Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 3 - Port Canaveral

 

Bahamas Cruise - Day 3 - Port Canaveral - 12/11/23

I had a good night’s sleep last night. How do I know this? I had a strange dream that was pleasant, but can no longer recall. And that’s just as well as I was woken by the alarm on my phone and made it in time to have breakfast in one of the ship’s restaurants. What a mistake that was!

Over the years, I have developed a preference for having my meals in a dining room over getting my meals from a buffet table. This ship, the MSC Meraviglia, has fixed dining hours for its restaurants. Dining room meals are scheduled as follows:

1. Breakfast - One seating - 7:30 am to 9:00 am
2. Lunch - One seating - 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
3. Dinner - Two seatings - 6:45 pm and 8:45 pm

If one doesn’t arrive within the breakfast and lunch hours, one has to go to the buffet for one’s meals. If one doesn’t arrive within 15 minutes of one’s scheduled dinner seating, one has to go to the buffet for this meal. My first night’s dinner seating was horrendous, because fixed seating on the first night takes a lot more time and effort from everyone involved. But the second night’s dinner was almost a pleasure, save that they assumed that I wanted red wine with dinner before I had the chance to choose my meals from the menu.

Today, I had the chance to try out this ship’s breakfast in the dining room. I wished I had gone to the buffet due to its so-called service.  It took almost 15 minutes to be seated when I arrived - MSC is not good at anything that resembles flexible service. A menu was hurriedly put in front of me, and my order was quickly taken. But that was it for the next 30 minutes. No water was delivered to my table, no one asked whether I wanted coffee (there wasn’t even a cup on the table if I wanted any), and no food arrived for 30 minutes. When the food arrived, I received white toast, instead of the rye toast I had ordered - without the expected butter and jam. It took even longer to get coffee, juice and water. To make things worse, they didn’t have OJ - even though it was on the menu. It took more time for food to arrive at my table than I took eating it. Next time, I’ll play it smart and go to the buffet….

I decided to take a mid morning nap, and got up in time to go to the buffet for lunch. Today, it was much less crowded, as many people decided to eat before leaving for their shore excursions when the ship docked - around 1:30 pm. Compared to yesterday, the ship seemed empty. And I was glad about this. About the one thing I didn’t like (and this is a very minor issue not under cruise line control) is that it has to charge state sales tax on all beverages consumed at the bar while in port.

While at lunch, I noticed that there was a ship infested with rodents next to us. Although there were rat guards on the lines securing the ship, I could easily tell that there was a pair of giant rodents onboard. And they even had names for these rodents - Mickey and Minnie.😊  Needless to say, even if one doesn’t like the “House of Mouse”, one has to respect it for what it does.

After a mid-afternoon nap, I decided to explore the ship a little before having the first of my 3 specialty dinners. Not much happens while on the ship on port days, so it was peaceful during the day at port. All of the stores were closed, and the main promenade was relatively empty. Around 6:30 pm, I walked over to the theater to watch the magic show. This show had a variety of magicians including illusionists, mentalists, and conjurers. It was an entertaining show, even if one has an idea of how things were done. With that being said, the entertainment was lacking, as the show was only 45 minutes long.

As the show let out, I was in a rush to visit the first of my 3 specialty restaurants - a Mexican joint called “Hola Tacos!” On the way there, I had to bypass a performance about to begin in the mid-ship promenade. Although I might have liked to see the performance, my stomach was telling me that tacos were needed. Once inside the restaurant, I was shown to my seat and placed my order. The food came out quickly. It was very good, and one could get an unlimited amount of it - I ate more than my fair share. Even if I had to pay the up charge to have a meal at this place outside of the dining plan I bought, $18 would have been a small price to pay for food this good.

At this point, I was done for the day. So I went back to my room to sleep. Before doing so, I had the chance to ask my room steward about the virtual porthole behind my bed, and he noted it was out of service. Just as well. It might have disturbed me in the morning.

2023 Bermuda Cruise - Afterword (Debarkation and Going Home)

 

Given that our cell phones' clocks didn't reset themselves to NYC time while on the ship, our alarms woke us up at 5:00 am instead of the 6:00 am as planned.  This meant that both of us would be tired by mid day and ready to take a nap when we got home.

Around 6:00 am, we went down to the dining room for one last meal on the ship.  Then, we hung out in the dining room waiting to go off the ship to retrieve our luggage, go through customs, and go on our way home.  And this is where some minor confusion occurred.  I mentioned to RQS that I saw our luggage and was going to retrieve our bags.  RQS didn't hear me, and I couldn't find her when I fetched the bags.  About 10 minutes later, I gave up and proceeded past customs and out to the street.  Unfortunately, RQS didn't have her phone set to connect to the outside world, and she couldn't see my messages or hear the phone ring.  Eventually, she got my call and saw my messages, and met me outside the customs area.  Luckily, we communicate well with each other, and assume that we are thinking of each other's needs when we have our minor screw-ups.  Problems like what we encountered today could trigger the resentments that would cause a relationship to break up.  Thankfully, RQS assumed the best from me (and I from her), allowing us to forget about this incident and move on to a relaxing trip home.

Going home was easier than I thought it would be,  Usually, the cabs at the cruise terminal try to only accept passengers going to the airports.  However, there was a TLC (Taxi and Limousine Commission) officer patrolling the cab stand, and we had no problems hailing our ride to Grand Central.  Once there, we tried to use the ADA Accessible entrance on Vanderbilt Avenue and found that it was closed on weekends.  Not knowing this, we wasted time there before proceeding to the entrance/exit ramp on 42nd street.  And then we waited a bit before taking the train home, where we spent the afternoon napping.

It was an exhausting day, and we were glad to be home.  Hopefully, our next trip together will be with me in Marian mode....

Colonoscopy

 

Recently, I had to take a friend in for a colonoscopy.  It's not the most pleasant experience to have, but it is usually not the worst.  When I had mine, they found a couple of non-cancerous polyps which were removed by the surgeon.  My friend had a similar result.

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Normally, I don't get up until 9:00 am (or later).  Today, I had set my alarms to wake me up a little before 6:00 am, but I was still very tired from the lack of sleep the night before.  This was a major factor in me deciding to see my friend presenting as Mario.  I was out the door at 6:30, and arrived at her house 10 minutes early.  Although construction blocked the road I'd normally use to get from her house to the hospital, I was still able to get her to the hospital on time for her procedure.  And then, it was off to the local diner for breakfast and a mega dose of caffeine. 

Two and a half hours later, I received a call saying that my friend could be picked up at the main entrance.  I drove to the hospital, waited for 10 minutes, and my friend was free to have breakfast.  So, it was off to the diner, and I had decaf while my friend had breakfast.  Once I dropped her off at home, it was time for a nap - and I was out for the rest of the afternoon.

When I was last scheduled for a colonoscopy, the pandemic hit and I didn't have anyone to drive me to and from the hospital.  So, the appointment ended up not being scheduled.  Two and a half years later, I still haven't had the procedure done.  Sooner or later, I will need to have this procedure done.  But until then, I have other things to take care of first.

 

Second Cruise - Day 8: Back in New York.

 

Day 8: Back in New York.

Our ship reached New York Harbor early, and appeared to be hanging out until it could be escorted to the pier.  As I expected, the ship was cleared to sail into port around 3 am, and we missed the sight of seeing the Statue of Liberty being lit up at night.  Unfortunately, RQS was disappointed by this, as we woke up at 4 am for a bio break and noticed we were about to dock.

We packed our bags, and then made it to the buffet.  It was hard to believe that it was the first week of November, and the weather forecast was for NYC to be in the mid 70’s.  So, eating at the buffet was pleasant, as we were able to score an outdoor table without problems.  When our color was called, we disembarked and entered the terminal.  Both of us had a hard time finding our luggage, but I was very fortunate that I had attached a Tile tag to help me find my luggage.  One click, and I was able to find the bag without problems.  RQS had a harder time, as she had no tag and had to ask for help. Once we got our bags, it was off to the customs area.  Unlike past trips, they now use bio recognition to identify us, and all we had to do was look into a video screen for us to be okayed to leave the terminal.

Exiting the terminal, we crossed the street and encountered a limo driver.  He was willing to take us to RQS’s place for a price ⅓ of what he’d charge on a weekday.  He was making no money, and wanted to make a few dollars before going home, and we benefited from his misfortune.  RQS made sure that this man got a generous tip when we arrived at her place.

A visit to the Deli

 

Every morning that I go to work, I have a standing order at a deli I frequent.  It's a simple Bacon & Egg sandwich with a touch of salt and pepper.  And this deli does it well.  So I've never had a complaint about the place, save that its small size cannot handle the volume of customers it receives in the morning rush. However, this post is not about the deli (which is doing everything right).  Instead, it's about one person who came to the deli one day, and how a situation was handled.

As I write this entry, Westchester county expects that people will be masked up in public places.  The deli again has a sign up (since the beginning of Omicron) reminding people that masks are required upon entry to the store. I am usually grabbing a face mask out of my handbag as I approach the front door, and am greeted by staff - all wearing face masks.  Everyone in the place (including police officers from headquarters down the block) are properly masked. So it struck me funny when one woman entered the place.

My first reaction was, "I'll bet that this woman voted for Trump."  She wasn't wearing her mask, and the people behind the counter politely asked her to wear her mask.  This woman took the mask out of her handbag, and held it to her face - a totally useless and worthless gesture, as that would not protect us from virus particles that may come out in her breath.  She continued to hold it there, placing her order, then complaining about needing to wear her mask.  Rather than cause an incident (the policeman having gone back on duty, and no longer on site to help), this woman's order was rushed so that she could be out of the store as quickly as possible.

I am bothered by people who think that they have more rights than others.  There is a selfishness in these people that appalls me.  Getting fully vaccinated and boosted protects me.  But it protects others as well.  And it has been free to me.  Why should it bother me to take 30 minutes out of my life for each of 3 vaccinations, and to wear face masks to prevent the spread of disease?  Young men used to be drafted for military service, and expected to die for their country without enjoying the benefits of living an adult life here.  Is masking up, getting vaxxed and boosted to much to ask of our citizens?  Sadly, for some people, it is too much.  So sad....

Sometimes, I'm stuck in the "wrong" presentation

Last night, my brother returned from England, and didn't text me to let me know he got in. He and his two adult children were doing a little sightseeing while visiting my niece's future in-laws.  I'm jealous of them.  But I'll eventually have the chance to visit my niece and her future husband in their new home.  So I have something to look forward to.  Until then, I'm just an afterthought for my brother and his family.  But more on that later....


Today is my dad's birthday.  That means I will need to be in my male presentation when I go to Long Island.  Because of this scheduling requirement, I was sure to schedule my annual physical for the same day, so that I wouldn't need to change from Marian to Mario. And this meant that I had to be ready to start my day early, then not know exactly when I'd be expected to be at my brother's place.

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The first thing I had to do was to go to the doctor.  And I arrived at his office at the same time as the doctor.  Since this was my yearly physical, he had a few more questions to ask of me, and suggested that I get my eyes checked and to schedule a colonoscopy.  Even though it is less than an hour after I left the office as I write this, I already forgot what I should be asking for with my eyes.  (I can ask the doc about that again when I see him in a month.)  But I'll have to see if the doc who performed my last colonoscopy is covered under my insurance and whether his assistant staff is also covered.  Otherwise, I will need to ask my internist for other recommendations of people who may be on my insurance plan.

When I got out of the doc's office, I got a call back after picking up breakfast - they forgot to ask for a urine sample.  So back to the office I went for 5 minutes, and then onto the house to rest.  Looking at the phone, my brother finally acknowledged my messages, telling me that he is back from England.  Unfortunately, he hadn't yet figured out what he plans to with my dad for his birthday.  So it meant that I would have to be ready for anything.  And I found out that my brother was going in to work today, then do something tomorrow.  As for me, I decided to drive to Long Island to see my dad in the daytime.

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It took me over 2 hours to reach my dad.  Traffic was much worse than usual, and I hit all the traffic jams that I could have expected and more.  But I made it there a little bit before my brother, and by 6 pm, we were on our way to the Japanese buffet to enjoy dinner.  Luckily, my sister in law did not join us, as she had a "meeting" to go to tonight. So the 4 of us felt free to each have a beer and to relax over a leisurely dinner.

Towards the end of the evening, my brother started showing photos of the family trip to England, and I started getting bored.  Yet, I didn't want the evening to end.  There are not that many family gatherings left in my dad's life, and I want to be there for as many as possible.

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Around 8:30-9:00 or so, we brought my dad back to the nursing home, and I started my drive back to my apartment. Shortly before I got home, GFJ returned my call and we chatted for a few minutes.  It appears that she will also be busy during the holiday season, so this will be the second straight holiday with us not being together.  Although I will make New Year's Eve open for her if she wants to be together, I have plans in mind if she were to make it a third holiday of being apart.  At that point, unless I am misinterpreting things, she will have sent a signal without saying anything definite....   Such is life.