Come, Sail Away

I elected to board the ship early today in order to get settled and explore. Prior to departing for the pier, I felt a jolt of that kid-on-Christmas-morning feeling. I haven’t felt that since, well, I was a kid. A bit of uncertainty, a sprinkle of magic, and a generous dollop of excitement (with a pinch of “Me! Me! Me!” thrown in for good measure).

This is my first cruise. Have you ever been on one? If not, I suggest you do so immediately. My inner cabin, though somewhat small, was just right for what I needed. I unpacked my clothes and such, putting them in their respective drawers. I never unpack when I stay in a hotel. But I figured that since I was going to be here for nearly two weeks, it made sense. Plus this is a hotel on water, so that’s totally different from one on land. Right?

My Stateroom

There is an uber-creepy, oversized photo of a plump woman dressed in French Revolution-type clothes, complete with an overly-powdered white face, big wig, and garish red lipstick, the majority of which has found its way onto her teeth, hung outside my stateroom. No wonder the peasants revolted. The placard beside it says “Jane Kaplowitz, Mardi Gras.” I decide to lock the door…just in case Ms. Kaplowitz decides to bring her reveling into my room in the middle of the night.

A mandatory safety drill was scheduled prior to dinner. The captain came on and spoke, followed by translation into French and German. I strapped on my lifejacket, ascended the stairs, and reported to my muster station. It sounds a bit melodramatic, but I couldn’t help think, “Titanic.”

Safety Drill Through the Peephole

Dinner was open seating for the night of embarkation. The folks I ate with had just gotten married in Martha’s Vineyard and were on their honeymoon. They seemed incredibly happy and had that post-nuptial glow. They told me that I couldn’t have picked a better ship and itinerary to start out with. Apparently, some cruise lines are really terrible when it comes to food, décor, and service. Other than the omnipresent “Jane Kaplowitz, Mardi Gras,” the ship is very beautiful, classy, and well-designed. My stateroom attendant is quite helpful, and the food…oh, the food. I can’t possibly write about all the constantly-changing, diverse gustatory options available on ship, but suffice it to say that the Orion Restaurant doesn’t disappoint. For dinner, I had goat cheese quiche, a deliciously seasoned fish with quinoa, and profiteroles with hazelnut ice cream.

Toward the end of dinner, the ship’s engines started up, shaking the glasses and cutlery on the table. So commenced the second-to-last journey of the Celebrity Galaxy (the ship is being sold to a cruise line in Greece) and my maiden nautical voyage.

The Resort Deck

The Galaxy Library

Food of the Day: Goat Cheese Quiche

San Juan, Two, Three (Puerto Rico)

I flew to Puerto Rico three days prior to the cruise in order to ensure I made my cruise departure time (anyone who has flown out of or through Chicago knows that it can be notorious for its delays/cancellations during the winter). Because Da House Hotel (the artsy, life-above-a-local-music-scene-club digs I took up last time) was sold out, I bunked in the Garden Suite above a jewelry store called Bóveda. It was comfortable…a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, sitting room, and an open-air terrace garden below. There’s really nothing like falling asleep to the sound of wind chimes, lightly falling rain on tiled floor, and a Caribbean breeze softly blowing. “Which internship matching process? Come again? What is Match Day? I’m not familiar.”

Inside the Garden Suite at Bóveda

I had grand plans to visit the Rio Camuy caves while I was on the island. Reportedly among the largest in the world accessible to the public, the caves were closed almost two years ago when a boulder fell on someone; since that time, they have worked to secure the area and now require folks to wear hardhats. It was closed when I was in Puerto Rico last spring, but reportedly, the cave system opened up a couple weeks ago. Looks like I’ll never know...the tour company cancelled the tour because not enough people had booked it. If only they had bothered to tell me that before I got up early and waited outside a hotel down the street for over an hour. Nice.

My trip to the beach was equally disheartening. After the cave incident, I decided to try the method for vacationing used by some of my friends and family: just taking it as it goes, doing whatever, whenever you feel like it. My prior tendency has been to plan things out months in advance to fit everything in. When I finally rolled out into the bus system (oh, the bus system in Puerto Rico…sigh…why do I complain about the Chicago Transit Authority again?), I ended up getting off way too early and walked nearly two hours to Hobby Beach in Isla Verde. The sun was going down, but no spectacular sunset colors emerged. Still, it was warm. Oh so very, very warm, and I got about an hour of beach time in before dark. However, given how much beach time I could have gotten if I’d started my excursion earlier in the day, I think I’ll stick with my regular vacation-going plan: get up, get going, see it, do it, and soak it up.

Hobby Beach in Isla Verde

Despite my somewhat underwhelming experience in San Juan this time around, I did manage to get my fix of mofongo, arroz y habichuelas, and fresh tropical fruit. And did I mention that it’s in the 70s and 80s outside? Ahhhhhh. Why do I live in Chicago again? Below are a few shots I didn’t manage to capture last time: