The Wandering Disciple

Tampa, Florida: Deep in the African jungle lies the Congo area of Busch Gardens Tampa. The Congo is home to one of the parks super coasters Kumba along with the white water rapids of the Congo River. In the older section of Busch Gardens and one of the original lands, the Congo has witnessed a renovation in recent years to transform the area. Originally opened in 1976 as home to Busch Gardens first roller coaster, the Python. The Python took guests on a 70 foot drop into double corkscrews at speeds of 50 mph. The Python remained in operation until 2006 when it was removed for the Jungala expansion project. In 1977, the Congo was completed with the addition of Claw Island. Claw Island was home to a pair of Bengal Tigers. Located on an island surrounded by a moat, the tigers enjoyed playing in the water and the many toys in their habitat. In 1982 a pair of White Tigers were added to the exhibit. The tiger population grew with the birth of three white tigers in 1988. Claw Island w...

Miami, Florida: We arrived into Miami early in the morning and it could not be early enough as we could not wait to get off the SS Prison Boat. Well its not like we had a choice, since my wife was still “infected” she was given priority disembarkment and we were off the ship quickly. Not sure if it was because they didn’t want to get anyone else sick or just because they were tired of hearing us complain but it didn’t really matter since we were free. We gathered our luggage in the claim area and began the drive back home. The events of the last few days of the cruise really tarnished what started out as a remarkable vacation. Its hard to believe the amount of power they give to one person with no secondary opinion available. Seems like there should be a checks and balance system in place which there was not at the time. Once we returned home, I contacted Royal Caribbean’s corporate office and advised them of the experience. The actions of the crew were justified in their min...

Nassau, Bahamas: Once ruled by pirates, Nassau is the capital city of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Located on New Providence island, it is about 175 miles from Florida and its proximity to the US, makes it a popular stop for cruise itineraries. The area was originally known as Charles Town prior to being burnt down by the Spanish in 1684. The region was rebuilt in 1695 and was renamed Nassau in honor of King William III. By the early 1700’s the island was declared a pirate republic and pirate’s Thomas Barrow and Benjamin Hornigold were declared its governors. The island quickly became home to many famous pirates including Edward Teach (Blackbeard), Calico Jack and Anne Bonny. The pirates controlled the island until British troops lead by Captain Woodes Rogers regained control of the island in 1718. Blackbeard was overthrown as magistrate, ending the Privateers Republic and transferring control back to the British. British lost control of the island briefly in 1776 as the ...

Nassau, Bahamas: Today was the second day of the quarantine period and the ship had pulled into port in Nassau. We were originally scheduled to do the Nassau and Paradise Island excursion but thanks to the restrictions put in place by the medical staff, we were unable to attend. Today we were extremely grateful to have had a balcony room so at least we could get some fresh air. But the four walls of the room were closing in quickly and the stateroom began to feel more like a prison. As the quarantined continued, the rudeness and hostility of the staff increased. Our meals arrived to the stateroom cold and when asking for drinks, all we were told is they couldn’t do that. Well if we weren’t restricted to our rooms, we would have gotten it ourselves, but it wasn’t an option. By the end of the day, I was so furious with the situation I could not wait to return home in the morning. As the sunset over Nassau, we began the short trip back to Miami and off the prison boat. For photo...

Atlantic Ocean: Today marked our second day at sea and when our wonderful vacation turned bad. We encountered some rough seas after departing St Maarten and the ship was rocking pretty good. Between the rough seas and the drinks from the night before, my wife got seasick pretty bad. She went down to the clinic to see the doctor and get some medication to cure the seasickness. He misdiagnosed her with a viral disease rather then give her seasickness medication and quarantined my entire family to the stateroom. We were not allowed to leave the stateroom for any reason and all food would be delivered to us. During this time, the cabin attendant was not allowed to enter the cabin for clean linens or to clean the room and was ordered to keep an eye on us that we did not leave the cabin. Despite pleas to the medical staff explaining the circumstances of the night, the rhinovirus diagnosis remained an the quarantined restrictions we kept in place. We tried to speak to guest relatio...

Philipsburg, St. Maarten: Located in the British Virgin Islands, the Caribbean island of St. Maarten is the smallest island to be shared by two countries. At only 34 square miles, the island is comprised of Dutch Sint Maarten and French Saint Martin. Like its neighboring islands, the island was initially inhabited by Indian tribes. The Arawaks initially settled on the island. They were then run out of island by the Carib Indians. The Carib Indians remained on the island until settlements from the Europe arrived. Although he did not land here, Christopher Columbus named the island in 1493. He sighted the island while on exploration. He named the island St. Maarten after the holy day of St. Martin of Tours, the day in which he sighted the island. The island was not inhabited by Europeans until 1630 when the Dutch and French established small villages on the island. The Spanish did not sit silently as they retook the island in 1633. The Spaniards occupied the island until the joi...

Philipsburg, St. Maarten: Another day, another island. This time marking the first time we set foot on land not under control of the United States government. We will be visiting to separate countries on one island; Dutch St Maarten and French St Martin. We took the St Maarten Island Tour excursion. We boarded the air-conditioned bus and began our tour of the Dutch side of the island, traveling through the great salt pond and past Orient Beach. A stop was then made for shopping in Marigot. Forty-five minutes later we boarded the bus to continue the tour back to the ship. Once back onboard we headed to the Windjammer for dinner and then to Ixtapa Lounge for karaoke and drinks before heading back for bed. For more photos of St Maarten, visit my St Maarten photo page.