Tuesday, October 09, 2012

My first cruise


I just went on my first cruise.  For most of my life I have always wanted to go on a cruise.  I had heard so much about the food, the entertainment, the service, and the exotic ports of call.  For reasons too numerous to mention, however, I just had never actually taken a cruise.  I had signed up for the cruises.com website and had received hundreds of emails with discounts and last-minute deals.  A few weeks ago I decided that while I was in Florida anyway, this would be my best opportunity.

(Actually, this was my second cruise, having been on a small one when I was 15 years old, but that was not a pleasure-type cruise so I never considered that a cruise vacation.)
Susan and I spent hours online looking at cruises and comparing deals.  She has been on several cruises, and was my expert advisor.  We settled on a Royal Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas.  I watched as the price dropped to a very low lever, then watched again as that price disappeared.  Frustrated, we finally called the website, found the rate was still in effect and booked a trip.  I was initially shocked at how the fees, etc. raised our initial low rate.  Still, I thought this was a good deal.



Port Canaveral is about two hours from Susan’s house.  We got to the terminal about 1:30 or so, and joined thousands of others checking in.  The lines were long, but the process seemed pretty efficient, and in about half an hour we were on the boat.  I expected that when we boarded there would be people right there at the entrance with all kinds of useful information, like, for example, where your stateroom would be.  Surprisingly, however, while I heard a band playing and saw lots of tables with people selling excursions, and drink passes, and lots of stuff I did not want or need, there were no guest services people immediately available. 

We managed to find our cabin, which was roughly the size of a most people’s master bathroom, unless you live in a big house, in which case it was the size of your guest bathroom.  How small was it?  My side of the bed was up against the wall.   Had the bed been turned 90 degrees, both the head and foot of the bed would have been against the walls.  Still, how much time do you spend in your cabin on a cruise anyway?  There was a television.  (I will say “Yea” to that, while Susan would yawn.  To paraphrase Dire Straits: “I want my sports tv.”]

The first order of business was the lifeboat drill.  As a first-time cruiser, the federal requirement of a lifeboat drill did not inspire immediate confidence.  However, many people equated it to the safety announcements on an airplane that we have all heard a million times and have stopped listening to, realizing that if the plane experiences problems I will not be looking for the exit door pr the oxygen masks, I will need the defibrillator.  There did seem to be lots of lifeboats, and since I expected no icebergs in the Caribbean in October, I stopped worrying.

 The decks were lined with people as the boat set said at 4:30.  We stood on the top deck high above the ocean.  It was a great view and exhilarating to be underway.  I was concerned about seasickness, but I never felt the ship move the entire time.  Ocassionally, it would vibrate when turning around or something, but there was no feeling of rocking up and down at all.  If you closed your eyes you would never think you were on a boat at all. 
Cruises lines are selling escape.  Phones don’t work, internet is available but prohibitively expensive, all in an effort to make feel they are away.   Alcohol is likewise available and expensive, but not prohibitively so for most passengers.  Despite charges of $7-$8 a drink, liquor flows freely on a cruise ship.  The music is loud, the clothing is garishly-colored and often scant.  I saw lots of tattoos.  

Susan and I eschewed most of the party aspects of the cruise, spending hours just sitting on deck enjoying the nice weather and ocean breezes. 

Despite all I had heard about the food, it was somewhat disappointing in quality.  It was not bad, but fairly mediocre.  Quantity, however, was never a problem.  They served pizza almost 24 hours a day, I think.  Buffets, both daytime and midnight, offered wide variety in neverending amounts.  But the dinners in the dining room, although served with attentive service by a congenial waiter, were not terribly tasty.  Even the desserts left something to be desired.

The ship made two ports of call—Nassau in the Bahamas, and a small island owned by Royal Caribbean called Coco Kay.  We did not explore Nassau.  I was curious about the massive Atlantis hotel and casino complex, so we went directly there, rejected offers from all kinds of helpful drivers at the end of the pier offering guided tours for reasonable rates.  Royal Caribbean’s excursions ranged from merely expensive to eye-popping expensive.  We could have done all kinds of water activities and sightseeing adventures, with the most expensive costing more than our entire trip.   Susan had been to Atlantis before and had seen a great deal of the facility, including the aquarium.  Times have changed apparently, though.  Without purchasing a $40 tour, we were allowed to see only a small portion of the place, primarily a somewhat-dated but very large casino (of which I think we saw only part).  We left after a short time to make it back for the “formal” dinner.

Formal obviously means different things to different people.  Some were very dressed up, others no so much.  And what constitutes being nicely dressed is subject to a lot of interpretation.   It was a nice change of pace from the usual dinner attire, though.  After dinner we saw a magician/comedian, which sounds pretty bad, but actually was kind of funny.

On Sunday we got up early to watch the sunrise.  I took lots of pictures and some of them turned out very well.  (Unfortunately, my camera is broken, I think.)

Coco Kay was basically a beach.  There were lots of activities like parasailing, jet skis, snorkeling, and kayak rental, but we just relaxed and swam.  I wanted to try a jet ski, which I have never been on, but it was so expensive I decided to wait for another opportunity.  We enjoyed our time there, but when we went back to the boat we spent a really enjoyable time in the saltwater pool.  I forgot how much saltwater holds you up. 

After dinner on Sunday we went to about the cheesiest show I have ever seen.  Some singers of varying amounts of talent backed by rejects from “So You Think You Can Dance” performed some pretty uninteresting song and dance numbers in what is probably the epitome of shipboard entertainment.  No future Broadway stars there.  The best part of the evening was a mock “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” contest with a very funny comedian using a fake (I think fake) accent to ask standard questions with some very funny answers.
At any rate, we had a fun time.  We did manage to get away, and still keep track of the baseball and football scores.  Royal Caribbean is pretty efficient at most things, the entry onboard notwithstanding.  Exiting the ship was a dream.  Our bags met us as we disembarked and we were out of the in a flash.

I would definitely like to go on another cruise.  Now that I know seasickness is not a problem, I would like to try a longer cruise.  Susan has taken some seven-day cruises which she enjoyed very much.  Longer cruises allow the opportunity to see more ports which are further away.  Hopefully, I will be in a position to do that.  But for now, I can cross another thing off my bucket list.

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