It is always inspiring during a travel to meet and talk to Pinoys and hear their stories. You find them everywhere and in this Oasis of the Seas (biggest ship in the world) cruise, they were our stateroom attendants, cooks, musicians, waiters, technicians and a few officers. It has been more fascinating to just listen and be amazed at their resiliency and enduring spirit. While they are cruising in the high seas, they are not really earning much and basically dependent on the gratuities given by guests. And more than always, what little they earn, they send this to their families back home. This cruise was certainly made more pleasurable with our kababayan crew as they were doting and pampering us like royalty. And when we had it with the ship food, they brought us Pinakbet, Dinuguan, Kare-kare and Tapsilog.
The Pinoy crew were everywhere. We strolled along the ship’s central park and guess who will take your pictures. Yes, Filipino professional photographers who are undoubtedly first rate in their line of work. At night, when we sat down for some drinks, we were indulged with fine music and not surprisingly by Filipino musicians. And as we found ourselves in a Karaoke bar, the lady emcee was from Manila and I was egged on to sing on stage. I sang “Crazy” by Patsy Cline and according to my adoring number one fan, Butch, I sang it like crazy – ha ha ha.
In a nutshell, these were our cruise impressions and being a pinoy gives you the edge over the other guests. It is always inspirational to have these encounters with tough hardworking Filipinos - our overseas heroes. They epitomize the Pinoy spirit – family loving, resilient, cheerful, persevering, undaunted and unbowed! Below are some notes on our day to day experience:
May 28, 2011
Today is our 33rd wedding anniversary, spent at the Toronto International Airport from 12 am to 7 am for our connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We arrived at Fort Lauderdale airport, relaxed and ready for the rest of the day’s activities. We were impressed at the welcome and check-in process as this was slightly different from the Royal Caribbean check-in and boarding process at Oslo, Norway aboard the 3,000 passenger Vision of the Seas, when we did our Baltic and St. Petersburg cruise also from Royal Caribbean, last year.
A nice elderly woman was holding a Royal Caribbean welcome flag checking out each one if they were signed into the bus shuttle to the Royal Caribbean Pier terminal. We did not, but she graciously informed us about the service and true enough, it was a no-hassle, easy and organized way of helping out with bag tags and pre-check-in information. The group that arrived in that flight were escorted to the bus and in a heartbeat was whisked in front of the Royal Caribbean check-in building.
Check-in was by suite/deck numbers so it was a breeze and while there were line-ups, it was faster than we imagined. Our pictures were taken and instructions for boarding were repeated. As usual, we had our picture taken with the Oasis of the Seas as backdrop...fitting as it is our 33rd wedding anniversary. The Royal Caribbean check-in terminal building is huge and nice, and staffs are everywhere helping the passengers.
We were hungry and so the buffet lunch at Windjammer Market was a treat, we were lucky to have a table for 2 immediately. As noted in the information brochure, staterooms will be ready by 1 pm and so we headed to our beautiful ocean view balcony room. The drill was also different. With 6,200 people on board, the drill was done at the Opal Theatre, through a short video, rather than the actual drill as done in our previous cruises, also smaller and half the size of the Oasis.
The itinerary included ports of call to 3 Caribbean countries: Haiti (Labadee), Jamaica (Falmouth) and Mexico (Cozumel).
Haiti- Labadee
The first Caribbean country we visited and our first short excursion after 2 days at sea was Haiti. Labadee is on the north coast of Haiti and reserved exclusively for Royal Caribbean guests. The weather was very pleasant and the embarkation to the Labadee pier was smooth and orderly. We boarded the water taxi bound for our “Haitian Cultural Tour at Paradise Cove and Beach Break.”
The short excursion brochure’s description about this tour as “a colourful and fascinating depiction of Haiti’s exotic and unique culture” was an excellent description and we were amazed at the beauty of the place called “Le Village” at Paradise Cove. This place is an exclusive property of Royal Caribbean, just so spectacular and for the non-sports-minded person is a relaxing place to be, getting lazy at the beach and be awed by the beauty of nature.
We joined the short excursion not expecting that we would wade ashore in knee-deep waters, but was worth it all. The place is so beautiful and peaceful. After the short tour, buffet lunch was served at the beach. After dinner, we lined up for the standby cue for the Comedy Show. After 45 minutes of waiting, we were not able to get a seat and so are the other guests who lined up with us. So we tried to go to the Karaoke joint “On Air”. I was in high spirits that Butch chided me to sing, as he said, judging by those that sung before me...”kaya mo yan”. So off I go with that boldened spirit but I almost gave up as the song I like is not in the list and just hurried to pick a song I am quite familiar with-Crazy by Patsy Cline. It was fun and I was very glad it was over.
Jamaica-Falmouth and Montego Bay
We have read a lot about Jamaica, but the appealing story was about the first time that the Jamaican Bobsled Team joined in the 1988 Winter Olympics Games in Calgary, Alberta. Their story warmed our hearts and the thought that nothing is impossible-especially for this team from a tropical country where snow and winter sports is not in their vocabulary. It is now history that the team improved from thereon surpassing themselves and creating interest from all over the world. In 2000, they took gold at the World Push Championships in Monte Carlo in 3 events, and in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, they again sparked the interest when the team posted the fastest start time at the World Cup. So there you go-that is how we learned about Jamaica and the interest about this beautiful island is still fascinating.
We booked the short excursion called “Falmouth and Montego Bay at Leisure “aboard an air-conditioned mini bus. It was very interesting to get a quick glimpse of the rich history and culture of colonial Jamaica in about 3 and half hours, shopping included at Montego Bay, known to be the tourism mecca of Jamaica.
We drove around downtown Falmouth with our tour guide Rosy giving us bits and pieces of history about Jamaica. It looks like an oldworld little town, as we headed out to colonial Falmouth and noticed the quaint wooden house still lined the streets and heading inwards and on the hills are the big houses and villas with some still in the construction stage. According to Candy, Jamaicans do not have mortgages as they build their house one room at a time or when they have resources to complete their houses. They build from the first floor, then up, until full construction which can be done in years. There are still old Georgian brick mansions and sugar plantations in the island and now are open to visitors.
Candy showed us the Falmouth landmark, the Sam Sharpe Square. The square was dedicated to Sam Sharpe, one of Jamaica’s freedom fighters who led a rebellion in 1831-1832, known as the Baptist War. We stopped at a beautiful beach resort for a quick break, drove to the historic Rose Hall Great House, and stopped at the Rose Hall Country Club where the panoramic view of the Jamaican shores was just amazing. The Great House is located in Golf Country, and surrounded by 3 world-class golf courses. The tour brochure noted that the Rose Hall Great House was “named after Annie Palmer, the white witch of Rose Hall who had killed and buried her 3 husbands on the land and then planted a palm tree for each of them.”
We drove along the scenic coast from Falmouth to Montego Bay and before heading back to our ship, had short stop at Pier One, a local watering hole by the beach for the famous banana bread, Jamaican coffee and beef and chicken jerk (Jamaican spice). Candy, our tour guide sung for us and we joined in the famous and familiar Jamaican songs, “but it’s sad to say, I’m on my way, won’t be back for many a- days...” and “de mi dede, mi de de, mi de de deo...”
Mexico- Cozumel, Tulum and Playa del Carmen
Cozumel, Mexico was our 3rd and last short excursion and the 3rd country in this 7-day Western Caribbean Cruise. There are so many places to see in Cozumel but we decided to see the Tulum Mayan Ruins. This is an archaeological monument of an ancient culture-the Mayan and it is awesome and magnificent. For the short excursion, we were able to see the beautiful Mayan Riviera, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum in the Yucatan Peninsula, and of course, the island of Cozumel where the ship was anchored. The 3-person team: Enrique and Mario (tour guides) and Jorge the bus driver, were very helpful and took care of us while on board the bus and in the tour sites. The narrations were informative and the stories they shared were excellent.
We booked the short excursion called “Tulum Mayan Ruins Express”. It is a 6-hour tour aboard an airconditioned bus from Playa del Carmen in the mainland. We boarded the bumpy and dizzying 30 minutes ferry ride from Cozumel Island to the mainland. Arriving at the Tulum ruins, we boarded a short shuttle to get closer to the ruins. It was hot, and walking around the monuments was difficult for both of us, not really used to long walks, but it was all worth it. It was a flat area and hardly enough trees for cover from the sun but just the same you have to go along with the tour otherwise, you would be left behind or can get lost. Our tour guide said that the best time to visit Tulum is around winter when the weather is just warm and beautiful, unlike in summer when it can be very hot.
Days at Sea and Formal Nights
“Day at sea” is the best time to explore the Oasis-a floating nation indeed. It is a floating nation indeed for where can you find a Boardwalk, a Promenade and a Central Park in a ship, more so-a basketball court? There are so many things to do in this beautiful ship both catering to the adventurous and the non-adventurous, the old and the young and most-especially the couples and singles. You can also choose to wander around and get lazy by the veranda reading your favorite book or magazine. Being served, the way it is done in the cruise ship is also amazing- rooms were cleaned daily and beds made ready for sleeping. The internet TV is great, very interactive as you can practically do everything within the confines of your room, select from the menu and order food, book shows and entertainment, book shore excursions and most of all-you can check your onboard purchases on TV anytime you want.
We love the formal dinners, where we dine in special menus and dress up to the nines, as well as have professional photographers capture the moments. Overall, we had another wonderful experience cruising the Royal Caribbean International way that we can’t wait to explore the other RCI itineraries in the future.
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