Bill and Sheila At Sea - Day One

I am sitting on the fantail of the Carnival Triumph. To my right is nothing but the wake of the ship, a frothy white and turquoise confection streaming behind us for a hundred yards or so and then nothing but sea to the horizon.

We are just about in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico halfway between Galveston and Cozumel. The weather is pleasantly warm, in the lower 70's. Shorts and flip flops are just comfortable given the wind but overall it is a beautiful day at sea.

We departed Galveston around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. The check in and boarding, while long and tiring, did not have the concentration camp atmosphere typical in most airports these days. The port authority people, the TSA people and especially the cruise line people were all friendly and helpful.

At the sight of my cane, Sheila and I were whisked around the long lines and given expedited handling through every step. And, while the over half mile walk was taxing, just about everything that could be done to make it easier was done. We made it to our stateroom less than an hour after starting the check in process and our luggage was politely placed outside our door before 5:00.

After we had more or less unpacked, the group we are traveling with met at a classy little bar down on the 3^rd deck and split a bottle of Mogen David mixed with ginger ale. Booze is expensive on cruise ships, even in the very moderate quantities that our crowd drinks. We decided to take advantage of the one bottle of “fine wine” per person allowance to cut down on that expense. I was prepared to argue that Mogen David is a fine wine. It says so right there in their advertisements. And anyway, in today’s politically correct craziness what company would dare refuse a bottle of Kosher wine? I called our little get together a Skid Row Cocktail Party because I showed up with a bottle and all my friends showed up with plastic cups. That’s exactly what happens down on 11^th when one of the fellows is seen walking around with a new brown paper bag in his hand.

We passed a pleasant couple of hours in the lounge, listening to a very professional solo artist do standards and light rock. Later in the cruise, I talked to this guy. I heard him several times and he is without a doubt the best solo bar act I ever heard. Nothing but him, a Gibson 335 and a one foot by eighteen inch stomp box case. I asked him how he was getting all of that sound out of so little equipment and he showed me his I-Pad which he was using to store all of his multi-track backing tracks. The most surprising thing however was his voice. On stage, he had the perfect blues, rock southern accent and intonation. Off stage, he has the annoying twang of his native land, Canada.

While it seemed to take forever to get a table in the dining room, the combination of the wine and the company made the wait enjoyable. I really don't know what to say about dinner. They served the best Caesar Salad I have had in a long, long time and the best cup of decaf coffee. But, everything in between was at best lackluster. However, our wait staff was superb. The assistant maitre' de who is a ships officer not just staff was our waiter. He and his crew were cheerful and professional.

With dinner over, I headed back to the stateroom while Sheila and a girlfriend wandered off in search of bingo cards and stage shows. Leaning out over the rail of our little balcony, it strikes me that this is one big old boat. As a matter of fact, the Carnival Triumph is a huge ship, one of the largest passenger vessels afloat. She is nearly three hundred yards long and travels at twenty knots. While not speedy by the old thirty knot plus standards of the golden age of liners, this is nevertheless absolutely amazing for a ten story floating hotel carrying over three thousand passengers

There is a lot of motion for a ship this size in relatively calm seas. The action of the stabilizers is quite noticeable in preventing roll and oscillation. The motion isn't unpleasant but is far more noticeable than my memories of the motion of the much smaller but heavily loaded Navy transports that I sometimes traveled on in my youth. The thing that surprises me most is the fact that even on the 8^th deck we can feel the propulsion plant. Eight stories up, you know those shafts are turning someplace down there.

It is almost a misnomer to call the Triumph a liner. She is a floating hotel, casino and resort that is as much a destination in herself as the ports she visits. The Carnival lines are the Greyhound buses of the cruise industry. This was especially apparent at dinner last night. Some of the ladies were dressed in designer cocktail dresses and expensive resort wear. Others were in what was obviously an outfit chosen from the bargain rack at WalMart. But, somehow it works. The ship and the crew don't take themselves too seriously and realize that their job is just to make sure that everybody has a good time. And, they do that pretty well. More tomorrow.