589. Alert

589. Alert
Definition: (adj) vigilant, attentive, observant
Location Placed: Schooner Bar, Cruise Ship, The Middle of the Ocean
Date Placed: 5/2/14 at 10:31am





The Schooner Bar was basically our main haunt at the cruise. They held many of the activities we participated in there. We did trivia challenges every day, often multiple times a day (as they usually had 3 or 4.) We also did napkin folding and listened to a recycling talk in there. So it was a definite hub of activity. So I figured what better place to release a crane than after our last trivia challenge. You can also see the map in the background. The screen rotated through a few different screens, one of them being where we were on our trip. Definitely quite useful!

588. Inquisitive

588. Inquisitive
Definition: (adj) curious and inquiring
Location Placed: Labadee Artists Market, Labadee, Haiti
Date Placed: 4/30/14 at 2:16pm
Status: Found!





The last island we stopped at was Haiti. The cruise line has their own walled off section of the island, so it wasn't the same as the other islands. We were only around other people from the cruise and the people that worked in the compound. It was definitely quite relaxing with all the beach activities and we even tried the ziplining! There was even a little artists market where local artisans came by with their pieces. Lots of wonderful things. If only I had more room in my luggage! It definitely was a wonderful island to cap off the stops on the cruise.

587. Flirty

587. Flirty
Definition: (adj) playfully romantic
Location Placed: Starbucks, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date Placed: 4/29/14 at 11:32am





It wouldn't be a complete trip without a visit to a proper Starbucks. I actually just passed by it on the street to see if it looked the same as every other Starbucks. (FYI- It does!) I didn't end up getting anything though as we were on a hunt for some authentic Puerto Rican restaurant. A few doors down, we found it. Another couple on our cruise said they found it last time they were visiting PR and couldn't wait to go back. The food definitely stood up to their review. I had some beef empanadas with a pink dressing of sorts (perhaps a Thousand Island-esque dressing) and they were fabulous. Had we a microwave in our room, I definitely would've taken them for a midnight snack!

586. Irreplaceable

586. Irreplaceable
Definition: (adj) priceless, unique, unparalleled
Location Placed: Hamilton Visitors Center, Hamilton, Bermuda
Date Placed: 4/26/14 at 10:55am





Before we took the high speed ferry back to the boat, I decided to pop into the visitors center. I probably shouldn't have as it showed me all the lovely things I wasn't going to have time to do. Just means I'll have to go back to Bermuda in the not too distant future, I guess. I'm alright with that. I think the caverns and the pink sand beaches will definitely be on the top of that list!

585. Perfection

585. Perfection
Definition: (n) flawless, excellency, greatness
Location Placed: Bermuda Bookstore, Hamilton, Bermuda
Date Placed: 4/26/14 at 10:34am





I couldn't help but stop into this small little bookshop as we were shopping around in Hamilton for the morning. I definitely could see myself enjoying it more often if I actually lived on the island. It had charm and seemed like the sort of place where the owner would go above and beyond to get you books you would enjoy. I only got to take a brief peek around, but I liked how cozy it was.

584. Advance

584. Advance
Definition: (v) move forward in a typically purposeful way
Location Placed: Gosling Brothers Liquor Store, Hamilton, Bermuda
Date Placed: 4/26/14 at 10:11am





I think one of the most interesting things I learned on the tour was that non-native Bermudans or descendents of Bermudans could not buy property. They are trying to keep Bermudan property "in the family" so to speak. Apparently property there is also crazy expensive, so I'm pretty glad I couldn't even buy property there if I had the opportunity! I'll just stick to the hotels and visiting all the sights.

583. Sterling

583. Sterling
Definition: (adj) (of a person or their work, efforts, or qualities) excellent or valuable.
Location Placed: Navy Yard Visitors Center, Ireland Island North, Bermuda
Date Placed: 4/26/14 at 8:55am





Bermuda was our first island stop on the cruise. After a day and a half at sea, we pulled it. It was really neat to see how the ship maneuvered into a port location. I was excited as it has been several years since I've gotten to travel internationally and to several places I had never been before. Bermuda did not disappoint! Given a number of interesting excursions that the cruise line had lined up, I definitely could see myself going back to Bermuda and spending several days doing all the neat things.

582. Proactive

582. Proactive
Definition: (adj) enterprising, energetic, bold, motivated
Location Placed: Bacardi Distillery, Catano, Puerto Rico
Date Placed: 4/29/14 at 10:03am





Distilleries are really neat places to visit. Not only because you get to learn a bit of history behind the brand, but you get to learn a bit about the process that goes into making a certain type of alcohol. It's been a while since I've been to a brewery/distillery, so it was really neat to get so much information on the background of Bacardi. We got to tour a staged location, watched a video about the family, smell tested a bunch of different subsets of Bacardi Rum, watched a live cocktail demonstration, and got to taste a couple samples. It's definitely one of those must do once sort of things when visiting San Juan. I'm excited to go through all my pictures again!

581. Funky

581. Funky
Definition: (adj) odd or quaint in appearance or feeling
Location Placed: Information Center, Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten
Date Placed: 4/28/14 at 6:25pm





Before leaving the island to go back to the boat, we did a little bit of shopping. I figured a good place for a crane placement would be by the information center. Thankfully it was quite empty as most of the other people from the ship happened to have already made their way back, and ours was the only ship there that late. Sint Maarten was definitely good to us and I look forward to visiting again.

Have you ever been to Sint Maarten/St. Martin? Anything you'd recommend doing or seeing?

580. Coddle

580. Coddle
Definition: (v) to treat with extreme care or kindness
Location Placed: Blue Bubble Dive Shop, Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten
Date Placed: 4/28/14 at 2:02pm





I had a bit of an issue with remembering to take cranes out of one bag to put in another, so excuse the non-numerical placement of cranes while on the cruise.

Our second island stop was Sint Maarten. We had not planned any excursions for the island so we headed to one of the tourist information centers and picked up information on a snorkel tour out of Blue Bubble Dive Shop. It was absolutely wonderful. We had an awesome time snorkeling in one area and then headed out to the Airplane Beach, which is home to the shortest runway that can accommodate the large 747 jets. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) none of them landed while we were there, but we did get to experience one taking off. I think this snorkel outing was the best of the trip due in part to our really knowledgeable guides. If I ever make it back to Sint Maarten for more than 8 hours on a tour, I definitely plan on going back to them for more snorkeling!