DAZZLED IN BERMUDA

 After the 10 day cruise to New England and Canada, my husband and I stayed onboard LIBERTY OF THE SEAS  for a quick 5 day cruise to Bermuda.  

There were about 100 passengers doing the "back to back" cruises, we are called "continuing cruisers" by the ship. When 4000 passengers were disembarking to go home, we all met at 9 am in a lounge for instructions. We were all taken off the ship as a group to go through the Immigration process.

At Immigration you look into a camera which compares your face to your passport photo. Usually you won't have to present your passport. UNLESS the notice "SEE AN OFFICER" pops up on your photo. I look nothing like my 5 year old passport photo so it was "SEE AN OFFICER" for me. I handed her my passport, she tried to see the similarities, asked my date of birth, then gave me permission to reboard the ship.  This same thing happened 5 days later when it was time for us to disembark for home. That officer compared my passport photo to my real face, smiled and said "you look good!" Only two more years before I get a new photo.

After an hour and a half we were all safely back onboard the ship. There is no access to staterooms until about 1 pm so they can be cleaned. We did not change staterooms which was great. We wandered around the ship, and played Putt Putt--I won 2-1 games over the course of both cruises. He wants a re-match:

Our ship was docked right beside the TEARDROP MEMORIAL:  the memorial was gifted by Russia in 2006 as a symbol of international solidarity in the face of terrorism. The massive teardrop hanging between two jagged edges is a poignant reminder of the heartache caused by terrorism, and for those standing in the right spot, the memorial creates the illusion of the Twin Towers standing just across the river in Manhattan.

Here is my photo taken from the ship after we reboarded:

                              

Lunch was a special treat. Continuing Cruisers were invited to have lunch in the one dining room serving lunch to the Suite/Pinnacle passengers. This simply meant we didn't have to use the Buffet which is always packed on Embarkation Day. 

After lunch I went to the Conference Center to finish preparing it for the 70 new students coming onboard. It takes quite awhile. That is why we start at 2 pm on the last day of the cruise. Each machine is cleaned, oiled, given a new needle and test sewn. Each table is wiped down thoroughly with disinfectant wipes. Everything is taken off the floor so housekeeping can come in to vacuum. All those tote bags are placed at the correct sewing machine, which have also been tagged with the student's name. Each group of students gets a brand new classroom experience.

Here is a "panoramic view" of one of the two classrooms taken by a student:

Photo by M. Rozes

And another classroom shot, taken by Jean: 

Soon it was time to "sailaway" and meet the students in the Dining Room at 5 pm. At 7 pm the "Welcome Meeting" is held, everyone finds their spot and their goodie bags and we get set for the cruise. At 9 am the next day, sewing begins, after basic instructions on the Bernina 475 each student has to use all cruise.  

The class I taught was DAZZLED:

It featured 3" Drunkard Path blocks, sewn with curved piecing. My best tip was to use a Quilters Select Fabric Glue pen instead of pins, to hold the pieces in place. It works very well for curves and narrow edges:

It is fun to see what other fabrics students use if they didn't buy the optional Kit. They have to buy the pattern in advance and pre-cut all their fabric, just like the Kit, as space is at a premium on the ship. I wish I had a photo of the purple blocks and the green and purple polka dot blocks:

One student's great choice

It is a special treat for me to have a close friend onboard with me. Jan and her husband joined us for this trip. She wanted to use the Kit to make a baby quilt for a soon to arrive little girl but didn't want to use the dark gray background fabric. Before the cruise I showed her how to cut the background pieces from a beautiful white batik. She had hoped to get the 5 blocks done onboard but was able to get the entire top assembled before the 2 pm last day sewing deadline:

Jan's completed Baby quilt

Another student got all 13 blocks made AND assembled her quilt top--remember, this is only a 5 day cruise:

Great job, Anita!

There is always a "What NOT to do" example. If you have taken a class with me you know I want to show everyone so no one else does the same thing. In exchange for that "teachable moment" I use my stitch ripper to un-sew for you. Thanks, Tia, for this opportunity:

Tia plans to keep this as is, a "unique" block all her own

The best thing about this cruise was days 3 and 4 the ship stayed docked in Bermuda--a floating hotel. Come and go as you please for two days. We did an excursion each day. The first day was with other passengers, from Lake Ridge VA, very close to where we lived in the mid-1980's. The driver/guide was a fountain of information, and we very much enjoyed our three hour tour with him. 

Roads are narrow, gas costs $11 a gallon so there are scooters everywhere. They passed us a lot, in no passing zones, and in Bermuda they drive on the WRONG side of the road. They call it the PROPER side of the road:

Always construction, Bermuda is growing

City Center map of Hamilton

Street scene

The next day our tour was in a 20 passenger mini bus and that driver/guide was also excellent. He can trace his family back 400 years to about the founding of Bermuda. While we went many of the same roads as the day before, we heard new stories, the weather was nice enough to visit the famous Horseshoe Bay with pink sand beaches, and we loved the stops at Crystal Caves and the Aquarium and Zoo:

Horseshoe Bay 

Crystal Cave was well worth the visit. And the 83 steps down and back up to see this underground wonderland. Discovered in 1907 by two 12 year old boys searching for their cricket ball, it is still private property. You might say that family has "done well" for itself. Thousands visit monthly and pay for the privilege. 

Down in the water are many phones, credit cards, a few cruise ship door keys, and at least one passport. We were warned, if you drop it, you WILL NOT get it back!  

Crystal Cave

This photo was taken by a student. My phone never left my purse the entire time I was underground. This is a magical place:

Photo of Crystal Cave by M. Roze

Next stop was the Aquarium and Zoo. Both are small but tell the history of Bermuda. We enjoyed both stops.

When you travel with a Civil Engineer it's always a "bus man's holiday". He is always interested in construction sites:

A 5 day cruise is just too short for me but added to a 10 day, I was ready to come home. Having to cook again was going to be a chore. Not having cute towel animals and things on my bed would be missed:

I like getting dressed up for dinner occasionally, it rarely happens at home:

A photo op

Dressed for dinner

We will celebrate our 50th anniversary next year

These scenes I will REALLY MISS:

Sunset on our balcony

Sunset at sea or maybe it's sunrise--I tried to see both each day

And sailing into the New York area was just breathtaking. I was last there in 1973:

Sailing toward the Verranzzo-Narrows bridge

I was 15 seconds too slow getting my camera out to capture Lady Liberty at exactly mid-point on the sunrise as we returned to Port Liberty after 15 days at sea

But it was time to go home. I ate way too much and rarely got more than an hour's walk in most days from 5:30-6:30 am before breakfast. Certainly no where near my standard 8 miles/2 hours daily at home. It's taken two weeks of my usual daily nutrition and exercise plan to get off the 14 pounds I put on. That's a "what not to do" lesson for the next cruise. One of my mottoes is "If you eat like you used to eat, you will look like you used to look."

We are in the planning stages of another teaching cruise or two for 2027. Save your pennies and come with me. It's a fun way to see the world and quilt a bit too! Spots fill very quickly so I will let you know as soon as registration opens for my next trip.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

ON THE LILY POND IN NEW ENGLAND AND CANADA

Recently, I spent 15 days teaching on Royal Caribbean's ship LIBERTY OF THE SEAS. With about 4000 passengers and 1360 crew, it's one of the smaller ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. It's still plenty big and we found our balcony stateroom had lots of storage space once you found all the spots that open, like the mirrors in the bathroom and by the desk. 

The first 10 days was the Heritage Quilting Cruise, run by Stitchin Heaven. They do about 16 quilt cruises a year and really know how to do it right. 

My husband and I flew to Newark NJ the day before. Travel was easy and uneventful. The next morning we met up with the other 4 staff members for transportation to the pier at Cape Liberty. Embarkation on the ship was smooth and fast. 

First stop was the Conference Center on deck 2. A big empty space that we will transform into the classrooms in less than 4 hours:

We set up about 50 tables, more than 80 chairs, unboxed 80 Bernina sewing machines, put extension cords under each table, plugged in the machines, then took a quick break so the electricians could run power throughout the entire two big classrooms. Then we turned on all the machines, test sewed them, placed a name on each machine from the seating charts that had been carefully arranged in advance. Then we could place  each student's big tote bag, full of SWAG and a t-shirt, kits if they ordered them, lots of good stuff. 

An idea of the classroom set-up, one of two rooms

Finished just in time! 5 pm and it's time to meet 80 students in the dining room for dinner. At 7 pm students come to the conference center for the "Welcome Meeting", to find their space, admire their goodies and get the basic instructions for the 10 day cruise. Sewing begins at 9 am the next morning after instruction on the Bernina 475 machine each student has for the entire cruise. The room is open 24/7 from then on and many students sewed a lot!

On day 2 I was in one of the classrooms to teach my pattern On the Lily Pond. Tiffany Hayes, the other teacher was in the adjoining classroom with her class. Class goes from 9-4, with a lunch break on all Sea Days, day 2, 5, and 9 on this cruise. On day 5, the two teachers switch rooms, students stay at their assigned places and we teach our class to the other half of the group. It works great. 

For more information on my project see these links:

A New Old Quilt

On the Lily Pond in Progress

Those who made On the Lily Pond did very well. Here are some of the blocks made, some from the Kit that was an optional purchase and some from the students own fabrics--all pre-cut at home as space is at a premium on ship:

Student fabrics

What "not to do"

Great plan by this student--she brought embroidered blocks to use with her Lily Pond blocks for a great Christmas quilt and she got the top assembled onboard!

Kit blocks

I love having a friend onboard! Sandy Forrester pre-cut her fabrics at home and made excellent progress onboard:

Student fabrics

Fabulous BRIGHT student fabrics

Student fabrics

On Port days my husband and I did excursions. 

BOSTON:

Quincy Market

With Sandy as we waited for the bus back to the ship

PORTLAND, MAINE, our only rainy day:

My hubby and I at a lighthouse

Great house even in the rain, taken from the bus

Lobster roll smothered in Lobster Bisque--separate would have been better

SNYDEY NOVA SCOTIA:

The Big Fiddle

Sandy and I at the Big Fiddle at the pier

Highland Village where we learned about the Scottish settlers who came over in the late 1700's. Gaelic is still spoken here and there are two public schools that are "Gaelic Immersion" schools to keep the history alive

HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA:

We did a Hop On/Hop Off bus tour to see as much of the city as possible. It's a good way to get a sense of a city and we could explore any of the places longer if we liked. It was a beautiful day.

Hubby on the boardwalk, a 2.5 mile path at the water 

The waterfront features lots of shopping, dining and very expensive residential areas

I was taken with the chairs on the waterfront, bolted in place, that invited you to sit and gaze at the harbor and surrounding areas

Old crazy quilt seen at a local gift shop, not for sale

Another quilt there, NFS, a utilitarian crazy quilt

Great unique stitches, unusual on most crazy quilts

January 4, 1911 Aunt Fannie

My third lobster roll on this trip

ST. JOHN, BAY OF FUNDY, NEW BRUNSWICK:

We did a Hop On/Hop Off bus tour to see as much of the city as possible. This is one of the rare places in the world where at high tide, two rivers merge and change direction. Very interesting to my engineer husband and we were there at high tide.

Overlooking the rivers as they danced around each other

The second "LOVE LOCKS" place we saw

Each night one of the staff stays in the classroom until 10 pm to assist students if needed. Each teacher takes a turn and can give demos or a trunk show. I decided to entertain the crowd with some of my stories when the demos for 10 students I expected to do turned into at least 35:

A leftover from My Lifetime Quilt

With Staffer Dawn 

I love to cruise and here are a few more photos of the ship:

One of the pools

The Statue of Liberty from our ship on embarkation day

Tile work in a ladies washroom

Putt Putt

I'm ahead 2-1, we played 3 games over the cruise, he wants a re-match

Sunset from my balcony

Healthy dessert: a cheese and fruit plate

Dress Your Best night means Lobster tail is on the menu

We clean up good and don't do this very often

More ship photos:

My usual breakfast

The Arcade

My grandkids would love this 

What I did not do 

It's someone's job to change all the "day" signs in ALL the elevators each night

Joe our stateroom attendant, was very talented with the towels 

Best of all are the PEOPLE. Some of the students know me from The Quilt Show and feel like old friends as soon as we meet:

Three Sisters: Joan, Jean and Jan. It's so much fun to travel with friends, especially if you are sisters who don’t live near each other .

Jan Aji and I. She loves the Block of the Month quilts from The Quilt Show. Her camera shows her Color My World, an important quilt in her life. She was on the cruise with her sisters Jean and Joan--brother Bill was not included.  I was so happy to meet her, a dedicated fan of The Quilt Show.

And then you make NEW friends. Our tablemates were 5 other couples. The women were all students and the men came along. We so enjoyed getting to know them all over 10 nights of dining together. Big Tip: in a large group like this, each night change your seat so you get to know who everyone is:

Our head waiter Charlene and her assistant Abdul were top notch! 

The Staff of Stitchin Heaven work very hard to be sure everyone has a great time. They do a super job! And we always get a group photo in our bright t-shirts:

Most everyone 

Those who were on a Galley Tour or at a Cupcake class or some other fun activity when the group photo was taken

All too soon the 10 days were up. We stayed onboard for the 5 day cruise to Bermuda. More about that next week!

I hope you'll come with me on the next cruise in the future! It is so much fun.

Let's quilt.

Barbara