Thursday April 3

I am convinced of two things: the Grand Princess is the perfect size – large enough to have all the amenities and choices of a big ship, but small enough that it isn’t crowded on deck like the humongous Crown, Emerald, and Caribbean Princesses. The second thing I’m  convinced of is this ship is definitely not full. There are very few children aboard, especially when considering we are in the Spring Break season. The smaller than expected crowd is a pleasant surprise.

Today I started my morning by lying at the aft adults only pool, watching the wake and listening to an audio book. There was no one lying nearby. Though I am a teacher and generally find kids to be enjoyable, I must admit it’s nice having a break from running rug rats on this voyage. Other than reading and napping, my day was uneventful. I was supposed to meet some of my table mates for tea, but my nap lasted longer than intended and I missed the date. That was okay, apparently we were mistaken and a formal tea service was not scheduled. That remains one of the few Princess events that I have not yet tried.

I took care of some financial business online, and I must admit the Internet connection has been generally very good. I have been especially pleased that my $75 worth of free Internet access now includes WiFi access. Now I can do everything on my laptop. I’ve found it very convenient.

I fell asleep in my cabin at 3:30 and woke up from my nap at 7pm. We dressed for dinner – the last formal night. As usual, our table of six spent much of the next two hours dining and laughing raucously.  Though I have had many excellent dining mates on cruises, I must admit this crowd has been exceptionally fun. We took pictures together and will exchange addresses tomorrow night.

After dinner Marcus and I went to the Princess Theatre and watched “Do You Wanna Dance?” It was a terrific show. We have had drinks with one of the lead singers and two of the dancers on a couple occasions. It’s fun to watch people you know when they perform. We usually sit in the first few rows so we can cheer them on.

After the show we attended the usual champagne waterfall celebration. I actually danced some this time, then we went up to Skywalkers to continue the dancing. But, being middle aged, we didn’t last long. We were back in our cabin and asleep by 1:30am.There remains only one day left – Princess Cays. I think I will stay onboard and get a massage. I noticed in the Princess Patter that the hot stone massage is discounted tomorrow. That will be a nice capstone event for this cruise.

Wednesday April 2

Cozumel is very flat, just like the Yucatan peninsula. However, the underwater realm is totally different - far removed from the hot, humid and unvaried terrain above.

My day started with a gathering of divers in the steak house, followed by a tender ride over to one of the city piers. Cozumel has not recovered completely from hurricane damage inflicted almost two years ago, but the city is vital and construction is a part of life.  The weather was perfect for diving with sunny blue skies and a light breeze. The air temperature was 86 and the water was 82. Ahead would be the best dive of my life, and my second drift dive.

Jacques Cousteau put Cozumel on the map by declaring it one of the finest dive sites in the world back in 1961. He was not overstating his case. We traveled to our first dive site located approximately eight miles south of Grand Princess’ anchorage. The dive boat was clean and comfortable - the crew friendly and professional. I was first into the water, and unfortunately already thirty feet down when I realized I had forgotten my video camera.

The dive captain, Jose, led us a short distance across a sandy shelf. The shelf ended at a sudden drop off which plummeted more than 1000 feet below into total darkness. We descended deeper along a sheer wall of coral. I had done this type of drift/wall dive before in Honduras. However, as the dive captain warned us, a wall dive in Cozumel is different. The coral walls are pock marked with caves and tubes, arches and outcroppings.

In a single file line, Jose led us through narrow tunnels. The walls were rough and lined with dozens of different corals: brain, fan, and branching. Set amidst the coral were tube sponges and worms, spiny lobsters waved their tentacles and iridescent tropical fish scurried away as we wound our way through the shadowed caverns and dark recesses of the submarine world.

Usually, the light at the end of each tunnel was apparent soon after entering. Underwater flashlights aided our vision. Then, after 30 – 40 seconds we would emerge into the sparkling brightness of sunlight streaming down to our eighty foot depth. I was in awe. I felt as though I was seeing creation for the first time – a part of God’s universe that few are privileged to experience outside the pages of National Geographic. How was I so lucky to see such beauty?  How was I worthy of it?

For a while I cursed myself for leaving my camera on the dive boat. But, then I thought perhaps it was best. My attention was captured by the life and formations around me, not by a viewfinder. Each time we emerged from a tube or archway, the current captured us, carrying us along on nature’s moving sidewalk, the coral walls rising high above us backlit by crystal rays of sun .  The world absorbed me and nothing came between me and the experience. That dive will have to live on in my heart and memory – not on video tape.

The dive lasted about forty-five minutes. After a slow ascent and the usual three minute safety stop, we were back onboard Dive House 1. An hour later we dove again, but the second descent could not compare to the former experience. I had seen heaven, and nothing could compare.

When I returned to the Grand Princess I spent my time relaxing. I enjoyed the Mexican food buffet before taking a nap by the aft pool. Marcus returned from his excursion with two of our table mates. We enjoyed some cocktails with a crew member, and then partook of another terrific dinner in the dining room, sharing our adventures and laughing with our dining friends. Dinner was the last event of the evening for me. We had to move our clocks forward an hour, so my bedtime was effectively 11:30 – the slumber I enjoyed was as deep and peaceful as the underwater world. I drifted off to sleep.

Tuesday April 1

The day started with good news. The sixth engine on the Grand Princess was back in working condition and the ship was cruising at normal speed. We arrived only one hour late in Grand Cayman. This is a nice island. Clean, organized, friendly, and low pressure. It’s very much like St Maarten and Aruba.  Unfortunately, another bit of news was bad. My boat dive was cancelled by the dive company. They wouldn’t say why. Princess offered an alternative: a one tank dive from shore. We all took it. One tank is better than none.

The dive was relaxing and enjoyable. There was little wait time. We signed the usual paperwork, got our gear, had a short dive briefing, and then we were blowing bubbles. The deepest part of the dive was about fifty-five feet. Most of our time was spent between 20 – 25 feet.

 The highlight of the dive was a turtle. About 3-4 feet long and swimming slowly ahead of us, he was a handsome fellow (or lady). I shot off from the group coming around in an arc to approach him from ahead. My tactic worked and I got as close as three feet away. The result was some terrific video footage. But,  I was very excited and the quick sprint contributed to an accelerated breathing rate. After leaving the turtle I had to slow down, take note of my respiration, and calm myself.

I returned to the Grand Princess at about 1:15pm. Lunch in the buffet took care of my post-dive hunger. Then I spent almost two hours lying in the shade by the aft terrace pool. Again, I fell asleep – but the shade protected me from more sun damage. Most people, including Marcus, were ashore. The deck was quiet and peaceful. I listened to music on my iPhone and drifted off. I finally awoke just before 4pm. An elderly lady was standing at the foot of my lounger shouting to her husband, “There’s three empty one over here!” I heaved a big sigh….my quiet time was over.

Marcus and I had a drink in Skywalker’s Lounge high above the stern as the Grand Princess rotated on her thrusters, turning north and exiting the large bay at Grand Cayman. There had been six large cruise ships in the harbor. We were the last to leave and I suspect the people of the island heaved a sigh of relief as their population was reduced by 12,000 corpulent Americans.

We had dinner again in the Botticelli Dining Room. It was Italian night so of course the Maitre D’hôtel  sang Volare. I had veal and the dining conversation turned to religion and politics. Marcus managed to keep the conversation light. I was nervous. Dee, one of the ladies from Atlanta kept us north westerners laughing, though she didn’t seem to understand why. Dee is a manicurist. She has an mild innocence about her that is charming, but somewhat naive. She lives in a rarified world of upper middle class suburban white folks in upper Cobb county where none of the ladies “have nasty feet.” Yeah, right!

We were one of the last tables to leave the dining room and I was soon asleep. Tomorrow is another dive day on one of the most spectacular barrier reefs in the world. Hasta manana Cozumel.

Monday March 31

Jamaica isn’t much able to catch my eye – at least not the part of the island that I saw. Perhaps Montego bay is beautiful, but Ocho Rios does not earn such a descriptor.

I spent most of the morning relaxing, reading, and engaged in other quiet activities. The afternoon consisted of a sweaty walk into town and back. Afterward, both Marcus and I took naps. During that time is apparently when the excitement happened.

We left Ocho Rios about fifteen minutes early. Soon I was asleep. Sometime early in my slumber,  a fire alarm sounded. It was a short signal but apparently sent many crew members scurrying about. Soon it was silenced and the staff captain came on the intercom to announce a “situation,” which is “now under control.” The ship was dead in the water. I was awakened by that announcement, but unworried. Soon I was back asleep but not for too long. Another general intercom statement from the captain revealed little more except the fact they were continuing to “investigate.” That situation repeated itself two more times, and my nap was cut short two more times, but I felt no better informed. Finally, as we dressed for dinner, the captain announced we would be late arriving at our next destination because we could not make sufficient headway on only five engines. The ship started to move again, but the reduced speed was perceptible even to a land lubber like me.

At dinner we were enlightened. Our table mates told us there had been a small fire in the engine room. The ship funnel had been belching smoke and soot.  Apparently parts of the ship had temporarily lost power. The engineering crew was unable to affect repairs, so we are now cruising on reduced power.

Tomorrow the ship will arrive about two and a half hours late in Grand Cayman. All shore excursions have been cancelled or rescheduled. My scuba dive falls under the latter.

Considering the intermittent nap I had this afternoon, I suspect I will sleep well tonight.

Goodnight.