Air New Zealand Flight NZ48

18th November

Takeoff from Auckland. At last we are on our way! Unfortunately there was no WIFI on the flight so we could not update our web pages till we reached our hotel.

After breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon we began our descent and had our first sight of the USA.

And at last we arrive at Fort Lauderdale. This is a view as we head out over the sea to make a turn and come back to land.

Fort Lauderdale

19th November

In the afternoon we walked down to the bridge to see what was in port. Nothing much was happening so I took this photo from the bridge.

Embarkation

20th November

Today is the day we board the Volendam for the cruise. This is a photo of the bags on the dock waiting to be loaded.

There were four Holland America ships in port and this is the Zuiderdam docked close to us. I don't think they could leave till we had sailed. The other ships were the Rotterdam and the Veendam.

Day 1 At Sea

21st November

See what happens when you book a stateroom underneath a tender. The tenders have to be refulled after they have been used for tendering and always kept ready for an emergencies.It does not take long and we have to accept that it needs to be done.

Day 2 At Sea

22nd November

Today is another Sea day and we joined the tour of the kitches. Here they are preparing desserts for the Lido restaurant.

More preparations for the Lido, this time fruit plates.

Here we see the pastry chefs at work.

Day 3 Gustavia

23rd November

Our first port on this cruise, Gustavia, is the capital of St Barthelemy, an island in the French West Indies.

On top of the hill over the water is the police station. We ended up there while looking for a view of the harbour.

And here is the proof!.

You can see from this view that it is quite a steep climb down to the town.

Day 4 Castries

24th November

Our second port of call is Castries the capital of the Island of St. Lucia.Founded in the mid 17th century by the French. It eventually became a coaling station for the Royal Navy.

This is the bust of Charles Eugene Gabriel de la Croix, Marquis de Castrie. After whom the city is named. He was a distinguised minister for the French Navy and colonies (1780-1787).

While walking up this street we were approached by a plains clothed policeman, who flashed his badge, and warned us to go back as we were entering a dangerous area.

We walked to the more touristy area and hired Adrian to take us on a one hour tour of the area. This is colleen after taking a photo of him. We were at the Redoutbt at Fort Charlotte overlooking the city.

On the way up to Fort Charlotte we stopped to take this photo of Castrie.

The power lines in the photo are a bit of a problem. But the photo shows why the Fort was built up there.

This is a view of the Pitons, a couple of landmarks on island of St. Lucia. After leaving Casteries the captain made a scenic cruise by this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Day 6 Sea Day (Devil's Island)

26th November

We were to call into Devil's Island, the old French penal colony in French Guiana. However a delayed rocket launch from Kourou was rescheduled for today. Devil's Island is in the maritime exclusion zone and we were not allowed inside. These are pictures of me receiving my Prisoners meal at Dinner. The waiters are dressed up as prisoners.

This is the meal I was served. All courses at once on one metal tray!

While we were dining the rocket was launched. This is the trail we saw out of the window at the back of the ship.

Here is a picture of the launch taken by a passenger on deck at the time.