Family Cruise - Part II

Family Cruise To The Bahamas
Part - II

         The outside pool was on deck 12, just outside the glass doors of the Garden Café. That was so convenient. At any afternoon, there would be entertainment going on with a band playing and the grills hot and ready to dish out hotdogs, burgers, chicken and ribs, as well as veggies and salads. We snacked there a couple of times, but it was always a mad rush to find a table or even a chair to sit down in. It seems the passengers got up at dawn in order to drape a towel on the chaise lounges and chairs. It was a fun place to be. Besides the fairly large pool, there were two large Jacuzzis bordering the pool. One evening, Roseann and Dan watched a Caribbean show at poolside. The band played Island music and some of the crew put on a show. They danced and delighted their audience with some incredible acrobatic maneuvers. I was with both of them earlier in the evening to watch the night’s entertainment at the theater. I regretted saying good night to them after the show, but I was tired from the day’s activities and sought the peace and comfort of my stateroom.

         The bars at poolside and various spots aboard ship were forever busy. Your key card is the only money you used aboard ship, except for time spent in the gambling casino or in the arcade room. At the bar, it's swiped and you never had to worry about tipping the bartenders, the shop stewards, chambermaids or waiters and waitresses. A charge of $80.00 per passenger, slightly less for children, was tacked onto your on board bill just for that purpose. The crew deserved the gratuities set-aside for them, and much more. I hope they received every penny of that money.

         Our staterooms were situated on deck 6 aft. They were very nicely furnished with plenty of room in the drawers and closet areas. The amenities in our staterooms rivaled those found at any good hotel. Our rooms had two bunk beds and an extra over-head bunk for a third occupant. There was a mirrored dressing area, too, a refrigerator, safe, phone, and TV. The bathroom was adequate, but it could have been larger. The window in my stateroom was at least four feet wide and almost as high. I had an emotional moment when I woke up early the next day to view a magnificent sunrise off the waters. Very impressive! The next evening I remembered to close the drapes. I bunked with my daughter-in-law, Maryann. My son, Richie, and my grandchildren were in the next stateroom on our left. Roseann and Dan occupied a stateroom two doors to the right of us. No matter what condition we left the rooms in the morning, they were in perfect order when we entered them later on in the day, and sometimes we found a surprise such as chocolates or animal shaped towels on the bed staring back at us. The feeling of being pampered was wonderful. A daily newsletter with the day’s activities was also waiting for us in each room.

         At the casino, we were treated to a Las Vegas or Atlantic City ambient. I was happy to see the usual slots in different denominations as well as the blackjack and craps tables. I sneaked in every day, and had much fun at the slots. Most of the time, I'd break even. My daughter in-law, Roseann entered a slot tournament, but she came in fourth place and received a T-shirt for her participation. Imagine banging on the spin tab as fast as you could to total up points and/or get three of a kind in the middle line, in this case, three apples, which gave 15,000 points. It never happened, though, for the 10 contestants. The winner, who banged out points close to or over the pre-set amount, received a cash prize of $500.00. The runner-ups received a constellation price, as Roseann did. It was fun, though.

         There was bingo on most days in the Spinnaker lounge, a majestic room with upholstered couches and chairs complete with round tables set up for separate group seating. We had a spectacular view of the ocean from the windows, which were the length of the outside wall. A full staffed bar was within reach, but there was no need to get out of your comfortable chair. There was always one of the staff to take your order for beverages or drinks. When we played bingo, we had the choice to play the four games of bingo with an electronic power machine or use the regular set of six cards for each game. The power machine was as large as a business calculator. The regular cards cost $39.00, and they were a bit cumbersome to use. For an extra $10.00, we had purchased the power machines on stage at the front of the room. It’s highly unlikely to make a mistake using them. We would just press each number that was called and then hit the enter key. When a lucky person got bingo, the machine would announce it clearly across the screen. Any time a player wanted to know how many numbers that he/she came close to bingo, all that was needed to do was to press a set button. The power machine automatically revealed the best card in the set. Cool! None of us won. The jackpots usually were $1000.00 or more. If you were fortunate to be the only winner in a game, you got to keep your winnings, but it wasn’t unusual for more than one player to call out bingo. Most of the time, the pot was around $300, sometimes less, based on how many people played bingo.

         There were many amenities aboard the ship. I was toying with the idea of getting a massage, but there really wasn’t any time. I did make most of the nightly shows, which were enjoyable. Although not elaborate, the entertainment was top-notch. We were in for a treat when the cruise directors scheduled games like Family Feud, The Newlywed And Not So Newlywed Game, and Jeopardy on the days that we were at sea. The passengers would sign up to participate when they arrived for the performances. They would complete a form, which was tossed into designated baskets on stage. One evening, Roseann and Danny had signed up for the Newlywed and Not So Newlywed Game, but they weren’t selected. Like a raffle, someone from the audience selected the players. It was a lot of fun watching them, and the participants were such good sports. The winners received something special, but every couple or group received a small token of appreciation for participating. The main theater was so huge and so reminiscent of an opera house with balconies on each side. There were other conference rooms and lounges, all attractive and spotless, and the bars were always nearby. In fact the halls of the ship boasted beautiful works of art. In some areas, the walls were laden with framed paintings, and you walked upon regal carpeting throughout, except at heavy traffic areas such as the poolside and the Garden Café, of course.

         I even took an elevator up to the noisy arcade room, where some of the older children hung out for a while. I knew my grandchildren frequented that room often. My grandson, Petey, played the game of chess quite often, mostly with his father in the card room. Most of the time, he beat his dad. They had lots of activities for the children aboard. There was something for toddlers and up through the teenage years. That gave the parents time to have fun or relaxing times by themselves or with friends. Near the conclusion of the cruise, an announcement was made requesting passengers, at least one from each stateroom to assemble in the Stardust Theater to listen to final disembarkation procedures. When we arrived, the three main social directors had command of the stage. The chief cruise director brought out the rest of his staff, and the audience expressed their appreciation with a round of applause for all of them. They did a fantastic job to make our cruise a memorable one.

         The theater was unusually crowded, and I was admiring the good attendance just to listen to instructions, when suddenly we heard childlike singing that was reminiscent of soldiers singing along to their marching steps. Young children, most of them ranging in ages from 5 to 10 years old, were marching in a single line up the middle aisle of the theater. Some had pirate costumes on. Large black circles were drawn around one eye on most of the children to mark the typical black patch that pirates wore. They were adorable. The children sounded off in unison. The audience was captivated by their performance. They were helped along by marching crew leaders, who walked ahead or at their side. The children were wonderful to watch. Their parents must have been so proud of them.

         There were gift shops and specialty stores to frequent aboard. I had purchased two gold plated bracelets and one necklace. The merchants displayed various ropes of gold, and they were selling them for three to five dollars per inch. When you made your purchases, the clerks clasped the bracelets and necklaces right there before you. As I said, we just handed over our key room card for processing. We received the grand total of our expenditures at the end of our stay aboard ship. The final tab is sent to your stateroom the night before your return home to New York, and you didn’t have to do a thing, unless there was a discrepancy. The amount was automatically billed to your debit or credit card.


Now, on to part III and the excursions off the boat - "Family Cruise - Part III"