WHERE'S WENDY? Days 6 & 7
Rising Sun, the famous superyacht owned by Larry Ellison of Oracle, off of Cruz Bay on St. John, Feb. 16, 2007
By Wendy Perrin
Who won the last round of the WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WENDY? game? Good question.
After motoring from St. Thomas (in the U.S. Virgin Islands) to Jost Van Dyke (in the British Virgins), I had to go through U.S. Customs in order to get back to St. Thomas. Before you can enter U.S. territory down here, you must physically go to a U.S. Customs office and show your face to the authorities (this has been the case since 9/11). The quickest place to do so is the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol office on St. John, at Cruz Bay . . . especially if you're returning to Red Hook (the best spot on St. Thomas for catching a small private powerboat either to St. John or the British Virgins.) Thus the pier where Ingvar Hagstrom was standing (see my last post) was at the American Yacht Harbor Marina in Red Hook.
So it looks like Tracker1312 won the last round of WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WENDY? . . . unless I was on B and C Docks or the Loredon L. Boynes Sr. Dock -- I actually haven't the vaguest idea! -- in which case I guess LoriB won. I'll have to figure it out later . . . once I'm off this cruise ship and no longer paying 65 cents per minute for excruciatingly slow Internet access. (You can't imagine the bill I'm racking up!)
To find out what I'm doing, read on.
Yes, I've been on a cruise ship for the last nine nights. As LoriB so brilliantly figured out days ago, I've been on Celebrity Cruises' Constellation.
Now, let me assure you that a megaship cruise is NOT my idea of a fulfilling travel experience. It IS my idea of being trapped inside a floating 24/7 infomercial. I'm not here for personal enjoyment, however. I'm here for journalistic enlightenment. And, in keeping with Conde Nast Traveler's policy of Truth in Travel, nobody at Celebrity Cruises knows I'm onboard. (At least, they haven't known until this moment . . . IF they happen to be reading this.)
Here's why I'm on this cruise: Last year I wrote a Five Steps To A Foolproof Cruise pull-out booklet in Conde Nast Traveler (the Aug '06 issue) that turned out to be so popular that my boss has asked me to write another one this year. (God, I hope I don't have to do this again next year). My mission on this cruise was to figure out how to make the most of being stuck on a megaship (the Constellation has 2,449 passengers)--specifically, the best ways to spend your very limited time at the destinations you stop in. As you may have noticed, that's precisely what I've been testing throughout this trip.
So why did I have to race from idyllic Jost Van Dyke back to touristy St. Thomas? I had to be back at the Constellation so as not to miss a 1:00 pm ship-arranged shore excursion I'd signed up for.
Celebrity Cruises' Constellation, viewed from the Prince of Tides boat, captained by Jim Briar, that took me and 16 other Constellation passengers on the BOSS Underwater Adventure excursion.
Now, anyone who has read my Five Steps To A Foolproof Cruise knows I HATE ship-arranged shore excursions. Far better to do your own independent thing in port . . . except when doing it on your own is impossible. There are a few high-adventure, limited-capacity shore excursions--especially in the Caribbean--that are worth signing up for. And that's why I was headed back to the ship so early on Friday. Get a load of what I did (and ignore my flab):
Look, Ma, no mask or fins! In fact, riding one of these submersible motor scooters (also called a "one-man submarine") requires no physical skill whatsoever. St. Thomas, Feb. 16, 2007.
When I started this WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WENDY? contest, I assumed that when someone guessed the cruise ship, that would be the end of the game. But you guys are so sharp that I'm gonna add a final challenge: What cabin am I in? Whoever gets closest to the deck and cabin number wins the final round. Here's a clue:
Charlie (4), Doug (3), and Tim in our cabin last night, Feb. 17, 2007
Here's another clue you'll need:
In bed this morning, Feb. 18, 2007
As you make your way around Celebrity Cruises' Web site trying to figure out what deck and cabin I'm in, you may be struck by how both luxurious and kid-friendly the cruise line makes its ships sound. Wait till you hear the truth.
I can't afford to blog on this ship anymore, so the next time you'll hear from me will be tomorrow afternoon. Good luck, everyone!
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Constellation - Continental Deck , cabins guesses 2190, 2194 or 2200 Fingers crossed again! : 0)
Posted by: lorib | February 18, 2007 at 01:07 PM
i'm guessing you'd want something close to midship, so i'll guess the Continental Deck, and perhaps 2129 or 2126. if those weren't available you probably moved a bit further back, which would put you at 2127 or 2122.
Posted by: corals0 | February 18, 2007 at 01:20 PM
Well, I've no clue on the cabin (and I'm determined to not spend Sunday morning in front of the laptop surfing shipboard maps to figure it out) but I do appreciate the interior shot so we can see how the cabins are set up for families.
When my husband saw the underwater scooter he said, "We gotta do that!" Thanks for the mini-peek into cruising.
Posted by: Seafarer | February 18, 2007 at 01:21 PM
I'm with seafarer's husband on this - those underwater scooters look like something that just has to be tried out.
As for the cabin, right now my computer is as slow as yours was - (but at least mine isn't costing arm and leg) So I'm just going to take another wild guess and say your in cabin 2159, 2160, or 2174 (numbers out of a hat, so to speak).
Enjoy (!) the rest of your cruise.
Cheers, Liz
Posted by: Kiwiwriter | February 18, 2007 at 01:36 PM
forgot to add, the continental deck...
Posted by: Kiwiwriter | February 18, 2007 at 01:38 PM
I'll say you're on the Continental deck, and on the outside of the ship, obviously. If you are indeed on that deck, you have to be in one of the rooms with the two upper berths, which out of all the rooms are one of these:
2025, 2027, 2016, 2018, 2065, 2061, 2057, 2053, 2049, 2045, 2036, 2040, 2044, 2048, 2052, 2056, 2105, 2109, 2115, 2121, 2127, 2129, 2122, 2126, 2110, 2102, 2098, 2094, 2163, 2167, 2178, 2182, 2184
Posted by: tracker1312 | February 18, 2007 at 02:30 PM
Darn I am already having game withdrawl! Was a fun game and fun and very smart people to play against. Congratulations to the winner, and see you on your next adventure Wendy. Lori : 0)
Posted by: lorib | February 19, 2007 at 02:29 PM
Yeah, I second that LoriB...Wendy should do this again sometime. It was a lot of fun!
Posted by: tracker1312 | February 19, 2007 at 04:57 PM