Cruise Solo to the Bahamas - Conclusion

After getting back on the ship from my excursion to Senor Frogs in Nassau, I decided to take a little nap before dinner. There was plenty of activity, we were not leaving Nassau until 11 PM, and I planned to go to my normal dinner time. I wanted to show my picture of the Kentucky couple to the ladies from Kentucky.  But they did not show at 8 PM, and I was left by myself.  Within a few minutes the Maitre'd arrived with two new people.

They were a couple from North Carolina and usually ate at the First seating but missed it due to their excursion into Nassau. They were at the same table so knew the Antonio and Allan. They joined me.  They were very nice people, both played in a symphony orchestra. She played oboe and he played percussion. At least I was not eating alone.

After dinner, they was lots to do.  I headed down to the Orpheus Theater where all the main shows were held. It has two decks of seating (balcony and floor), so I slipped in the back during a show that was already in progress. I do not know his name, or where he was from ( I guess Argentina), but he was a musician, a comedian, and he had great control of his balls.

Unknown Musician playing guitar

He was playing guitar when I arrived. It was very moving and I enjoyed it a lot. He then moved over to the piano.  he played that very well also.

Unknown Musician playing piano

 He was funny too! When he started to play the piano, a baby cried out and he shouts "Shut up little one!" And then he apologizes and said that he thought he was at home and it was his kid crying. He restarted the song. Then he started to play with his balls. Let me clarify, he had two sets of bolas.

Unknown artist playing with bolas

 I have a great video of him imitating a horse going from a trot to a full gallop. But my camera's videos are too big to include here. I need to get some software to reduce the files in size and type.

I took some more photos around the ship. We left Nassau at 11 pm as planned and I stayed on deck to watch them unhitch the big ropes and then move away from the pier and head out. The pilot boat followed us out of the harbor and picked up the pilot.

I was on the opposite end of the boat so I went down to deck 2 and took this photo of the hallway. It looks like it goes on forever...

Deck 2 hallway

 Of course, if you have ever been on a cruise, you know that the room attendants like to make towel animals. On night three, I took a picture of the swans that were waiting for me on the bed.

Towel swans in my room

 I have included the towel monkey I had hanging around on night four.

Hanging Towel Monkey

 Day 4 is a cruise day. There are no ports of call and basically you can busy or not. I spent some time reading my book on Deck 5. It was quiet, I was outside, and it was a lovely day. I did do some more gambling and won back most of my $80 of losses. I ended up I think $5 in the hole. Smaller ship so less gaming tables. I was chicken to try craps on the one table they had. Oh well, next time I guess.

I did go to the Schooner Bar where they was a wild match of Harry Potter trivia. The questions were hard but four teams got 18 out of 20 questions correct. They had a bonus question that all four teams got. Then the next bonus got two teams to lose. The last question got a winner. These questions were so hard that I cannot even share them because I had no idea what they were talking about. My rum and coke was good though. Here are some of the participants in the trivia.

Harry Potter Trivia in the Schooner Bar

 I can tell you the bartender's name was Andel and he was from Ukraine. Here is the bar...

Schooner Bar

 There was all kind of entertainment all day long. You could learn how to do the cha-cha in the Centrum, which is in the center of the ship. Hey, I bet that is why they call it the Centrum?  This views the cha-cha dancers from 4 decks above.

Learning to do the cha-cha in the Centrum

 The pool area had a band playing reggae and other island music.

Band playing by the pool

I did run into the Kentucky ladies that missed dinner. I asked them what happened to them and they said they lost track of time while having a fun time at....Senor Frogs.  I guess I just missed them there. They even had the same bartender as me...Richey!

I also talked to the guy from Port Orange who son was 18 and his daughter was 15. He said he took my advice and they went to the Zoo. At least someone got there. I told him I made the mistake of going to Senor Frogs first and never made it to the zoo, although some people call Senor Frogs a zoo. He said his son had his first legal drink, a shot of Jack Daniels, at Senor Frogs.

There was a High School Chorus singing in the Centrum, all the way from Molalla, Oregon via a trip to a competition in Orlando at Disney World. I was very impressed with them.

Molalla HS Chorus

 Or, if you want, you could just stand on deck 5 along the rail, and be one with the Ocean. The view...

Atlantic Ocean from Deck 5

It was a relaxing day, I like being on the sea. All your problems seem so far away. I did still need to pack but I was going to get off by carrying my own bag.  I had told my ride, Jim Middlebrooks, to be there between 8:30 and 9:00 to pick me up. What I did not realize is that the carry your own bags starts at 7:20 and ends by 8:30. By the time I got a hold of Jim, he was still having his morning coffee. He asked where I was and I said outside the terminal, can you come get me early? I sat near the restaurant Grills, waiting for Jim and reflecting on my trip.

Was going Solo a good idea? My conclusion is that it was. I know I have more fun with other people I know are there, but I still had lots of fun with people I was just meeting. I will have to work out the dinner situation but it was partly due to making the reservation so late. So, Solo again before the end of the year, unless there are volunteers to join me. Send me a note.