It was a long summer – from June through September, the
Hankster and I were dealing with his cancer diagnosis and daily radiation
trips, consuming our time and forcing me to drop all of my daily activities and
projects. I was ready for a break.
My friends of over 10 years, known as the Cabal, are now all
retired and scattered in Texas and Louisiana.
We make a serious effort about every 6 months to gather at someone’s
place for a weekend of catching up and serious wine consumption. As it happened, it was time for the group to
arrive in the Anahuac area, and friend Sue and I wracked our brains trying to
find something or someplace amusing to do with them. On a phone call, friend Linda moaned about
not going anywhere for ages, and then
said, “What would you think of a cruise?”
What I thought at first, was, huh, she was in Greece and
Rome last year, just did Niagara Falls.
And she hasn’t been anywhere? My
response, however, came straight from the emotional tug that being on water
always brings out. I said I’d look into
it, and then proceeded to do so. In
short order, we found a 4 night cruise out of dear old Galveston on Royal
Caribbean. The Enchantment of the Seas
suited us to a tee, the price was right, and the 5 of us decided to turn our
usual weekend in to an entirely different type of get together.
The Hankster finished his radiation protocol on Friday the
27th, and on Monday the 30th all parties headed for
Galveston. As noted earlier, everyone
comes from different directions, so arrivals were staggered. Friend Susan R was first to arrive,
chauffeured by her cousin. They started
with mimosas at her cousin’s, then headed for a nearby Galveston watering hole,
where Susan spent her time texting everyone for their locations and imbibing
Bloody Marys. As a result, she was the last to arrive for check-in at the
terminal!
Louisiana gal-pal Susan G arrived next, and in very
efficient fashion, checked in, headed up the gangplank, and plopped down near
the entrance (and bar) to await everyone else’s arrival. Friend Linda Kay motored in and bypassed
unloading her bag at the terminal to head straight for the parking. Sue H and I drove from Anahuac, dropped the
bags off, and went to the parking lot.
As she and I stood in line for the shuttle, Linda rolled up with her
luggage, and we had our first mini-reunion.
We got yet another text from Susan R, asking whether anyone was coming
for Bloody Marys. Given the time, we
suggested she mosey on over to the ship, and our band of 3 entered check-in and
security.
The entire system is quite efficient and the Galveston
terminal has been remodeled extensively, and nearly all the staff members are
pleasant and accommodating. However, Sue
H and I are loaded with artificial parts, so we usually present issues when
going through checkpoints. This time,
Sue had no issues, but I was beeping all over, and over, and over, so I got
frisked. The guard was amused when I
took the “arms up, legs apart” stance immediately, noting that it was pretty
obvious I’d done this before….
I finished my pat-down and turned to see Linda and Sue H at
a suitcase check. It turned out they had
a bit of miscommunication over how many bottles of wine they could coordinate
for our room, and Linda had to give up a precious bottle of Merlot. Sigh.
Okay, marching on, our boarding passes started to give us issues. Scanning didn’t always work, until we
realized that mine, for example, had our original room assignment, not our
upgraded room code. Once that was
straightened out (at 2 different stations), we finally headed up the gangplank.
Sue H was our virgin.
All the rest of us are relatively seasoned cruisers, and as she was our
baby chick, we all made sure she was as prepared as possible. In the weeks before the trip, I sent her a
series of “tips for first-time cruisers,” which helped to give her an idea of
what to expect, the order things would happen, etc. As a result, she oriented
quite well very quickly, which is, of course, her way.
We entered the ship, and since it was too early for getting
into rooms, we plopped down near the bar, pretty much surrounding a very nice
couple from Michigan. Sue H immediately
started chatting them up, and we enjoyed their company. I headed over to the My Time Dining kiosk,
where a delightful Jamaican named Shereen tried to help with my issue. You see, it seemed the computer at home did
not agree with her computer, and we didn’t have dining at 6:30. We were set up for the 8:30 seating – when A.
Lynette usually heads for a pillow. NOT
ACCEPTABLE! So Shareen and I trotted over
to dining, I met several more very nice folks, they took my info, and told me
they’d call if something turned up. And they told me just to show up early instead
of late. That was comforting.
Back at our merry little band of 3 ladies plus 2
Michiganders, I called Susan G, trying to locate her. I stood in the middle of the room, and not 20
feet away, there she was, waving merrily.
She trooped over, we all ordered drinks, and waited for Susan R, who
arrived at last to regale us with her day’s events. Everyone threw their stuff
on the ground, and probably at that moment, my little digital camera slid away,
never to be seen again…
Sue H, Linda Kay, and I were sharing a junior suite, and Susan
G and Susan R were in a room together.
When I had set the room arrangements, I had done it this way for a
couple of reasons. The two Susans had
never roomed together in all our past trips, and I knew from vast experience
that the two of them would have packed WAY more stuff that the rest of us put
together. Turned out I was right, of
course; Susan R had 10 pair of shoes for a 4 night cruise. But those ladies know how to
accessorize! Fortunately, the cabins
have lots of cubbies for stuff.
We went to the elevators and got separated going to
eat. Susan G and I wandered around
looking for the ladies, and they finally texted us saying they had got in the
rooms, so we headed for ours. As luck
would have it, Susan G remembered her room number as 7008, where she went. At this point, room keys are in envelopes
outside the door. You pull one out, go
in the room, and that’s that. Susan did
same, only noticing that someone else’s name was on the envelope, but hey, the
door worked. She trotted in, put her
stuff down, was sitting on the couch when the REAL owners of the room
knocked. Turned out Susan’s room number
was 7088, not 7008. She hastily gathered
her things and trotted out, only to note that she had left her makeup bag. Had to go back to get the thing. Most embarrassing, but good for a story!
We convened for lunch at the Windjammer and perused the
day’s event calendar. The Cabal ladies are serious spa people; virtually every
trip we make involves time spent at local spas.
So of course, we headed for the ship’s spa tour. We kept Miss Cherry Ann quite busy as she led
us past the skin care specialist and the acupuncture doctor where Susan G offered to offer up her body as our
acupuncture sacrifice. Next up was the hair stylist, where I perked up at the
mention of a keratin treatment and Cherry Ann finally sat us down for massage
descriptions and small samples of same. And
then she was back and forth to the appointment desk, getting all of us set up
for the next few days. I had booked one online, but was intrigued by the
“bamboo” massage, so changed up.
At that point, it was time for the official lifeboat muster
event, something that is designed to be endured rather than enjoyed. If you’ve never cruised, international law
requires that everyone go through this drill, and the crew searches for
stragglers and takes random inventory of room numbers until they have everyone
standing in lines, sweating profusely, to watch a crew member put a lifejacket
on. If you’re in the back row, or short,
it’s nearly impossible to see the demonstration, but you’re officially approved
to survive a shipwreck as a result.
Then it was back to the rooms, to rush through preparations
for dinner. Before we went to the dining
room, Linda Kay had a surprise for me, but before she could present it, she had
to collect her checked bag, which had not been delivered to the room. It turned out that her surprise was a bit of
a problem for security! Some months earlier, she was involved in her
community-wide yard sale, and had noticed a flask in the mix. Knowing my collection of the very useful things,
she checked to see if I was interested, which of course I was. The little metal
flask just happened to be accompanied by another one she had found – that held
64 OUNCES! Security saw those flasks in their machines and naturally presumed
they were full, so had retained the bags until Linda Kay collected them and
explained. My only regret was that they
really were empty.
We had received notice from the dining room that we had a
table! We arrived at the My Fair Lady
Dining Room and dear Shereen was there to greet us, show us to our nice little
table separated from most of the crowd by two waiter stations. And Shereen was our waiter, assisted by the
amusing and gallant Angelo. As far as
dining went, we were set.
Susan R had ordered a wine package, which included a bottle
to be delivered to the room. It didn’t
arrive, and she was understandably concerned.
(Yet another seeming glitch between the online and onboard computers.) So
she ordered another bottle, as did Linda and I, and we proceeded with a lovely
dinner, lots of talk, and food service gentlemen arriving to entice us to eat
at the extra-charge dining establishments for “amazing” dinners with wine
pairings, all at a discount for first-night reservations. We declined.
After the dining experience, ladies 1-4 headed
for the first evening show which offered a nice variety
of tunes from musicals, including West Side Story in its Broadway at sea
performance. I opted to explore, since I really had no chance
earlier. The ship is smaller than some I
have known. For example, the shops were few in number and lacked most of the
less expensive options for items. The
duty free liquor store was there of course, all the high-dollar jewelry and
handbag places, and then one “general merchandise” spot, with the clothing and
emergency supply section. Even that shop
lacked some of the variety and options available on other ships. There was a
liquor tasting event happening, but after checking out the list of items, I
opted to head back down to the room. The
other members of our troupe finished the show, played bingo for a while, and
retired as well.
A bit about our accommodations: the standard room is quite adequate for two
folks, but we had chosen a slightly larger “standard” room for our group of
three. All but Sue H have traveled
before and have “gold” status with Royal, and Linda got an email about putting
in for an upgrade lottery, and “won” us a junior suite, as I noted earlier,
which caused us some kerfuffle at check-in.
However, the added square footage was nice, and when compared with our
companions’ room, included additional seating and a couple of other minor
additions and while it cost a bit more for the first two roomers, Sue H got in
on our tailcoats with only an increase in her gratuity bill. The room didn’t
quite come up to past experience with room steward service, however. Our guy Joseph just didn’t seem to have the
snap we have known on other Royal ships, and we spent a good bit of time
tracking him to get the third bed put out, put in, towels, etc. And no cute little towel animals ever graced
our room until the last day. But the balcony, with the
water to view, as always lived up to anticipation, and Sue H and I reveled on
the balcony often.
I was pretty tired from the day’s events, the heat at the
muster drill, and of course, alcohol consumption, and I literally fell asleep on
our balcony while sitting up. I decided
to crash before everyone arrived back in the room, and was happily dozing when
two things occurred. The first was an
all-ship intercom blast, waking me up to announce we had a grave medical
emergency, and were turning around. The
second was a mysterious bumping and pounding, which sounded like large pieces
of furniture being tossed around, either next to us or above us. Then the blast horn and announcements from
Captain Toni and Activity Director Bobby started coming in quick succession,
waking me up again, and I finally gave up.
Went out on the balcony and the furniture upheaval was worse, so I
finally figured it was the pool directly above us, and all the deck furniture
was being hauled across the ship and tossed in a pile.
The Coast Guard was en route with a helicopter to air lift
the medical patient. Since the ship
didn’t have a landing pad, deck 9’s pool area directly above our room was the
staging area. So I had little
opportunity for sleeping for quite a while, with the whump, whump sound of the
chopper directly overhead, and the continued announcements from the boys at the
helm. After what seemed like a VERY long
time, everything finally settled down, but then the crew began to move the
furniture BACK, although the frantic tossing and crashing of the chairs was a
little more sedate this time. (I learned
the next day that some poor unfortunate guy had been heading down metal stairs
on deck 11, and had slipped and fallen, busting his head quite seriously). End of Day 1.
Day 2 started with my usual early awakening. I had unpacked, but had really not been very
organized the previous day, and too tired the night before to put things out
for the next day. Trying not to awaken
and bother my sleeping companions, I tiptoed around in the dark, pulling
drawers open to find clothes, pack my backpack, brush teeth, etc. I finally made it out to the cafeteria area
at 6:00, to find that the main café would not open till 7:00. Fortunately they have a nice little annex for
us early birds, where hot tea and coffee are available, so I joined the early
risers in the little room, where several of us pulled out devices and I began
recording this blog and happily consuming hot tea.
The dining room opened and I cruised the options but didn’t
find my beloved salmon anywhere! As I’ve
noted in earlier blogs, I can happily eat my weight in salmon and bagels, and
do so at home as well as on ships. I was
perfectly content with bacon, eggs, and grits however, and popped back in the
room to drop my computer off before I headed to the spa. My roommates were by
then up and gone.
Everyone but Sue H had spa appointments at 8. Sue H headed for the hot tubs. I ran into
Susan G and Susan R outside the spa, where they had stopped at the little café
in the solarium, and were scarfing eggs Benedict and some salmon! The waitress said the salmon was also at the
Windjammer, so I just didn’t get to the right display, evidently.
I checked in at the spa, where I thought I had an 8:00 hair therapy event. My little appointment
slip showed what I read as 8:00; turned out it was 9:00. (Several people made
little eyes at the old lady who couldn’t see very well…) Suman my hair guy wasn’t there yet, so I went
to the waiting area, which is at the aft end of the ship with a full wall of
windows to watch the water, and plenty of recliners for lounging ladies. After the previous night, I fell asleep fast,
to be awakened by Suman for my event.
I got a keratin treatment, a sort of deep tissue
embedding of collagen into the
hair. It took over an hour, with Suman
massaging the stuff in, practically one hair at a time. Then it gets blow-dried, and then it gets
flat-ironed, so it heat-seals the follicles.
So Suman and I had lots of time to talk, and since I have read about six
books with India as a setting, a main subject, or just peripherally, and since
he was from India, I had enough questions to keep us going for the full
time. When I got out of his chair, I
went back to the waiting room, where Susan R and Susan G were lounging after their
massages. They gratifyingly oohed and
ahhhhed over the changes in my hair, and Susan G went for her hair event, while
Susan R waited for her facial, and I left the spa.
I simply had to take a nap.
From my serious lack of my usual 6 hours of sleep, I had finished the
spa feeling like I could barely walk back to the room, so I crashed. After about half an hour, I was able to cope,
and spent time on the balcony watching my beloved water. We had managed to
coordinate a lunch time and place, so we all convened at noon at the dining room,
where Shereen once again conjured us a table together. However, Susan G had not got the time memo,
and arrived a half hour earlier, reigning at her table as the solo queen. At least she had a great water view!
Susan R had received her bottle of wine that was delivered
to her room, only one day late. She
brought it to lunch and commandeered the staff to provide glasses for one and
all. We had a most amusing waiter named
Jennifer, who was nearly the same height as Susan R (she’s a tiny one) and we
had them pose for pictures in between Jennifer’s antics (not to mention the
antics of those at table).
Everyone agreed that the afternoon was to be spent in
indulging individual activities. Susan R
and Sue H decided to explore the ship shops; Linda Kay opted for a nap; Susan G
and I decided to do some serious walking on deck 10. However, when we got to deck 10, it was
“closed for wet weather”. Now, the sun
was baking, and the deck was dry as a bone, although it had rained fairly hard
quite early, when I was with the early risers drinking tea. The doors were locked, taped off, and signs
posted. pooh. A staff member came by and suggested deck 5,
so Susan and I dropped several floors (taking the stairs of course to get our
aerobic workout) and proceeded to march around the ship. Crew members had the ends of the ship blocked
doing maintenance work, so we’d trot down one side, take the doors across the
insides of the ship, and trot down the other side. It was rather choppy and windy, and after a
half-hour, we determined we had accomplished our mission, and went to get
Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s to replenish all those calories we had burned
off.
The ladies had brought wine for the rooms, so Linda Kay
invited us all to arrive at room 8556 at 4:30, dressed for our formal night
dinner, to sip Prosecco. The ladies of
7088 (not 7008) arrived bearing nibbles and extra glasses, and we celebrated a
most entertaining hour taking silly photos, including one of Sue H in her very
sexy outfit, pole dancing! I must
testify here that our group dressed to the height of sophistication and taste,
swapping accessories as necessary to provide the optimum looks as we preened in
the dining room. I’m certain several
older gentlemen who saw us lusted in their hearts. (!)
At the dining room, another surprise awaited us. Susan R’s wine package information had
finally shown up, and the headwaiter announced that all was well. Angelo had already retrieved our unused wines
from last night and lunch, and we settled in for our meal. On a little side note, Susan R had also
purchased bottled water online, but she expected small bottles. She got 2 cases of LARGE bottles, and spent
time pushing them on people.
Fortunately, she was able to give a case of it back to the ship for
credit.
Time, I guess, for a word about our food. In general, food at all of the cafes and
dining rooms is excellent, but sometimes, things are not to one’s taste, or
whatever. Night 1 provided Susan R with
lamb, which she adores, and Linda Kay got to sample it for the first time,
pronouncing it loverly. I, on the other
hand, had a rather indifferent fish. Night
2 was my turn, for I got an excellent duck and my beloved escargot. The 3 Susans were almost united in their
disappointment in the appetizers and their entrees; Shereen immediately
provided them with alternatives, so Susan R got my duck for her pleasure, and
the others enjoyed their upgrades as well.
Shereen constantly provided complementary appetizer plates for the
group. Cheese and fruit samples were on
hand, and after the uninspiring vol-au-vent, she plopped down a plate of
carpaccio with radicchio, which everyone agreed was inspired. By the time desserts arrived, everyone was
exhausted from the multiple courses and bottles, and toddled away from the
dining room for evening events.
Yours Truly, bowing to her nature and inclination, headed
for the cabin and the balcony. We had all noticed a distinct increase in the
wave activity during the day. It was not
enough to make anyone ill, but it was certainly noticeable in a rather mild
queasiness nearly all the time. The
balcony proved to be a bit of an upheaval, so I retreated to my bed to watch
Rachel Maddow and get my dose of political news.
Ladies 1-4 again opted for the early show, and Susan G and
Linda Kay must have stayed up for the more “adventurous” 11:30 event, because
Sue H arrived on her own and quietly prepared for her day at Chichen Itza. I never heard Linda come in. End of Day 2.
Day 3. I slept much better, but still hadn’t totally caught
up; I have this curse inherited from my father, I guess. Got up at 5, and thanks to my prior night’s
preparations, got out of the cabin with much less fuss. When my feet hit the
floor I immediately realized we were either docked or in calmer seas. I met my
fellow computer user in our early morning café rendezvous for his coffee and my
tea. He obviously brought his work with
him, but I did my morning prayer and blog composition. We were joined much earlier today by a host
of folks preparing for their day in Cozumel.
The café opened earlier as well, since debarkation for tours and
shopping was scheduled for 8:00. A
fellow passenger came up to inquire about my computer activity, and I told her
I blogged my trips, so we had a nice chat.
I popped over to the café and couldn’t find the salmon again! The young man staffing the most
likely food station jumped to my aid, crossed the café to an area that was
still sectioned off, and loaded a plate with enough salmon to keep even me
happy!!!! He didn’t scarf up any bagels,
so I loaded up on eggs to go with my fish.
(Fish and eggs are my 2nd favorite breakfast after bagels and
lox; sorry if I give you nausea, but I really like fish and eggs!)
Well, my massage appointment had been changed yet again, so
I went to the cabin before the spa for my 8:00 o’clock. Sue H and Susan G had already departed for
their Chichen Itza tour, but I met Linda at the room. She and Susan R were the shopping team, but
were taking it much more casually. They
had not even eaten yet.
I was the only customer for the spa at that hour on the only
shore day. I had been amazed at the people trucking in and out the day before,
including the nearly 40% male clientele.
Our culture has changed. Anyway,
I had my bamboo massage. The masseuse
uses several different lengths and sizes of bamboo that are warm when she
applies them, along with the usual massage oils. It didn’t take long to realize that while the
bamboo pressure is evident to the client, it denies the masseuse the ability to
figure out what might be needed. It’s
actually something of a barrier for therapy.
I mentioned it to my masseuse, and she agreed, stating that she usually
ended up doing half and half. And that
worked out very well. Since I had not
had a session in months due to The Hankster’s issues, I had some serious
tension issues, and she gave them a good (read, painful) workout.
My hair was a wreck after that, of course, and who did I run
into at the reception desk but dear Suman, and I apologized for what she did to
me. He laughed and waved me on. I went to the room to shower, and Linda Kay
walked in; she and Susan R had breakfasted, but rather than heading for shore,
Susan R “needed to put her makeup on” so Linda Kay decided to take a nap till
she was ready.
I still had not finished my ship explorations, which is
somewhat astonishing; I usually cover everything the first afternoon to orient
myself. This girl trip has been a little
different, and I haven’t done the reading, the walking, or the sitting on the
balcony like I usually do. So, I trekked
around to accomplish the rest of my mission, and then took to the upper deck
for the walking track and some much needed exercise.
We’re docked of course, and probably 75% of the passengers
either headed for one of the excursions or for shopping. What surprised me was the number of folks who
stayed aboard. I had planned it for
myself all along, since I had been to Cozumel before, and I am decidedly NOT a
shopper. There were folks who might be
expected to stay on board, like the disabled types and those with toddlers and
infants. But the rest were able-bodied
like me, lounging, drinking, sunbathing, and exercising. The Windjammer café was not the zoo it
usually is, but there was enough of a crowd to impress.
I spent the morning walking the track. While I was rounding one end, I saw a young
couple taking photos, and they pantomimed and asked me to do a photo of them
both. They were Hispanic and spoke
hardly any English, and of course, my Spanish is lousy and limited, but we got
several nice shots. Her hat had her name
on it (Gloria) and when I saw them a bit a way later, I hollered her name and
they turned and waved merrily. I do like
that part about cruise ships and making friends, however tenuous the
connection. Eventually I stopped for a tea in the café. The pool bar was open, so I asked for a
double bourbon – and I got a bill for $24.00.
Hell, you can buy a liter for $40!
Anyway, I mixed it with my iced tea, and nursed the drink while I sat
and composed my breathless prose for this blog.
At noon I trotted back to the Windjammer for another tea, and ended up
snacking. I had complimented a woman on
her tee, and decided to take a photo.
Could only wish I had one!
I sat down next to a couple I had spoken with in the morning
– yet another fun tee shirt, starting with “I’m not clumsy…” which of course,
fitted me as well as her. Turned out she
volunteered at her library in Arlington teaching Excel classes; we obviously
had things to discuss. Her hubby had
been one of those Navy guys in Cambodia when we “had no presence there.” They
liked the photo of the other young lady’s tee shirt as well.
Went back to the room for a nap, and Linda and Susan R came
in from shopping. They had all kinds of
fun, and Susan had been hypnotized into purchasing herself a birthday present
of jewelry – after all, she already had earrings to match! Linda had gone for
clothing, and unwrapped an embroidered blouse she wanted to wear to
dinner. Since it was wrinkled, I
suggested she put it in the bathroom while she showered to get some of the
wrinkles out. Wherever she put it wasn’t
the best spot, because she showered and got it soaked.
We three agreed to go to the Caribbean Line Dance Class at
3:00, and then settled in for naps.
Well, the time came, and Linda, who had pushed to do the class, opted to
go back to sleep. I met Susan R, and for
the next half hour, did the Macarena, the Electric Slide, and after Susan opted
out, the Wobble. I could definitely tell
that I have not been to the gym for 3 months.
Sweated up a storm and was totally out of breath after the Wobble. And it was obviously NOT a Caribbean line dance
class. However, a Chinese lady named "In" gamely stood next to me and we became a shadow team, with me barking
instructions for her to turn, kick, left, right, as we danced. All of these dances are things we’ve done at
one time or another in cardio, and she had never done them, so we became fast
friends, speaking several times the next day. But I had to take another shower
when I got back to the cabin. What a
workout!
We were getting a little nervous about our two chicks who
had traveled to Chichen Itza. We were
supposed to leave port at 4:30, and at 4:45, Sue H walked in. She popped into
the shower and was ready to go at dinner time, just when the ship finally slid
out of port. The huge Symphony of the
Seas next to us was full of viewers waving us off, and we slid smoothly
out. At that point, you could tell that
the port had not only our two Royal Caribbean ships, but two Carnival ships,
and further up the coast, a third Royal, much smaller, was docked. It’s no wonder the place was buzzing.
Dinner as always was great fun. Noel, one of the dining head stewards, was on
our case about the champagne brunch the next day. He’d pop in and out every few minutes to lure
us. Shereen was in rare form with our
table and the others she served, and danced around with a birthday cake on her
head, among other things. It was close
to Susan R’s birthday, and she was rewarded with a cake and a serenade. Shortly after that, the waiters paraded to
the staircase for another song and dance to celebrate Royal’s 50th
anniversary. Shereen came back dancing again, so I joined her a little bit.
Linda Kay finally figured that the unlimited mimosas at the
brunch meant that just 2 mimosas equaled the cost of the tour and meal, so she
signed up along with everyone but Sue H, who determined that she was more
inclined to deal with a couple of other projects like the Internet Café. After a lovely meal where I got to eat more
snails, (what is it about me and salmon
and escargots? I do pick strange foods)
everyone trooped back out to the evening’s events. Ladies 1-4 went to a show featuring a gent
named Jimmy Hopper, who was billed as someone with a voice like Andrea
Bocelli. The gang was suitably impressed,
although they said he looked more like Rod Stewart. Susan R bought a cd.
Then the intrepid group went to karaoke night, where Linda
belted “Sweet Caroline” while Sue H and Susan R provided backup vocals and
Gilley either hid her association with them or video’d their escapades. They did truly enjoy themselves. I, as per protocol, went to the room,
depressurized, and watched Rachel Maddow interview Hilary on her new book. A great time was obviously had by all. End of
Day 3.
Day 4. On the sea
again, and heading back was considerably calmer than the swells we hit going to
Mexico. Last days on cruises are usually
kind of special. There are several
events ongoing, of course, but the crew and passengers are in that almost
bittersweet mood. Everyone is chummy,
you wave and holler at people you have done things with, etc.
Our bunch had a full schedule – no gazing at the waves
today! Sue H tore off for the Internet
Café, the hot tub, breakfast, etc. The
rest of us began with our tours of the galley followed by the infamous mimosa
brunch. Linda and I were in the last
tour group, and our other parties were two sisters from South Carolina. One was married, and the other young’un was
celebrating her 40th birthday. We enjoyed meeting them, and it
turned out Susan G and Sue H had met them the previous day on the Chichen Itza tour.
The staff members doing the tours were the headwaiters from
the dining room, and were very proud of their ship and fellow crew
members. On the last inspection by the
U.S. Health Inspectors, which is done quarterly, the ship received a coveted
100% score, and bragging rights were in evidence, with photos, congratulation
signs, and some understandably happy crew members.
Our brunch proved to be a bargain; if you took a sip of
mimosa, Noel showed up to top off your glass with champagne. By the time we finished lunch, Susan R and I
had clear liquid in our flutes! And as
always, the lunch was grand. I got a
salmon appetizer, and after I stuffed mine down, cleaned off my pals’
leftovers. So my seafood fettucine got
short shrift, but it was followed by a “crema Catalana” which was a close
cousin to a flan or a crème brulee. I
managed to swallow all of that.
When we were finally nudged to conclude our meal, we popped
over to our two young Carolina queens, and gave the birthday girl a rousing
Happy Birthday chorus. We were parading
through the ship quite boisterously for people who had only consumed a few mimosas, but we got lots of grins!
On the ship’s last day, there are lots of sales to clear
inventory, so that was the next point of order.
I grabbed some goodies for my home sitters Rhonda and Elizabeth before
my roomies and I headed for the wine tasting event at 3:00.
I had booked my place online prior to the event. Everyone else had told our guy Noel, who had
written the info down earlier, or they scheduled at Guest Services. Well, we
walked in the door, and I was the only one set for the class list. Linda and Sue H were pointed to chairs to see
if there were any no-shows. They had a
LOT of company in the same boat. Another
weird glitch – whether all our funky issues were computer communications, or
oversights by staff, we’ll never know.
Anyway, we fortunates with names on the list were led to the
other side of the dining room, where an impressive load of glassware, cheese
and fruit plates, and general wine paraphernalia were on hand. Since I was a solo, I was put at a table of
5, with two couples. One couple, in my
age-range, had just relocated to San Antonio.
They were Carnival Cruise veterans and this was their first Royal. The
younger couple were New Braunfels folk.
The “boys” spent most of their time trying to one-up each other with
their collections of designer wristwatches, their wine knowledge, yadda yadda
yadda. Their womenfolk generally kept
their mouths shut, as is their mission…
Anyway, our sommelier was Rohan from India, and was both
extremely knowledgeable and amusing. We
worked our way through five wines, and only one, an oaky Chardonnay, was not
worth finishing, at least according to my palate. I learned several new things, both from my
own personal table masters and from our tutor, so it was well worth it. After the official event, I chugged on over
to the table where my gals had finally been granted a seat, and found that
Susan G and Susan R had also both made the call, although they missed the first
couple of wines due to over-sleeping.
The crew members busied themselves trying to sell these
incredibly cool wine aerator/decanter things, truly works of art. I lusted after one, but didn’t buy theirs,
which had the Royal Ship logo on it. I
may still buy from Amazon just so I can impress my buds.
Our merry band then slithered out the door and Sue H was
determined to get a couple of group photos.
The central staircase in the Centrum lobby was a natural, and a young
woman from St. Louis got commandeered to do the photos. She was so gracious that we turned tables and
she and her cousin got their pictures taken on their own phones. Then we headed for deck 11, where evidently
no one had been before. It’s the
exclusive end of the ship for the VIP card holders. We went outside to the staircase, again
commandeered a walker from New York, and Josh took photos of us with the
“windblown” effect. We then raced back
to the cabins to get to dinner on time.
Dinner was extremely festive and sort of sad, because we
were going to leave Shereen and Angelo.
Angelo had been married for one year, to a young lady who works in the
casino. He gave us a little story of
their lives. He also had made napkin
swans to grace the table; on earlier nights, he had provided paper handmade
roses, and did a magic trick for us.
Shereen, as usual, was the life of the party when the waitstaff headed
for the staircase, dancing and teasing up a storm. They sang “Jet Plane” as their goodbye to us
all. Then she came to me with a little
plate that she had written “Thank You” in gel.
Kisses and hugs all round. Oh
yeah, the food – I forewent the escargot and opted for the mushroom soup that
Susan R had tried at lunch, and I wasn’t disappointed – it was amazing. And I got prime rib, which I always
love. Followed it all with a chocolate
hazelnut cake. And lots and lots of
Susan R’s wine from her bulk order.
Back out in the lobby, I broke off again from the group to
go pack and watch Rachel. They stayed
out long enough to see a “parade of nations” which involved the crew members
split into their national origins. They
did their countries’ flags and some of them performed, including “our” Angelo,
representing the Phillippines. Then
everyone came back to the rooms for packing. End of Day 4.
Farewell, Enchantment of the Seas: our cabin had a pretty restless night, as our
bodies finally all decided that we had been partying and dining much too extensively. It was a case of me at the
john, followed in rotation, then starting over.
About 3:00, I tried to walk in on Sue H, and when I finally got in,
Linda opened the door on me! After all that effort, I think everyone felt
a little better the next morning, in spite of lack of concentrated sleep.
Anyway, Linda had discovered early departure, in which, if
you are willing to haul your own luggage off the ship, through customs, and to
the shuttle, you can leave as soon as Customs clears the ship. We three opted for this procedure, but Susan
R and Susan G determined that they could not possibly do so, with the amount
and weight of items they had brought.
Susan R had misplaced her passport, but found it while packing, so that
was a relief. Linda lost an earring
back, a pair of cheaters, and some other item; I lost my camera. All in all, not a bad record for 5 women with
a lot of stuff.
Linda and I popped up for some breakfast while Sue H
prepped. She missed us in the café, but
returned to find us awaiting the call. I
looked out the balcony and saw a swarm of folks already heading off, so we got
in the queue. As usual, it was very
efficient, and all our fellow passengers were patient and accommodating, so
there were no rough moments. But lugging
a full suitcase, even with all-wheel drive, can be tiresome, especially since
it was about a ¼ mile from boat to customs!
I was sure I’d be stopped because this time I was the one with the 64
ounce flask, but they weren’t looking for empties.
Sue and I got separated from Linda fairly early, but that
was not an issue, since she was in a different car. Sue and I hopped a shuttle, and while I had
only a vague memory of parking placement, our shuttle passed right by it and
when he stopped, we were only a short distance to it. We left the parking lot at 8:31 and made it
home by 10:00 am. Susan R and Susan G,
who had to wait for the official unloading, didn’t get off ship till 9:00. Our other three ladies had much longer drives
ahead of them, but all arrived home to their assorted husbands with good
memories and loads of laundry.
