Conference abbott::cruise_travel

Funny you should mention it.  I just came into this conference to
look into Dolphin.  My wife and I are also going on a four-day
cruise with these people, out of Miami to Nassau.  We're going on
a special deal with Delta.  We've never been before this, but our
expectation is that we will eat a lot, drink a lot, meet a lot of
people, and generally have a great time.  Dress is casual except
for dinner, men wear jackets & ties, women wear dresses, not gowns.
The ship we're going on is the Dolphin IV, carries about 600 people.
From what I understand from my sister-in-law (the Delta person)
Nassau is kind of a rip-off, except for the 'straw market' and
the casinos.  So we'll probably limit our time ashore, wandering.
We will go to some casinos, maybe Sunday night, and be sure to
go on the side-trip to the private island.  That's supposed to be
a good time.  We're going on March 17th.  Oh yeah.  If you can,
take the early sitting for dinner.  That will get you into the
lounges in time to get good seats for evening entertainment.

Have a ball.....

Dave

Thanks Dave, we will be going before you, so I will let you know what happens
to us.  We also don't plan on spending too much time in Nassau, my wife wants
to sleep on the beach, and I want to play in the water.  Anybody know if their
is windsurfing on Blue Lagoon Island?  We will probably go into Nassau for a 
show at night.  One thing that has me worried though is the fact that the
travel agent has my first name wrong.  Everything from the airline ticketts
to the boarding passes are marked Robert Hart.  I wonder if this will cause
any problems with Customs? 

			Don

    Never has for me and I have never had my name appear correctly on
    anything and I'm talking about my last name. Its a simple name but
    everyone knows that god never intended that Flemming contain 2 M's.
    Really, I wouldn't worry about it at all. Noone will even notice.
    

I'll be waiting to hear how your cruise went, Don.  It's got to be
better than this perpetual near-winter we're having.  I shouldn't
think the name error would be a problem, but you might want to check
with the travel agent to be sure.

Regards, and Later.

Dave

    Well, I did check with the travel agent, who told me that she would
    change the ships manifest.  She also told me that it is illegal
    to travel on an airline under an incorrect name, but that it was
    to late to change things, so just call me Bob.
    
    						Don...oops, I mean Bob.
    

Well we made it back from the Bahamas, but our stay was way too short.  My
wife and myself thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, but we recommend that you take
a minimum of seven days, because the sudden jolt of reality is too much, too 
soon after all of that pampering.  The Dolphin IV is a small ship compared to
the company that it keeps.  It pales in comparison with the Starship Oceanic
and the Carnivale etc, but the hospitality was there, and the food was very
good, as good as any restaurant at any price that I have been to.  The Gulf
Stream was very rough that first night due to the fact that a very large storm
had just passed on it's way up the coast.  It seemed that most of the passengers
were sick, as the ship appeared to be deserted.  The crew was busy handing out
dramamine and paper bags, but I found that taking two dramamine(I'm a big guy.)
and eating a seven course meal with lots of wine can make a person sleepy.  My
wife had to go to the show alone.(She said that there was all of twenty people
in attendance that night.)  The next morning we arrived in Nassau as the skies
were clearing, and we opted for the party boat to Blue Lagoon Island.  You know
the one where they filmed parts of Gilligans Island etc.  Well it looked like
Giligans Island, and it had a great lagoon, even if it wasn't blue.  We found
a secluded beach-for-two, and discovered that the water was only about 4 feet
deep for as far as you wanted to walk or swim.  You could actually walk from
Nassau to this island I found out on the trip back to the ship.  They had a 
great buffet on the island, and we found this place to be the best part of the
cruise.  Don't miss it.  Of course there was always something to do, but we
decided to stay away from the pre packaged tours and we hired a stretch lincoln
piloted by a guy called Danny Miller who really knows his stuff.  His rates are
cheaper than a crowded tour bus or taxi, and he took us away from all of the 
hustle and bustle into the back streets and country lanes because we wanted to
house shop for fun, and he showed us the $20,000 neighborhoods, the $150,000
neighborhoods, and of course the $500,000 seaside villas.  Property is very
reasonable there, at least for now.  We took note of the condo construction
and private airstrips going up and down and all around.  Danny also took us to
visit the more conventional tourist spots like the old Fort high on the hill
overlooking the city and the harbour, the botanical gardens(Need much work!)
and of course the great hotel casinos of Paradise Island.(Where he parked
out front and we wandered around inside for awhile leaving piles of money 
behind.)  We took advantage of his vast knowledge of the islands. My wife
and her brother are part owners of a family run nursery and landscape business,
so they had lots of questions about this flora and that fauna.  Danny told us
that almost anything will grow if you just throw it on the ground, and we 
noticed that most folks had Coconuts, Grapefruit, Bananas etc. growing in their
yards.  We also did some shoping for trinkets at the straw market, an experience
which I thoroughly enjoyed, but my wife did not due to the fact that everyone
is hawking something or other.  I also spent some time wandering around in the
non-tourist part of town looking to capture some essence with my camera.  I
found it very difficult to sneak up on old men napping on benches and women
and children in doorways and windows.  It seems that they can sense you from
100 feet away, and they would always perk right up and ask if they could shine
your shoes or braid your hair etc.  Anything for money, it's sometimes pitiful
how poor some of these people are.  I talked with some fishermen who were 
waiting out the winter, and who had boats to charter if you wanted to really
get away from it all.  I never felt threatened even when I stumbled into an
alley by mistake, and came face to face with the underground population who
naturally wanted to sell me something illegal.  They accepted my no thank you
and wished me a happy stay on their island.  We played some games on the boat
trip back to Miami, the highlight being the scavenger hunt which our team won.
All in all it was a memorable trip, and one We look forward to repeating with
our kids.(On the Starship Oceanic, you know the one with Mickey Mouse on it.)
The Disney version of this cruise has to be the best for kids.  As we were
getting off of our party boat after returning from Blue Lagoon Island, I
noticed that the Disney cruise people were getting off of their glass bottom
submarine!  Now if only the two free passes that we got when we volunteered
to be bumped from the flight home turn out to be any good,(They are with
Eastern.) we will be completely pleased with our trip.  At any rate, I would
not hesitate to recommend Dolphin Cruise Lines to anyone, they didn't do
anything wrong by us.

			Don