Ocho Rios and A's to your Q's

This is what we saw as ate breakfast this morning:


Oh by the way, I have to mention this detail: If you go out on your balcony to take photos, be sure to wipe the lens first because these places seem to be hazy and you'll end up with cloudy photos.

It was a fun day today -- we got a local tour (as opposed to one through the ship) -- Peat Taylor Tours. Amanda emailed them months ago and reserved tentatively; she didn't have to give credit card info at that time, and we paid at the end of the tour, so we felt safe with the reservation.

Originally we were scheduled to go on a bus with 15 people, but somehow we ended up in a van, just the four of us, with the driver -- so we had our own private tour. He took us through the town, stopped at several scenic areas and let us take photos, plus on a brief walk through a rain forest, then on to Dunns River Falls.

Ok, first let me say: It's not normal to walk *up* a waterfall. Having said that, I'll also say: It was a blast. It was a little more strenuous than I expected, but they have several places where you can get out of the water and get onto a boardwalk if you want to bail on the whole thing. It's not very deep -- thigh-high on me at the most (and I'm fairly short -- 5'1") -- and not dangeous as long as you pay attention to the guide. (Unfortunately no photos to post yet -- I did not take my digital to the falls because I wasn't sure whether there would be a place to store it while I was climbing. Actually there was: a locker area, plus the guide would have held it for me and taken the photos, who knew? Amanda took her waterproof camera, though, so I'll have those to post at a later date.)

After the falls, which took about an hour, we had planned to go tubing then shopping. Instead we came back to the ship for lunch (around 1:00) and ended up taking a nap that lasted until just before we sailed. Really, we didn't mind missing the tubing (figuring we can do that when we visit the mountains), but I'm thinking that means I'm owed an extended shopping trip in Grand Cayman. Am I right?

Tonight we were invited to the Welcome Back party for Crown & Anchor members. For those of you who have sailed on Royal Caribbean before, I recommend signing up. It's free and you get perks (a welcome back party with free champagne and hors d'oevres, for instance).


There's so much to do all the time, I know you're wondering how we keep track of time. Well, here's one way. This is what we see on the floor of the elevators. Every day they change it, so it's sort of a "if it's Wednesday this must be Ocho Rios" type of timekeeping.


Some of you were asking about the cruise director. It's Graham Seymour and he's delightful. But then, we've never had a "bad" cruise director on RCCL. I'm not sure how long he's here or whether Becky will be back soon. If he's here for your cruises, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Also someone asked about obstructions with balconies on deck 8. The good news is there aren't any obstructions with any of the balconies because the lifeboats are on deck five, the deck with public areas. So if you're mid-ship on deck 8, you'll have a great view. We're mid-ship starboard on deck 7 and it's great.