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When I was fifteen, I'd been on the NCL Skyward and it was one of the most fun vacations of my life. I've talked about it off and on for years. Put me on the water and I'm happy.
My husband, who has heard me discuss that cruise since we started dating, remembered and decided to surprise me with a cruise for our 20th anniversary. So, I was excited and prepped to enjoy myself no matter what happened.
What happened was an itinerary change, thanks to Igor. While we had been looking forward to going to Bermuda, a substantial onboard credit for the change to the Nassau port seemed more to us like an anniversary present than any real disappointment. If we'd been to Nassau a million times, it might have been different, but we were perfectly content at the unexpected change.
We live in New England and had arranged for our own travel to the Port of Baltimore. It went perfectly smoothly, and we were onboard the ship shortly after noon. Even though we were not experienced cruisers, there was no real confusion about anything and if we had a question, staff was perfectly helpful.
Yes, the seas were rough on Sunday courtesy of Igor, and the ubiquitous white bags hung on many a rail. We were highly amused to hear people worrying about the ship creaking (you WANT that, really do you... materials that don't creak are brittle and BREAK), and somewhat surprised that we did not suffer the slightest seasickness. We'd both experienced it before either on small crafts or in my case, the Skyward, back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. However, I knew The Horizon Trick (pick a comfy spot to stand and stare at the horizon to orient yourself), and was up before dawn the first day to watch the sun rise. Lovely...
We had a blast that whole cruise. The service was fantastic, the food delicious, the waiters attentive, the performers professionally competent, and there was lots to do. (The Belly Flop Contest and the 70s disco party were hysterical). I don't think we did half of what we could have, but we'd spent a tense few months leading up to the cruise in terms of jobs and things, so we spent a LOT of time just enjoying the ocean air and unwinding -- which is exactly what we'd wanted in the first place.
We took the express departure as we were worried about being hung up in customs and missing a flight. Shouldn't have worried! I think it may have taken half an hour for the entire process. We had a great time beginning to end.
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