When we awoke the next morning, we were in Antigua's port. We had breakfast at the indoor Sun And Sea Restaurant on the Lido Deck. The industrial view from the ship in Antigua isn't nearly as inviting as St. Thomas. I had another light breakfast of grapefruit and coffee...and bagel...and melon, banana and veggie omelet du fromage (thanks, Steve Martin, for that long ago French lesson).
After breakfast, we took a taxi ($12 plus tip) to Hawksbill, an area so named because of a reddish rock formation that juts out of the turquoise water and looks like a hawk's head.
We found fantastic snorkeling at the second jetty on the left. We swam out to Hawk's Bill rock. As Julie and I swam about two feet away from each other, I spotted a giant purple jelly fish between us and yelled through my snorkel. 
Julie looked over and we avoided being stung, but I wish my underwater picture of that jelly fish had turned out more clear.
We came across three more large, purple jelly fish, so we headed back to shore, fortunately avoiding contact.
We took a break at a hotel restaurant, where two Diet Cokes inexplicably came to a total of $4.75, and then did some more snorkeling.
Walking to some tide pools, we found sheared sheep frolicking by the beach along with a few nude sunbathers.
We taxied into town ($12 plus tip), where we bought some shirts and other junk. The shop owners had good selections and welcomed haggling. We went back on the ship for a late lunch at the New York style deli on the Lido Deck. I had a great corned beef sandwich, low cal coleslaw and lemonade. Julie had turkey on a country roll, french fries and iced tea. We headed back into town to do some more shopping, including exchanging a shirt I’d bought that didn't fit, and then we returned to the ship to rest a little before dinner. The people in Antigua, which has strong British ties, seemed to be genuinely nice, very Christian people who smiled a lot despite not being as wealthy as their St. Thomas counterparts. The language remained kind of Jamaica, mon.
Tuesday was formal night, which started with a Captain's Party where waitresses carry around trays filled with complimentary drinks including Martinis, wine, screwdrivers and others, while other waitresses served hors d'eurvres. We chatted with a newlywed couple from Allentown, Pennsylvania, who had never cruised before, and another couple from Puerto Rico, who said they preferred Cunard Lines.
For dinner, I had Mississippi Delta prawns as appetizers, minestrone, lobster tail for the main entrée, and finished with cherries jubilee, a meal I rated at four stars. Julie had cream of tomato soup with gin, Caesar's salad and prime rib. The waiters stood on one of the gorgeous staircases and sang "O Solo Mio" as a group after dinner.
We strolled around the ship, taking in the sights and sound of formal night, and then went to the main show, 'Formidable," starring the Destiny Dancers, Pattie Speed and Trent Webb. What an excellent show! Fantastic costumes that were sexy but in good taste and tremendous performances. They started with songs from 1950s musicals like "Gigi," with the women wearing costumes of bras and skin tight pants. It eventually changed to a Cirque de Soleil type of show with surreal costumes under black lights. They finished with an ultra modern fashion show, where dancers draped flowing material on underwear-clad models in a way that reminded me of the cartoon version of "Cinderella" where animals make Cinderella's dress.
After breakfast, we took a taxi ($12 plus tip) to Hawksbill, an area so named because of a reddish rock formation that juts out of the turquoise water and looks like a hawk's head.
We found fantastic snorkeling at the second jetty on the left. We swam out to Hawk's Bill rock. As Julie and I swam about two feet away from each other, I spotted a giant purple jelly fish between us and yelled through my snorkel. 
Julie looked over and we avoided being stung, but I wish my underwater picture of that jelly fish had turned out more clear.We came across three more large, purple jelly fish, so we headed back to shore, fortunately avoiding contact.
We took a break at a hotel restaurant, where two Diet Cokes inexplicably came to a total of $4.75, and then did some more snorkeling.
Walking to some tide pools, we found sheared sheep frolicking by the beach along with a few nude sunbathers.
We taxied into town ($12 plus tip), where we bought some shirts and other junk. The shop owners had good selections and welcomed haggling. We went back on the ship for a late lunch at the New York style deli on the Lido Deck. I had a great corned beef sandwich, low cal coleslaw and lemonade. Julie had turkey on a country roll, french fries and iced tea. We headed back into town to do some more shopping, including exchanging a shirt I’d bought that didn't fit, and then we returned to the ship to rest a little before dinner. The people in Antigua, which has strong British ties, seemed to be genuinely nice, very Christian people who smiled a lot despite not being as wealthy as their St. Thomas counterparts. The language remained kind of Jamaica, mon.
Tuesday was formal night, which started with a Captain's Party where waitresses carry around trays filled with complimentary drinks including Martinis, wine, screwdrivers and others, while other waitresses served hors d'eurvres. We chatted with a newlywed couple from Allentown, Pennsylvania, who had never cruised before, and another couple from Puerto Rico, who said they preferred Cunard Lines.For dinner, I had Mississippi Delta prawns as appetizers, minestrone, lobster tail for the main entrée, and finished with cherries jubilee, a meal I rated at four stars. Julie had cream of tomato soup with gin, Caesar's salad and prime rib. The waiters stood on one of the gorgeous staircases and sang "O Solo Mio" as a group after dinner.
We strolled around the ship, taking in the sights and sound of formal night, and then went to the main show, 'Formidable," starring the Destiny Dancers, Pattie Speed and Trent Webb. What an excellent show! Fantastic costumes that were sexy but in good taste and tremendous performances. They started with songs from 1950s musicals like "Gigi," with the women wearing costumes of bras and skin tight pants. It eventually changed to a Cirque de Soleil type of show with surreal costumes under black lights. They finished with an ultra modern fashion show, where dancers draped flowing material on underwear-clad models in a way that reminded me of the cartoon version of "Cinderella" where animals make Cinderella's dress.
We went to one of the other night clubs after the show, where we danced to rock performed by a sensational Philippine band who seemed capable of covering every great song ever recorded. When they took a break, we wandered over to the jazz club, where a four piece jazz combo got mellow. We went back to the room and watched the last inning of an American League playoff game where Seattle beat the Yankees.
