Vintage VP: Cruising

A couple of months ago I shared an old travel story of mine, a "vintage Viking Princess blog post", about the time I took my sister camping in the Australian Outback. The actors are the same in this post, my sister Ida and I, but the destination is different. This is the story of when we went to Miami, Florida in the summer of 2013 and took part in a cruise to the Bahamas. As a devoted vagabond  I am always keen on trying new ways of traveling: backpacking, jet setting, camping etc...this time it was cruising! Side note, sometimes my enthusiasm for new adventures makes me forget vital information. Right after suggesting going on a cruise and after we booked it, I remembered that I am slightly afraid of being on-board large ships, but whatever, full steam ahead! (Is that a Titanic reference? That would be inappropriate, right?) 10 days from booking of international crew airline tickets (Ida), domestic flights using frequent flier miles (me), hotel and cruise passes for the Bahamas, I found myself reunited with my sister in fabulous Miami.

I had been to Miami before and we stayed in the only area I know, South Beach. It’s also where the rich and famous comes to play. We are not rich or famous, but found an affordable and cute hotel called Townhouse Hotel. It had a very minimalistic, yet stylish, interior, and was close to the beach and also to the famous Lincoln Road. It was there, on Lincoln Road, we spent our first evening eating tons of guacamole at one of the best guac places ever and drank Mojitos. Great warm-up for the cruise.

The second day in Miami we explored the city and for example went to the area called “Little Havana.” Later on in the day, we arrived at the docks and checked in for our cruise. It felt quite odd to “check in” for anything other than a flight. Stepping on-board, I turned to Ida and said: "Welcome to the Titanic." Seriously, I can be so inappropriate. We found our cabin and quoting our Cruise Director extraordinaire Mitch: "People are excited about the size of the ship, the amount of food and then yeah, they come to see their cabin. Unpacking a pair of socks and you have already run out of space.” Yeah that pretty much sums it up. But we were not going to spend a whole lot of time in the cabin anyway. Our boat was called “Majesty of the Seas” and was operated by Royal Caribbean International. The ship carried 2500 fellow passengers and 850 crew members. Everyone had to participate in a presentation about security on-board and find out where their respective “muster stations” were. I kept on saying our “mustard” station and had a problem being serious about it. But knowing where your muster/mustard station is on-board a ship is very important as that’s where you shall head to in case of an emergency. I tried to be more serious and located our life-wests in our cabin, but even that derailed. I was mostly posing with the life-west on. Quite odd behavior for someone who is a little afraid of ships. Or perhaps clowning around fits perfectly for someone who is slightly uncomfortable with the situation.

In the evening we attended a dinner in the formal dining hall. We had a swarm of waiters catering to our every need and the food was very tasty. However, the portions were minimal and I was working out quite hectically at the time. After the dinner, I told Ida we had to go hunt for more food. We finally found the buffet and I ate a second dinner. This would become a habit for the rest of the journey.

In the morning of the second day on the ship I woke up after having a nightmare about our cabin being filled with water. Seriously, maybe this cruising business was not for me. After breakfast we exited the ship from its belly and climbed on-board a smaller vessel which was going to take us to Coco Cay Island. It was quite a thrilling, yet scary experience to touch the outside of a giant cruise ship with your bare hands. I felt very, very small. Coco Cay Island is a man-made island and it caters to cruise ship guests. It was a cute island, but super touristy. Most of our fellow passengers headed for the beach and the refreshments served on the

island. Ida and I were a bit odd and we went on a hunt for the nurses’ station. Did we have a need for medical attention? Not at all. But our dear friend Ingalill has worked as a nurse on cruise ships and some days she operated out of the station on Coco Cay Island. The island was rather small so we found it and took pictures. The rest of the day we worked on our tans. As you do in paradise. But Ida and I coined a saying on this trip: “It rains even in paradise.” Oh yes. The sky opened up and our return to the cruise ship took place in the rain. I felt as we were being evacuated from the island. Not so much glam. After showering and dressing up we headed for the dining hall. You could have your photo taken with the captain, he was Norwegian, but Ida and I are not really into that kind of things. And if I recall it, I was hungry so our priority was food, not a picture. And as I wrote earlier, after dining in the formal restaurant, we headed to the buffet to make sure I received the adequate (read abnormal) amount of food needed to fill my stomach.

As I am a very good and generous sister, I had purchased a tour of New Providence Island, the island the Bahamian capital Nassau is located on, as a birthday present for Ida. When telling the story to others, there is no need to include the detail that she had to pay her own way to the Bahamas, right? Just kidding. After we docked, we joined a small group of fellow passengers and a native guy from the Bahamas showed us around. We drove in a small van across the island and stopped at a few sights including a castle ruin. We also drove past the hospital where Anna Nicole Smith gave birth to her daughter and her son passed away. Castle ruins and pop culture, we had a very diverse itinerary on this tour. The highlight was when we got to meet Goldie “King of Conchs.” Conchs are a type of sea snail and Goldie showed us how to get them out of the shell. The conch looked like an alien, but it is considered a delicatessen in the Bahamas. After the tour, Ida and I went to a restaurant and I ordered conchs. I can say, it was not amazing. The tour finished at “Atlantis”, which is a very exclusive

resort. Would be nice for relaxation, but if you stay there I doubt you will experience any real Bahamian life. Ida and I were super psyched we got to see a least a bit more of the island and not just the docks. To get back on the boat there was a mini immigration procedure as we were entering from a foreign nation. After dinner, we got instructions on leaving our bags outside our cabin in the evening for them to be brought onshore early the next morning. We knew we wanted to hit the beach first thing the next day so we dressed in our bikinis and added a layer of beach clothing on top. Felt like a really good idea until we actually had to walk around in our swimsuits. We are girls practically brought up at a beach but still, felt weird to be inside a ship dressed like that.

After exiting the cruise ship and going through immigration (a new experience to enter the USA from the sea) we were back in Miami. We left our bags in the luggage room of Townhouse Hotel (oh yes, that place again) as we were too early to check in and headed for Miami Ink. Miami Ink is a tattoo parlor which has its own TV show and later on we went into Dash. Dash is the Kardashian Family’s clothing store in Miami. After that, we went to Ocean Drive. Yes THAT Ocean Drive. Relaxed on the beach for a bit and I tried out the outdoor gym. Its right by Ocean Drive and people go there to be seen. Apparently I want that too and apparently I don’t find it strange to walk in the city wearing only my bikini. I find it strange to have my bikini underneath clothes on-board a cruise ship, but not on a street. I was hot and sandy and did not want to put clothes back on for the walk to the hotel. And the streets were close to the beach. Okay, enough of explanations and excuses. We got our room, cleaned up and went to Lincoln Road for some Cuban food. An obsession came over us to have guacamole again, but all the places were closed as it was rather late. We bought some other snacks and chilled on the rooftop of the hotel.

The day after, our ways parted and I flew back to St. Louis and Ida back to Sweden. Overall, I am happy we tried cruising. Once upon a time I even considered working at a cruise ship to be able to see the world that way. But I am not sure cruising is for me. Its too planned for my taste. But as a vagabond/traveler one has to keep an open mind and try all kinds of ways to travel. And I can honestly say being on-board large ships don't phase me anymore. Winning.