|
Carnival's Sensation: 2/26/95 - 3/5/95
"The Dottie Cruise"
Sunday: We depart (-:
The flight from Boston was smooth and uneventful. We arrived on time in
Fort Lauderdale and hopped on the bus to Dodge Island. Although the
transfer coupons plainly stated that the driver's gratuity was included,
she nonetheless "hinted" that she'd accept tips. [Gripe #1: tipping. I'll
grant that a lot of people need tips to survive, but the arrogance and
attitudes sometimes just rub me the wrong way.] She also cautioned us
that the dockside porters were "mean and nasty" and they'd probably "lose"
your luggage if you didn't tip them. So she unloaded the bags, we made
sure they were there (hard to lose 'em on a 20-minute bus ride...) and
forked over a few bucks for the privilege of having one of these gentlemen
move the bags the remaining 4 feet to the cart which would be shifted over
to the ship.
This cruise was on the Western Caribbean itinerary, sailing from Miami on
Sunday and hitting the ports of Cozumel/Playa del Carmen, Georgetown in
Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Days at sea were Monday,
Wednesday, and Saturday.
Sign-in was smooth; we got squared away with the "Sail & Sign" program and
headed up to the ship. Once on board, we wandered around a bit and located
the stairway which led us down to Riviera deck, where we found our cabin
and dropped off our carry-on luggage. Then we headed back up where we
could get out on deck and watch as we set sail. We linked up with the
other family we were traveling with (they were in the cabin next to ours),
got a couple of "Funship Specials" complete with souvenir glasses, and
grabbed a spot at the rail.
We stayed in an inside cabin on Riviera deck, 2 uppers and 2 lowers. The
kids got the upper bunks, and we moved the 2 twin lowers together to form a
pseudo-king-size bed. The bathroom had toilet/sink/shower, about the size
of a small 3/4 bath. There were a couple of closets and a small counter, a
chair and a small table. The space was adequate for the four of us (the
kids are 9 and ~7, so they didn't need _too_ much room.)
Before we left port, we were treated to a talk on snorkeling and some
wonderful underwater shots taken on past trips. The speaker recommended a
few places as possibilities for visits in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, which
we later found to be excellent tips.
By the time we set sail, our luggage had magically appeared outside the
cabin, so we moved it inside and got things set up to our liking. We had
to ask the cabin steward to unlock one of the bunks, but after that, no
problems.
Next came the lifeboat drill, which went off without a hitch. The
flotation devices seemed awkward - I felt like a walking ad for a personal
injury lawyer with the life vest as a neck brace!
Then we were off to dinner - we met our waiter, Ramir, and our busboy,
Danilo. Both from the Philippines, both excellent. We had eleven at our
table, our two families of four and a family of three from Montreal. It
seemed that there were a lot of Francophones on this sailing! The table
was designed to seat ten, so things were a bit cramped. I wish they'd
juggled things a bit so we'd had a more comfortable arrangement, but we all
got along just fine. The bruises on my knees have healed. (-:
After dinner, there was a talk for "all" the kids on board. The previous
week, there had been over 400 kids on board; this week there were about 80.
It turned out well, though, as the staff had lots of one-on-one time and
the kids weren't lost in a sea of faces.
Later, we tried to locate the Rum Swizzle party, but to no avail. I
guess the bar waiters got mugged as they came out with their trays of
complimentary Rum Swizzles. Aah, whatever. We ran into the Carnival
mascot (a jester) and had a couple of pictures taken.
We went up on deck and watched from the Lido deck aft - saw a ship
following us but it was too far off to distinguish which it was. It could
have been the Costa Romantica or the Majesty of the Seas (I think those
were the two in port with us in Miami.)
Well, hey, we're on a cruise, so there must be BINGO! We plunked down our
money and got a couple of cards, but didn't win anything. Anyway, we
assured ourselves a good seat for the Welcome Aboard Show. And what a
show! John, our cruise director (favorite quote: "Stop it!"), was by far
THE BEST in our book. He had some good straight men (and women) to work
with, though. It was here that we first met Dottie, who is an activities
director for a nursing home in Florida (and a part-time singer!) We also
met Anita Mann (a honeymooner (so why's she need a..Stop it!)) and Dick
Golden(!) There were two teams of four passengers in a competition to see
which group could pass a spoon connected to a piece of twine through all
the team members' shirts and pants the quickest. We were ROLLING with
laughter as we watched the antics! John and Dottie just kept playing off
one another, and soon the entire audience was believing that this lady was
planted. It's impossible to convey how funny this routine got.
We later brought the kids back to the cabin, got them settled in, and went
to check out the midnight buffet (Western Style - ribs, corn on the cob,
etc.) Finally we rolled into the cabin for a little rest.
Monday: At sea
We were on vacation, so we decided to sleep in and get breakfast on the
Lido deck rather than drag into the dining room for the 7:45 main seating.
Scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, toast, fruits, cereals,
pastries, juices, coffee and tea were available. OK, it's a limited menu
compared to some I've seen, but we don't have to cook or clean up!
We lazed around on deck as the kids participated in various "Camp Carnival"
activities. Our spot on the Promenade Deck aft turned out to be right
where the skeet shooting was to be held, so we slid over and watched as a
couple of farmers from Michigan proceeded to blow away clay pigeons one
after another. It was an impressive show! The kids, however, told us
later on that they were just below us on Atlantic Deck and Tim didn't care
for the noise. We attended the talk on what to do in Cozumel, including
which shops gave kickbacks to the ship (no, John didn't really say that!)
We picked up the kids for lunch, then dropped them off for some more
activities. We spent some more time around the pools soaking up sun and
just enjoying the chance to relax and do some people watching. Before we
knew it, it was time to get ready for the Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party.
The kids were invited to their own "Coketail" party, so we dropped them off
and went to the Fantasia Lounge for the big to-do. This was formal night,
so everyone was in their finest. I saw quite a few tuxes, but most men
were in dark suits. Women's attire ranged from nice dresses to full
evening gowns. We skipped the line to have a picture taken with the
captain.
Tonight's dinner was Italian theme (I can't for the life of me remember
what I ate!) The dining room staff performed "O Sole Mio" for us after
we'd eaten our main course(s) - the first of several "dinner shows".
After dinner we worked our way to the Fantasia Lounge and waited outside as
the late seating cocktail party was wrapping up. Once they cleared out, we
found ourselves seats (front row!) for the first production number -
"Sauvage". We're not theater goers, so I guess we're easily impressed.
The show was super! Dancing, singing, and a couple from Russia who were
very acrobatic in their moves (reminded me of an ice dancing pair with all
the lifts...)
After the show, we tucked the kids in again (early day tomorrow!) and
headed out to wander the ship. You know, we actually found ourselves
HUNGRY - but we didn't want to wait for the midnight buffet (grand pasta
buffet at 12:30) since we wanted to be up early for our arrival in Cozumel
(9:00 AM ship's time.)
Tuesday: Cozumel
[Big note on today's "Carnival Capers": "PLEASE REMEMBER: Always stay on
SHIP'S time!!"]
We decided to eat breakfast on the Lido deck again (same selection every
day) and were going to meet up with our travel companions. The line to get
off the ship via the tenders was INCREDIBLE. I think we waited upwards of
an hour, as the tenders weren't as reliable (or numerous) as they should
have been.
We moored off shore at Cozumel and took a tender to the pier. The silver
vendors on the tender were a surprise to me; I hadn't expected the selling
to start so quickly! We decided not to buy anything on the way in, though.
We quickly found a taxi, and for a $6 fare were driven to Chankanaab
National Park. The admission to the park was $5 per adult and the kids
were let in for free. We wound up catching up to the other folks here.
We set up under one of the thatched canopies (someone called them something
else that I can't remember) and did a bunch of snorkeling (we'd bought our
own equipment and brought it for the cruise).
We'd also brought three outdoor/underwater cameras, and used one of them
up here. The kids had a great time - Deanna (9) did quite a bit of
snorkeling, and Tim (~7) played on the beach side with our companions' son.
We stayed here for quite a while, then got another $6 taxi back to town,
where we picked up some t-shirts and souvenirs. On the tender ride back,
Laurie (my wife) bargained for two silver bracelets and a necklace. She's
the one who plays the price games when we do car shopping! Back on board,
it was time to clean up for dinner.
Tonight was oriental dinner, no show from the dining room staff. The food
was, again, very good but I can't remember which choices I made! I lost
track of what (and when) I was eating!
The after-dinner entertainment was the Mens' Knobby Knees Contest. We sat
front row again, and laughed as the contestants made their way to the
stage. One of the men was an 84-year-old on his second honeymoon (awww..)
As he lifted his pant leg to reveal his knees, the audience was hysterical!
As it turns out, John selected some ladies from the audience to come up on
stage and inspect each contestant's wares. The tension built as each lady
(in one case, a group of three) went up and slapped, tickled, caressed...
Laurie was chosen as the "inspector" for Ken, the 84-year-old who already
had the contest won the moment he put his knees on display. I was nearly
in tears from laughing so hard - and forgot to take a picture! Luckily,
the folks we were traveling with had brought their video camera and we have
the evidence on film.
The trophies were distributed (Oooh! Aaah! Solid Gold PLASTIC TROPHY!)
and it was soon time for another set of Bingo games. We stayed put, played
a couple of rounds, but mostly wanted to keep our seats for the show.
Tonight the performers were Robert "the Great" Excelsior (??!?) and a
comedian, Torian Hughes. We had no clue whatsoever what "Excelsior's" act
was - it turned out to be acrobatics. Once we got used to the idea (we'd
thought it would be a magic show) we enjoyed his display of strength and
agility. Torian (who had done the 12:15 "R" rated show the previous night,
which we'd missed while catching some Z's) came out afterward and put on
quite a show himself. I realized that I'd seen his act on some cable
comedy shows.
We decided that this was a night that the kids could stay up and see/enjoy
the midnight buffet - Mexican style this evening, served up on deck. I
wasn't particularly impressed with the quality of the food on this buffet,
but Laurie said I'd missed a couple of the selections. It was very
confusing the way things were laid out.
Wednesday: At sea
After the late night Tuesday (well, Wednesday...) we slept in again and
breakfasted on the Lido deck (I know, _boooring!_) The kids headed off for
more activities, and we enjoyed another "pure R&R day" as we soaked up some
more sun. Today's talk was about "Cayman and Jamaica Adventure", including
"Why it is safer to take a tour in Jamaica." Jamaica is the one port where
we'd decided to take a tour, and looking back, it's the least memorable
part of the cruise. More on that later.
We picked up the kids and had some lunch from the Sea View Grill (we never
made it to a dining room lunch), the stretched out on deck for a while.
There were more kids activities that they wanted to participate in, so we
dropped them off and went to see the "Honeymooners, Lovers and Marriage
Show." This was cute, as various honeymooners related their tales of how
their husbands proposed (boring vs. romantic vs. just plain weird!) We met
Ken again (the 84-year-old) and learned a little more about him - married
64 years! Dottie was in the audience, and John got more detail on her
story. Here's where we learned what she did in her daytime job as well as
what she does at night
We'd told ourselves that we'd do at least one step aerobics class, and this
was the day. The instructor put on one heck of a class, and we were ready
for the jacuzzi tubs afterwards! We missed the galley tour by doing this
class, but I'd rather just eat the food (-:
This was French night in the dining room, so I had to have the escargot
appetizer (well, I _do_ remember some things.) No dinner show, though.
Tonight's entertainment included a juggler, Jean Claude. His twist was
that he juggled with his FEET! He was followed by another comedian, George
Solano. George is of Columbian descent ("What do you think of when you
hear Columbia? Right, coffee!") He put on a good show, interacting well
with the audience (our traveling companion family's son got pulled into the
show as he watched from a staircase near the front of the lounge ("Barney's
not on 'til later, kid...")
The midnight buffet was _DESSERTS_. I think I exceeded my recommended
caloric intake by a factor of about 6 at this extravaganza! After the
buffet we went to George's late night ("R" rated) show. He had a couple of
ladies in the front row trying to get into the show, but I think he kept
them at bay pretty well. After the show, off to bed!
Thursday: Grand Cayman
Since today we were getting an early start, we actually made it to the
dining room for breakfast! After Ramir picked his jaw up off the floor,
we were treated to a choice from a good selection of breakfast fixings,
including pancakes, french toast, omelets, as well as the same stuff we
could get up on Lido deck.
We again moored off the mainland, and took a smaller tender to dockside.
We decided to walk along the shoreline and wound up at Parrot's Landing,
where one of the tours from the ship was getting set up with snorkel
equipment. Since we had our own snorkel gear with us, the folks there
said we were welcome to dive in and enjoy. We joined the tour folks and
spent quite a bit of time here. They all seemed to disappear after about
an hour or so, and we soon had the place virtually to ourselves. With
fewer divers in the water, the fish seemed to increase in number - it was
amazing! As we were starting to gather our things to leave, one of the
people who worked at Parrot's Landing was showing some video she'd taken
earlier in the day of a dolphin swimming alongside one of their tour boats.
She'd also gotten some underwater shots of a dolphin "catching the bow" of
another boat as it went past. This footage was just incredible. We loved
this place so much that we picked up some literature about hotel/dive
packages they offer. We left here and walked back to the pier, stopping
for a little more shopping before getting back on board the ship.
We got back on board early enough to grab a bite to eat on deck, then
watched a little of a vegetable carving demo. We spent a bit of time on
deck, then headed to the cabin to prepare for dinner. Tonight was "Island
Fare" night - I have no clue what I chose to eat! The staff performed
another number for us - "Hot hot hot". This one was an audience
participation number, as people joined in the conga line that wound its
way around the dining room!
This was the passenger talent show night, so we got our front row seats
again (!), watched some passengers play "Win, Lose, or Draw", and played a
couple games of Bingo. There was a bit of a ruckus as a couple of ladies
behind us were holding seats for their husbands, who had left for some
reason or another. Another couple came and started complaining about
people reserving seats! Finally the husbands returned, and the complainers
found seats elsewhere. We thought it was pretty nervy for people to show
up 10 minutes before a show expecting to find empty seats in "prime"
locations.
Well, we were then treated to the talents of some of our fellow passengers.
The first "act" was a group calling themselves the Village Creatures. This
was a bunch of guys dressed in various costumes and dancing to "YMCA". The
most outrageous costume was one guy who wore nothing but a pair of bikini /
thong briefs! The other two acts were "real" talent, as one lady sung a
couple of songs ("Crazy" and "Old Time Rock and Roll") and a gentleman sang
"Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera.
After the talent show it was time again for audience participation! John
recruited three people from the audience - well, the audience recruited one
person, Dottie, for the part of the heroine in a story to be acted out.
The other two participants had also been involved in some other stuff,
including our pal Ken. This guy had also won the hairy chest contest (we
missed that one, I think, when we were working out) despite the fact that
he had a nearly hairless chest. He was to be the hero in the story. The
villain was one of the people who was involved in the first audience
participation act. His claim to fame is the way he _consistently_ messed
up his line, "I'm going to KILL you". When John told him his part
(maniacal laugh, snarl, "I'm going to KILL you" _with_ _venom_) he thought
he was supposed to say "with venom". (I'm almost convinced that THIS guy
was a plant.) So every time he said his line, it was "I'm going to KILL
you with VENOM!" (John's response - "What, are you going to hit her with a
snake?") Anyway, I'd swear that this is a Carnival standard, as I think I
remember something like it from the two previous Carnival cruises I'd been
on.
This show ran kind of late, and we were going to have another relatively
early day in Jamaica, so we didn't go for the Pizza Buffet at 12:30. We
just packed it in and got some rest.
Friday: Jamaica
We docked at Ocho Rios early in the morning, breakfasted in the dining room
and were off for our tour (the only one we purchased vs. going it on our
own.) It seemed like mass confusion, but we eventually found our tour bus
and headed out to visit Prospect Plantation. Our "tour guide" on the bus
made sure we knew that we should take care of her and the driver like they
were going to take care of us. [See gripe #1 above...]
We arrived at the plantation and were loaded onto a wagon which was pulled
by a tractor, and away we went. We stopped a few times along the way to
see some beautiful sights - a gorge through which the White River (?)
flowed, a couple of scenic vistas of the ocean (one back toward the port
and one out over what looked like an isolated bay), and once where we were
given the opportunity to try out for the Jamaican Bobsled Team (we'd just
come up a steep hill and around a corner - the driver offered to unhitch the
wagon!) In the middle of one of the stops, the driver gathered us around
for a "sermon" on the poor quality of life on Jamaica, and how much the
money from tourism was needed, but how the rich elite keep the lower class
down and don't share any of their wealth. It was after this stop that we
were "treated" to a demonstration where one of the plantation workers
climbed a coconut tree and brought down a coconut which he then husked and
split. We sampled the coconut water and the meat of the nut as well, and
we were again reminded that we should take care of the fellow who gave the
little tree climbing demonstration.
After the plantation tour, we did a little shopping there before getting on
the bus. We stopped a way up the road at a little hillside market, where
the shops were one atop another. We couldn't walk 10 feet without being
accosted by a shop owner (or six.) After a half hour here, we loaded up
again, and were taken to a more developed shopping center (Taj Mahal) where
there were more upscale shops along with some of the less pricey souvenir
and trinket booths. A little more shopping here, then it was off to Dunn's
River Falls. [A side note: the tour was supposed to have stopped at two of
the more developed shopping centers, but we instead stopped at the little
hillside market and one of the more developed centers. Some people
expressed disappointment at the change, and some were just plain angry
about it. I didn't care either way.]
Here we got off the bus and fought our way through another of the
ubiquitous markets to the place where our "guide" led u$ to the ba$e of the
falls$ and then up the ca$cade. Another fine gentleman carried our camera$
for u$, while a third took video$ of u$ a$ we climbed the fall$. Is my
cynical side showing through??
At the top of the climb, we drifted down through the market again and
shopped for a short time, then boarded the bus back to the ship. We wound
our way through the vendors and through the checkpoint (I realized after
we'd passed through here that they were looking for, shall we say, illicit
substances.)
We planted ourselves on the sun deck just aft of the funnel, and Tim
crashed! I watched as we set sail, then relaxed a while longer before it
was time to get ready for our second formal night. Dinner was billed as
"Gala"; I'm not sure what cuisine that represents. (-:
We located seats in the Fantasia Lounge once again (front row!) for the
"Sensational Journey" production. Again, wonderful dancing and singing,
followed by the magic and mystery of "Gaetano". We went to the 8:30 show,
then put the kids to bed and went wandering around the ship. We checked
out a couple of the clubs we hadn't seen yet, including Michelangelo's,
where the Calypso band played. Watching the time, we went and lined up for
picture taking at the Gala Buffet in the Fantasy Dining Room. We were
first in line here, and as we got to the end of the buffet, we exited
through the secondary accesway which had been closed all week, then headed
directly over to the Ecstasy Dining Room to get in line there for the
buffet where we could actually eat the food! Stuffed and satisfied, we
dropped into the Plaza Lounge to see the late show comedian, London Lee.
This guy was billed as a "Las Vegas Comedian", but I think he'd seen better
days. He got a lukewarm reception, and we weren't particularly impressed.
We stayed for the show, then went back to the cabin for a couple hours'
sleep.
Saturday: At sea
We slept in again, choosing the have breakfast on Lido. Laurie summed it
up well: having spent the last few months cooped up inside in New England,
we wanted to take every opportunity to be OUTDOORS!
At 11:00, John gave the debarkation talk. What a depressing event, as we'd
just settled in, or so it seemed. John promised to do what he can to get
Dottie a free cruise, since she'd virtually been the "life of the party".
We went over the various pieces of information we needed as we were going
to debark, and we had a chance to show our appreciation to the various
staff as representatives from the dining room, bar waiters, and cabin
stewards came on stage to thunderous applause.
We located some spots on Lido deck where we could be near the pools and
water slide, grabbed some food to eat, and just tried to forget that we
were wrapping up our vacation. One of the ice carvers gave a demo on deck,
as passengers tried to guess what he was carving as he went along (it was
an Indian chief.)
We stayed on deck until late in the afternoon, when it was time to get
ready for dinner. Tonight's dinner theme was American, and the staff
performed "God Bless America". I'm sure our Canadian table mates
appreciated the gesture. (-:
After dinner, it was time for Bingo - tonight's "cover-all" jackpot was to
be $2000. We played, but didn't win. I wonder just how much the lines
rake in with that particular gimmick. Come to think of it, as we were
waiting to debark on Sunday, I saw a Wells Fargo employee cart off a couple
of LARGE sacks.
The entertainment for the evening was to be two comedians. The first
performer got one or two ripples from the crowd, but otherwise was greeted
by stares. Whether it was his act, or the fact that people were coming
down off a vacation high, or both, it's hard to tell. It was almost to the
point where I pitied the guy! The second act was London Lee; he got a bit
more laughter, but still nothing like the first two comedians we'd seen
earlier in the week. We left the show early and watched Forrest Gump on
the on-ship movie channel (well, some of it. I fell asleep.)
Sunday: We return to Miami )-:
We arrived early (8:00ish) but didn't disembark until about 9:30. Because
we had a flight out of Ft. Lauderdale, and it was Grand Prix weekend, we
were among the first to disembark. Fetched the luggage and _gladly_ tipped
a porter to bring the bags to the Delta desk to check them through to
Boston. Hopped the bus to the airport and waited about 1.5 hours. The
flight was smooth, uneventful, but we circled Providence due to foggy,
rainy weather. Landed after 4:00, got home around 6:00. Unpacked and
collapsed. When can we do this again?!??! (-:
|