Monday, June 13 – Key West
I wake up at 3:00am because I am so hot (anything over 70 is hot as far as I am concerned – any yes, I’ve set the air conditioning for as low as it can go). I go to the ice bucket for some cold water and the room steward did not fill it when he turned down the room last night (he did fill in yesterday afternoon). I drink some tap water and a use a wet wash cloth too cool me down. Then I am able to go back to sleep. I wake up again right at sunrise. Too late to take any pictures as the camera lens would fog up if I ran outside and took any pictures because the cabin is much cooler than the outside air. With all the humidity the camera needs time to reach the same temperature as the outside air (about thirty minutes or a few minutes in the sun will do it). To bad too, because it was a really pretty sunrise and I would have loved to have a picture to remember it by.
I’m surprised the sun is pointed at my balcony, since I figure my balcony should be facing north. However, we are now headed north toward Key West and thus my balcony faces east. The travel channel (really the ship information channel - channel fourteen) says we are moving at ten knots, however, it seems more like five knots to me.
It is 7:40am and we are here. The captain is spinning the ship, so we will be docked soon. I have nothing planned for Key West or Ocho Rios (except to get some jerk chicken in Ocho Rios). So I am in no rush. As a result of the spin, my starboard side cabin is facing away from the dock.
The nice thing about being on the Lido deck is I don’t need to use the elevator or stairs to get to the pool or the buffet. My plans for breakfast were just a banana and something to drink. However, I was shocked at the lines. Long does not really describe these lines. Eighteen cruises and I can honestly say I have never seen breakfast lines as long as these.
Usually I eat early and don’t have to put up with the lines. However, today I’m going to hang out with my friends and our plans are to go out at 10:00am, so I eat a late breakfast. Fortunately I found a cook to order omelet station with only one person in line – I think. When the person in front of me got her egg and left someone one line over tried to get in front of me. However, she was stopped by the rope between her and the omelet station. I don’t know which one of use was, or was not, in the line for the omelet station. The person cooking the eggs cooked eggs for both of us. I never got within an arm’s length of a banana (or so I thought).
I met up with my friends at 10:00am. They also mentioned the long lines for breakfast. They ended up eating in the dining room. The cruise director said that since we are docked at the Navy yard it would be easier to get into town if we booked a shore excursion. Getting into town without a shore excursion was easy, fun and free (who would have thought the cruise director would mislead us trying to get us to purchase a shore excursion?). We ended up on one of the Conch Tour trains that was running every ten minutes or so. Because we are docked in a naval yard, security is fairly tight. We were told at least five times that everyone needed both their ship ID and a picture ID if they were over eighteen or we would not be able to get past homeland security to re-board the ship. By about the third time I kind of got the impression that they really meant it. Sure enough there was a security check point when we reentered the dock area (under eighteen only needed their Sail & Sign card – no picture ID was needed). Of course the obvious question is, what do you do with a seventeen year old that looks nineteen and doesn’t drive? The Sail & Sign cards do not list ages.
I spotted this fish (ha ha) ...
As we left I noticed the Carnival Triumph (out of New Orleans) was docked behind us. I have no idea how the ship slipped past me unnoticed, but it did. Once in town we ended up taking the 90 minute Conch Train tour. It was $29 per person. The one hour version of this tour cost $36 from the ship. The tour is very interesting and covers a lot to almost too much. Just as you are trying to absorb what the tour guide just told you he is pointing out something else that is interesting. It is the first time I’ve been on a 90 minute tour without any dead spots and be able to keep my interest the entire time.
The weather is hot (88 degrees) and humid (87%). This of course wears on someone like me who is used to the dry heat of California and thinks anything above 70 it hot. So we headed to an air conditioned restaurant for lunch. We ended up at Jack Flats for a nice lunch. Just under $60 for the four of us including tip. Since my friends bought the tour tickets I bought lunch.
After lunch we did some souvenir shopping and then headed back to the ship. The last train back (again free) was at 4:15pm and we were on the 3:15pm train. The line was long but the train hold a lot of people and the wait for the next train was only a few minutes.
Back on board I relaxed a bit then went up on deck to take a few pictures. That is when I realized that while I’ve got a good cabin, I could have done better. Mid ship cabins cost more than cabins near the front or back with rear facing cabins costing more because of the extended balconies. When I was on the Glory I had a rear facing balcony at a time when there was no extra charge for the extended balcony cabins on the Conquest class ships. This time I opted for the rear most cabin in the forward section as it cost less then the cabins that are mid ship. However, what I should have done was to book the forward most cabin on the port side. Then it would be a short walk out to the observation deck which would be like having a semi-private forward facing balcony. Next time I am on a Conquest class ship that is what I am doing. I had a forward facing balcony on the NCL Jade (when it went through the Panama Canal) and I had the forward most side facing cabin on the Caribbean Princess, so being all the way forward doesn’t bother me.
As I am typing this I realize it is 5:55pm. Fortunately it is casual night, so I can just head to the dining room. This is the first time in eighteen cruises where the evening of the first full day was not a formal night. Tomorrow is a day at sea and tomorrow night is elegant night.
Once again my friends are late. I cover for them by telling everyone that they fell overboard when the ship started up. Turns out this time they headed in the wrong direction (forward instead of aft). Dinner is good. One of them orders the warm chocolate melting cake again. I opt for an after dinner drink and it turns out it comes in a souvenir glass, which I donate to my friend’s son.
After dinner we check out the ship’s store and then head to the theater for BINGO and the show. I was one square from winning $500 (isn’t that always the way it goes?). The show was pretty good. Chairs were used as props and one of the dancers almost took a spill. The dancers are wearing high heals and when they jump off the chair they need to push off very carefully, or the chair will go one way and they might not land on their feet going the other way (she did land on her feet - this time).
After the show we went back to our cabins. Mine has ice but is missing the Fun Times and the pillow mints which I also donate to my friend’s son. So back out I go and since I’m out I decide to look for the pictures that were taken at dinner last night (I didn’t find any). Then I check out the $10 bin in the jewelry store and pick out some cuff links for myself. Then I head to guest services for the Fun Times and back to the cabin to finish this. Then it’s good night for me. I also decide to throw the thick comforter off the bed and just sleep with a sheet (which is how I sleep at home during the summer time).
