Cruisin'

Just what the doctor ordered…a week long cruise in the Caribbean.  Of course, BH & I had planned this long before my mom’s sudden passing.  Can you call it a sudden passing if she was practically 93?  Anyway, I cannot tell you how perfectly timed this trip was, especially, after all the drama associated with my mother’s estate.

Yes, she named my niece as the executor.  My niece has seen her exactly once in her life.  But, she orchestrated that “Christian” card to a tee (she’s Jewish).  My mom’s house is now a “Christian” retreat for the next seven years….no smoking and drinking allowed.  Control from the grave.  That’s my mom!

Anyway, taking off on that Royal Caribbean floating hotel/city was the perfect antidote to this chaos.  Both of us had been on exactly one previous cruise and I can tell you it was nothing like this!  Harmony of the Seas is the Cadillac of cruise ships.  Early on, we signed up for an ocean view room with a balcony.  Heaven.

Did I mention it was a regional bridge tournament?  Of course, that’s why we originally enrolled.  We could get lessons, play three times a day and still have time to enjoy the amazing amenities.

There were over 20 restaurants, many of which were “free.”  There were also high end options, which we did not take advantage of.  On the Boardwalk, there was a Johnny Rockets, which you had to pay extra for.  WHAT??!!  Pay extra?!  Hey, I love hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries but I am NOT playing extra for that, when I can get fresh salads, fabulous entrees like salmon, filet mignon, and chicken cordon bleu for free!  I was pleasantly surprised at how many healthy choices there were….if I could’ve just stuck to that, but those desserts were soooo tempting!

Needless to say, I ingested way more than my allotted 1000 calories per day.  That’s just the food.  The drinks were another thing. When we first got on board, people were lining up in droves for the “drink package.”  We had no clue what was going on.  You cannot get a soda on board unless you get the package.  Neither of us drink sodas so we weren’t fazed by that.  But, if you wanted soda and alcohol, well, that was a whopping $60 a day!  I admit, I like my glass of red wine, but I’d have to drink at least 5 glasses to break even.  Good thing, we’d carried a bottle on board in the suitcase.

Speaking of suitcases, I had never in my life seen the amount of luggage these cruisers were bringing on board.  We’re light travelers.  One week.  Both of our clothes and toiletries fit into one small suitcase, including the wine.  There are formal dress nights, which people take very seriously!  One of the Royal Theatre nights required everybody to dress up in white.  Our wardrobes were a bit more simple….casual shirts, shorts and sandals.

Most nights, we’d relax in the Jazz Club after our night games with a glass of wine and amazing entertainment.  The Aqua Show was good, not great but the Comedy Club was hilarious.  Best Trump imitation I’ve ever seen….the voice was perfect!

Our stop in St. Maarten’s didn’t last long….it took us almost an hour to get off the boat and by then, our tour and trip to Pinel Island was long gone.  Oh well….what to do?  Get back on, get our money back and play bridge.  The land and sea tour of San Juan was well worth it….informative and entertaining.  Got to walk on the beach and got a pineapple coconut smoothie. Delicious.  Never got off the ship at the Royal Caribbean private beach at Labadee, Haiti.  Decided to let everyone else get off so we could enjoy some hot tub time without the hordes.

The logistics of this ship are overwhelming!  Over 7000 passengers and 2000 employees!  Not one glitch….everything was “smooth sailing” the entire week.  I would love to see a documentary on a cruise line.  We were in awe.

And was it worth it?  Well, we didn’t get to any of the bridge lessons which were offered daily at 9 in the morning.  Too early for us lazy bumpkins who stayed up late to enjoy a nightcap on our balcony.  However, we did win three events which added 60 master points to our totals.  Those are the most master points we’ve ever won at any tournament.

So, yeah, it was definitely worth it….so worth it we’ve signed up for two more regionals at sea in 2019!  We’re a little late to this party…gotta make up for lost time!