Hi, everyone!
On Valentine’s Day, we stopped at our last port of call, St. Bart’s. It’s a very small island and MS Riviera anchored out in the harbor. We had to go in the ship’s tender to get to shore! LIC had never been in a tender before, so I showed him how high the person driving has to sit! It was a bumpy ride and sea spray came in the open windows!
When we got on shore at Gustavia, we got on another catamaran right away! Grandma and Grandpa were going snorkeling again! LIC and I looked at all the snorkel equipment, but there was nothing in our size! Since there were wind and waves at the snorkel site, we were happy staying dry in the sun while Grandma and Grandpa snorkeled.
Grandma and Grandpa didn’t snorkel very long, either! Grandma said her mask and snorkel didn’t fit her very well. Grandpa said there wasn’t much interesting to see underwater, anyway! So we all enjoyed some time in the sun while all the other passengers finished snorkeling.
When we got back to port, there was a long line already for the tender back to MS Riviera! We only saw as much of St. Barts as we could see from the line! We needed to be extra careful getting on and off the tender, because the waves made the tender bump and move against the dock when we got on and against the ship when we got off!
After our bumpy tender rides, it was especially nice to go to afternoon tea! When we left St. Barts, Grandma reminded us that the MS Riviera would cruise continuously for more than two days until we got back to Miami. No more stops!
Guess what? As we were leaving the Horizons Lounge after tea, LIC and I spotted the next to last painting on the scavenger hunt! Then a little while later, we helped Grandma find the last painting she needed to collect for the scavenger hunt. It was in the bar next to the gambling casino, so Grandma wasn’t too surprised that we hadn’t seen it earlier! At bedtime, Butlog left us a Valentine’s message in chocolate!
Friday was a full day at sea! Grandma got us up to see sunrise from the balcony of our cabin. The big event of the day was finding the final logo on the art and decor scavenger hunt! That was another place we don’t go often, The Grand Dining Room. Grandma and Grandpa like the Terrace Cafe better because they can try small servings of everything interesting instead of having a big single serving of something.
Saturday was our last full day at sea! The captain decided to cruise in the Old Bahama Channel instead of the Atlantic Ocean, and the water was very calm! Grandma got us up to see sunrise and made sure we took advantage of our last chance to sit on the deck in the sun!
We made a new friend at afternoon tea! When Grandma and Grandpa had dinner on Valentine’s day, they met another couple who travel with a mascot. Grandma and Grandpa invited them to come to afternoon tea to meet LIC and me, and they came on Saturday! Sku Bear has been traveling with them since 1996! She has been a lot of the same places I have — Thailand and Iceland and Italy! LIC and I were very happy to meet her!
All during the cruise, Grandma has been completing daily quizzes and getting prize points for her correct answers. The last day of the cruise, she and Grandpa went to the point prize redemption so they could figure out together what to get! Between Grandma’s quiz points and the points we earned helping her complete the art scavenger hunt, she was able to get a nice long-sleeved t-shirt! After the prize distribution, Grandma helped LIC and me write a thank you note to Robielyn-san and Butlog for helping us enjoy the cruise!
We went up on deck again to watch the sun set, then Grandpa had his final lobster tail dinner treat. LIC and I helped Grandma and Grandpa pack before we all went to bed!
We docked in Miami at 6 a.m. on Sunday! When we left, MS Riviera was the only ship moored in the cruise port. When we got back, there were five! We had to take our turn to disembark MS Marina. We were lucky to get almost the last spaces on the shuttle bus to the airport, since it stopped at all the other cruise ships first! LIC had never been on an airplane before, so I had a lot of explaining to do about that! LIC had never been north of Florida, so I had to explain about winter clothes, too, once we reached Dulles airport in Washington DC! Uncle Steven met us at the Rochester airport and brought us home.
Today it’s been snowing, so I had even more explaining to do to LIC! I think learning to play in the snow can wait for another day. LIC and I are helping Grandma with her jigsaw puzzle, instead!
Love,
Lion-san
Welcome home. What a lovely trip! The weatherman staged a lovely demonstration for LIC. See you Wednesday.
GM
We don’t think sharing a life jacket is a good idea! Staying dry in the sun sounds like a good idea to us. The snorkeling doesn’t look that great. But the choices you and LIC had to make at tea time were AWFUL.I think we would have picked something that had chocolate in it! That was nice that Butlog left all those messages. That was a pretty sunset Grandma took you to see. It is always sad to be back but Welcome Back anyway. I think like you did I’d rather be inside.
Hi!! Thanks for everything!! We hope to see you again.. soon!! -butlog