Unbiased Reviews by Real People
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Unbiased Reviews by Real People
Isodore – poof! Lili – poof! Kyle – poof! We’re coming throughhhhhhhhOct 2, 2002 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line I just had a great time and that is the real bottom line
aka you can’t keep Epinioners down As you may or may not know, SurgRN911 & I took a birthday cruise this past week aboard Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas. We were taking the Western Caribbean tour, 7 nights. We thought the trip was too expensive to take so we solved the problem – I bought Surg’s trip for her birthday and she bought mine for my birthday. This way it doesn’t seem expensive, does it, since it is a gift? Sure, come on, give me a raise of hands for those that agree, I know you are out there. The condensed version of a cruise 9/22 – board ship in Ft. Lauderdale 9/23 – disembark at Key West, Florida 9/24 – disembark at Cozumel, Mexico 9/25 – disembark at Costa Maya, Mexico 9/26 – day at sea 9/27 – disembark at Georgetown, Grand Cayman 9/28 – day at sea 9/29 – disembark back at port, Ft. Lauderdale YEAH, RIGHT …….. has anyone heard of hurricane season? Long live Isodore, Kyle & Lili Ariba, ariba, ariba 9/22 – board ship in Ft. Lauderdale (84 F) 9/23 – day at sea (83 F) 9/24 – no problem, mon, welcome to Ocho Rios, Jamaica? (88 F) 9/25 – hey – is that land over there? Sorry, no can land at Georgetown, Grand Cayman (85 F) 9/26 – putting my feet on Cozumel soil and my butt on a horse (84 F) 9/27 – day at sea (87 F) 9/28 – hello Key West, glad to see ya finally (89 F) 9/29 – disembark back at port, Ft. Lauderdale (89 F) I must admit, I approached this trip with trepidation. I have never been sea going before, although Diane had cruised before and she assured me it would be FINE as long as you don’t watch the shower curtain move. Huh? I understood later. Add to this the ever moving storm patterns that were beating that area to death – four major tropical storms/hurricanes were in the exact area we were heading and they were supposed to reach each port on the day we were scheduled. But, hey, these guys are professionals. They aren’t interested in hauling 2500 drunks off ship in the middle of a major gale and try to keep them alive – so they diverted course. But as they repeatedly said, Hey you are on vacation, who cares where you are vacationing as long as it is sunny and the food is plentiful. Two small rain showers, mostly at night anyway when we were being entertained or drinking ourselves silly (not Diane & I, we definitely didn’t run up a bar bill), so it actually didn’t interfere with the festivities on board. Our trip went in reverse order to avoid the worse of the storm centers, with an unscheduled stop at Jamaica, which turned out to be scary for most that left ship. We wisely stayed on board and enjoyed on ship entertainment and the blazing sun. No docking ports in Grand Cayman and seas were too brisk for the smaller shuttle boats, so we missed that stop entirely, as well as Costa Maya, but they compensated by giving all those drunks free booze until noon. Yeah, like they need free booze, but it added to OUR entertainment factor – smile. Yehawwwwwww We did, however, get off ship in Cozumel, Mexico. For one thing, it was probably just good to get off ship and not be total party poopers, and secondly, someone – I won’t mention who – was dying to go horseback riding. Someone else, clearing throat and pointing finger in my direction, wanted to visit the Mayan Ruins, but it entailed 5 hours of hiking. I don’t hike, hell I barely walk – grin. So I relented and put my butt on a horse for the very first time. In fact, the first time I’ve been up close and personal (and I mean PERSONAL) with a horse. My horse, Paca, was, as the instructor put it, almost comatose. In fact, it would take an act of God to even get him moving. Yeah, right, an act of God and someone sneaking up behind the horse and whipping its flanks. So this cowgirl still suffers from sore flanks of her own, but it was fun (shhhhh ….. don’t tell Diane I said that). The tour was 4 hours, through the jungle, and visited Mayan ruins so we both got our wishes. Free sodas and Corona Beer before and after the ride – as much as you can drink, amigo, it is free – smile. Beached hippies and sun bathers I had been to Key West previously but Diane hadn’t. I think she was a little disappointed, but we stayed on the main drag in town and didn’t venture back into the living areas, which are quite unique and nice. The main drags are simply wall-to-wall hippies and drunks. Since they weren’t expecting our ships to dock, the staff in all the stores had to be called in extra. They weren’t happy but you know what? We were on vacation, so we didn’t care. Besides, we knew the next day we were heading back to our own lives. What really made both of us laugh were the huge amount of cruisers that left ship and immediately headed to the bars. The bars were jammed full. Our main chore was finding a PEPSI somewhere. Which we did, that man was lifesaver and he gave us free refills and a list of really great local shops to hit. Hitting the mainland and finding our luggage Sadly to say, the ship did reach port in Ft. Lauderdale as expected. Why couldn’t THAT be a port they missed? Sigh. Anyway, luggage secured, we taxied to the airport, three hours early, and tried to beg an earlier flight back home. Booked solid was the constant cry. In fact, way overbooked was screamed even louder. We looked at each other and smiled – Wanna sign up to be bumped for the flight? Hell Yeah! We got bumped – YEAH! Left 1-1/2 hours later than scheduled, arrived home about 2 hours later than we would have and have secured in our grubby paws two round trip tickets anywhere in the US and Canada. Ariba! I love this country. Happy Birthday Diane, compliments of US Air – smile. Send in the hurricanes, you can’t scare gals that hang out on Epinions! Thanks, Susi P.s. yes, we have already started scouring the brochures for the next cruise. Alaska? Hawaii? After all, we already have the airfare covered – smile.  |
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