September Sail Away

It has been a hot summer here at the Hollow and although we have had the pleasure of using our swim spa to cool off, we didn’t have our usual beach getaway – what with the sale of our beloved motorhome last fall.  So we were naturally itching to smell the salt air and feel the cool tropical breezes, this time with a short cruise to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral, Florida.  We were set to sail aboard the revitalized Harmony of the Seas with my brother Jeff and his wife Vicki.  We have been on Harmony a few times before, so this was a bit of a homecoming cruise aboard a ship we know well – and one objective was to try to beat the house at a craps table in the casino.  Well, Jeff and I at least.

All the usual prep took place: a week of gathering what to pack, making sure we had all our reservations, documents, tip money, and getting the yard and house ready to be left for a week.  Kodi (dog) went off to stay with Charlie (daughter’s dog), we set out food and water for Binx (cat), set alarms and the coffee pot and tried to sleep.  Up and out of the house early and we were on our way for the 8 hour trip through Atlanta (always a traffic concern) and down to Port Canaveral.  We got to Jetty Park, which is a campground that sits along the Port inlet, a bit after check-in time of 3:00 and found our cabin.  Jeff and Vic arrived there the day before and quickly met us to share what the spot was all about.  What fun!  

On the agenda:  

Walk along the rock jetty and look for stuff in the water

Enjoy the beach for sun and surf

Figure where to eat for a good seafood meal

Talk about the upcoming cruise

Watch a cruise ship leave the port

Since we had that afternoon and the next day to explore before boarding the ship the following day, we totally did it all.  The jetty gave us a chance to spot many turtles, a few jellyfish, smaller fish and a school of larger fish and a quick sighting of a large spotted eagle ray.  Amazing!  We watched Oasis of the Seas leave for their cruise that evening and had ourselves a nice meal dockside.  But our next full day had lots more surprises.

As we were headed up to the beach the next morning, chairs, cooler and umbrellas in tow, someone told us there were manatees on the beach.  What??  Hurry, hurry.  Yes, there they were, maybe 6 or 7 in the wash of the low tide, rolling and sloshing around.  Every so often one would heft back into the waves and then wash back to the group.  We were assured that this was normal behavior.  Just a very special sighting of these big creatures right there on the beach with us.

After a day of sun and swim, plus a trip to the Ron Jon mother ship store (oh you know the one), we were kinda tired and wondering about the evening’s outing: a kayak tour in the Banana River mangroves to see bioluminescence.  Yep, at 9:00 we were loading up on kayaks in a very dark spot on the water to see …. What again?  Oh yeah, something out of Avatar – water that glowed when you stirred it.  And it did.  If you dipped your hands in and ran it down your arm it looked like glowing paint – sort of blue-green-white.  As you glided along in the kayak, your paddles stirred and dripped the glow and you would see bright flashes as fish jumped and moved through the water around you.  How very cool.  Nearby a manatee sloshed and splashed.  You couldn’t see the beast, but you sure did see the bright splash of water.

We had small nets and tried to fish out some comb jellies that we looked at once we were back on shore.  In a jar they continued to glow when disturbed, they lit up once more when we returned them to the river.  This was definitely worth staying up for – a dark moonless night with glowing water all around us.

But that also meant we had to switch gears back in camp, putting the beach and camp things back in the car and getting suitcases ready for the ship in the morning.  Wake up, pack up, brush off the sand, grab coffee and drive a half mile to the ship, drop luggage, circle around to find a parking spot, carry a small bag with gear to the security line, show passports, get seapass cards, find the priority line to board (for Royal credit card holders) and walk aboard to find that first drink!  Yes, we made it!  Nothing like that first moment on board.  We chilled on the Rising Tide bar with drinks in hand and watched the other arrivals.  It was all of 11:00 in the morning.  Jackie went to get a specialty coffee on deck just off the bar area and almost didn’t get back in before it closed to rise.  If you don’t know, this bar rises three decks and you need to be “on” before it rises or lowers.  She made it, crisis averted.

So day one was set for fun.  We joined the rest of the passengers in the crowded buffet for lunch, then hit the pool deck since we already had our suits on.  Of course Jeff and I did the racing waterslides twice (and I beat him down both times) before grabbing a Lime & Coconut drink that came in a little bucket.  Our rooms were ready by 1:00, our bags arrived not much after that and we were soon all set to check out the newly upgraded ship.

One new enhancement was the replacement of the robotic Bionic Bar with the tropical Pesky Parrot Bar – with definite tiki hut vibes.  Frozen margaritas and coladas on tap plus some other tasty and fruity rum drinks.  Of course we sampled.  It was a nice first day aboard, with a meal in the main dining room followed by the Voices singing show in the theater.  But it was also time to hit the casino to try our luck at craps.  We were impressed with the expanded non-smoking casino and bar and were surprised to find the craps table darn crowded.  We did manage to find a spot at the rail and test our strategies.  I managed to double my money – a good first night, but not too sure how that will hold up all week.

Day two was our day in Nassau.  Normally we stay on the ship in this port, but Royal Caribbean has just opened their latest hot spot called Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island.  It is an upcharge to visit the all-inclusive strip of beach just across from the dock unlike the included Perfect Day CoCo Cay.  We got a good deal on the package, so off we went on one of the special ferries for a quick trip across the harbor.  We tried to figure how to enjoy the club and decided to start at one end and slowly visit along the strip during the day.  Good decision.  There are three zones to enjoy:  Paradise Beach, Party Cove and Chill Beach.  Both of the beaches are gorgeous sand with clear blue water and plenty of loungers and umbrellas.  Pools sit behind the beachfront and bars are nearby.  Party Cove is aptly named, as a DJ spins up party sounds and the pool gets filled with folks enjoying the swim-up bar.  Fun time with the Flamingo dancers joining in.  The food selection was good too, with conch fritters, grilled shrimp, lobster wraps, salads and fruits.  My favorite was to get a cup of the pineapple soft serve and top it with Kraken Rum.   Back onboard we watched the Fine Line aqua show at the Aqua Theater followed by another session at the craps table.  

Jeff and I couldn’t figure why the entire casino was again very busy and the craps table full.  Once we did get a spot it became clear that these were regular gamblers who knew each other and for the most part had earned a free cruise and were building their points for future free cruises.  Ah well, we had a great time learning the play action and staying on the positive side.

We had two sea days on this cruise, the port day in Nassau with another day at Perfect Day CoCo Cay.  At CoCo Cay we paid for the adults only area called Hideaway Beach.  This was a much calmer day than our last visit, plus the water was a perfect temperature.  After some time on the beach we hopped in the very large pool for a bit, enjoyed drinks at the swim-up bar and had some food.  Before heading back to the ship we rode around to South Beach for a dip, then over to the Oasis Lagoon pool.  We were joined by the Utopia of the Seas in port, so it was a lively crowd on CoCo Cay.  The evening entertainment was “Columbus,” a show we thoroughly enjoy.  It is a lively story about Columbus’s younger brother and his adventures at sea.  It features a large ship that moves about the stage and is quite an impressive prop. Loved it.

Sea days poolside were hot and crowded, as you would expect, but we found some shade and would cool off under the showers.  The weather was perfect – no hurricanes or tropical storms!  We caught Jeff and Vic in line for laser tag and figured that might be fun.  So we found ourselves with 12 others in two teams (aliens v. robots) fighting it out on the ice rink.  Actually, this was very cool, with an inflated maze, blacklights and crazy colors in an otherwise dark arena.  We were outfitted with lighted vests and our laser guns and tried our best to zap the enemy.  I think maybe the kids in the group did better than us adults – I spent a lot of time “recovering” before being able to shoot back.  But it was a lot of fun.

At night we watched the ice show “1887 A Journey in Time.”  Excellent show.  Oh, and another night at the craps table with the usual crowd.  By the last night things in the casino had cooled off and we were giving back much of what we had won.  Time to cash out.  I pretty much broke even for the 5 nights, which I considered a success, given how much time we had at the table.

Later that last evening we sipped drinks and watched the sunset from the top deck.  It was soon time to pack the bags and think back on the adventures we had for the week.  Oh, and to try those last few specialty drinks at the Trellis Bar, the Schooner Bar, the Solarium Bar and the Lime & Coconut.  Yum.

Disembarking the ship the last morning can be tricky, but we did manage to leave the ship without much waiting around.  Collected our bags, passed through customs (facial rec) and found the car off in the parking lot.  Eight hours later we were back home, with three loads of laundry, an empty fridge (nearly), and a cat that admonished us for being gone so long.  Well, at least the dog was happy once we picked him up from the grandsons’ care.

Next up for these happy travelers?  Well, this cruise was kind of a bonus – time to spend with family and to try our luck at the craps table.  Next one was planned a year ago to visit the ABC Islands in the South Caribbean and to check out Celebrity Cruises newest ship: Xcel.  We have some snorkeling planned and want to experience one of the special Edge class ships.  So it will be off again on another adventure!  We’ll keep you posted and thanks for reading along.