Greetings from the Bahamas - Wish You Were Here!

Today's Office View: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Like every first day of cruising, the excitement of being on board and catching up with friends you haven’t seen since last year can lead to a bit of over indulging.

After enjoying a few “Welcome Aboard” cocktails and unpacking the 39 shirts I packed, we attended the “Hello, My Name Is” cocktail party from 5-7. John designed our t-shirts so that the entire front of the shirt looked like a giant name tag, with our names emblazoned across our chests. Unfortunately, a wintery blast of cool weather followed us out of port and onto rather choppy seas. So we headed down to the dining room for an early dinner.

Making Introductions Easier and Easier

Since we were “early-birds,” we selected a table with an ocean view, settling in for our first fine-dining experience of this trip. If you have never cruised before, there are several dining options on board the ship. We are signed up for the “open” dining option, which means that we can simply show up and be seated whenever we like. There is also the formal seating area, several restaurants, and our favorite, the buffet that basically serves everything on the dining room menu, but without the need for fancy dress and table service.

Dinner was four courses of delicious – even though the service was painfully slow. I started out with Beef Carpacchio, followed by a Sun Dried Tomato Gazpacho, a Veal Chop with Cheese Polenta, and a Sugarless Lemon Torte. While that sounds like a lot of food, the portions are all moderately sized so that you can enjoy more tasty dishes. The food was surprisingly delightful; however, the service was very slow and we got a bit restless. At 8:30 we saw Jimmy James do his singing / vocal impressions act (10 thumbs down) and then we staked out a place at the casino bar for the remainder of the evening and proceeded to meet and greet our fellow travelers. As a result of all this fun, I am feeling just a tiny bit delicate this morning.

Overnight we arrived in the Bahamas and out the window is Half Moon Key. The seas are much calmer today, but the morning is just a bit overcast. It seems that winter pursues us into the tropics, but we will ultimately outrace it as we head on to Puerto Rico this afternoon. My first cup of coffee has done little to alleviate my multiple-bourbon-on-the-rocks-hangover, which isn’t too bad considering last night’s level of indulgence, but I do feel a little dry. A big plate of Eggs Benedict, some bacon, and a few glasses of juice should get me into shipshape and ready to face the remainder of day. After all, how much energy do I really need to lounge by the pool until 2:00 - at which time I have a massage scheduled?

The next six days will be much the same – eat, drink, tan, sleep, and repeat. I better get busy.