Cruisin'...

We are no longer cruise virgins...our first time is over! But we're grateful friends convinced us to try cruising. No, I'm not talking cars; I'm talking ships! Ours was the Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas and she was big enough, old enough and fun enough for us.

Our first impression was her size, the second was with how quickly and efficiently staff could process over 2400 clients onto her! The drinks start immediately upon boarding. Who could resist a nice pina colada in a blue flashing glass with an umbrella? Once on board, our friends took us on a "discover the boat" tour to orient us to the various restaurants, pools and other amenities on board.

Each night dinner was divine. The chef(s) seemed to outdo themselves every night. The menu provided insights as to what was healthy, what was low fat or no sugar. I liked their "vitality" symbol which helped me select the lower calorie offerings. Yes, Virginia; you can stick to your diet while cruising but those desserts!!! It's not easy. Even our friends who have cruised extensively were impressed with the quality and presentation of the food.

I think dinner was my favourite time of the day. We & our friends had great conversations with the two other couples at our table: two sisters and their husbands. Our waiter Vedasto was a hoot, singing, playing the guitar, playing jokes (on the two sisters, thankfully) but more importantly doing his job by giving us excellent service and advice on the evening's offerings.

The ship had two pools and two hot tubs, a gym (which I never did enter), a wall to climb, many dancefloors and show rooms, lounges, atriums, etc. The quality of the shows, their singers, dancers and musicians were also very impressive. The cruise director, a Canadian from Toronto, made sure we always had something fun to do. I even won a "guess the lyrics" contest, more from good luck than good knowledge. Who the Hell are Bananarama anyway (I'm sure my friend Pat will tell me)? If you missed a show you could catch it later on TV in your stateroom.

Yes, the stateroom was teensy but we were only in them to sleep, shower, dress so that wasn't a big deal (unless you suffered from claustrophobia).

So our agenda was like this:
Day One - orientation including what to do in case of emergency (mandatory).

Day Two - brekkie with friends then onto a tender which took us to the ship's island CocoCay where we sunned, snorkelled (marvelled at the fish) then got back for dins and a very good show. Also took in Karaoke which ran every night.

Day Three - brekkie with friends then off to tour Nassau (of which viewing Atlantis was one of the highlights), an afternoon at the Sheraton's pool plus snorkelling at their lagoon (where the fish are just a little too hungry for my liking - they were tasting ME!). Then we took a little local bus ($1.25) downtown to find the Tortuga Bakery which sells the best ever rum cakes. Ummm! Back to the ship for dins, a salsa lesson or was that the night we learned some new line dancing or was that the night I won the Guess the Lyrics contest? After a while it's all a blur and I don't keep a diary.

Day Four was spent at sea. The sun, the breeze plus we'd found a special private sun spot at the very back of the boat between two decks made the day glorious. Until the Captain announced a little boy needed to be airlifted off the upper deck. Soon, people kicked off the upper level were crawling all over us, all conjecturing (appendicitus, broken leg?). Hubby watched the air lift exercise then returned to report on how it worked. The closing show was spectacular. Every musical presentation was wonderful and we were in awe of the talent.

Day Five - normally we'd breakfast in the WindJammer, a self-serve buffet resto but on the last day, we opted to try the dining room breakfast for once. We weren't disappointed. Upon leaving the ship, we were "processed" even more quickly off than we'd been processed on. Back to reality. Back to rain!!! Back to the condo and laundry. It felt in retrospect like being a Queen and King for four days...who can beat that? But like Cinderella, the humdrum of regular life must resume although I've still got my Prince Charming to see me through!