Sandi and I celebrated our 26th anniversary by taking a ten day cruise in the southern and southwestern Caribbean Sea. Have never been there before. We visited five countries including Aruba, Cartegena in Colombia, transited the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific side and back again (by bus), Costa Rica and the Grand Cayman Island.
It was a trip of a lifetime!
Eventually, more pictures and movies will be coming. We had five cameras going and shot a lot of stills and video. We saw some world-class sights. We have a lot of photos and movies to go through.
Here are a few photos to tantalize you for what’s yet to come.
Now I’m home and it’s back to work including catching up on this blog.
I tanned majorly in the Caribbean. I hope my tan doesn’t now turn to rust in rainy Oregon!
While on the ship, I began a major research project on the subject of prayer accompanied by long stretches of personal prayer, while I was looking out over the ocean, and during sunrises and sunsets. As the John the Baptist generation, we need to devote ourselves to prayer and repentance like never before to help prepare ourselves and the way for the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah. Do you agree?
Our ship in Aruba (ours is the big one in the back)
The port in Aruba
The ancient Spanish fort in Cartagena, Columbia
Old town Cartagena, Columbia
The Panama Canal on the Atlantic side
The Panama Canal on the Pacific side
A wild orchid in the jungles of Costa Rica
Leaving Port Limon, Cost Rica
Natan at a wine and chocolate tasting event on the ship
Sunrise over the Caribbean
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing! I was wondering if you might be able to share your cruising on the Sabbath tips? The last time I was on a cruise, I felt as if I failed miserably in keeping the Sabbath holy, especially in trying not to make the waiters/maids work for me. So I know that you have taken a lot of cruises, so you must have lots of good tips/ideas/thoughts? Thank you!
First, we never do a cruise where we have to embark or disembark on a Sabbath. Second, we pick cruises where the Sabbath falls only on sea days. No port days on the Sabbath. That way, we can rest on Shabbat and hang out in our stateroom (always a balcony view), walk on the promenade deck and hang outside on one the less crowded, more quiet decks to enjoy the beauty of the sea, the sky, etc. On Shabbat, we give our room steward the day off. He doesn’t have to care for our room on that day. Meals are challenging. We’ve already paid for our meals in advance. There really is no way to get food without going to the dining room or buffet. There, people are serving you. What can you do? The room has a tiny fridge, but it’d be impossible to fit three meals in there if procured ahead of time. So that’s how we do it.
Thanks for your suggestions Natan! That’s a good idea to look for a Sabbath day at sea! The last time I was on a cruise, I tried to give my maid the day off by putting on the Do Not Disturb sign, but she came in any way since I was off the ship. Next time, I will make sure to talk to them about it! Yes, meals are hard. It seems like the buffets seem to create less work for the staff, but what do I know… 😉 Thank you for the tips!
We talk to our room steward and tell them it’s the Sabbath and that we’re giving them the day off (at least for our one room). On Princess, each steward has about 7 to 9 rooms to care for, and we tell them we’re giving them 1/7 to 1/9 of a Sabbath rest—doing by not having to to our room. Then we put the no disturb sign on just to make sure they understand.
On our first cruise in 2015, our steward was a Catholic from India——a really sweet young man. As it ended up, my giving him the Shabbat off ended up by my being able to minister to him several times during the trip. It ended up by him asking me to pray for him. The Christians were under a lot of persecution in his area of India by the Hindus. I said sure. He came into the room, fell down on his knees, so I could pray for him. He was weeping when I got done. The anointing had hit him and touched his heart. It was really touching.
We do the buffet in the morning and afternoons and the main dining room in the evenings. On Shabbat, we’d prefer to do the buffet all day, but Sandi has serious diet restrictions, so they have to make special food for her. She can usually find something to eat in the buffet for breakfast that fits with her diet, but lunch and dinner is tough. Often all she can eat is fruits and and cheese and nothing more. The only way she can get some serious food is to pre-arrange ahead of time with the head waiter in the main dining room to have the food ready for her in the evening. That’s why we’re stuck eating in the MDR for dinner on Shabbat.
Like I said, we do the best we can do, and pray that YHVH’s grace will cover us for the rest. He knows the intent of our hearts and we really try to honor the Shabbat the best we can.
How wonderful that your Sabbath rest provoked ministering to the man from India!! Thank you again for sharing your specific practices. I have no cruises planned right now, but hope to in the future!