Trying to find things to do in retirement is half the battle. Doing them is much easier than figuring out what to do. Since my retirement two years ago, I have been on a few cruises with friends. It has been fun and I enjoy my time on a ship, no matter what size. Bigger is not always better but it ain't too bad either.
The last few cruises have been with Royal Caribbean International, and they have a program for people who are multiple cruisers on their ships. It is called the Crown & Anchor Society. Each night you stay on the ship, you get a point. I just moved up to 23 points as a Gold Member. The next level is at 30 points and you become a Platinum Member. Points of 55 is Emerald and 80 is Diamond. There are two more levels but they do not seem attainable yet.
Part of the program is to book cheaper cruises online through there web site which has a special login for members. My latest cruise was a last minute, fill the ship deal. I booked it on Thursday and I was on the boat on Monday. But this was going to be my first trip as a solo cruiser. I was tentative about it, since cruises are very much a social event. But, what the hey, it was a pretty good deal.
Parking is expensive at the terminal of the different cruise lines. My first goal was to make plans for transportation to and from the port. My cousin Pam did mention that the Radisson has parking for $8.95/day and they shuttle you to the terminal. I was hoping I had enough friends that I could get a ride. Plenty of people offered but I decided to use my retired friends. Mac Monroe drove me to the port on Monday. The terminal has a lane for drop offs, my bags were checked and I began the process of boarding.
I did not get any pictures of the boarding process because I think they don't want you taking pictures of the security and layout. Since I had arrived at 10:30 AM, there were not lots of people yet. You have to go through some security and bag checks. Then you stop to get your SeaPass, basically the ID for the rest of the cruise. It holds your accounts for charging, an photo ID within the magnetic strip, and info about room, muster station, and dinner reservations. The room were not going to be open until past 1 PM so you have to find things to do.
Since I was sailing solo, I went to make sure I got a table with other people for my dinner meals. Because of the late reservation, I had no choice and was assigned the 8 PM dinner seating. Most people pick the first seating at 5:30 PM. She put me at a table of 8. Okay, time to find the outdoors.
I had read in the morning paper that a Mexican training tall ship was at the port for repairs. I went to deck 10 and took this picture. The ship is called the
ARM Cuauhtémoc.
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| ARM Cuauhtemoc - Mexican Training Sailing Ship |
The ship was docked right next to us on the south pier. Looking North, I could see the VAB. This is the Vehicle Assembly Building that was used for the Apollo rockets and the Shuttles were all assembled in this building
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| VAB at Kennedy Space Center |
I then went down to deck 9, the Pool Deck. Here, I found the Pool Bar. I took a photo of me in the mirror of the bar.
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| Selfie at Pool Bar |
I was telling myself I would not get the drink deal this trip, but would see how much I spend without it. After one beer, I decided to get it and hopefully, made the right decision. My bartenders were Brian (like me) and Garth. I asked Garth if his name was because of Garth Brooks. He said his mom was a big fan of Garth and Alan Jackson. Both bartenders were from Jamaica.
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| Jamaican Bartenders Brian and Garth at the Pool Bar |
After about four beers I told Brian that this was the most smooth sailing I have ever done. He said we had not left the dock yet. It was only noon and I was now flying solo. I did take a picture of the pool area from my bar stool. The pool was slowly gathering people.
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| Pool Area on Enchantment of the Seas |
One of the pains of cruising is having to go through the safety training at your assigned muster station. I was Muster Station 1 and we did this before we set sail. Also, you do not have to bring your life vests anymore. But all phones had to be off during the training which lasted about 15-20 minutes.
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| Life Jacket training with Anthony |
Our leader was Brianna. She was loud and explained she was a lead singer in the entertainment shows. I actually got to see her a few times and she does sing well. She is cute too!
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| Muster Station Leader Brianna |
Not long after the security training, the boat took sail. The ships of today do not need tugboats anymore. They have side thrusters that push the ship away from the dock. As we started to go forward some dolphins came over to check us out.
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| Two dolphins wishing us Bon Voyage! |
I caught another photo of the Mexican tall ship.
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| ARM Cuauhtemoc - Mexican Training Sailing Ship |
For some reason, there was an armed Coast Guard boat following us out. He kept going from front to back. Not sure if he was there for our safety, or the safety of the Mexican tall ship.
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| US Coast Guard boat following us out of Port Canaveral |
As we got out into the sea, I saw that the Disney Dream was following us out. You can see the tall ship to the left.
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| Disney Dream leaves Port Canaveral |
Stay tuned for more about my adventur
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