The Cruise ... part 1

Oh man, how did the time go by so quickly? Really? 6 days fly by like that? This went by faster than The Van Halen 3 experiment. I blinked, and it was over. How depressing ... yet, at the same point, that means we had fun. I figured I'd bring you a recap, but split it up into a couple of parts (hopefully, it's not boring).

We embarked on our trip Saturday morning - around 9:00 AM. My brother and I stopped at the bank to get some 1 dollar bills (for tipping! Get your minds out of the gutter!), then packed the car, and traveled to Dunkin Donuts for a quick breakfast, before heading out to I-95. The morning was crisp, yet the bright sunlight hinted towards a fantastic trip ahead.

We arrived in Bayonne (just outside of New York City) in just under two hours, unpacked our luggage, and boarded the ship with little hassle. In no time, we were in the "Wind-Jammer" enjoying a lunch buffet. The food at the Wind Jammer was ok - nothing to write home about, but not all that bad, either. After lunch, we took a quick tour of our ship - Royal Carribean's "Explorer of the Seas." This ship is a mammouth - if you stood the sucker up, it is almost the size of the Empire State Building. Wow! It's like a miniature city in there, complete with a number of bars, shopping, restaurants, and even it's own casino! Additionally, this ship comes with a miniature golf course, a rock-climbing wall, in-line skating rink, and a number of pools and hot-tubs! Just awesome!

The trip down to Bermuda was choppy, bumpy, wavy, and cold. Thankfully, the wife and I did not get sea-sick ... but a lot of other people on the ship did. Anyway, this gave us the opportunity to really experience the ship's other offerings. We relaxed in the spa, we participated in a lot of trivia contests, certainly we enjoyed many of the fantastic drinks, and we ate ... OH BOY DID WE EAT! Breakfast buffet ... CHECK! Lunch buffet ... CHECK! A couple of slices of pizza and/or a cookie to hold us over before dinner ... CHECK! And then dinner itself - just a delicious feast ... I probably would've gained a whole lot of weight, had it not been for all of the walking, hiking, swimming, skating, and yes, even rock-climbing. Below are some pics from the first few days - enjoy!


Our Ship as we approach it!



Boarding the ship!



A scantily clad mannequin welcoming us to the casino!


The view from our room (Promenade windows!)


Playing Horse!


My brother blocking the heliopad.


The view of New York City from the ship.



Going under the bridge.