Sarah Too

I should be working on my Christmas cards right now, but my thoughts keep drifting back to the Bahamas. Maybe it is because I still feel like I am rocking, ever so slightly, on the deck of Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas. Yep, the day after cornish hens, dessert, and a movie on Turkey Day, I headed over to Port Canaveral to embark on a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas. My first cruise ever, and I'm not sure if it might be my last. In the right application, those evil polluting cruise ships are loads of fun. Unfortunately, my friend and I hit upon a weekend of travel filled with mostly Floridian families and couples. And to my friend's disappointment, the Latin lounge was lacking luster and adequate salsa dancers. She's a horrible lead, and I'm a horrible follower. We did our best, and we made the most of the live salsa band. The first day on the boat, we were given a frozen rum beverage, and directed straight to the lunch buffet. There is no way one could EVER go hungry on one of these ships -- unless you locked yourself to the slot machines or the black jack table in the casino. Even then, I think one of the many wait staff would make sure to bring you some extra garnish in your drink to keep you fed. The wait staff was always around, making sure no man or woman went without alcohol longer than they wanted. Too bad the drinks aren't included!! My most helpful tip -- buy a bottle of wine with dinner. Packs a bigger punch for fewer dollars!

By noon on the second day, we were pulling into our first port-of-call, that glorious monument to tourism -- Nassau. Atlantis is a gleaming pillar of excess on the port side, and Senor Frog's is a hovel of debauchery on the starboard side. The port can handle 4 cruise ships at a time, and our ship was sandwiched between the Carnival Imagination and a Norwegian Cruise Line ship that shall remain nameless (because I can't recall the name).



As soon as we were able, we disembarked to head off on a catamaran snorkel adventure...all two miles away from the dock. The water was...not warm. It was 65 degrees. Like I said, not warm. But I had to get in! There were fish and coral and other oblivious snorkelers. The reef looked OK, but I've seen better with larger fish. This reef has a crap load of snorkelers dropped off at it every day. There were at least three boats there in the time we were there, and the reef is right next to a boat channel. Fortunately, our crew served up some excellent rum punch. Three cups later, and we were wobbling down the dock to the shops for a little perusing before dinner at 6.

Our ship departed Nassau late on the second evening of the cruise, so we could get to CoCo Cay by 8 AM the next morning. The Cay belongs to the cruise line and is completely developed with charming Disney-esque huts with cute names like Blackbeard's Grill and Coconut Willies. The hammocks and lounge chairs were plentiful, though, and we found a place to read. Too bad the sun was not a plentiful as places to sit. The wind and waves deterred us from kayaking, and then the cool air and sprinkles of rain deterred us from lounging in the hammocks. We headed back to the ship where everyone had the same idea -- the hot tub. People were packed in like lobsters in a pot.

As we pulled away from the Cay for the overnight journey home, the wind kicked way up and the waves had us rockin' and rollin' in our stateroom as we packed up our bags and got ready for dinner. I finally felt like I was on a boat!! Which is probably why I STILL feel a bit of the rocking, even 36 hours later. In the end, this trip was relaxing to the max. Other than having to keep an eye on the time so that I didn't miss an excursion, or a meal, or the boat, I didn't have to think about a thing. Too bad that once I got in the car to return home, all those thoughts that went on vacation...started coming back too!

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