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I could write pages and pages of every little glorious detail on my trip, but I'll try my best to
just basically hit the highlights and skim over the whole thing. At the end I'll conclude with an
overall impression of cruising and stuff.
Day 1: Puerto Rico
Getting up at 5 AM is no fun at all. But that is the price you pay for vacationing. The flight to
Puerto Rico was uneventful, though they did have some neat TV's that they were showing CBS shows on.
It was the first time I'd ever watched TV in an airplane.
Got to Puerto Rico about noon, boarded a bus and checked into the ship. The thing that most struck
me immediatly at the airport was the Spanish words. It was the first time I'd ever left mainland
USA, so I've never had to deal with foreign words before. However there were English translations
under the signs, and since I took 3 years of Spanish I could pretty much figure out many of the
signs. We then toured San Juan after eating lunch aboard the ship. There are no street signs
anywhere, so I have no idea how people figure out how to get where they want to go. Since Puerto
Rico is a US colony, much of it was like the US, as in their license plates, and that there were
quite a few US flags flying around. Anyways, San Juan fits the stereotype of your Mexican city, and
looks just like I figured it would.
Went back to the ship and took a shower, then ate dinner. We had first seating (there is a second
one at 8:30) so we eat at 6:00, which worked out great. I had some really good chicken that night,
and met our table mates. They pair you up with people before the cruise, so at my table there was
another family of four; the two parents and then their daughter and her friend. The girls were
typical teenyboppers, nice, but stuck-up a bit in the typical teenybopper way. The
entertainment that night (they do a show thing every night at 9) was a guy spinning plates. Sorta
neat, but not really my thing.
At 10 PM they did the mandatory life boat drill. It was boring, but I know why they do it, so I
don't mind.
Then at 10:30 I'd go to the teen thingamabober, where they'd either do various games or
just play music. Of course, half the music was rap (also known as crap without the c) but they did
throw in some Techno every once in a while. They said you could bring in CD's if you had any, which
I could have kicked myself cause I almost brought some of my techno CD's I'd burned, but decided not
to since I figured I wouldn't have any way to listen to them. I didnt' really click with anyone
during the whole trip, mostly cause I'm not a "hot
guy", and I'm still quite shy. The "real you" gets you no where in situations like these. But I
guess it's pretty much what I should expect.
They had a "midnight" buffet at 1 AM, so I ate
at that. Good eating there. And then went to bed around 1:30.
Day 2: St.Thomas
Got up at about 11:00 AM, ate lunch, and then got on a boat to go snorkeling. It was my
first time to ever go snorkeling in the sea (I've done it at Disney World in Typhoon Lagoon) and it
was pretty fun. Lots of fish and plants. I got a good mouthful of saltwater though, which is not a
good tasting thing. On the way to the snorkeling site (which was about a 45 minute boat ride) they
pointed out an island that was for sale for $45 million. So if you have the cash, you can
buy your very own island.
Got back about 4:30 PM, and then followed the same schedule as the previous day for the most part. I
don't remember what I had for dinner, and the show for that night was a really funny juggling duo.
I did the same thing pretty much every day: Get up at 11 or so, go on a shore excursion, get back to
the ship around 4:30, shower, eat dinner, see the show of the night, go to the teen thing, eat at
the late night buffet, and hit the sack around 1:30 to 2 in the morning. Then start the process
all over again. It fit my sleeping pattern, since I got to sleep in, and stay up late.
Day 3: St. Maartin
Just went shopping today. My mom bought a bunch of dresses, I got some clip-on sunglasses, and
almost got a really neat shirt but they were out of my size.
These shirts are normally black and white, but when you get out in the sun they turn colors.
Anyways, they said I could order it online, but they don't sell the shirt I wanted available
to buy online, which really stinks. Such is life I guess. It was "Italian Night" for dinner, but
I forget what I ate. The show for that night was a "Las Vegas style show" which I find really
boring, so I stayed in the room and watched Remember the Titans. They play 2 different movies every
day continuously on two channels on the TV, so there was always something to watch.
Day 4: Antigua
Went snorkeling again on this island, but I liked St. Thomas better. The seas here were rougher, and
I once again got salt water in my mouth. The boat ride was fun though, cause you could hang your
feet over and feel the wind and spray go over them. For dinner it was French night, so I had some
escargo (snail) which was fairly good, though over-rated, and veal courdon bleu which was my
favorite meal of the entire cruise. I had two helpings of whatever the heck is veal courdon bleu,
and enjoyed them both. The show was a stand-up comedian who was really funny, and a magician/comedy
act, again really good.
Day 5: St. Lucia
My favorite island of the trip, because it looked just like a tropical paradise. We took a tour bus
over the island, stopping to buy some banana ketchup, and a silk screen making store. We also saw a
British fort that the owner of the land didn't even know was there until her kids told her about a
new neat place they had found to play in. The terrain was very hilly, and it seemed like a poor
country. The roads were in bad shape and very narrow. They also drove on the left hand side of the
road, which is sorta unnerving at first. I also tried some rum punch, which is even worse than
regular punch (I didn't even know what was possible) so once again I've decided that alcohol and me
don't mix. It was "Caribbean" at dinner, but I dont' remember what I ate. The show that night
was yet another "Las Vegas style show" so I stayed in the room and watched Meet the Parents, and
everything but the first 20 minutes of Chicken Run. Both really good movies. They also had
Caribbean line dancing on the pool deck that night, so it was fun learning the crazy moves.
Day 6: Barbados
This had the coolest excursion. First we went kayaking, which is fun but tiring. Then we got to
snorkel with turtles. The tour guides would feed the turtles and then you could see them swimming
around. Some lucky people got to touch them, but none of them came close enough for me to touch. I
once again dont' remember what I ate. It's all just a blur of really good food :) The show that
night was some famous impressionist. He was pretty good at it, but he was my least favorite act
since I didn't know half the people he was impersonating. That night they had the stand-up
comedian back for a late-night comedy session, which he was once again really funny. The Gala Buffet
was also that night. That's when the chefs create all kinds of really pretty deserts and food, all
laid out in the best possible positions. They actually have lines just to take pictures of the food.
Then you get to eat it all. They also had Caribbean line dancing on the pool deck that night, so it
was fun learning the crazy moves.
Day 7: Sailing back to San Juan
No ports for this day, just water water everywhere. I ate lunch, then hung out in the room for a
while. I took a short class on country line dancing (hey, I love dancing!) and then spent the rest
of the afternoon on deck reading George Orwell's 1984 once again. I also saw a glimpse of a whale
while just looking out at sea watching the waves made by the ship. That was a really cool thing. For
dinner I had Prime Rib and some Turkey, both really really good. That night they had the plate
spinning guy back for some balancing acts (like balancing his head on a soccer ball) and then the
cruise staff did some "farewell" skits. Pretty funny stuff. They also had country dancing going on
in one of the many "discos" as they called them (basically mini nightclubs) and so I got to use some
of those dance moves I learned earlier in the day :) Also all luggage had to be ready to go by
midnight, since they would collect it and have it ready tomorrow for you in the ship terminal at the
dock. Day 8: Back to Tampa Had to get up extra early, 6 AM, since we had to be out of the
room by 8 AM. We ate a big breakfast (the hashbrowns were so incredibly good) and then sat and
waited in one of the lounges until they called our flight number. Then we had to collect our bags
that they had laid out in the terminal, go through customs (just basically hand them a slip of paper
saying we bought stuff) and then off to the airport we went. We finally got back to Tampa at around
1 PM Eastern time.
General Stuff All in all it was a nice vacation. I loved eating
all the food I could eat, not to mention it was all really really good. The ports of call were
interesting, and sailing on the sea was a neat experience. The boat rocked quite a bit, my mom got
sea-sick, but I myself was never sick. They also had the best hot dogs I'd ever had on that ship,
along with some of the best fries (or excuse me, "Fried Potatoes" as they put it) I'd ever eaten.
The staff were nice, and all in all I had a lot of fun. This is also one of the first vacations I'd
ever taken where I didn't have to get up early every morning, like I would if I went to a theme park
or something. That was definitely nice, being able to sleep in everyday. I'd suggest cruising as a
vacation if you can afford it, it's definitely a unique way to experience a life of luxury at sea.
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