World Explorer

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

Here are 2 quick looks at the exterior and the interior main altar of the Catedral Primada de América.

The cathedral's full name, Santa María la Menor, honors the Virgin Mary and underscores the religious fervor of the 1500's. 🙏

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

Built between 1512 and 1540, the Catedral Primada de América is a significant UNESCO World Heritage site known for its Gothic and Baroque architecture.

It has 14 chapels, a main altar, and once housed Christopher Columbus remains.

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

Next up is the oldest cathedral in the Americas - the Catedral Primada de América or the Primate Cathedral of the Americas but officially named the Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in Santo Domingo.

Let's check it out! 😊

LOL! Thankfully, my finger in the shots was clean but I do need to cut my nails though. 😁

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

After Christopher Columbus's 1492 arrival, Santo Domingo became the site of the 1st cathedral, hospital, customs house and university in the Americas.

Its grid pattern became the model for almost all town planners in the New World.

I'm addicted to this mobile game (played on Android phone) but not in a good way. It's like being addicted to crack.

Pros:
- Constantly changing
- Rewards you by leveling you up

Cons:
- More ad-watching time than game play
- Pay $$$$ to get new mobs, cannons, etc.
- Frustrating & unfair game plays

I just realized why this was happening with just this Pixel phone.

All the photos with the tip of my finger in it were portrait shots i.e. vertical shots and were taken in the wide-angle mode.

This Pixel phone has a particularly wide angle coverage in this mode and hence, my finger got caught! 😮

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

More scenes around Santo Domingo’s Old Town during our walking tour.

This UNESCO World Heritage site is a walkable and historical neighborhood that blends preserved colonial architecture with modern cafes, bars, and boutique hotels.

The world's tallest bottle cap mural completed in El Salvador Venezuelan Óscar Olivares is the man behind the world's tallest mural of plastic lids in the Zacamil neighbourhood of San Salvador. The piece is more than 13 metres high and was built with more than 100,000 pieces recycled by the community.

#StreetArtSaturday #StreetArt #mural
Great to see recycled (upcycled?) art on such a huge scale.

Oops... my finger got in the way of 2 of the 4 shots. Damn Google Pixel 9 phones with their camera placement.

I never had this problem before with all my previous other Pixel phones. I hope they fix it because it's annoying!

Yes, I can be mindful and move my finger but not 100% of the time! 🙄

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

Next up on our walking tour of Santo Domingo was the National Pantheon of the Dominican Republic (Panteón de la Patria) - a historic 18th-century Jesuit church turned mausoleum.

It honors national heroes with an eternal flame. 🔥

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

Santo Domingo’s Old Town is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the Americas, dating back to 1498.

It features cobblestone streets, the 1st cathedral, and the 1st university in the New World. 😊

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

After a good visit to the Museum of Royal Shipyards, I got confused outside as I joined a different NCL shore excursion group.

Thankfully, I came to my senses and rejoined my original group. TIP: Know your guide! LOL! 😁

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

This Museum of Royal Shipyards has historical information of shipwrecks along the coast of Hispaniola. Dominican Republic was a strategic center for exploration of the Americas during the 15th to 19th centuries.

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

More photos (portrait ones this time) taken at the Museo De Las Atarazanas Reales or Museum of Royal Shipyards in Santo Domingo's Old Town.

FYI, the Old Town is locally known as Zona Colonial or Ciudad Colonial.

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

The Museo De Las Atarazanas Reales or Museum of Royal Shipyards is a maritime museum.

It tells the story of Spanish galleons, captains, and their crew with many treasures and artifacts recovered from shipwrecks.

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

After a 1.5 hour tour bus ride from the La Romana cruise terminal to Santo Domingo, we got off at the Puerta de Las Reales Atarazanas, 1 of the main entrances to the historic old town.

Next up was the Museo De Las Atarazanas Reales.

🌎 Port of La Romana, Dominican Republic
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

On arrival at the port of La Romana, we went on a 5-hour NCL tour called "Fast Santo Domingo Old City" which explored the historical highlights in the capital Santo Domingo, a colonial town that Bartholomew Columbus founded in 1498.

🧳 Recent Travels
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 08

Here's my quick and hearty breakfast before I went on an NCL shore excursion at the port of La Romana in the Dominican Republic. This was the 3rd port of our 15 days Trans-Atlantic cruise from Lisbon to Galveston.

And yes, I love eggs and runny egg yolks!

🧳 Recent Travels
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 07

No... it's not psychedelic night at the Viva Theatre and Club - it's ??

They retracted all the seats in the theatre and turned it into a big dance floor.

I thought NCL did themed dance parties well until I saw what Royal Caribbean did on a recent cruise.

🧳 Recent Travels
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 07

Back on board the Norwegian Viva, let's check out the finished Christmas gingerbread display with all the lights and train tracks.

Not the most polished gingerbread creation but kudos on the scale and ambitions of the project. 😊

🌎 Port of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas USVI
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 07

The West Indian Company Dock or Havensight cruise port at Charlotte Amalie is quite established with a lot of food and shopping options.

Note that there's another cruise pier at Crown Bay Dock much further away.

🌎 Port of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas USVI
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 07

More views of the Mountain Top shop on Crown Mountain. It's popular with a lot of tour buses for its awesome views of St. Thomas and of course, a little shopping with kick-backs to the tour companies.

Back to the port next! 😊

🌎 Port of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas USVI
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 07

Head to Mountain Top (literally) for your shopping needs and get awesome scenic views of the island from its high perch on Crown Mountain.

It's also known for its "world-famous" banana 🍌 daiquiris served inside the huge shop. 😊

🌎 Port of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas USVI
🛳️ NCL Viva
🗓️ 2025 Dec. 07

Let's pick up (literally in an open-air tour shuttle bus) where I left off a few weeks ago on my recap of my recent NCL Viva cruise.

This was another stop with an amazing view over the island of St. Thomas. Plus some locals. 😊

Chidsey Named Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO; Harry Sommer Out - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed John W. Chidsey, a director of NCLH, as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Chidsey s...

🛳️📰 CRUISE NEWS

More upheaval at NCLH parent cruise company for NCL as their President/CEO has been fired and replaced by a Subway CEO.

Sounds like a desperate move to change course. Let's hope so! Good luck, John! You'll need it.

cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/...

Let's pick up the recap of my recent NCL Viva cruise in December where I left off a few weeks ago.

But before that, 1 more piece of NCL news to share next! 😊

Shen Yun is often cited as the fundraising arm of Falun Gong which despite being on the anti-China bandwagon, has an agenda of conspiracy theories and vaccine deniers.

An enemy of an enemy is not necessarily a friend.

Pick up a copy of Epoch Times (their pro-Trump propaganda tabloid) yourself.

🧳 Recent Travels
🗓️ 2026 January/February

Coming up soon - a recap of my recent travels through Southern California, Nevada, and 2 cruises to the Mexican Riviera:

⁘ Carnival's Firenze
⁘ San Diego, CA
⁘ Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas
⁘ Las Vegas, NV

But first, finish up my NCL Viva recap! 😁

I had a much safer drive on CA-152 through Pacheco Pass during the afternoon yesterday. Thankfully no rain then!

The previous time doing it at night was hair-raising and a scary experience with crazy drivers speeding along blind corners. Told myself never again! 😱