 |
 |
A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama*
|
|
|
A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama*
 |
|
|
Preface
When I told someone aboard our cruise ship that I was planning to write a narrative describing our recent trip, I was kidded that it was like writing an essay on "What I did on my vacation." I responded that while it certainly could be so interpreted, I intended that it would be a description of the highlights of an adventure.
To Acapulco
Our travels began pleasantly on March 21, 1998, with an early morning limo ride to JFK Airport in New York. We were flying AeroMexico, an airline I'd barely heard of before this trip. Our first surprise came when we learned that the plane would be landing in Mexico City, rather than going straight through to Acapulco. When we landed at Mexico City at about 1:30 p.m., I was under the impression that our next flight was scheduled for 2 p.m. And so, when we were forced to wait in line for Mexican immigration, not having any idea where the next gate would be or how long it would take, I started getting a little edgy about the connection. At long last we got to the head of the line and were told to go to a particular gate number. The woman said: "Make a left. It's not far." A first class understatement. We started walking and walking and walking. It seemed endless. 2 p.m. was fast approaching. Before I knew it, I was practically running, gripping the tickets and passports in my right hand, Carole trailing not far behind. When we finally arrived at the gate after what seemed like a two mile walk (by this time I'd noticed that the Mexico City airport had no arrival/departure TV screens), I was totally convinced that the plane had left or that I had the wrong gate. But, ah, relief; we discovered that the plane had not yet even arrived and would be at another gate nearby.
The flight to Acapulco was uneventful. Fortunately, the bags came off quickly, and we began the adventure of our first cruise. We were destined for Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, a rather beautiful and large ship which holds about 1800 passengers. With several hundred crew members, it is clearly a floating city with its own desalinization and waste treatment facilities. And we discovered quickly that Royal Caribbean is a very efficient enterprise. I can barely remember picking up the bags and going through Mexican customs. The bags were immediately taken by Royal Caribbean's people and we were herded onto buses for our trip to the ship.
And there we were: Acapulco, a placename with a great deal of romantic charm. The city is in a lovely location with spectacular hills overlooking beautiful beaches and bays. But it was painfully obvious that Acapulco, which had undoubtedly once been a gorgeous, quiet spot, was now overrun by hotels, tourist shops, commercial establishments, and fast food. The bus trip took us literally from one end of Acapulco to the other, over hills and down windy roads, until we finally arrived at the large and spectacular ship.
Embarkation
When you arrive at the ship, Royal Caribbean checks you in and provides you with an all-important blue card. This is your "passport" to and from the ship at stops along the way, and it is, even more importantly, your on-board credit card. Without this card, one would be lost and unable to spend money on the ship!! What would the cruise line do without that? As we were about to board, we also discovered another basic feature of cruising, the ever-present ship's photographer as our photo was taken just as we were about to board. We later found that the photographers, all British, are from a private company licensed to provide photographic services on the ship and that they would be everywhere, making thousands of shots, all on speculation, and that they would undoubtedly make a great deal of money from selling these photos.
 |
|
|
At long last we boarded the ship and found our room. We were part of a travel group from Albuquerque, NM (we being probably the only part of the group from Connecticut!), which included my brother Mike, and his friend, Joann, who were nearby. Our first reaction to our room was that, although relatively small, it was extremely well designed for use of space. There was plenty of storage space and drawers, all in great places. Everything could be put away easily. The bathroom, also small, was incredibly comfortable, even having a large medicine cabinet. The shower worked beautifully (nary a drop of water was spilled onto the floor of the bathroom over 11 days). Now that's amazing!
Never having been on a cruise ship before, the next objective was to explore. The ship has essentially 10 decks of which approximately six are mostly cabins. Decks 4-5 are the dining and entertainment areas. We discovered a large theater which was to be the location of many events, from evening entertainment to lectures about the Panama Canal and shopping at duty-free ports. Also on these decks were the main dining room (a two story area, amazingly luxurious and well designed, with large picture windows extending from the floor of Deck 4 to the ceiling of Deck 5), a lounge theater, a casino, bars, a beautiful central area in which a trio played nightly, and, of course, a shopping area so that Royal Caribbean could hawk jewelry, watches, T-shirts, etc. Also on the fourth deck were side outdoor walkways with deckchairs which provided a large quiet space for resting, reading, or simply watching the ocean go by, and, when near land, the sites. This is where the lifeboats and tenders are stored and passengers would congregate in case of an emergency. On other floors the ship has a library with large leather cushy chairs (the kind in which you sink-in and yet remain comfortable) and a game room.
The outdoor life of the ship was centered on Decks 9-10. This is the location of the swimming pools, both outdoors and protected; outdoor bar; stand for the poolside Calypso band; the spa area for exercising, massages, and other health oriented activities; and the Windjammer Cafe, the buffet eating area which provided a regular alternative to the formal dining room. Deck 10 was truly special, for here you are on the almost-completely exposed upper level of the ship with an exercise track for walking and jogging (four times around the deck equals a mile), hundreds of deck chairs, areas for shuffle board, and a miniature golf course (I believe the only one on existing a cruise ship).
Underway
We boarded the ship on Saturday, March 21, 1998, and sailed from Acapulco that evening. Sunday and Monday were to be strictly at sea, sailing towards Caldera, Costa Rica, a small commercial port with little or no sites of interest at the port itself. What we were looking forward to were shore excursions to Costa Rican jungles, cities, tourist attractions, and shopping.
The early sailing was uneventful but soon the Captain, a gentlemanly Swede named Bengt Ronsen, announced that we were entering the Gulf of Tehuantepec, off the coast of Mexico, and that high winds were expected. And so we received our first experience with choppy seas and a chance to find out what it's like to walk around a ship which, although well stabilized, is still rocking and rolling. The first day wasn't fun, although Carole, a person who sometimes gets sick even from a car's motion, had absolutely no trouble due to using the "patch." For anyone who has ever been seasick, the patch clearly is the answer.
The Costa Rican Adventure
Those first couple of days at sea were a good chance to learn about what was available on the ship, to walk around, take photos, and get to know people. Finally, on the fourth day, March 24, we arrived at Caldera. A look at it confirmed that it was nothing more than a small commercial port with ship buildings and a souvenir stand. Carole and Joann had planned to take an early morning excursion to a tropical jungle. Mike and I were to take a later and longer excursion inland. Since the ship had not yet docked and the waters were a little choppy, the early birds were taken off the ship by tender and brought ashore. Carole and Joann, and approximately 300 other passengers, innocently went off to their early morning excursions.
 |
|
|
The story continues on page 2
Return to Roy's World home page