Back in October for Laura’s birthday we booked a Western Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean. It turns out that a birthday wasn’t the only thing we were celebrating. The week prior to departure we signed the paperwork officially ending reconstruction on the house. We’re done, and that meant party time.
The cruise left from Tampa, FL, which gave us an excuse to head down early to visit with my nephew Chip and his family. They have a lovely place right in the heart of Tampa. Chip took that Friday off, so he and Anna took us to the Columbia for lunch and let us explore a bit of old Ybor City.
The day of the cruise Ethan was playing bass with his band for Gasparilla and Olivia had a rowing regatta. It was hectic, so Laura and I caught an Uber over to the cruise terminal.
I can’t believe how smoothly things went. This is our third cruise, and the previous times we had to stand in long lines. This time we were given a specific departure time, so we went right in and were on board in almost no time. I don’t know if this is now the procedure for all Royal Caribbean terminals, but Tampa has the procedure down pat.
As we settled in with our first expensive rum drinks, we realized the drinks package was a much better deal than we had first thought. It would have been cheaper to purchase it ahead of time, but we still got a good deal. I jokingly said this would be an eight day liver stress test. As I said, we were celebrating the end of a VERY long year.
The ship pulled out at 5:00. We watched the departure from the front of the upper deck, heading out from Hillsborough Bay and under the Sunshine Bridge at sunset.
Our dinner time was set at 7:30. Having it later meant that we could hang out at the pool or do daytime activities longer, but it tended to interfere with evening activities. We were seated at a table for six. There was one other couple there and there was supposed to be one other solo traveler who never appeared. We soon became good friends with Brad and Carline and shared many excellent conversations with them over dinner.
Day One – At Sea and Cruise Observations
A cruise is probably one of the most self-indulgent things normal people (ie, not the ultra-rich) can do. Yes, it is expensive, but not out of reach compared to other vacations. There’s lots of great food and drink and lots of ways to engage just about any whim. And you get to do that with a thousands of your closest friends.
I don’t like crowds. Let me rephrase that – Crowds are OK, but I don’t like competing for limited resources. I don’t like waiting in long lines, especially if there are self-entitled bozos that think they should be given priority. I’ve gotten that feeling a couple of times on other cruises, but so far that hasn’t really happened on this one.
The Grandeur of the Seas is a smaller ship. It carries about 2000 passengers and about half that in crew. Even so, it’s just barely able to go under the Sunshine Bridge. Newer ships carry nearly 7000 passengers. I can’t imagine having to deal with that number of people. There’s a trade-off. With a smaller ship there are fewer resources, but fewer competing for those resources. However, popular spots can still be a problem. The main pool can be really really crowded, and sometimes it’s hard to find a seat at popular bars.
Our first day was a day at sea, and we planned to spend it with books and rum drinks hanging out at the pool. Instead of the main pool we chose the Solarium, an adults-only pool. We met our objective, while also observing our fellow passengers. And there was a LOT to observe – tattoos, micro bikinis, and other questionable fashion choices. I had been worried over my own body image since I’m overweight and as pale as a bowl of grits without butter. I shouldn’t have worried. These were my people, but not giving a care about how they looked.
This night’s dinner was the “formal” evening. Laura and I dressed up and headed down for the evening meal.
Next day, we would be in a new port.
Continued on the next page…