Cruising in Mexico--Day One

(The author and his wife just returned from their first cruise, and he is sharing his experiences for those who are wondering if a cruise is really the right vacation for them to take.)

It's our very first cruise, and Lorrie and I are both excited and nervous. Excited because this is our first real vacation alone in seven years; nervous because we're doing something we've never done before. Of course we've talked to family and friends who have cruised and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Still, there's the odd man out who's had bad experiences with cruise lines, and we don't want the odds for that possibility to be in our favor.

We drive from Houston to Galveston, from where our ship, the Carnival Esctasy, will sail. It's gray and rainy, and we both hope this isn't a precursor to poor weather. We have chosen to park in a lot away from the main terminal because of convenience (a shuttle takes us and our luggage to the terminal; if we use terminal parking, I have to drop off Lorrie and our bags, park, and walk several blocks to get back to the terminal). After passing off our luggage to a porter, we grab our carryon items and get in line, drivers' licenses and birth certificates in hand. (Because we are not flying in to take our cruise, we do not need passports; this changes in June of 2009, when passports will be required for all travel out of the country regardless of point of origin.) We make it through the checkpoints just fine, but are stopped before we ever hit the gangplank. No, we're not in trouble; a Carnival employee wants to take our photo in front of a backdrop of the ship. It's something we're going to have to get used to; photographers will be all over the ship and at our ports of call as well.

We finally get on board the ship and show our paperwork to the crew there. Our cabin cards are scanned--and we are now officially on board! Our rooms won't be available for another hour or so, but we still head down to see where we'll be staying. Even though we're on the lowest passenger level of the ship, we discover we're still well above the water level. So it's back up to the main atrium of the ship to get an idea of what is here.

There are multiple decks containing passenger compartments only, and some that contain nicer staterooms with balconies. These floors also contain some of the public areas. The upper decks are entirely for dining and entertainment. The whole ship is designed around the theme "Big City", so there is neon everywhere! The main atrium rises up nearly six floors, with two glass elevators letting you get the full view. The roof is glass as well. The whole effect is spectacular without being gaudy.

We don't get to explore much before going back downstairs (belowdecks?) to find our room is ready. We quickly unload our luggage into the room. A queen-sized bed with plenty of pilows, two single beds that fold down from the wall if needed (not for us!), closet and drawer space, and a small but functioning bathroom. (If you've never flushed a toilet on a ship, you are in for a real treat!) There's even an in-room safe to store personal items. Then it's back upstairs to roam around on the upper decks.

The Lido Deck contains all the "outside" stuff...the lounge chairs for sunning, the pool and water slide for swimming, the two jacuzzis for relaxing, several bars for ordering drinks, and of course the 24-hour grill for eating. Just past this is the buffet lounge, an indoor cafeteria-style restaurant where you can go back and refill again, and again, and again...! I take the time to get a temporary tattoo painted on my arm (wears off in 4-5 days). When it's time to pay, I just hand the lady my room key. All charges are billed to the room; we'll get to view our charges before we leave and our credit card will be billed for the amount. Easy, as long as you remember you're paying for everything.

Before we know it it's time to join the rest of the passengers for the mandatory evacuation drill. I take comfort in knowing that our flotation device is not a part of the toilet seat or a cushion on our chair but an honest-to-goodness life vest that will actually keep me afloat in case of a water landing. By the time we finish the drill, the ship is already moving out of port and heading into the Gulf of Mexico. Even with drizzling rain and strong winds we get out on the deck to watch the view and snap a few pictures of brown water and grey skies. Because of the rough waters, there are more than a few people on board already getting a little seasick. Fortunately, Lorrie and I are not among them. Finally we go back inside the ship and prepare ourselves for dinner.

Rather than eat from the buffet, we decide to have dinner in the dining room. We have assigned seating and sit with another couple from the Dallas area. Dinner is pleasant enough, although I'm a bit uncomfortable trying to make small talk with people I don't know. The food, however, is fantastic. I had salmon (I rarely get this at home) and Lorrie tried their lasagna, which was incredible (I know because I tasted it). We finished off dinner with dessert. I don't have to wait for the check because this was included in the cost of our cruise. I was also told that if I don't like any entree I order, I can order another. If I do like my entree a lot, I can order seconds. Dang, I think I'm going to like it here!

When we came out of the dining room we discovered that the pictures that were taking as we embarked earlier in the day were on display. Of course, we had to look for ours. I didn't like the way I looked (the classic deer-in-the-headlights pose), but the Carnival logo and date were on the picture and Lorrie looked gorgeous. So of course we ended up buying it, along with a special package deal including a photo album that we'll use to put our best pictures. Finally we head for bed, excited and exhausted but looking forward to tomorrow, our first full day at sea, and nothing to do but explore and have fun!