A Lovely Cruise

Hi everyone:

Here's recap of the cruise Julie and I took Jan. 12-17 aboard Royal Caribbean's "Brilliance of the Seas" 

Bruce with Brilliance on the left (Vision of the Seas on the right)

to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. If you don't want to read the long version, the short version is that we had a wonderful time. The 2 full days at sea were totally relaxing; our ports of call were fun. The weather was cooperative most of the time. The food and drink were both delicious, and we both returned plumper.

Monday Jan. 12 -- We left Fort Myers about 9 a.m., arriving at the Port of Tampa Bay at about 11:30. I valet parked the Prius for about $20 more than self-park for the convenience, and the fact it was misting. Passed through security and the check-in quite quickly without incident, and were on board by 12:15 and immediately made our way to Deck 11 to the Windjammer for the "welcome aboard" lunch buffet. By this time, the weather outside was full-on rain, so we were glad not to be out there standing in it. The rain also meant that all the "pool rats" had nowhere to go, so seating was at a premium, but we finally found a seat and filled out tummies. We explored the ship, including our fourth deck inside stateroom in the forward portion of the ship, room 4021. Our luggage arrived intact at about 4 p.m. We changed into our nicer outfits and headed to the dining room for our 6 p.m. seating, which was our dining time each evening. We shared a large table with nine other people, and eventually one other couple who joined us the last couple nights as refugees from another table. Our table mates were as follows, and I have varying degrees of information about them: 

Ellen and Phillip -- father and daughter, she from Mt. Pleasant, S.C. and celebrating a birthday, and he from Connecticut;
Keven and Georgia -- husband and wife, from Blairsville, Georgia, celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. Friendly folks, and we instantly connected them, and even spent part of day together with them in Cozumel;
Fran, Honey, and Carol -- three sisters from Long Island, N.Y. They all love NYC, and go there frequently to dine, partake of theater events (last play "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"), so I connected with them instantly with my trips there and internship in 1984;
Kirby and Holly, husband and wife from the Panama City Fla. area.
Mary and Eddie, from Ireland. They are from Ireland, and joined our table only the last couple of nights. I don't know much about them, other than they own and operate a farm with over 1,200 head of cows/cattle. Here is a composite photo of us all:

From top: Bruce & Julie; Ellen & Phillip; Eddie & Mary; Georgia & Kevin; Kirby & Holly; sisters (l to r): Honey, Carol, and Fran)

They were all a very good bunch of people, and we switched seats most every night so that we had an opportunity to speak with everyone. I feel Julie and I really lucked out with this arrangement, considering we originally booked for my-time dining with a table for two, and these big tables can sometimes be a crapshoot. Anyway, for our first dinner, both Julie and I had the prime rib and it was very good. We made the 7 p.m. show, and saw the comedian Kelly Monteith, who was big back in '70s appearing on Carson and other talk shows, and is apparently doing the cruise ship circuit now. He was amusing, but not knee-slappingly funny or anything. The usual topical humor about airline travel, the medical profession, etc. After that Julie and I did a turn on the Promenade Deck 5, and then I went to the casino and won $51 playing craps. I rejoined Julie in our cabin and we hit sack around 10 p.m. I slept well; Julie tossed and turned and had to listen to my snoring.

Tuesday Jan. 13 -- The weather took a marked turn, and we had a beautiful day at sea, sunny and in the mid 80s. We started the day with a large and leisurely breakfast in the Windjammer buffet, and basically had a day of reading, drinking rum drinks, and exploring the ship. We had a bit of a scare when we were on one of the glass elevators going to have a pre-dinner drink, and some kid about 6 years old stuck his arm inside the elevator door on one of the stops, and then started screaming hysterically when when door started to close. I was closest to the kid, with the parents in back of me, so I pushed the doors back open manually, and grabbed a hold of the kid and pulled him back into the elevator car, whereupon the the parents and kid exited the elevator to get the kid under control. It all happened in a moment and scared the crap out of me and everyone else in the elevator car, but the kid appeared unharmed, at least physically. He may never ride another elevator again, though! Julie and I had pre-dinner drinks in the Schooner Lounge, and then to the dining room where I had salmon (delicious) and Julie had broiled Corvina (fish) which she pronounced a bit on the dry side. From there, we went to an aerial performance in the 12-story atrium in the center of this ship. Here's a photo:

The theater show that night featured Tony Tillman, an extremely energetic and talented entertainer who sang with the RC band and danced and told stories of his life. He has performed as Sammy Davis Jr. in several "rat pack" revival shows in Vegas, and has traveled the world and performed as an opening act for Victor Borge, among others. He got a standing ovation and both Julie and I agreed he was the best of all the shows. I went back to the casino that night and won another $41 at the craps table.

Wednesday Jan. 14

We anchored off Georgetown, Grand Cayman, and Julie took one of the tenders into the city and did a little shopping, including buying a couple of bamboo towels at the Cariloha store there. I stayed aboard and enjoyed the amenities aboard with a half-empty ship. I had an extraordinary soak in the whirlpool all to myself, a refreshing dip in the saltwater pool, a lovely pina colada, and general relaxation. Julie and I reconnoitered at the Windjammer for lunch, followed by more books and general blobbing in the Solarium, which is the covered pool area for adults only and became more or less our sanctuary, away from the noise, hubbub and bad reggae music of the outside pool deck. Pre-dinner cocktails, and Julie and I both had the tiger prawns for dinner that night which were delicious. Right after dinner, I had an invitation to a platinum-level- and-above-loyalty-club recognition event in one of the ship's lounges, where we were presented with yet more food (of which I did not partake) and free drinks (of which I DID partake) and we had our own private band playing dance music, and then got to meet the captain and listen to a short presentation, aimed at persuading us to sign up for more cruises. The 9 p.m. show that evening was "Then, Now, and Forever," a production show featuring the RC singers and dancers, which Julie and I both thought was the weakest of the shows. The costuming and lights and props were pretty and all, but the show lacked continuity and the choreography was choppy. I went back to the casino after
that and lost $53 at the craps table, so now I am only $39 ahead.

Thursday Jan. 15

Today, we docked at Cozumel. Following breakfast in the 'jammer, and we hooked up with Kevin and Georgia (marking their 20th anniversary that day) and went into port and shared a taxi ride to the main downtown area, about two miles from the port. The shopkeepers were aggressive, but I wouldn't say they were terrible or rude or anything. We saw the whole range of goods, from finely crafted carvings and pottery work, to one store with the name "Cheap Stuff You Don't Need." I bought two bottles of Tequila, one aged for five years for sipping, and one bottle of silver grade for margaritas. Also bought a Cozumel T-shirt to replace the ratty one I have back at the apartment which I can now finally throw out. The four of us went searching for an authentic Mexican restaurant a little off the "main drag" and found a place that had a great chicken with mole sauce (for me) and a quesadilla for Julie. Kevin and Georgia called over the strolling minstrels and had them play an anniversary song for them:

We had a very fun time, and I sure appreciated Kevin and Georgia letting us hook up with them, because it made me a feel a little bit safer, although I must say I think the stories of rogue taxi drivers and kidnappings, etc., are overblown.

Julie and I headed back to the ship in a taxi, while Kev/Georgia did a little more shopping. I had Julie snap one more photo of me in Cozumel:

The dining room was serving lobster tail that night as part of a fisherman's platter, so I doubled up on the main course and got a really nice portion of lobster that evening. Mmmm. We celebrated a birthday (Ellen) and an anniversary (Kev/Georgia) so we had much singing and revelry at our table that evening, with singing waiters. There was another excellent show that evening, featuring the piano stylings of John Bressler, a mostly self-taught pianist originally from the Lancaster County, Pa., area with a unique style of piano, vocals, and humor. He did a rendition of Jimmy Webb's masterpiece, "MacArthur Park" at his finale which, backed up with the RC orchestra, was killer. Julie was so impressed with him that she bought both of his CDs at the end of the show, and got them autographed. John was refreshingly humble and appreciative of his audience. He was thoroughly entertaining. I went back to the casino and won $18 at craps, so now I am $57 to the good on gambling.

Friday Jan. 16

Another wonderful and relaxing day at sea. Breakfast in the 'Jammer as usual, and then a day of kicking back in the solarium. The weather took a bit of a cool turn today, so some of the pool rats moved into our "turf," making things a little more noisy, but overall still very enjoyable. Even got in a little afternoon nap. I wish I could say we were a little more "adventurous" and took part in at least a few of the ship's activities, but we simply chilled out with good books, hot tub soaks, good food, and drink. Our final dinner together saw the usual fanfare with a salute to the wait staff and cooks. Julie and I both enjoyed a seafood platter with fish, shrimp, and scallops. All very tasty. The last show of the cruise was another production show by the RC singers, dancers, and orchestra, who were also joined at times by the lounge performers in the various venues throughout the ship. At one point, there were about 20 musicians on stage who did an orchestral salute to the music of John Williams, which included themes from E.T., Star Wars, Raiders, and Superman. Julie and I couldn't believe that we were hearing such a rich full sound and wondered if they had taped musical support in the background or something. It was simply awesome, and I must say it was head and shoulders above the first production show on Wednesday. Back to the casino and lost $32 to the house, so my efforts in the casino for five nights netted me $25. So no great shakes, but at least I can say I ended up to the good. Here are a couple of final pictures of Julie and I, one taken overlooking the Centrum, and the other one the sundeck with the "Jumbo-tron" TV screen in the background:

Saturday Jan. 17

Time to depart. Breakfast in the 'jammer and then we gathered at our departure station and headed off the ship at 9:30. We collected our baggage and went through customs without a hitch. Picked up our car from valet, and on the road by 10:30, back to Fort Myers by about 1 p.m., including a stop for gasoline, and a quick stop at Fleamasters for some fresh produce.

All in all, a wonderful cruise, and Julie and I are already talking about our next one.

Over and out for now,


Bruce