the wow list

Did any of you know just how great cruises are? Let me list the ways:

1. Wait. I've been sitting here for two minutes trying to decide which wow thing should be #1. And I can't decide. We'll just forget the list and I'll type as it all comes back to me.

Great food--yes, lots of food, but not Vegas buffet or Chuck-a-rama buffet. Really good food. Breakfast buffet with lots of choices, lunch buffet with lots of choices, and dinner buffet with lots of choices, that is if you didn't want to eat in the formal dining room that wasn't really formal at all. Pretty much just no flip-flops at dinner. But salmon to die for, beef short ribs, steak, prime ribs, amazingly fresh tasty fruit and salads and appetizers and then there was dessert. Black Forest cherry cake, pie, and my favorite, the chef's special chocolate warm melting cake, which was a custard cup of cake with a warm melty fudge inside along with two little scoops of ice cream. And just like everybody says, you can eat 24/7 if you like. There was pizza and ice cream cones and drinks whenever you wanted. And don't forget room service. And if you didn't like something you ordered at dinner, you simply asked for a different something or if you wanted two desserts or salads, they both appeared. Our wait staff was wonderful and delightful especially Kate our head waiter who was from Belarus and cute as a button with this totally hot accent.

The stateroom exceeded my expectations (Carnival's choice of words). Seriously, it was big enough to hold a king-sized bed with wonderful linens and pillows, and it also included plenty of closet space with plenty of hangers. Our room was at the back of the ship, so our view was amazing. And the bathroom was exactly what it needed to be. With so much hot water available that I couldn't believe it. In fact, you had to be careful so you didn't scald yourself with all of that hot water--in the shower and in the sink. Then there was the toilet. It looked like it might work like an airplane toilet, but no, it was like an airplane toilet with an airplane jet engine for flushing. Perfect.

Then there was the housekeeping staff. I don't remember the name of the lead staff member, but his crew was outstanding. We'd get up in the morning for breakfast and when we returned to our stateroom, our room would be spotless and there would be an adorable towel animal someplace in the room--on the table, on the bed, hanging from the ceiling. While we were able to identify a monkey and a walrus, one of the animals could have been a sheep or a pig or a dog. We never did decide. Anyway, when we went back to the room after dinner, the staff would have been through again, making the bed, leaving mints and notes about the next day's activities, and cleaning up the bathroom, making sure we had plenty of towels. I would pay very good money for that service at home.

Speaking of the staff, it appeared that there were 3000 guests on the ship and 1000 crew/staff. That 1000 staff were all so friendly and helpful--they even learned our names! Yes, that deserves a !. One night, we sat at a table in a walkway from one restaurant to another, looking out the window at the sea, playing cards. There was a guy from the wait staff who made sure we had drinks and comedy to enjoy for three hours. He was great fun.

We bought drink passes for $16 each that allowed us to get all of the soda and juice we wanted on the cruise. We got most of our drinks from the same bartender, Rowena, who was as good as they come. Quick, attentive, funny, and always there.

The cruise was definitely worth what it cost even if I did have to miss the paralegal training in Jacksonville. And I haven't even said anything about the Bahamas.