February 27, 2003 - 10:51 p.m.

Final Cruise Days

Our last two days on the cruise were fairly quiet but highly enjoyable. We sort of alternated between sitting in the sun doing nothing and enjoying various shipboard activities.

On Thursday, despite our sunburns, we spent some more time in the sun, and tried out the ship's waterslide. It wasn't very fast, but was pretty fun anyway. One of the highlights of our day was the demonstrations by the chefs, cabin stewards, and waiters. The chefs did a short cooking demo (beef stroganoff and Grand Marnier crepes) and showed how they create some of the gorgeous garnishes and displays entirely of fruits and vegetables. You can see examples in the photos of the Grand Buffet further on in this entry. Some of the items, especially the flowers, weren't nearly as complicated as they looked. At some point I want to try some of the techniques I saw. We also learned some pretty ways to fold dinner napkins, and the cabin stewards showed how to make some of the towel animals they leave in the cabins each night, such as this one, which Mom and I decided is an aardvark:

Since Mom is a caterer, a lot of the things we saw will come in handy for her. I just have grand dreams of future dinner parties, I guess. :)

Later that day Mom and I both had appointments in the ship's spa/salon. That night was the second formal dinner, so I had decided to get my hair done. Mom had a facial and then had her hair done as well. Foolish me, I forgot to take any pictures of our glamorized selves with my camera, so you'll all just have to imagine how fabulous we looked. I have a nice picture we had taken by the ship's photographers, but I don't have a scanner.

After dinner we attended the second musical show, entitled Century Cafe. As you might guess, this one featured music of different eras from 1900 to 2000. I liked it better than the Around the World show, though I can't quite pinpoint why. Later we visted the Grand Buffet. They allowed people in to take pictures of it ahead of time, which was nice, since Mom and I weren't hungry and were too tired to stay up to eat at 12:30 anyway. The presentation was pretty amazing as you can see from the pictures.

The picture of the fish ice sculpture doesn't do it justice. There was another much larger ice sculpture of a dragon that was incredible, but the lighting wasn't allowing me to get a good photo. It might have been nice to taste some of the food, especially the desserts, but we decided it simply wasn't worth staying up late and waiting in a long line. So I have no idea whether the food tasted as good as it looked!

Friday was even quieter. More time in the sun and the pools. We attended a question and answer session with the cruise director and one of the officers which was very interesting. We learned that the ship only has a 25 foot draft, meaning that only 25 feet of the ship is underwater, despite the 13 decks (we estimated around 130 feet) above water! Also, airlifts from their cruise ships due to medical problems occur about once every 6-8 weeks. It was interesting to learn a little more about the operations of the ship and the lives of the crew.

After our final dinner, we went to karaoke again, where I sang Gloria (Laura Brannigan). Then we went to the final show, which was a double bill. First was a short comedy act that was okay followed by a magician who did fairly traditional illusions and tricks with a comic touch. Then we packed up and went to bed.

When we woke up we had been docked in Miami for several hours. With more than 3000 people and their luggage to get off the ship, the debarkation process can be a bit tedious. While we were waiting for our turn to get off the ship, we hung out in the comfy deck chairs, soaking up some last minute sun, and read.

That's Mom on the far left of the back row of chairs.

Before Mom flew home from Miami we had time to go out for lunch, so we took a cab to a waterfront pedestrian mall. We found a kiosk with birds and snakes and ended up posing for a photo while holding gorgeous macaws. It was really cool to have the birds sitting on my shoulder! After lunch we shared some key lime pie for dessert, and it was the best I have ever had. Probably not the most authentic experience of Miami, but at least we saw something other than the hotel and airport!

It was such a nice week! I highly recommend going on a cruise if you possibly can. Since all your food and lodging is included in the cruise price it is really relatively economical, especially if you compare prices among web sites and travel agents and plan well in advance. While we had a good time on Carnival, I like Royal Caribbean (the cruise line I was on last year) better. Royal Caribbean was more service oriented and classy. So, if price and itinerary were comparable, I would definitely prefer Royal Caribbean.

today's project: this entry - finished!

musing about: whether to go to the gym tomorrow

�

flutter back - fly ahead