Bermuda Triangle Cruise 2026 - Nassau, Bahamas (04/21/26)

 

On Virgin Voyages' ships, "The Galley" replaces a ship's buffet area with a bunch of mini-restaurants, each serving a certain specialty. (I won't list them by name here.  Instead, I'll list their functions.)  First, one finds the salad station, where salads are produced according to menu listings.  Next is a burger station.  There is a taco station, a sushi station, and a ramen soup station.  What they all have in common are two key things:

• Simple menu selections mean that dishes can be mass produced without customization.
   
• Cruisers never touch the food before it gets to the table, reducing disease spread. 

As much as I admire Virgin for reworking the concept of the buffet, they have not solved a key problem: How can a cruise line design in adequate seating capacity for busy hours?  Given the nature of The Galley, Virgin has added a new problem: giving cruisers quick service after sitting down in the Galley.

RQS and I have been looking for sit-down dining options for breakfast and lunch that are not connected to the Galley.  It is not easy, as many others are flocking to these venues as well.  And this is one of the things I don't like about cruising with Virgin.

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Today's port stop was Nassau.  We had no intentions of getting off the ship here.  So we took a leisurely lunch in the Galley and then relaxed in our cabin.  RQS was doing her watercolors while I was working on my cruise blog.

Around 6 pm, it was time to go to dinner.  Wayfaring signage on the ship is terrible, and we asked for instructions on how to get to our restaurant - and got lost for a few minutes.  But we ended up in the right place and had a nice meal.  I know when I next get on the scale, I will be shocked of the weight I gained.  But for now, I might as well enjoy the delicacies I'm having that I won't be able to get when I return home.

  

 

 

Bermuda Triangle Cruise 2026 - Final Preparation (04/15/26)

Twas the day before cruising, and all through the house.
Two partners were stirring, one using a mouse....

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As you can guess, one of the last things I do before a cruise is to double check that I have everything with me, as we won't be able to recover once we're on the cruise.  Do I have enough socks, underwear, shirts, trousers, etc?  So many questions to answer and check off a packing list. 

This morning, I had to do some last minute packing before going out.  And then, I had to type up last night's co-op meeting minutes.  This would be a busy day.  Yet, I'd be able to rest once at RQS's place.

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For the most part, virtually everything is packed - including my CPAP machine.  My passport is inside my carry-on, and virtually everything is ready to go.  Yet, I won't leave the house until after the rush hour, as I'm not really ready yet to go on the cruise.  Too many small things are different for me to feel comfortable with this trip.  But I always seem to feel ambivalent before every cruise I take lately.  This could be that part of me fears new things.  And maybe this is why I force myself to go - I need to keep overcoming challenges, no matter how small, to keep growing.

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Last night, we had a co-op board meeting.  As I might have noted, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with our most pressing problems.  But we won't be out of the woods until next year (or, I hope so.)  Although I had several weeks to record the meeting minutes, I rushed to take care of them while I could remember the subtle nuances that needed to be captured, and those that needed to be left out.

Examples of things that need to be captured include:

• Key Topics being discussed
• Decisions made by the board (applicant approvals, financial issues, etc.) 

 Examples of things that should be omitted include:

• Opinions regarding individuals or organizations. (e.g.: No slander or libel.)
• Identification of individuals, save where information recording is necessary.
  (e.g.: Do not name people whose issues are covered by privacy laws.)

This Tuesday, we had to deal with a mental health issue in the middle of a public shareholder meeting.  What should we do?  What must I record?  According to the examples above, it makes sense to list that we had a disruptive shareholder cause trouble in the meeting, but not identify her by name.  Because other shareholders have issues with this person, and have complained about her, we had to include minimal identification information in the minutes, but not this person's name.  This way, any person who needs to review our meeting minutes can do so, while preserving the privacy of this disruptive person as much as realistically possible.

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I am looking forward to visiting Bermuda again.  But the timing of our visit stinks.  Having an overnight stay coupled with a 4 pm arrival time makes it hard for us to enjoy the capital of Hamilton.  There are places we'd like to visit in Bermuda which we'd try to reach with a 9 am arrival that we won't bother to visit with a 4 pm arrival.

Nassau, to me, is a wasted port stop.  But then, in the 3 or 4 times I've stopped here, I was totally bored.  Yet, others find this port a place worth visiting.  But, this cruise is redeemed by the opportunity to visit Charleston, SC again.  Sadly, I would not be able get the chance to visit Fort Sumter or the USS Yorktown on this stop.  But, RQS and I will be able to visit historic parts of the city.  (I'll report on this in a future post.)

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Tomorrow, we'll be leaving for our cruise.  

Keep your fingers crossed.  

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 -Thoughts on the Cruise (01/13/26)

 

It was a nice 8-day cruise.  However, I wouldn't have wanted to take it alone due to the time of year and its itinerary: Port Canaveral, the Cruise Line's Private Island, and Nassau, Bahamas.  I've done this route a couple of times before (on different cruise lines) and it is one of the most boring routes one can cruise. But RQS pined to get away and warm up for a week, and I wanted to treat her to a cruise that I offered her a couple of years ago.  So, off we went - just after New Year's Day.

Both of us feel that we have outgrown NCL for most cruises.  NCL has lowered the quality of food served in its complementary restaurants.  It has reduced the quality of its main theater shows, cutting back on its adaptations of Broadway shows such as "Six" and "Footloose."  Additionally, it has shifted some of its entertainment focus to onboard versions of "Deal or No Deal," where the audience has to pay for a card to actively participate in the game.  Every chance NCL has to squeeze money from its cruisers, it does so.  Most of each day's activities listed in the Freestyle Daily newsletter seem to promote spa services, jewelry sales, casino games and other onboard products and services which are geared to extract money from cruisers' pockets.

NCL is more of a "Hit or Miss" line these days.  In the past, I could always count on having good dinners both in the specialty restaurants and in the complimentary restaurants.  Now, in the 5 specialty dinners we had, 2 of them were excellent, 1 was very good with excessively small portions, 1 was good with large portions, and 1 was mediocre at best.  Of the complementary dinners, 1 was decent, 1 was acceptable, and 1 was terrible.  NCL's food service misses the mark almost as much as it hits the mark - something that saddens me very much.

Cutbacks in the "hotel service" area (staterooms) have also reduced the quality of the onboard experience.  Due to the ship's cabins not being serviced before 2 pm, all areas where cruisers could eat, drink, and simply wait for their cabins to be made available were occupied.  We couldn't even enjoy lunch, as there was no place for us to sit down to eat it.  As a result, I left a dish filled with food on a pillar in the buffet area (I knew someone would knock it over and make a mess), simply because I was too frustrated to keep carrying this dish around after 15 minutes.

Often, when we went through the atrium, the entertainment was so loud, that we couldn't hear each other talk.  Whether there were singers in the stage area, or a game being played there, we had to avoid it because it was either too loud or too crowded to be comfortable.  When we walked to the dining rooms towards the back of the ship, we had to plan our routes carefully to avoid most of the areas with heavy tobacco odors.

Will I cruise NCL again?  Right now, I only plan to cruise with the line for trips to Bermuda and for the 7-day cruise on the Pride of America.  My partner and I feel much more at home now on Princess and Cunard.  We'll cruise with MSC (with all of its flaws) iif they ever cruise out of NYC again and sail to destinations we'd like to visit again.  But NCL is no longer a line I can count on, and I prefer those lines on which the only surprises I experience will be good ones.  

Florida/Bahamas Cruise 2025 - Nassau, Bahamas (01/09/26)

 

Nassau, Bahamas.  It's another of those "Almost No There, There" places which tend to be popular for beach related activities.  Unlike most islands in the Caribbean, this island has no fort.  Instead it has a shopping district near the piers, as well as beaches a short cab ride away.  Yet, it is one of the largest ports in the Western Hemisphere, being able to handle 7 cruise ships at the same time.  As long as there is a nice beach and good weather, people will love ports like Nassau.  And if I were a warm weather person, I might love this port as well.

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We both got up late, taking advantage of the port day by letting the mobs rush to eat and take their shore excursions.  Around 9:45 am, we went to the only open onboard restaurant to have breakfast, and it was there that I found that I forgot my room key.  Although breakfast was good, I couldn't help but think of the room key. So, we hoofed it back to the cabin after breakfast and found that my room key was not with my lanyard.  AARGH!  This meant another trek to guest services to get a new card key cut.

Eventually, both RQS and I made it back to the cabin, made sure that both of our cards worked and then RQS went out for her constitutional while I stayed inside and worked on this blog.  Sometimes, two people who care for each other need some alone time - and this was our time to be alone for the day.

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Lunchtime came, and we went back to the one restaurant open on the ship on port days, O'Sheehan's.  As we expected, lunch was forgettable.  Afterwards, we went back to the cabin so that RQS could pick up a few things for her alone time.  I stayed in the cabin to work on my blogs, and to experiment with multiple image displays on a single row in blogger.  Although I finally got things right, I still don't like what I'll have to do to make the blogs work right.

Once that was done, I started the check-in process for my next cruise.  Virgin Voyages doesn't make it easy for us geriatric old-timers - virtually everything has to be done via their mobile device app, and it's easy to screw up some of the data entry.  At least, I know what RQS will need to do when she starts her check-in process.

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Finally, it was time for dinner.  We went to the ship's Italian restaurant and were totally underwhelmed.  None of the dishes had any flavor.  The Calamari was forgettable, the Pork Scaloppini was missing something special, and the Italian Cheesecake tasted like it came from a boxed mix.  In the future, we will avoid this specialty restaurant on other NCL ships. 

 

Getting ready for my next cruise.

 

The above is far from my favorite cruise itinerary.  This is a route I've sailed twice before: once with XGFJ, and once as a solo traveler. Both cruises are best forgotten, albeit for different reasons.

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When I last cruised this route (albeit to another cruise line's private island), it was the worst cruise I ever sailed on.. There is "no there there" for Port Canaveral, and the only reason that I got off the ship there was to go to the Kennedy Space Center.  (I'm surprised that the Orange Snowflake hasn't yet named it the "Trump - Kennedy Space Center".😆) 

Next is Nassau. The first time I was here, following a disappointing trip on a glass bottomed boat, XGFJ and I walked around the port area a little bit and got bored.  Since I am not into beaches, I'd get bored going here again.

And finally, there is the cruise line's private island.  Great Stirrup Cay was a disappointment when I was there, as there was no dock for the ship.  Everyone had to use tender boats to go between the island and the ship, and I didn't bother going to the island with XGFJ.  She wasn't that happy with the snorkel experience she had, as the water was churned up too much to get a clear view of the underwater life.  To make things worse, the tender boat had a hard time returning to the ship due to high winds.  (Although I've seen evidence that the new pier for this island is finally available, I still see little gain by visiting this place.)

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So, why did I choose this cruise?

It was the cheapest way I could find for RQS and I to spend a week together and to see whether I'll consider cruising on NCL again for cruises other than the Bermuda run from NYC and for the 7-night Hawaii run from Honolulu.  Many people have reported that NCL now has the feel of a cruise line that nickel-dimes too much.  My impression has been that post-pandemic cruising has a much different feel (and I'm not referring to health related changes) than the pre-pandemic cruises that made NCL a go-to cruise line for me.

Will we have been spoiled too much by Cunard and Princess to choose NCL in the future?  Who knows? But I know that there are only a limited number of cruises that NCL offers that I want to take.  Without being able to get self-service laundry onboard, I will avoid taking cruises longer than a week on this line. (The free laundry bag provided to Platinum, Sapphire, Diamond and Ambassador status is a little too small to clean most garments other than undergarments and socks.)  

I may have outgrown NCL as a go-to cruise line.  But I'm glad to know that I still have good cruises ahead of me on other lines.    

In a couple of months, I'll be on a solo cruise.

 

Soon, I'll be taking the above cruise.  It is highly likely that I won't bother to get off the ship at any of these stops, two of them because I am in a gender non-conforming presentation.  Strangely enough, I feel almost as at risk getting off at Port Canaveral as I would getting off in Nassau. This is a time where I wish I lived on the West Coast, as  I'd feel safe disembarking at all US and Canadian ports there.  But this was a cheap cruise booked out of New York.

It's going to be strange traveling without RQS.  But it'll be a good thing I do this.  I need reasons to get up in the morning, and enjoying a cruise will provide a week's worth of reasons.

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The last time time I took a solo cruise similar to this was shortly after the pandemic cruise stop was ended.  On that trip, I got off at Charleston, SC to see Fort Sumter. Before that, it was a cruise with XGFJ, where we got off in both Port Canaveral and in Nassau.  (She decided to go snorkeling at the cruise line's private island and was underwhelmed.)  My impression of all 3 ports was lackluster at best. Port Canaveral is a refueling stop disguised as a place worth visiting.  There is no 'there' there. The only things to do are to visit the nearby Space Center or taking a 90 minute shuttle to the Orlando theme parks for a half day of overpriced rides.  Nassau isn't worth stopping at, as there is little that found worth doing or seeing there.  And that leaves the cruise line's private island.  It's a great way to separate  people from their money, as all the special attractions generate money for the cruise line and not independent vendors (as is the case in Nassau).

So, why am I taking this trip?

Simply, I need to get away.  I want to see whether the cruise line is worth it for future cruises with RQS, especially for last minute getaways.  

Wish me luck.