Cruising Convert

My entire family and I just returned from a cruise to Bermuda to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. We sailed on Royal Caribbean’s “Enchantment of the Seas.” I never thought I’d like taking a cruise, and I was right: I LOVED the cruise. There were 2,600 guests on the boat, but it never felt like that – there are so many compartmentalized sections to the ship that you could always find a quiet hangout or you could find a crowded place. Contrary to expectations, the crowd was a mix of families, singles, middle-aged types and older folks, so no matter what generation you wanted to complain about, there was always a target nearby.

There are also are 600-700 crew members on the ship, whose job it is to read your facial expressions and if it looks like you are about to ask for something, they swarm you to make sure they are ready to fulfill your request. Given the state of customer service in America today, this sort of attentiveness is unexpected to the point of being alarming.

Then there is the fact that it’s “all you can eat” – although I don’t know if Royal Caribbean had factored into their business model the chance that I might take a cruise (did I mention I am starting a diet today?). It’s OK though – the food stations, cafeterias, snack bars, dining rooms, ice cream machines and buffets are placed so that there is a 60-to-90-second walk between them, so you can’t eat continuously. My guess is that Royal Caribbean spaces them this way so that guests are more likely to have finished chewing their last mouthful before ramming in the next mouthful.

There was only one downside to the week (five days, actually). I have a battery-powered toothbrush, and in my carry-on bag it somehow got activated, so by the time we got to our cabin the battery was dead. So couldn’t brush my teeth for the entire time.

I will blog more about the cruise, not least because it was wonderful time with Stacy, Daniel, Madison, my three siblings, their spouses, the seven nieces/nephews and, of course, my parents.

But suffice to say that, while I am glad to be home, I am a cruising convert..