Post-Cruising

We arrived back in Miami and it's time to depart. After saying good bye to everyone in the group the previous night - hugs! - we kept running into people - at breakfast, in the hall, on the way down the gangway, while picking up our luggage in the terminal, at the airport. It was funny to keep seeing people again and again, but it was also nice to sit together at the airport and put a close on the trip.

A final bit of chaos on our return trip as a gate change for our flight was announced right before boarding (only a few people had been given the wrong gate information, A and I among them), a last minute plane change happened in Nashville (a stop we weren't even aware we were making) and an ice storm coated our home city. I wasn't sure we were even going to make it home and then during our descent, I kept having visions of us landing in the river or skidding past the runway. No problems occurred with landing though and we actually found a shuttle to take us to E's house very easily. We had left a car at E's house on the way out, so we returned there and stayed over since the roads were so bad.

Addendum: We drove home the next day and the usual 30-40 minute drive took 2 hours because of the icy roads!

Cruising Day 2: At Sea

We spent the first day of the cruise at sea, heading towards Haiti. A and I toured the ship which had a rock climbing wall and onboard surfing as well as an adult-only swimming area, kids only gaming areas, movie theater, production show theater, 3 story dining room and more. It was incredible. What a ship! I also participated in a Sudoku challenge that day and almost won, but some amazing Sudoku-ing genius showed up late and finished 10 seconds before me. I was still given a prize, a Royal Caribbean luggage tag, for finishing second. Win, lose or draw, it was fun to compete.

At dinner, A and I got to feel very brave ordering escargot off the dinner menu, having eaten it on our previous cruise. It was delicious again and the better part of the food. Throughout the cruise, A and I agreed that the food was ok, probably better on our previous cruise (although that may be rose-colored glasses) and that the simpler items on the menu were better than the more complex.

That evening the younger cruisers met up at the bride and groom's room to open a "special" bottle of champagne and go our separate ways for bachelor and bachelorette parties. The champagne was a bottle from the bride's friend's wedding 12 years prior - at the time, the friend handed our bride the bottle, saying, we'll drink this at your wedding, expecting her friend to follow her down the aisle within the year. When that didn't happen, she promptly forgot about the bottle, but our bride did not. She brought the bottle on the cruise and we took it to the champagne bar to be opened and poured. It looked like beer and smelled like acetone and after several toasts (I hate it when brides demand that everyone make a toast - this is my second experience with that and it was just as awkward with this small group), we threw it out and ordered a fresher bottle.

After drinking this much nicer bottle, the men departed to eyeball the "cradles" (the groom's term for young women) on the ship or whatever it is that bachelors do. We ladies hung out longer in the champagne bar getting to know one another better then headed over to karaoke. We were having so much fun that the other two gals went to get the guys to join us - unfortunately, by the time they got back (sans gentlemen, who had already dispersed), it was over. This a strange character of events at sea - nothing lasts very long. The karaoke was only scheduled for 1 hour. We headed over to the nightclub and danced for a few minutes before, we, too, decided to cut it off. After dropping the other gals at their floors, I headed down to the pizza parlor and had a slice with A and the groom.

What I Learned:

1. Destination weddings are a lot of work.
2. Having a highlighter for the cruise compass would be handy.
3. You can always find members of your group wherever there is late night food.

My Favorite Part: Getting to know our cruise companions.

Cruising Day 1: Leaving Miami

Got up later than expected and chaos ensued. How to get 25 people staying at 3+ locations, all their luggage and 15-20 gift bags to the pier terminal and onto the boat using only a minivan? Patience, lots of patience. Lucky for A and I, who don't function well when we aren't fed well, the bride's family had planned ahead and called us all into their room to start the day with a meal together. Yeah! Despite the madness, we all made in onto the boat and the cruise departed on time.

What I Learned:

1. Destination weddings are a lot of work.
2. Gift bags are a lot of work.
3. Every adult should be responsible for their own baggage, their own transportation, and their own room number. [I was none of the above, but I think it would have been less stressful for everyone involved if every adult took those on.]
4. If I'm not going to eat it at lunch, I shouldn't take it with me.

My Favorite Part: Getting away from it all!

Pre-Cruising

Flying to Fort Lauderdale, FL today for cruise vacation. Wedding of A's best friend, same folks we recently saw in AZ will be in Jamaica on Friday. Cruising on the Freedom of the Seas, the biggest and rated best cruise ship in the world. Has a rock climbing wall and a a flowrider where you can surf right on the ship! Pretty amazing.

Arrived in FL exhuasted, but excited. A and I weren't sure we were going to make it to the wedding, but the bride worked hard to make sure we made it - and did NOT tell her groom. When he got to the airport, she made him stay there and eat as he arrived an hour earlier than us. She kept him looking at her as we walked up to them - his reaction was priceless when A tapped him on the shoulder.

That evening A and I helped the bride put together gift bags for everyone on the cruise, including waterproof disposable cameras, sunscreen, lip balm, gum, kleenex, lotion, body wash and beach towels. We ordered pizza into the condo, had a few drinks and went to sleep as early as we could since we were asked to go the peir early to facilitate the group's departure the next day.

What I Learned:

1. Destination weddings are a lot of work
2. Gift bags are a lot of work
3. Everybody loves surprises
4. Everybody loves pizza
5. Carry on should have clothing to change into immediately on arrival or better yet, on the plane, when changing climates.

My Favorite Part: Surprising the groom.