Day 54 and 55 - February 28 and March 1

OK the blog location seems to be correct today.

Our arrival time into Aruba was scheduled for 08:00 but the ship again docked early and mooring ropes in place by 06:30. We will be spending February 28 and March 1 here. Our Captain hates to be late so we are ore likely to be early.

Aruba is a very small island measuring 20 miles long and 6 miles wide. The strong Eastern trade winds create strong wind gusts on a regular basis. Even Janice's new hat was blown off her head today.

Aruba's capital is Oranjestad and the island's population measures roughly 105,000. Alot of people for such a small island.

Like most Caribbean islands, tourism is the number one industry. I did however notice some oil rigs off the coast of Aruba. In fact there were four oil rigs six miles off its coast.

A relaxful first day was spent at Eagle Beach. Alot of tourists flock here where the water is crystal blue and where you can walk a long way along its shore. Just remember suntan lotion is your friend as both Janice and I got a little sunburned.

Pre-dinner drinks were at Martini's (2 for 1) before we had dinner in the Terrace Cafe and treated to an amazing sunset. A deck party was happening after dinner where we danced the night away.

March 1 came and the notice that many guests were waiting for occurred. The parent company, NCL and its subsidiaries, Oceania and Regent advised its guests that masks would now be optional. All crew would continue to wear their masks to keep us safe. The cruise director indicated that people should continue to practice social distancing and be aware of their surroundings. Maybe 10% of the guests continued to wear their masks, Janice and I included. We must still be aware of the countries and islands we visit and be sure to bring your mask when going ashore.

That morning another ship was making its way to Aruba and was docked before we left to explore the shops. The Norwegian Epic with a maximum capacity of 4,200 guests was here. If you assume only 30% occupancy then there are 1,400 guests on board the vessel.

Aruba has many of the high end stores from Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Breitling, Gucci and many others. We did not visit any of these but Janice bought some cute dresses at a Lily Pulitzer outlet.

Many of the visitors off the huge ships did not have masks so Janice and I masked up where necessary. Although masks are mandatory, we still feel that we need to protect ourselves and especially the crew.

We returned to the ship for lunch in the Terrace Cafe to see another ship docking between ourselves and the Norwegian Epic. It was the Carnival Magic with a maximum capacity of 3,690 guests and assuming only 30% occupancy then there are 1,230 additional guests walking the street without the use of masks.

Trivia was held at 17:30 - I will be the only Canadian left when the other couple leaves in Barbados in a few days so hopefully we will get a few ew recruits.

We have a sea day tomorow before reaching St. Vincent and then Barbados for two days. We will then be visiting a different port for 10 straight days. It will be interesting how I will mange with the blog. There may be many long nights.