3 Nights at Sea

The convenience of NYC embarkation. "Freestyle Cruising" - meaning, doing pretty much your own thing at your own pace.

Gone are the "Early" and "Late Dinner Seatings" and assigned tables and seats. No more dreaded anticipation of being stuck with a complete boor at the table for 8 nights. No more "Formal Nights" (awww...) or "Dinner with the Captain".

You have the choice of dressing up to the nines or wearing casual/elegant attire in the evening. Or you could walk around in your ratty shorts to grab some grub at the Blue Lagoon Cafe.

Lightened schedules, lessened restrictions. Hey, sounds good to me. So there we were by 12 noontime - lugging our bags and suitcases outside Pier 90.

After clearing customs, we boarded the ship and went straight to the Raffles Terrace (Deck 12) for our buffet lunch. The first of many many meals this week where we simply stuffed ourselves way more than we should have.

Next came the usual embarkation motions: Locating our stateroom, registering S for the Kids Crew, waiting for our luggage, and the mandatory Lifeboat Drill.

Long before the ship started moving, about half of the guests were already milling out on the deck. Most were in thick jackets, drinking beer or nursing a tall, plastic tangerine glass filled with Bahama Rama Mama. Loud Calypso music played, setting up the party mood.

At 4PM, the cruise kicked off with a Sail-Away Celebration at the Galaxy of the Stars. Great music and entertainment was provided by an all-Filipino band called the Next Stage.

The Maharajah Casino wasn't set to open till six PM, but P had already signed up for the Cash Blackjack Tournament. Tsk. tsk.

The Tivoli Pool on Deck 12 didn't have the long, looping water slide that Carnival Valor had. But the four, ample sized Jacuzzis surely made up for it.

Day in and day out, P and I would see the same people sitting on that 100.4 degree water. For hours at a time. 

We quickly established our lazy routine. During the day, I'd be reading on a lounge chair by the pool while S was having a ball with her new friends at the Kids Club. If P wasn't lying down next to me, I knew I would find him at one of the bars. His favorite watering hole was the outdoor, covered Bier Garten (above, center) overlooking the pool. German pilsner and hefeweizen. Need I say more?

The sea condition was considered "moderate" - meaning, the waves were between 4.5 - 7.5 feet high. Not bad at all.  Or so I thought.

On our second night, as the gentle rocking of the ship lulled me to lala~land, I dreamt of our perfect Caribbean family vacation. Sunny blue skies, warm turquoise waters, lush palm trees swaying in the wind, white sand beach, sea water splashing on my face. Yes, I even felt the salty spray - cool!

I woke up to hear S calling my name from the top bunk of her bed:

S: Mama...

P: Zzzzzzzzzzzz...

Me: (half-asleep) Hmmm? Are you okay, sweetie?

S (retching): No... i'm sick!

I suddenly became aware that I had a large, wet slop on my cheek. Gingerly, I wiped it off with my hand.

Alas!! The salty "sea water spray" was in fact,  NOT a dream...