AcuDoc's Excellent Adventure: After 23 years....

...I finally got a room with windows! And talk about an office with an ocean view, talk about an office on the water…literally!!!!!!!

My new office…this view would be hard to beat for anyone.

Great sunset from "my office"

WORK HARD

Other then that now lets talk about the room where I live and what you should think about bringing on board with you. I’ve read where others have said not to pack a lot. I have to agree even though I did over pack. I am going to end up shipping a few things back home so I don’t have to carry them off the ship when I leave.

So what should you bring? Bring a handful of civilian clothes and you don’t have to bring much. You really can buy anything you need at any of the ports that you find you need. At least this is what I’ve found in the Caribbean.

I wear mostly shorts and t-shirts although I did bring three nice silk Caribbean/Hawaiian type shirts. Although you can certainly buy them here for around $10. I also wear sandals for the most part as you have to take them off when you board the ship. So either sandals or slip ons is going to save you some time etc….think airport screening.

As far as work I brought 6 long sleeve dress shirts, 4 silk ties, 4 pairs of pants, 3 lab coats and one suit for formal night. You will find that your room steward and laundry will take care of your dry cleaning whenever you want. Your uniforms are cleaned and pressed for no charge. You will also find that there is a crew laundry for your regular clothes. Do not make the mistake I did by bringing an iron, as it will be confiscated.

On the subject of room stewards mine does an excellent job. My room is always clean and my laundry is always done. You pay them $10 per week cash. I also paid the last one I had a large “going away” tip when he left the ship.

A couple things I found very useful is a couple cups for drinking water etc. I use plastic bar glasses that in restaurant terms are called a “bucket”. I also brought a water filter pitcher like a Brita although I use a different brand. I found this saves a lot of money as I drink a lot of water. Water in the crew bar is $1 a large bottle. There is a small refrigerator in my room and it keeps things cool at best, certainly not cold.

Another thing I found useful is a bathroom “valet”. I bought mine from REI for about $25. It holds my toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, brush, shampoo and body wash. It saves a lot of space in the medicine cabinet for other things. I also brought two large bottles of Vitamin C to try and stay healthy.

And yes bring your laptop. Crew Internet is expensive at $20 for 200 minutes. So the trick is doing most of the Internet on shore as mentioned in a previous post.

I think that is probably that excluding personable items.

Spa Girls at Sunset off Cozumel

PLAY HARD

This week is the first time I’ve been able to leave the ship in some time due to corporate and my injury.

I spent one of my port days walking around Philipsburg, St. Maarten. I’ve been collecting gifts for my son and grandkids. I can’t say what as they read my blog and I what to surprise them. Of course I always end up at Paradise Point checking out the view and listening to live reggae.

Beach at Philipsburg, St. Marrten

Beachfront shops in St. Maarten

My next port days I took a few hours off and walked around Nassau and today did the same in Cozumel. Yes buying gifts for my son and grandkids. So that is about it for this week.