to see the first set of pictures, visit this linkDay 1: July 3
Baltimore to Miami
-Awoke early and went to the airport. Flew from Baltimore to Atlanta and then on to Miami.
-Took the shuttle to the dock, checked in, and boarded our ship: The Majesty of the Seas.
-Went to our "staterooms," which were indeed as small as everyone says. Luckily, everyone is also right when they say the only thing you do in your stateroom is sleep and shower.
-Participated in the on-board safety drill. This required putting on lifevests and standing near our lifeboats (there were plenty).
-Had our first dinner in the dining room. Met our waiter, Wanish from Thailand, and our assistant waiter, Ernesto from Panama. Most of the staff onboard the ship are from foreign countries which gives the trip an interesting international flavor. Their main objective is to make you feel relaxed and meet your every need. Over the course of the trip we grew to really like Wanish and Ernesto, who were not only good servers but also very entertaining.
-Saw our first show. The comedian started off pretty slow but was entertaining by the end.
-Traveled around the ship getting familiar with the layout. Stopped in at the various bars and lounges to drink and hear live music. Spent some time on deck watching as the ship sailed toward the bahamas.
-Went to bed. They call it a "4 day cruise" and I thought that was kind of cheating because we wouldn't get on board until about 3 or 4pm, but all in all, it did feel like a fun, full day.
Day 2: July 4
Nassau, Bahamas
-Woke up early to work out in the fitness rooms. The treadmills are positioned so that you can look out at the ocean as you're running, which was really cool at first. When the ship did a complete 360 to dock, however, it made me feel a bit queesy.
-Ate breakfast in the dining room. There is "free" food available onboard the ship at almost all times. You can order whatever you want and however much of it you want. I loved being able to order everything I wanted and not having to worry if I didn't finish it.
-Got off the ship in Nassau. Did some looking around until it was time for our first "excursion."
-Glass Bottom Boat Tour. I didn't have any idea what to expect from this activity, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. It was basically a tour of the area surrounding Nassau, narrated by an extremely enthusiastic Bahamian tour guide who punctuated each sentence with "Ya, MON!" It was cool to learn a little about the history of the Bahamas as well as see some "landmarks" like the Atlantis resort and the homes of Barry Bonds, Oprah, and Michael Jordan (all of which are practically next door to one another). Twice the boat stopped out in the ocean so we could go below deck to look out the glass panels at the bottom. There's no way to describe how clear and blue the water is there, but you could see everything perfectly. At one point it was over a coral reef, and at another it was over the wreckage of a ship from colonial times. Pretty cool.
-Food and Drinks at Senor Frogs. Chicken strips taste about the same in the Bahamas as they do in the states. They didn't have any Corona, but whatever "Sol" is tastes just about the same.
-Souvenir shopping. They are certainly happy to take your money!
-Back to the boat to rest and prepare for dinner.
-Formal Captain's Dinner. I always enjoy getting dressed up and having my picture taken, and although I may have been the only one in the group who felt that way, we all had a lot of fun. I also had a few Cosmos. Since it was the 4th there was an American style dinner (the night before had been Italian). Whatever style it was, it was good.
-Captain's introduction. We went to the theater again where the Captain talked about himself, the ship, and the staff. It was cool to see the people in charge and learn a little bit more about the boat. They were also serving free Bahama Mamas (drinks are the only thing you have to pay for on the ship... food is included).
-Swimming Pool. By this point I was a few sheets to the wind, and I may or may not have pretended to be a dolphin. Much to my surprise, the swimming pool was full of salt water. We moved to the hot tub long enough for the tips of Casey's hair to turn green... must have been a lot of chlorine.
-Watched fireworks on deck. Since a lot (probably most) of the tourists who stay at the elaborate Atlantis resort are American, they were putting on a big party for them onshore. We were able to sit on the deck of the ship and watch the fireworks display before we pulled out of port. They were actually pretty good and I was glad we were able to enjoy a bit of the 4th even in another country.
-Socialized and played games. At this point I may or may not have slipped and fell while playing ping pong and/or lost miserably at a game of horse on the basketball court.
-Went to bed shortly after the ship set sail again.
Day 3: July 5
Coco Cay, Bahamas (a private island owned by Royal Caribbean)
-Woke up.
-Rode the shuttle boat from the ship to the island. The island is too small to have a place where the ship can dock, so they drop anchor and transfer everyone on ferries to the island.
-Parasailing. This was one of the real highlights of the trip for me. Chuck, Casey, Brian, Billy, and I went out on a speedboat with a few other people. The parasail was tandem, so Billy and I got to go up together. They put you in a lifejacket and a harness and then they latch you onto this bar so you’re basically sitting in a swing beneath the big parachute. Then they reel you out and you go behind the boat and up in the air. Most of the pairs didn’t even get wet, but the driver dipped us in the water a few times and jerked the cord around so we got a wilder ride. This may or may not have been because he was smoking weed while we were on the boat. I don’t know how high up in the air we went, but we were taller than the ship and it has 14 stories above water. From up there, we looked down and the water was so clear that we could see straight to the bottom. It was amazing.
-Back to the island to relax on the beach. One thing that surprised me about the cruise was that I thought there would be a lot more time to relax at the beach, but there were so many activities that we only really did that for one afternoon in Coco Cay. The beach was strange because there were no waves and it was shallow for as far out as you could walk. But I loved it. They had an “aqua park” where they dug out the sand so it was deep and put in inflatable water toys. I climbed up this fake “rock wall” and jumped off it and slid off it a few times, which was fun. It was probably about 15 feet out of the water.
-Lunchtime BBQ on the island. Is there anything better than a good hotdog and some ice- cold lemonade on the beach? I haven’t found it if there is.
-More relaxing in the sun.
-Back to the boat to prepare for dinner.
-Dinner #3. French night or something just meant more good food.
-After dinner show: Juggling. I didn’t think I’d really be that into juggling, but this guy was really good. He is evidently the only person in the world who can juggle 7 balls at a time. He can also juggle a bowling ball along with other strangely shaped objects. And although his act was kind of cheesy, he actually was pretty funny.
-More nighttime fun on the ship. This included drinks at various locations and various forms of socialization.
-Chocolate buffet. We went down to the dining room where pretty much everything you could ever think to dip in chocolate was prepared as such. I actually managed to stop eating it before I made myself feel sick, but those were the best chocolate covered strawberries I’ve ever had.
-Into bed.
Day 4: July 6
Key West, Florida
-Slept in a bit. It’s a long way from Coco Cay to Key West, so we weren’t set to dock until about 10. Then we were going to have to wait even longer until we were allowed to clear customs, so we slept in a bit.
-Ate breakfast at the buffet.
-Watched the ship finally pull into the Key West dock an hour late, at 11am. We had to wait quite a while for our turn to get into customs and were finally off the boat around 1pm.
-Got off the ship and headed toward the southernmost point in the continental US. Along the way we saw the Key West Lighthouse and the home where Ernest Hemingway lived. It was $11 to go on the tour, so I just took a picture. Later I found out that it’s likely where he wrote “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” so that was pretty cool. Evidently Tennessee Williams also had a house on the island somewhere but we didn’t visit it.
-Reached the Southernmost point, waited in line, and took our pictures next to the marker. Evidently so many people stand on either side of it that the “SO” and the “OST” of “southernmost” were rubbed off.
-Had lunch and shopped along Duval street. As far as I could tell, Duval street is pretty much the only thing going on in Key West. There were lots of bars/restaurants (some of which I recognized from the real world), tourist shops, and regular retail stores. Otherwise Key West seemed like kind of a small tourist town rather than the southern hotspot I had imagined. I was initially disappointed that our stay there was going to be abridged, but it turned out fine.
-Returned to the ship.
-Dinner #4, our final one in the dining room. Another great tasting, entertaining meal.
-More drinking and socializing in various locations around the ship. Another dip in the pool. Packing up for the morning, etc.
Day 5: July 7
Wake up, eat breakfast, leave the ship and claim our luggage, off to a long day of traveling. Finally arrived in Baltimore at 9pm and home to Bowie about 10:30 to sleep in our own bed!
All in all, I had a really great time. The ship was rocking on a few occasions, but for the most part it was pretty stable. Initially I thought it was going to be over before I knew it, but the length of time we were there seemed good. If I were to take a longer cruise, I would like to spend like 2 days in each port so I could see the sights on one day and then spend the other day relaxing at the beach or something. There is always so much going on that you don’t want to miss anything. I was glad to be able to spend time with Billy and his family, and we all got along with each other and the other family well. I would definitely recommend taking a cruise to anyone who hasn’t done it before. The whole experience of being waited on hand and foot by really happy people was unique for me. The only thing I would suggest for those of you who have regular jobs is to plan it like we did so that you get back a few days before you have to go back to work. It was so much fun but it sure took a lot out of me!
