I was actually really excited when mom and I got a deal on a last minute cruise. If you keep your eyes posted, and subscribe to some of those annoying emails we all delete immediately (guilty!), you might just get a deal. Now that mom and I are living in Florida (near FIVE cruise ports!), we can spend the money we would have used on airfare for another cruise or some cool excursions. This deal we got last week... Carnival cruise for four nights and 2 ports in the Bahamas leaving out of Port Canaveral (which is closest for us) for $189 a person! And we got a nice stateroom with a window. You can't stay 2 nights in a choice hotel for that much! And ours includes food and entertainment. We did see the Disney Dream in port near our ship and mom and I daydreamed about being able to afford a Disney cruise. Pretty sure it just ain't gonna happen!
(The Disney Dream (or keep dreaming, in my case.)
I had two dilemmas on this cruise. First, I've always wanted to go on a Carnival cruise because It's got the reputation of being the "party" ships. Well, that was when I was still young and still in one piece. The Carnival ship we're on (Sensation), is a nice ship, but there are a LOT of kids (there's a giant water slide on the top deck that I never managed to get up to), and the daily itinerary is just as boring as it was on all the other cruises, although at least they're not cramming artwork and jewelry down our throats (so far). Probably because the clientele was clearly unable to afford or use it as much. There are a lot of couples and big families on the ship, too, but not a lot of single people and not a lot of activities for single people. It would appear that as I've matured, so has Carnival. Our party days are behind us both. There aren't as many older people as I've seen on other cruises, but, again, the customers are not as ritzy as other cruises either and my generation will be coming up as the next generation of old and we'll want exorbitant cloths and jewels to wear to in my small redneck little town.
(mom and I at exciting (not!) Freeport!)
My second dilemma is this: As I may have mentioned in a previous blog, when I was 21, I was working for Club Med. The last resort I worked at was Columbus Isle (San Salvador) here in the Bahamas and I've waited a long time to come back. I won't get to see MY island, but any island in the Bahamas is good, mon! As part of my job, I had to fly to Nassau a couple of times. Our ports on this cruise are Freeport and Nassau. Well, I'm at the end of our first port (Freeport), and I"m already typing a blog about it. Sitting on the ship, with a cocktail and my computer. Does that tell you something about this port? First thing, as SOON as we got off the ship, the sky opened up and poured on us for at least an hour. Unless you're taking a tour to some other point of interest on the island, you will be bored out of your mind 15 minutes after you arrive and if you're on a really cool excursion on the other side of the island, you'll get drenched and bored! Everything tourist-y is within a couple of blocks, mostly locals all selling the same things we saw in the South Caribbean and Hawaii: T-shirts, handmade jewelry, Bahamian-themed items (all made in China) and we were done about an hour after the rain. Looking at the port from the ship, you can literally make out where the tourist section ends and industry begins. I cannot tell you about the other parts of the island since mom and I decided to hold off on excursions because we both haven't been moving around very well, and since we just got back from the Southern Caribbean cruise, we figured we could do without. Mom has cruised to Nassau a couple of times, so between the two of us, we were disappointed in Freeport and excited about Nassau.
(Freeport natives helping me blog)
Part of my problem is that I'm exhausted and in quite a lot of pain on this cruise. Usually I don't do too badly when we're cruising but this time, it's horrible. I had a rough first night, and for once I was glad we didn't have an excursion. My back was bothering me and the arthritis in my hips as well. The slightest movement in my sleep and I'm wide awake. And I have to get up about 5 times a night to pace before I can lay back down, so I was little sleep deprived and cranky this morning. Mom slept like a freakin' log. Grrrrrr. However, I do want to pitch a product. I bought it as a last ditch effort to help me until my medical insurance figures out what the hell it's doing. The foot that I had surgery on and multiple sprains, fractures, etc. has been causing me a lot of pain when I put any weight on it. So someone told me about Tommie Copper. It promised super-thin support by material infused with copper). What the hell. Nothing else is working! I had to return the one for the back because I accidentally ordered a man's, but I kept the ankle support just to see if it would do anything. I absolutely shit you not, it's unfreaking believable! I don't normally go for any of that new age, snake oil, or any of that stuff. Like I said, this was done in desperation. But I literally notice the difference the minute I put it on or take it off. And it's so thin and comfortable, I sometimes forget it's there, and fall asleep with it on. I'm definitely ordering the back brace and the open finger glove for the arthritis in my left hand. At this rate, I'll be completely covered in Tommie Copper wear. A walking billboard! Think I'll get a discount? Hmmmm. I now return you to this blog entry already in progress....
After we shopped the tourist area (I swear, more than a block in any direction gets you into the industrial area!) and the most colorful thing at the whole port was the Senor Frog's! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Senor Frog's. Great fun and love all the signs on the ceiling! It just seemed weird to go to a Mexican bar in the Bahamas! Anyway, mom asked what we wanted to do next. I was wet, in pain and unhappy. And she refused to tell me if she wanted to go or do anything else. We talked about taking a taxi to a beach somewhere else on the island to pick up a geocache, but decided not to. In the end, I went back to the room and apparently fell into a coma. I took a muscle relaxer and woke up over 2 hours later drooling into the pillow. I had just sat up from my nap when mom came in. Then the whole, "what do you want to do now?" conversation started up all over again. I grabbed my computer and headed to the topside of the boat to listen to the reggae music (at least we had that), but decided I'd go down to Senor Frog's instead. About halfway between the gangway and the point of entry at the other end of the sidewalk, was a young girl sitting on a towel. Some people from our boat yelled from their balcony that they had called medical to have a wheelchair sent to her. I asked her if she was alright, and she told me she has severe back problems and I was like, "Honey, let me tell you about it!" Poor thing. She's 33 which was just about the age all my trouble started. I stayed and talked to her for a while, a little pissed off, because I happen to know that the medical department is at the top of the gangway, on the same level, and no one came with a wheel chair. After a while, I sort of helped her to her feet and an elderly gentleman offered to support her until they got on the ship. Chivalry isn't quite dead yet, it seems!
Tomorrow we head to Nassau and there will be a lot more to see and do there. Especially because there's a lot of historical stuff. I didn't really get to see much while I stayed on Paradise Island (Club Med), but I did get to go to the straw market and a couple of outdoor night clubs. I'm pretty sure my night club days are over, but I can still get excited about everything else! Stay tuned...
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