LURE OF THE HORIZON

Day 6: Final Day at Sea

As I stated in my “Day 5” post, my notes from this cruise are gone and my memory is vague at best.  So here goes:

My final day at sea would be spent sleeping in.  There was no alarm clock, no wake up call, and no morning plans that had to be attended.  Also, there would be no morning run.  Today was about doing as little as possible.  My only plans were to eat, drink, lay on a deck chair overlooking the ocean, read, and sleep.  And that is just what I did.  I attacked the buffets, I finished up Heminway’s Islands in the Stream, I napped in the Caribbean sun, and I did my best to finish up the contraband rum.  On a somewhat cliche note, one of the highlights was spotting a few dolphins who swam up beside the ship to escort us as we rounded the eastern coast of Cuba en route back to Florida. 

This trip was a lot of what I expected and none of what I expected all at the same time.  Prior to this trip I had visions of what a cruise could and would be.  The main negative was the overwhelming and constant reality that I was one of several thousand tourists all being led by the wallet around to the most commercial stops in the overcommercialized Caribbean.  The highlights had to be the onboard pampering, the amazing sunsets, the stop at Grand Cayman, and the ability to stand atop the ship and take in a 360 degree view of Caribbean sea. 

I do not know that I will ever take a cruise again.  But then again, I cannot say that I will not either.  To again steal the metaphor from my friend, the cruise is the “sampler platter” of travel.  It is great for trying out several locations in luxury on a budget.  I am glad I can add this trip to my “been there/done that” list, but next time, I think I’ll find something a bit off the beaten path.