The Bahamas, a Boat, and a Birthday wish from a distance, the week 3 recap from the Carr family.
A Boat
If there is one thing that I have learned this week more then anything, it is the fact that there are some people that you just can’t please. I mean we are on a boat that looks like a fancy hotel, floating in the Gulf of Mexico with more than 4500 people on it. In 6 days, we have not had to cook, clean or in most cases work, and yet there are still people that are not happy. On the second day of the cruise, we met a lady by the forward set of elevators and all she could say was how frustrating it was to have to wait for a free car. “It seems all we have been doing is waiting for these stupid things, I mean they should have more”. Really? 12 in the front of the ship, another 4 in the mid and 4 more in the “aft”, and we need more? Waiting 5 or 10 minutes for an elevator at a busy point in the day on YOUR vacation, is that bad?
Friday I watched a lady pressing the “Iced Tea” button on one of the 6 or 7 juice machines within a 60 foot radius, repeatedly with NO success, and all she could say was “Ah forget it! I just want this cruise to be over, nothing works on this ship. I had to change the remote control in my cabin 3 times, and the workout machines had problems and no one seems to care”. Come on lady, you are on vacation, why are you working out and if you DO want some exercise, why not take a stroll to the other juice machine right over there!
This is our first ever cruise, so I didn’t know what to expect and I guess our expectations are such that just about anything for us is cool, even if the one overweight lady in the lounge said “The food on this ship is horrible,” or that the dance teacher in the hot tub was criticizing the choreography in all of the shows. The way I look at it is, there are 4 ice-cream machines on each side of the Lido deck, that you can access 24 hours a day. When it comes down to it a self-poured cone anytime you want has a way of making things awesome and I am happy with that.
We had our first ever trip together to a Caribbean island and for just a quick couple of hours in two different ports, I did get a sense of what island life is like. Not sure how much of sense it was, but we can say that we like Freeport more than Nassau. Our first stop in the capital city of the Bahamian island chain, consisting of more than 700 islands is the country’s largest city. Nassau was pretty, but crowded and because we had the girls in tow, we seemed to have big tourist targets on our back and because of that we were the subject of many calls across the street for everything from hair braiding to 2 for 1 t-shirts. Stopped on the beach several times for “deals” on chairs or umbrellas and “unforgettable” rides on worn out and tired looking sea-dos or banana boats patched up with bathroom silicone. In a just 15-minute walk on the beach, we were all done – – just about. Not only because of the constant barrage of cat calls, but the heat was almost unbearable.
Even as I write that it was too hot, I feel a little like the complainers I talked about before, so I should say that it WAS too hot, but I loved it anyway! We made it to the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island and bit the bullet and paid our way in to use the facilities for the day. It included a tour of their aquariums, a freshwater pool with a waterfall, and of course the beach. Well, it didn’t really include the pool but Nathalie likes breaking the rules that way! The package did included lunch at 1 of 3 restaurants and we could walk to the Dolphin Cove and were able to see them in the distance but not touch. Of course, like anything on vacation if you have an endless supply of money you could do just about anything you want, including swimming with the dolphins.
Bahamas Day 2
Our second day stop in port was the much smaller, second largest city of Freeport. It gets it’s name, according to our taxi driver Uncle Bill, from the fact that when the island was a busy transport hub and before it was part of the full Bahamian chain, they made a deal that more then half of the island would have NO duty on anything, as long as it was used in the Freeport area. So cars with the special “bonded” number plates could be only used in the part of the town designated for its use.
We found the pace easier, with far lass pressure to buy things. It might have had something to do with the fact that the kids both did not want to come, opting to stay in “Camp Carnival” instead. But I am sure it also had to do with the fact the market was much less crowded then Nassau. Both Nathalie and I enjoyed a “Bahama Mama” at a beach side bar with our souvenirs and trinkets in tow. A great excursion, even if we had to “sit small” on the taxi ride back to the dock.
Back in the USA
A quaint little city with more bars per-capita then any other place in the world including Jimmy Buffett’s original Margaritaville, was our 3rd and final port on our second last day of our vacation. Key West is also the southern most point in the continental United States and one time home to Ernest Hemmingway! We enjoyed a “hop on and off” tour of the island and stopped long enough to visit a Butterfly Conservatory, and the zero-mile marker and sipped a cold one at the bar made famous in the Jimmy Buffett song. The girls will never forget the ice cream, and the half-pound cookie they enjoyed at Mattheessen’s Cookies, Fudge and Ice Cream. All in all a great stop and an enjoyable visit with some nice people and a lovely place in the USA.
All done but the…
Well tomorrow we arrive back at our home port of call, New Orleans and are planning one last tour of the city, before we hop back into our car and point it north to see if we can get me back home for my meetings this week. The trip has been a whirlwind, but a much needed and well worth it “time out” from our lives and although it is all waiting for us upon our return, I hope that the mood and happy feelings will tied us over, at least until our next trip.
Feelings
Our first cruise experience was more then what we had expected. From the amazing food, to the talented performers and to the incredible staff in the service areas, we felt like our needs were their top priority. Special thanks to our personal room steward, Artha and his team for not only making our room over twice a day but also smiling and greeting us each time he saw us in the halls. 
We met a lot of people including the dad and his two daughters from Windsor, the two crazy Greek sisters and their kids, and their kid’s friends from New Orleans, 3 sisters and their families from Detroit, and the nice mom and daughters from Seattle and it was nice to be part of each of their memories of a great vacation experience. Other notables were “The Quest”, the ocean water pool, Karaoke, the launch of the Carnival “Burlesque Show: Good Night Kiss”, the hypnotist/comedian Tim Triplett and our Cruse Director, Kevin Noonan and his team of Fun Specialists made for great entertainment. Tomorrow, we start saving for our NEXT cruise, because this was so much fun!
Birthday
Friday on the cruise was my Mom’s birthday. It was a little hard to celebrate being that far away, but I finally did get a cell signal from the top deck of the ship and with the wind blowing and the distant lights from passing ships on the Mississippi River as a backdrop, I was able to personally wish her a happy one. Birthdays mark the passing of time by counting days, and I guess when we are young the days mean more on some level then when we are older. With that in mind, my birthday wish for my Mom is that she holds onto the moments like they are years and hold each one in a special place.
In closing
On the 21 hour trip home, locked in the car with all my girls, there is bound to be a couple of conversations, worthy of using in my closing. I will save the Big Jim’s Boobie Bungalow billboard for another post, but this conversation happened within the first couple of hours. Nathalie was talking about how all the girls have some how ended up with colds and laughed when she told them, “Don’t worry about it I will give it to daddy!” and almost together, the girls responded with a resounding “NO”. Nathalie asked, “Why?” and Julia said, “Who will take care of us then?” Well, thanks Julia, I always do my best to take care of my girls!
Have a great and safe week and thanks for reading!
Jim