Day three in Florida started out with a
beautiful jog. I had looked on googlemaps and found a nice large lake
just half a mile north of our hotel room. I saw a path running around
it and thought, “This will be the perfect morning run. Everyone is
going to be so jealous of the great run that I had.” So I got up
before the rest of the guys, threw my shoes on, and went for a jog. I
got to the corner of the park, and there was a huge chain-link fence
there. As I continued on, I figured I would find an entrance at some
point. And then there was barbed wire at the top of the fence. All I
can figure is that the city decided to preserve the land in the
middle of the city and the only way to do that was to keep everyone
out. I was kind of disappointed in Ft. Lauderdale at that.
We ate
breakfast while Shantel went to get her neck adjusted again, then we
all checked out of the hotel. It wasn't really a bad hotel, but there
were enough things about it that just weren't that impressive and we
were ready to move on. We couldn't quite board the cruise ship yet,
so I suggested we find one of the “20 square mile flea markets”
that our friend Jim had told us about the day before. It wasn't that
large, but the one we went to was still really good-sized. I found a
waterproof watch (I knew I couldn't keep my phone with me everywhere
in the Bahamas for a clock like I do in the states) for $10 and then,
after much searching, I found the perfect sunglasses. Most of the
shops had the same sunglasses for the same prices, but I found one
tucked away on a back row of stalls that had a very different
selection and much better prices. I ended up buying a pair of Prada
knock-offs for $4!
We drove back to
the hotel for the last free lunch they'd promised us (squeezing every
dollar out of this free cruise vacation) and then we headed for the
cruise ship. There wasn't any traffic on the way there (which was
nice- especially compared to the nightmare that I went through with
my mom and dad on the way to our cruise to Ensenada).
Check-in was super
simple for the cruise, though we were disappointed to find out that
the Crystal Dining Room was already booked for the evening and we
would have to take the casual restaurant, The Rio, instead. We
dropped our bags off in the room, then went to the orientation
meeting. The girls were excited about the free emeralds offer until
they realized that you had to buy the setting and then you get the
stone put in for free.
As we
waited for the cruise ship to leave, we decided to head up to the
embarkation party on the top deck. The large amounts of alcohol and
preference of the DJ for songs such as “The Electric Slide”, sent
us quickly back inside. We found the ice cream shop where you could
get ice cream for free, so we took full advantage of that. With our
3rd
(and for some 4th)
ice creams in hand, we set out for the deck at the back of the ship.
We took a bunch of group shots and then did a bunch of lounging
around until the ship left port.
We watched as we
sailed away from Palm Beach, and then headed back into the lounge as
it started to rain, then pour. I had my book with me, so I hung out
while everyone else went and got some Italian food at the little cafe
on board. After they were done eating, they went exploring as I sat
reading with Laura. When things got... crowded in the lounge, we left
for the other lounge over by the stage to do some more reading there.
The others found us, and then it was time for dinner.
The only food that
was truly free on this trip was the food on the boat, and we took
full advantage of it. The appetizer (salmon tartar) and salads were
self-serve (I skipped the appetizer), and then we ordered the main
dish which was served to you. I chose Prime Roast Rib, which came out
rarer than I had expected but still tasted delicious. The highlight
of the meal were the servers who came around and offered to slice
meat off of their skewers onto your plate. I very much enjoyed a
chunk of sirloin, a pork roast wrapped in bacon, a spanish sausage,
and another chunk of meat that I can't now remember. Dessert was also
serve-yourself, so I went to look at the options. It was chocolate
cake or apple crisp. I really couldn't choose between them, so I
didn't. I took one of each. They were so good that I went back and
took another of each. By the end of that I was quite nearly sick to
my stomach.
The dinner over, a
few of us decided to go to the show-room for the evening
entertainment. We just caught the last five minutes of the acrobatic
act, which was a shame because it was really cool. After that, a
comedian came out, and he wasn't nearly as bad as I was fearing :)
While some of the others went to the bar, I played some games on my
phone. After the comedian, I was surprised that they opened up the
stage as a dance floor. Shantel and I headed down and did some
ChaCha, some West Coast and some East Coast swing. Neither of us
really wanted to be in the “Do The Twist” competition, so we
headed of the dance floor for the only competition of the evening.
After a couple more dances, they were starting the entertainment over
again and so we all headed out to the deck for some cool air. The sun
had set shortly before dinner, so it was nice and dark. We watched as
a thunder storm roiled off in the distance, flashes concurrently
lighting some thunderheads while throwing others into dark relief. It
was truly beautiful.
After about an hour
or so of relaxing (a massage train included in that time), I decided
to head in. At that point, I realized I didn't have my sunglasses and
thought that I had left them at the show lounge. I went to find them,
but they weren't there. I checked all around with Shantel and Cicely
and Chris, but no one had turned them in to the lost and found. After
goofing around a bit and finding more of our group, I decided to call
it a night with a bunch of them. I was super surprised that, as I
walked into our cabin, I noticed my sunglasses sitting on the desk. I
don't remember putting them there, and I don't know how they would
have gotten there, but it was great to have them again. The cabin was
super small, but it was nice to be in bunk beds rather than queens-
sharing a bed can be a bit tiresome.
After a fairly good
night's sleep, I woke up and got showered. We met upstairs for the
buffet breakfast. I'm not sure I could ever really get used to having
such a full breakfast- a bagel or bowl of cereal are almost always
enough for me. I had a bit of everything this morning, and definitely
enjoyed it all. We collected our things, got our passports, and with
that, it was already time to leave our cruise ship behind and head in
to the wonderful beauty of the Grand Bahamas.
No comments:
Post a Comment