The last full day of a cruise is
always such a let down.. Breakfast was in the
Mediterranean Restaurant and Bob, sister and I all went through the buffet and
had hot food. For a change, the lines weren’t tremendously long so I even
waited to have an omelet made to order. Sister and I spent the morning browsing
through the shops…there was a sale on t-shirts…2 for $20 and sister also bought
some magnets and some cologne. I looked at the rings…I had bought a couple on
the Paradise that I really like, but didn’t see anything special this time. The
rest of the crew was off at the pool and playing shuffleboard I believe. At
11:00 we all met in the Caribbean Lounge to hear some of the debarkation
talk…how depressing!
From there the whole family
went for one last lunch in the Pacific Dining Room. Lunches were always open
seating and held in the Pacific. Even though it was open seating, we were
always taken back to our regular table or nearby…probably because they filled
those tables first before staring on the ones in the center of the dining room.
I loved our table with the great views of the ocean and it was nice seeing “Fun
Bobby” (as the kids called him) and Barbara…our regular waiters. Most of the
group ordered hamburgers which are available with a multitude of choices for
toppings…even guacamole…they were very good.
 |
| Giant fish sculpture hanging outside dining room entrance. |
Sister and I spent the
afternoon on the balcony trying to savor one last day at sea. The others went
to the pool for awhile. Bob went to a class on folding towel animals and even
bought the book. Now guests in our home are always treated to some sort of
towel critter on their bed!
The interactive TV was one
feature that wasn’t available on our Paradise cruises. Each day we would use it
to check the dinner menu for the night and ponder what we would order. One
could also check the balance on the Sail & Sign account. At one point
during the week I was alarmed because I thought we were getting someone else’s
charges on our account. It turns out that the two younger sons’ charges (and
tips) were shown on our TV because their account was linked to our credit card.
They didn’t have any excessive charges…it was just confusing till I figured out
what was happening. Another piece of information…you can only access your
account from your own cabin…not on anyone else’s TV. Because of the room
switching that went on (due to us having to book an adult with the two sons) we
had to deal with this.
At some point during the day a
letter was slipped under our door informing us that Northwest Airlines
mechanics had gone out on strike. The letter stated that if you had booked your
air through Carnival then they would make sure you found an alternate flight if
necessary. This wasn’t much comfort to me…I had booked our air independently
and was worried we were going to have a hassle getting a flight in Miami.
The evening entertainment was a
singer billed as the “soul man of Bourbon Street” and a comedian, Allan Ball.
Neither was exceptional. Throughout the week we had stopped in to hear some of
the music in the various lounges along the Promenade Deck after the show was
over in the Caribbean Lounge. The Piano Bar was too smoky. The band playing in
the Red & Black lounge wasn’t the greatest and the place was almost empty
when we were there. When Bob got his way we went to the lobby to listen to the
classical trio playing. The “kids” and sister did spend some time in the
casino, but Bob and I aren’t gamblers and so avoided the casino and the smoke
that went with it.
By far the best entertainment that
night was watching the full moon from our cabin balcony. There were also
thunder storms off in the distance providing numerous light shows in the
darkness. Sleep that night was fitful…I was worried about how the airline
strike was going to affect our flight home.
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