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In late Nov 2006, we visited our friends, Rick & Paula Woolf (who live in Cooper City, FL). They gave us a wonderful tour of the Miami, FL, area for several days (NOTE: See photos of Miami area on Cruise page #5) before we left together on a 10-day Princess cruise to Panama aboard the CORAL PRINCESS.
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From our adjoining stateroom balconies, we had a nice view of Fort Lauderdale's harbor area and about 4 or 5 other cruise ships parked along adjacent piers. (These other cruise liners were all scheduled to get underway about the same time as our ship.)
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Prior to getting underway, all passengers have to become familiar with shipboard emergency drills. Paula's attention is captured....
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...by Steve's doing his best to impersonate a blimp wearing a life preserver!
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Paula and Lena watch the maneuvering of the various ships which were all getting underway at almost the same time (shortly before sunset).
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For those who know Rick, this view of his head could indicate either (1) he was NAPPING or (2) "24/7 RICK" was busy fondling his 'CrackBerry.' In this case, since the ship would soon be out of reach of shore antennas, he was busily answering emails and tending to business while the rest of us enjoyed ourselves!
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With Fort Lauderdale in the background, a Coast Guard cutter provides protection against terrorism to the departing cruise ships.
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These are but two of about 5 cruise ships which were exiting the harbor for various destinations.
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High-rise beach-front condos overlook the beaches of Fort Lauderdale as we pass by on our way to the open sea.
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This Fort Lauderdale beach (as seen from our balcony) was beautiful in the setting sun...
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...and all of us (except "24/7 Rick") enjoyed the view.
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As we hit the open sea and Rick discovered his "crackberry" mobile communication unit was no longer phoning home, he finally joined us to tell us he was HUNGRY!
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Since we had two 'formal meal' nights during our 10-day cruise, Steve had to buy himself a new suit for this vacation since he had outgrown his ONE suit which he had previously worn ONCE for his wedding back in 2000.
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On our way to dinner, Rick and Lena overlook the 'lobby area' of the Coral Princess (which has a series of glass elevators running between the decks of the ship).
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As anyone who has ever taken a cruise knows, EATING is one of the KEY things to do while traveling from port to port. And, anyone who goes on a cruise with the intention of maintaining their diet while cruising is simply NUTS!
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As
we arrived at our first port visit in Montego Bay, JAMAICA, we were
impressed by the beauty of the harbor, the ships' anchorage, and the
condos overlooking the beach.
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While none of us had previously been to Jamaica, we decided to go ashore and to hire a private tour guide to show the four of us around the island (rather than purchasing one of the much more expensive tours provided through Princess Cruise Lines.)
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In this case, we were quite fortunate to pick a guide who showed us a number of places which were NOT on the list of 'usual' cruise ship tour routes. More importantly, by having our own guide, we could stop when we wanted and stay as long as we liked...
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...without
having to consider the needs of 25-40 other members on a normal ship's
shore tour. This photo taken from a hill outside Montego Bay provided
an excellent view of the harbor and of our ship at the pier.
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This is a telephoto photo of the Coral Princess tied up at the pier.
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Next, we visited a beautiful golf and tennis club with its many privately-owned homes overlooking the ocean.
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Steve thought that a guy could easily get interested in living in a place like this with its incredible view and the warm ocean breezes blowing over the balcony of his own home 365 days per year.
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We next visited a private hotel resort which had its own ocean beach and...
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...beautiful swimming pool overlooking the ocean below.
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Lena thought this swimming pool was one of the most unique and impressive she had ever seen.
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Adjacent to the resort, we saw a group of men who were engaged in carving various wooden masks and statues to sell as souvenirs. We particularly liked this wooden mask of a man with a pipe which was quite different than others we had previously seen.
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Next,
we visited the former estate home of a family which had been famous
for distilling Scotch years ago. It provides an exceptional view of
Montego Bay city and the harbor below.
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Behind Rick are two cruise ships at the pier (one of which is ours).
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This photo shows more of the city below that runs along the harbor's edge.
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Behind Lena is the swimming pool and the bar area of the former family estate that had been built in the early 1900's.
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Prior to returning to the ship, we had our tour guide drop us off at "Center Centre Mall" which is famous for its 'tax-free' shopping catering mostly to toursits.
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If you wanted souvenirs, or jewelry, or watches, this small block-long area was the place to go.
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