Day 14 – St John's, Antigua

The ship is cleared shortly after 8:00. Throughout the night the ship continued to pitch and roll as it has been for the past several days, but now we are motionless as we are tied tightly to the pier. The skies are mostly cloudy with the sun peaking thru on occasion. There is a brisk wind making the 80 degree day feel like 70.

By the time I look outside the fuel barge is tied alongside and we are being refueled. After breakfast I venture off the ship for about an hour. We are in the same berth as last week except we have docked bow first instead of stern first. The AIDAdiva shares our pier, and the Riveria and the Adonia are berthed on the next pier. I suspect they are european cruise ships. Refueling takes all day, the ship must be thirsty.

The shopping area is very crowded with visitors, despite an occasional morning sprinkle. By afternoon the skies have cleared into a beautiful Caribbean day. Other passengers report that prices are very high here, and few purchases are made.

Royal had made another cutback in amenities for their best customers. Several years ago upscale shampoo, moisturizer, and hair conditioner were automatically delivered to each cabin. Then the policy changed to be that each guest would have to ask for the upgraded toiletries, now the policy is that they are only available to guests with over 340 nights that ask.

I really don't care, even when I was given 9 containers of shampoo on the vision 6 weeks ago, but there are some passengers here that expected the convenience so they didn't bring their own. I'm a nice guy and ask Junior for lots of conditioner, and pass it on to other needy guests.

Laundry bags for free wash dry and fold are similar. They used to just be in your cabin, now you have to specifically ask for them. I guess too many people were using them to pack wet swimwear.

The seas are more calm tonight as we head to Castries, St Lucia, the ship is barely rocking. Our arrival is expected at 8:00 with a ship clearance by 8:30. I have no specific plans at this point, but will get off the ship for a bit.

Day 13 – At Sea

The seas remain at about 10 feet throughout the night. This morning the skies are cloudy and threat of rain is imminent. The 35 mph easterly wind is blowing on the port side of the bow. Temperatures are in the high 70's. The same conditions with some showers are predicted to prevail until we reach St John's, Antigua tomorrow. The ship is rocking enough that only the drunk passengers walk in a straight line.

I head outside on deck 5 for a walk. The wind is brisk, and there are several other passengers on the deck. As I approach the forward third of the ship spray from the waves is blown over the deck. The once dry deck, and the dry me, are now soaked. I'll dry.

Two passengers were injured in the gym this morning when they fell off treadmills, possibly initiated by a roll of the ship. One passenger didn't have the presence of mind to let go of the handrails and was scraped up pretty badly by the belt moving under her until Glenn, another passenger turned the treadmill off.

The other passenger was taken to the medical facility by wheelchair, her status unknown.

Neither passenger was properly using the equipment, what can I say.

The Concierge Lounge is not crowded again tonight. I have no explanation as to why other than it is a different group of passengers. The top Tier party is scheduled for this evening instead of being in the morning as it was last trip. I will pass on the production show of singers and dancers as I had seen it last week.

The seas remain the same throughout the day and are expected to remain the same throughout the night. Just fine with me, as I actually prefer the ship to exhibit some motion. Of course there are some passengers that are disturbed by the slightest movement.

Tomorrow's forecast for Antigua is for mostly cloudy skies. Our arrival is anticipated for 7:00 am with clearance for disembarkation by 8:00.