Mike's Corner

I called my father the other day to tell him I was in Miami and on the biggest boat that I had ever seen. He asked me if I was at the boat show...

Nope. I was on my very first cruise.

Shannon had been on two, so she was my "Cruise Guide". Pulling up to the port, I was amazed at how many of these huge vessels were lined up. Celebrity, Royal Carribean, Carnival, they were all there. Skyscrapers floating on water.

After finally getting on board (we had to navigate through security, which is similar to airport security), we went to the pool for the welcoming toast. Rum Runners and Pina Coladas were handed out as the staff hurried here and there to make sure everyone had a cocktail.



Next was the Muster Drill. In the case of an emergency (fire, pirates, iceburg, etc...) we were to report to our Muster Station, then "calmly" walk outside in a single-file line. The young lady explaining all of this turned out to be my blackjack dealer about 8 hours later. Now I feel safe...

Our first stop was in Key West, which I had not been to in 20 years. We took the trolley tour to learn the city's history, had a beer at Sloppy Joe's, went to the original Margaritaville, toured Mel Fisher's Treasure, slipped into the Hard Rock Cafe, and saw the southern most point of the USA.

The Dolphin Swim was the highlight of the Caymans, but I'll have to post those photos later. Across the street from Dolphin Discovery was the turtle farm. The most dangerous thing here were the iguanas that lurked in the trees. You never knew when they were going to fall or jump from the palm trees.

We saw our second Hard Rock Cafe and another Margaritaville while at the Caymans. We decided to eat at a local place instead though, Paradise Grill. We had two beers each, a fish sandwich, coconut shrimp, and a side of crappy service: 60 dollars US. The place was packed, of course (there were 3 cruise ships in the harbor with about 7000 hungry people).

The view from our cabin was awful: we couldn't see any land, we couldn't see any clouds, very boring.

I was disappointed in the fact that I gained 9 pounds in 6 days. Maybe next time we should take a Jenny Craig Cruise. Food was everywhere! Turkey Club at 3 AM? No problem. Taco Bar by the pool, 4 buffets around the clock, dining room service with 5 star food nightly. Keep the wine flowing! I'll have another Rum Runner! (plus 15%, of course).

At our assigned dining room table were Jeff and Debbie from Arizona, Dave and Michelle from Toronto, and Stacy and Heather from Kentucky (not pictured, because Heather felt seasick on the last night).


One thing that I discovered from this cruise, a 6-day cruise is actually only a 4-day. The first and last days do not count. Next time we go, it will be a minimum of 9 days (which is actually 7). The food is great, the service is great, the activities are great, and the prices are astonomical. 3 out of 4 ain't bad.