Our Enchanted Cruise, Part 3

According to the ship’s navigational channel on the ship’s TV we traveled 572 nautical miles in our adventures (we put about three times that distance on our van). The neat thing about cruising is that your hotel travels with you. I’m going to focus on life aboard the ship now and write about our shore excursions next time.

SOME COMPARISONS
I am going to make two comparisons between this cruise and our last. It should be noted that both points here are weather related and beyond anyone’s ability to control.

First, our boarding experience was so much better this time than it was for our last cruise. When we arrived in Galveston to board the Magic she had not been given clearance to enter the port due to a heavy sea fog. When she finally docked they had to rush all the returning passengers off before they could board us. The whole thing was very rushed. This time the weather was clear and we were aboard the ship and relaxing in time for lunch. This made all the difference for the start of our cruise.

Second, once we got out to sea we encountered strong winds (40 knots) which made the seas rough. We had rough seas in the Gulf of Mexico the last time we sailed, but I think this trip was worse. The winds certainly altered the travel plans and kept the upper deck and some of the outside activities on the ship closed. Fortunately this got better each day.

Nate was the one most affected by seasickness. His stomach got the better of him Monday evening. We were enjoying the show after dinner when it happened. Nate got up and ran for the theater exit with Vicki right on his tail. He almost made it out the door when his supper made it reappearance. Jenna, Ben, and I were glad to be sitting down front in a dark theater when we heard it happen. They still had a fan out drying the carpet Wednesday morning.

The winds are what changed the original itinerary, causing us to have our day at sea earlier than planned. I will come back to this next time when I tell about our shore excursions.

STATEROOMS
We had two, connecting staterooms this time. I think I like this better than having all of us in one room, though I missed the verandah. Vicki and I shared one room while the kids bunked next door. Funny how Jenna and Ben both volunteered to take the top bunks after Nate’s bout of seasickness the first night.

DINNER COMPANIONS
We enjoyed our evening meals in the My Fair Lady dining room. The food was wonderful, but what really made the meals a pleasure was the family who was assigned to our table. They consisted of a couple, Jeff and Debi, and Jeff’s mother, Mariella. Jeff and Debi have two grown daughters.

I think we were paired up with the nicest passengers on board. We had more fun laughing, cutting up, sharing our day, and getting to know each other. They are the kind of folks you want to have as neighbors. As nice as this cruise was--and it was nice--they made it extra special. Truly delightful people. I am glad we got to know them.

OTHER SHIPBOARD FUN
I think the boys’ favorite thing to do while on board was ping pong. If we ever lost them it was a safe bet we would find them at one of the two ping pong tables. I think they also went swimming and to the arcade, but table tennis was the thing for them this time.

We went to the show in the theater each night. Their singers, dancers, and band were really good. They did a broadway show one night and a tribute to the movies another. They also had a juggler and a comedian aboard that we enjoyed, and their cruise director was pretty entertaining in his own right.

Other activities that some or all of us took in were movies (Jurassic World and Inside Out), game shows, karaoke, and disco dancing. Vicki and Jenna were more fun than me and the boys when it came to some of these things. Other times it was simply nice to sit on deck and watch the sea slide by.

Joe