Caribbean Cruise - Part 1

It was a chilly day and we had boarded the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Grandeur Of The Seas. It was great to be able to set sail from Baltimore's port......no need for any airline hassles. Very convenient.........and if the State of Maryland would yank its greedy hands out of our pockets, and instead focus on things such as the cruise industry.......well......just maybe those people that DO cruise will be able to feel good about returning home to the Port of Baltimore.

Yep, it was chilly out on deck. We were ready to go, but there is this little requirement on a cruise ship..........it's called "muster". Ordinarily, "muster" to a Baltimoron, is something you would find next to the bottle of ketchup............but today, it means that we all get to put on a life vest and make our way to our assigned "muster" station. Muster............it's that Titanic rehearsal...........practice for the worst case scenario.
My grandkid has no idea what we are doing this for, but she stood there and behaved nicely. I couldn't help but wonder what was going through her mind other than "when are we gonna see the mermaids?"

Every passenger......every crew member......all of us......required to be on deck. And everyone standing and waiting and gabbing.......and anxious to get this ball rolling. We all need to get away from this place.

And this is what we are looking at while standing there on deck. It ain't no beach.......and it is not paradise.

Looking to our right towards the rear of the ship.............further indication of where we are........and it is getting downright chilly.

And, finally......"muster" was over.......and we all returned to our cabins and stowed away our life vests.....and started to get down to business. Those who were new to the cruise experience, would now anxiously explore the ship...........and the rest of us who have been here before.....are now relaxed and fully unpacked and assimilated. I went on deck and waited for the ship to leave port. I looked around at my "home" port.........hurry up.....let's get going.........and I look in the distance and see the Key Bridge, which we will be passing under as we leave the port. Beyond that.........the Chesapeake Bay and we we be on our way.

To where?...........to the Caribbean, of course......particularly San Juan, Puerto Rico........Charlotte-Amalie, St. Thomas - US Virgin Islands...........Samana, Dominican Republic........and finally, Labadee, Haiti.

And......off we sailed.