2023 Bermuda Cruise - Day 1 (Embarkation Day)

 

Sunday, November 19, 2023.

We considered ourselves lucky today, as RQS had found the handbag which contained all of her ID needed for the upcoming cruise. So it was our “normal” travel routine or rushing to get ready, and hiring a car to get us to where we had to go.

Around 8:00 am, we got showered and dressed and ready to travel. While RQS finished her breakfast, I went out to buy a pair of sunglasses and get some extra money for our trip. With our bags fully packed and ready to go, we called a cab, so that we could take the 10:37 train to Grand Central. The train ride was relaxing, and we caught a cab to the cruise terminal, which got us there by 12:15 pm. Cruise check-in was a little annoying, as the counter agent asked RQS for her passport, and didn’t accept her passport card - normally, the only ID required for closed loop cruises.

 

 

By 12:45 pm, we were on the ship and ready to deposit our bags in our room. One catch - the rooms weren’t all ready for passengers yet. Walking to the cabin, we noticed these signs hanging on the doors.  I hadn't seen anything like them since my December 2021 Christmas cruise during the pandemic restart. We cheated a little, and dropped our bags off in our cabin, then went to the buffet to have a leisurely lunch. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, we were tracking the location of our checked luggage, as our bags hadn’t yet made it to our cabin. Just before the ship left port, RQS’s bag made it to the cabin, leaving the location of my bag still a mystery. Luckily, the tracker reported that it was in the ship’s hold (based on a nautical location ID), and my bag was placed outside our cabin just before dinner time.

Since I have a Platinum loyalty status with NCL, I get two “free” specialty meals when I cruise. But I couldn’t reserve these meals until I was onboard the ship. However, we had booked our cabin with the “free at sea” promotion, and this gave us two specialty meals that we could book. So we proceeded to the Brazilian Churrascaria onboard, and had an “Atkins Diet” feast - all the meat we could eat, and we did just that.

After dinner, we decided to take it easy and go back to our room for the evening. Unfortunately, on the way back to the room, a woman fell on RQS, injuring RQS’s ankle. For the rest of the evening, the ankle hurt, and RQS wondered if she’d be able to walk around Bermuda when we arrived on Tuesday.


What a way to start a vacation!

Dumpsters and injuries

 

What would you do if you accidentally tossed your key chain into the dumpster?  That's the question I was forced to answer the other day as I was about to go out.  

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Imagine the following situation: 

It was a holiday weekend, and no help was available to me.  Getting in and out of the dumpster would be a problem, and I wasn't sure of how foul smelling the refuse deposited there would be.  I needed the keys to get back inside my apartment, and I was already running late to meet up with someone and go out to dinner.  What would you do?

Well, for a big T-Gal like me, I got to the front rim of the dumpster, applied all my weight, and tipped over a 800+ lb. dumpster.  It would be the only way for me to sort through the trash.  (Too bad that I didn't have a good way to upright the dumpster afterwards.  Thankfully, it was almost empty.)  In the process of tipping over the dumpster, I fell flat on my back and injured my tail bone.  Sitting would be very uncomfortable for the rest of the night.  

Eventually, I found my keys, and tried to find some people to get the dumpster upright again.  Sadly, I couldn't do this.  After the weekend, I will call my complex's super to see what could be done.  And if it costs the co-op money, I will reimburse the co-op for its expenses.

 

 

PS: I laid in bed all the next day to avoid aggravating my injury.  When I did have to bend or flex, my lower back reminded me that it was hurting and that I needed to take it easy. 

PPS: When I got home from work (following the long weekend), I noticed that the dumpster was uprighted.  I'll have to find out whether it cost the co-op any money to do this, and I'll reimburse the appropriate people.