During a workshop I took last summer, the presenter talked about holding a writing conference aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. The idea sucked me right in, and I signed up. I invited my daughter to go, but it didn’t work with her schedule. My sister jumped at the chance when I asked her. Last year, we had a fun trip to Maui; we could do it again.
We spent the night before the cruise in Galveston, not knowing that the town parties for four weekends of Mardi Gras. It was crowded and loud along the seawall. Noise seemed to be the common theme of our trip. I should have taken hearing protection.
Our ship, Harmony of the Seas, is an enormous cruise ship, with 16 levels available to cruisers. One on deck was Central Park, a mini-botanical garden with meandering paths that go past restaurants and stores. A carousel was on another level. Multiple waterslides curled and twisted all over the place. Deck 15 had several large pools, one specifically for the kids, and a bunch of hot tubs. Activities filled every minute of the day from 6 am to 12 am, and Sister was free to enjoy as many or as few of them as she wanted. Loud music was always playing. Crowds of families with kids yelled and laughed to be heard over the music. If you don’t like loud sounds, a cruise is not the place to be.
I, on the other hand, sat in a windowless, quiet dining room area listening to advice about how to juice up my branding and marketing so I can sell more books. If the topics hadn’t been so interesting and needed, I’d have been out playing with Sis. The conference was a good one, with only 17 of us attending so there was lots of individual attention. We had meetings when we were at sea and nothing on days we were in port, a great blend. I knew no one when I went but left with friends. I also left with a long to-do list to accomplish.
The beds were so hard they caused me back problems on night one. By the end of the day, I could barely stand upright and walk. After a couple nights of that, I called our cabin steward who brought me more pillows. I lined the top of my bed with them and slept much better and had less pain. Our balcony-cabin was near the front of the ship and most of our activities like dining and meetings were at the back. I hated walking the mile-long hallway (my exaggeration) to reach the elevators at the back. It was easier and more entertaining to go to the front, ride the elevators to Central Park, walk through the gardens to reach the back, and take the aft elevators to the correct level. The distance was the same, but the garden made the mile hike easier.
Like when Daughter and I cruised, Sis and I stayed on board when we docked at Roatan, Honduras, let everyone else get off, and enjoyed the pool mostly to ourselves. We had lunch without struggling to find a table or waiting in line. Our second port stop was Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico where Sis enjoyed an outing with my writing friends to Mayan ruins. I stayed onboard and enjoyed the saltwater pool and a virgin pina colada. The quiet, relaxing day was heavenly, and I took full advantage of it. Our third stop was Cozumel where we snorkeled and lounged on a private beach. The shade under the umbrellas was welcome relief from the hot sun. The view of the deep blue water was amazing. We shopped a little before we reboarded the ship.
The whole trip was very smooth and sunny. Our balcony had a lot of use, especially after dinner. The sound of the boat cutting through the water was the best white noise ever. Galveston was cool when we left but it grew warmer the farther south we sailed. Coming north, it grew cooler until we were under overcast skies as we pulled into Galveston again. The cruise company is very efficient at loading and unloading your luggage and getting people off in a timely manner.
Our only complaint of the trip was evening dining. We were stuck in a small section of the dining room with a large family with lots of kids. The parents sat at one table and drank, toasted, guffawed, yelled, and ate while totally ignoring their kids who were doing the same thing at another table only louder and with no alcohol. The 17 of us writers couldn’t hear each other unless we were shouting which made conversation practically impossible. The grouch of our group confronted the parents and told them to pay attention to their kids and control them which was met with shrugs. On another night when asked to calm their kids, one of the parents stood up, ready to rumble over it. The dining room manager was there in an instant and took control of the situation. It was not pleasant. We ate elsewhere the last two nights.
Sis and I had a great time. So many memories made and laughs and giggles shared. Since photos speak louder than words, I’ll leave the rest of the report to them. I may not go on another cruise. Two of the three cruises I’ve taken, I came home sick. This time, Hubby got whatever I brought with me. So, I’m probably done, but I’ll never say never.
