DAY 25---GREAT STIRRUP CAY

 

        It is a beautiful day.  Sunny day with no clouds at all,  74 degrees.  We will be anchored here until 7:00pm

        We arrived at Great Stirrup Cay an hour early at 10:30.  The ship is taking food and drinks ashore as they are having a BBQ lunch from noon to 2pm.  We are not going ashore as usual. Been here many times and never been ashore here.  A lot of zip lining and wave runner tours.  That does not interest us and we are not beach people.

BACKGROUND INFO

        Great Stirrup Cay is a 268 acre island that is part of the Berry Islands in the Bahamas.  Norwegian Cruise Line purchased the island from the Belcher Oil Company in 1977 and developed it into a private island for their cruise ship passengers.  NCL also owns Regent Seven Seas and Oceania cruise lines.  

        The northern part of the island has a sandy beach surrounded by rocks with snorkeling areas.  The southern part features a helicopter airfield and is without vegetation and has numerous concrete blocks.  These are all remnants of a previous US military installation and satellite tracking station.  There is a lighthouse on the island that was built in 1863. It is 80 feet high and its light can be see for 20 miles away. 

        Tender boats is currently the only way to go ashore but a pier for cruise ships is being built and due to open end of this year.

        Great Stirrup Cay is adjacent to Little Stirrup Cay, Royal Caribbean Cruises' private island.

LAST EVENING

          Donald, Food & Beverage, and Estera, Head of Housekeeping, joined us for dinner.

        Donald had requested a special zinfandel red wine to be decanted earlier.  Donovan is presenting it for me to taste.

                                                 The show went on despite the rough seas.

                                                   Tom was a great pianist and funny also.

        Leaving the theater the ship was still rocking and rolling and Rebecca fell flat on her back.  Luckily nothing was broken but her right hand is bruised and sore today.

TODAY

                                                      Smooth seas again this morning.

        Today is packing day as the 25 night cruise ends tomorrow morning.  We had our 3 large suitcases packed in just a couple hours this morning.  We have to have our bags out in the hallway after dinner as crew members will then take them down for off loading in Miami.

Regent's Grandeur is also here today.  We were at the christening of her in Miami in December 2023.

                                There are two other cruise ships here besides us and Grandeur.

        We are anchored off north part of the island.  All tours will be in the distance.  The light house is on left side of this photo.

                                                      More construction.  Not sure what.

Last night during dinner the Executive Chef invited us to a private galley tour at 4:15 this afternoon.

                                      This is the hot line where the waiters pick up their orders.

        Executive Chef, Jaroslaw (from Poland).  It amazing as the serve over 350 meals every night.  Prime 7 & Sette Mari have their own kitchens.  The crew mess is also separate.  He said the serve 200 pounds of rice in crew mess every day.  Most of the crew are Asian or Indian.

                                                 Baguette bread coming out of the oven.

        At 5pm we were escorted to the bridge for a tour with Captain Loris.  I was not allowed to publish photos of the bridge so I did not take any.

        We will be sailing at 7pm and heading to Miami where we will be arriving tomorrow morning at 6:00am.  It is only 150 statue miles from here to Miami.  People will be disembarking according to their colored luggage tags.  We should be disembarking around 8:30 as our limo is scheduled for then.

        We will be flying out of Ft Lauderdale at 11:39 and arriving DFW airport at 2:00pm.   We have a driver who will meet us and take us back to The Tradition.

        This is the menu for our "Last Supper".  We will be having cocktails at 6:00 in the Stars Lounge as usual, and then down to Compass Rose at 7:00 for dinner.  There is no show in the theater tonight but they are having a "Beatlemania" up in Galileo's Lounge at 9pm.  

        After dinner we will put our luggage outside in the hallway so they can take them down for off loading tomorrow morning.

        I will be doing one more posting to this blog when we arrive back home tomorrow afternoon.