I had never been on a cruise before. Oh sure, I've heard plenty about them. I always wondered what it would be like to take one. I finally had the chance to go on one. I went with my dad, Dennis, stepmom, Robin, brothers, James and Aaron, my sister, Samantha, her boyfriend, Ryan, and my sister in law, Christina.
We were all heading to the Bahamas.
I was a little bit nervous. I had rarely been out of the country. Anytime you go someplace new, it's both exciting and scary. Nonetheless, I was excited to go. The cruise ship itself was pretty cool. It was smaller than most cruise ships, or so I was told. The cruise ship was basically a moving hotel. It had rooms, restaurants, and shops just like a hotel. Only difference is that a hotel stays in one spot. A cruise ship moves. Plus your view changes. One day your views is that of the ocean. The next you could see an island outside your room.
One of the perks was free food. Well, it came with the cost of your cruise ticket. The food was amazing. They had a good buffet at the Windjammer Cafe. The food there held several choices. Plus the view of the ocean was a nice touch. They had two more restaurants, Vincent's and Claude's. (Not sure who they were named after.) Both restaurants had some really good dishes. The menu had some fancy dishes that would've been really expensive. The staff was polite and really helpful.
Another perk was the view. I live in an apartment so my views consists of trees and the other apartment buildings. It was nice to have an ocean view for a few days. It was cool to see the ocean outside my room's window before I went to bed and when I woke up. The room itself was nice. A bit small, but not uncomfortably so.
The cruise had some musicians perform. There was a band, and some pianists perform. They both played some nice, relaxing music. It was funny because the pianists used Ipads to hold their sheet music. I guess technology really does change everything. The cruise ship even had a small casino aboard. I'm not much of a gambler. But the casino was nice. They even held daily drawings for cash and prizes.
The Bahamas was so cool. We took a sight-seeing tour around the island of Nassau. My family and I took a limo tour. We saw so many sights. We even saw some of the poor neighborhoods. Seeing how some people are less fortunate makes you grateful for what you have. Our guide, Sydney, really knew his stuff. He told us plenty of information about the places and people we saw. The weather there was hot and muggy, but didn't ruin our fun.
All in all, it was good, memorable experience. Although I did get homesick toward the end, I'm glad I want. I'm not sure when I'll be able to go on a cruise again. Even If I never get to go on a cruise again, I'm grateful enough I went on this one. It was relaxing to not only get away for a while, but to do it with my family.
It sucked that I had to go home. Vacation is fun, but sadly, you have to go back to reality eventually.
