Our Fun Cruise to the Bahamas and Key West - Part 1

Our trip started on Sunday, Feb. 1 with a flight out of our local airport to Chicago. All seemed to be going well until we turned on our phones and found out that our flight from Chicago to Miami had been canceled. There was another leaving about an hour later, so no big deal except that our seats were changed and this claustrophobic guy (me!) lost his aisle seat. Having failed in my bid to get a free upgrade to first class due to the change, we sat apart on the plane so that I could get the last remaining aisle seat.

Check in to the Hilton Miami Downtown was easy, and thanks to Hotwire we were able to get a $200+ hotel room for $63 plus fees. Not that this hotel was worth a whole lot more than we paid. $20 breakfast buffet? Right.

No problem getting to or on Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas the next morning. The ship was in great shape and ready to go.
Our first stop was Nassau/Paradise Island. Nassau seemed to be like any other tourist trap -- lots of crap shops down the main drag. We took an entertaining ferry ride to the Atlantis resort and had a great time looking at the fantastic display of tropical fish. The weather was a tad rainy and chilly for part of the day, but we still had a good time. Mrs. Lightning got to try some conch fritters, which she had been wanting to try. We went into the Straw Market, but I was really not in the mood to haggle on my vacation. We did have a pleasant time strolling down the streets and will look forward to a day when we can once again visit.

Our second port was supposed to be Coco Cay, but the choppy seas made it too dangerous for the tenders to transport us to the island. Therefore, we got a day at sea instead. This was unfortunate for my wife, who was looking forward to participating in some of the outdoor excursions. This was a goldmine for me, however, as it meant that the ship's casino was going to open for the afternoon instead of just being open in the evening. More on that later.

Our final port of call was Key West. The highlight of the trip for Mrs. Lightning was our time spent in the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. My wife loves butterflies and spent an hour surrounded by them. A half hour was good enough for me. We went to the southernmost point in the continental U.S.A., walked past the Hemingway Home and Museum and the Truman Little White House (no desire to look at a bunch of rooms), and, of course, hit Duvall Street. I looked in Sloppy Joe's but didn't see Al or any other bloggers looking to make a long day of it in Key West.

Yes, I am able to confirm that there actually is a start and an end to Route 1. I was there.

The trip had a baaaad ending, however, as was alluded to in my previous post. I ate some bad food in the Miami airport and paid the price when I got home. Having been home now for almost two days, I am feeling like I can make it into work tomorrow. My body has to be wondering what is going on, being gourged with cruise food and then being poisoned and losing just about all water from my body. I guess it could have been worse.

The only real negative of the cruise was that the weather did not cooperate at all. My wife was looking forward to coming home with a tan, but the weather tended to be cloudy, windy, and cool. However, we had a great time and enjoyed being off by ourselves -- something we have not done enough of in the past several years. Thanks to Royal Caribbean International for an excellent cruise.

Coming up: Cruise Part 2 -- becoming a cruise game show celebrity and showing how to score at Hold Em and Caribbean Stud Poker.