that one of the simplest things to do here is grab a taxi shuttle to take you back and forth to Christiansted. 

The requisite outside view of the ship from the pier:

We chatted with the main guy who seemed to be directing everyone and he offered an island tour for $25 per person. We asked about how many people would be with us on this tour and he said 4 people per van. Dad asked about getting a private tour but didn't like that the guy wanted to charge more. We decided to go ahead with this small group tour and were directed to a booth to get tickets. Once we paid, the ladies at the booth directed us to a van that was about to leave. Once the door opened, we saw that the van already had 4 others and the company shoved in another 4 more after us. When Dad protested, they said "4? No no, each tour gets 14 people!" Dad asked if I wanted to back out but by then I had already climbed over a large wheel well and through a hanging seatbelt past a narrow bench seat just to get into the back corner of the van. I was in no mood to have to push past the new people who had joined filling out the back seats and climb over everything again. Dad at least got to sit in the front seat next to the driver. Thank goodness we were able to convince the tour operator not to try and fit anymore people in our van. As one of the original people commented, "they don't make these vans for people our size."

The roads were pretty rocky and rundown so if you thought being back on dry land would ease your sea sickness, think again! We might as well have been at a theme park riding some jungle adventure themed roller coaster with all the feeling of being knocked around. The driver did try to offer some information and commentary as we drove but a lot of the time only Dad could hear him and the rest of us had to repeat questions like the old telephone game until someone said it close enough to where our driver could hear it. Unfortunately, my hope of being able to touch the Point Udall monument wasn't to be because the driver said it was another 20 miles away from where we'd driven onto Christiansted. Shortly into the drive to our first stop, our driver spotted a hidden visitor watching us from the bushes:

Our first stop was one I'm surprised no one else in our van had heard of. Guess they aren't research nerds and planners like myself.

From surprise baby deer to beer drinking pigs - non alcoholic beer of course as some of those pigs are underage! No one else in our makeshift group seemed interested in being here at all. Several of the ladies looked bored and basically hung out by the van smoking or checking their phones. The guys headed down with our guide into the little bar and enjoyed some Red Stripe beer. Dad and I were the only ones who wanted to go feed a beer to the pigs. I'm not sure how the woman dishing out the drinks does math because the prices she rattled off for buying the beer and seeing the pigs suddenly raised up to $5 total when we said we wanted to buy 1 beer for the two of us to go feed the pigs. If we had been videotaping, that would have been an extra charge as well but we were allowed and encouraged to take as many pictures as we wanted for free. 

The "building" housing the pigs in their stables was completely enclosed around the sides and latched so you wouldn't have been able to tell where they were until this woman led us over to the door. Then she instructed us to shake the can of beer but not open it. She also told us that we could feed it to any pig we liked but only if they hop up their front hooves on the stall door as "they had to work for it." We got a brief introduction to the varied ages of the pigs in residence but only the two youngest hopped up to get our attention. I handed the beer can to Dad so I could take pictures. Dad put the beer in front of the taller pig's mouth and the pig crushed his teeth down on it relishing in the beer fizz running down his chin. I thought at first that his stall mate was nuzzling up against him out of love but then the second pig craned his neck under the first pig desperately trying to catch the beer drippings. 

To add to the ambience of the bar this magnet was affixed to the cooler:

Once back at the bar, Dad paid another $1 to get a water bottle for us to share. Soon we were back on the road. 

Our next stop was driving through the Buccaneer Hotel Cane Bay and some local scenery before being let off for an hour to explore on our own in Christiansted. Most of our group headed for the shops along the boardwalk but Dad and I walked around the national park site. Just before arriving at this site, our driver had pointed out a building with several flags out front. Dad insisted we first head back up a couple blocks to get a picture of those flags.

This effort would come in handy soon.

 In the back parking lot, we found what must be the inspiration behind the toughest level in "Frogger":

And on the other side of the parking lot, I discovered the anomaly known as a "women's restroom with no line." Our guide asked someone upon parking the van if restrooms were open and they said no so this was our only option. 

We came back to the van well before everyone else so our guide suggested we walk along the boardwalk. Dad proposed stopping to get lunch but it was mostly packed bars as we walked along. After a while I suggested turning around and walking back the way we came but Dad was sure that if we just looped around, the boardwalk would become one big circle leading us back to the van. So we walked, and walked, and walked and magically Dad starts questioning this path he was so sure about taking. We stopped someone in a work uniform to ask directions but they claimed to not know their way around here either. Next person we came across was a young couple and they directed us to head all the way down the street and then turn left. We walked in the hot sun for what felt like ages and once again Dad is questioning the path. I tried suggesting heading for the water because we could find our way once back on the boardwalk. Nope, that was too intelligent of an idea. So we walked some more. I had finally had enough and took the very next left to start walking toward the water. Dad protested after me but once I reached the first corner, I look up the next road and see a familiar sight - the building with all the flags! I pointed it out to Dad and only then did he finally let me take the lead. We walked the long road we'd last driven down until it dead ended into the national park site. By now, we were the last to return and everyone was just waiting on our guide to come back. This must have been the main taxi shuttle pick up place because when they were ready to board another van, the lady there insisted on seeing everyone's tickets. Dad went into our unlocked van to get our tickets but once our driver returned, no one cared about our tickets.

At this point everyone in our group was hot and tired. Our driver had just been told that our next planned stop of the Cruzan Rum Factory was going to close soon so if anyone still wanted to go, we'd have to head straight there. No one cared anymore about seeing the factory. Instead we took more of a scenic drive back to Frederiksted enjoying the views from the van. Our 3 1/2 hour tour dropped us off back in between the two security checkpoints at the pier. Glad not to be in a cramped van anymore, we headed back out to the closed off street lined with vendor booths and shops. We walked up one side and down the other not finding anything worth buying. Earlier in the cruise we had been chatting with a couple who'd brought tons of diving equipment with them because they'd booked all the diving ship tours. Upon getting to the cabin on the first day, they found notice that all of their tours had been cancelled due to lack of participation. I hope they were able to get off the ship today and book a dive with the tons of private companies we saw lining this street and the boardwalk in Christiansted. This is definitely a port for either a beach day or resort pass if you're not into snorkeling or diving.

On the way back into the port area, we spotted an interesting new character. 

The first security gate we walked through to get back into the parking lot where the vans sat lined up required us to show our cruise cards. Walked past the vans and encountered another security manned gate that insisted on seeing our cruise cards. We obliged and were let through to head back to the glorious air conditioning but it left me shaking my head. What was the point of checking a second time when we could only reach the second checkpoint by showing our cards at the first gate?