Just off of the Triumph 6/11

[alphomegait]

Trip down

The trip down was more eventful than the trip. It started with checking fluids and air pressures that lead to finding a tire that had separated. I changed all 4 tires to a different set. I had already taken one car apart to get the DME (computer) reflashed, so we had to make the only working car work. The 2nd set of wheels was about 20mm larger, so they rubbed. That would not work for a 1000 mile round trip. After a quick pit stop at a friend’s shop. A 3rd set of wheels was used with the proper size tire and wheel.

 

We are off. Fuel stop one in Lake Village. The car is running rough. We pull in to get some gas and check on things. The car will not start at this point. At 1st I thought it would be a coil pack but soon was lead to a fuel pump that had gone bad.

 

The car is loaded up on a tow truck and off to Monroe to the local BMW dealership, Hixson BMW. They take the car in at closing time and change the fuel pump, but the car will not start. There is a bigger problem here. Water in the fuel. Can’t be fixed today. Hixson BMW sends us on in a loaner. Really nice thing to do.

 

This is a lesson relearned; always make it to the town you get on the cruise ship a day before you get on.

 

We make it to the hotel about 10:45pm and meet up with the other 16 family members.

 

New Orleans

 

We get up in the morning and we are off to Bourbon Street. It smells bad but is still very different than any place else I have been. We get some beignets, which is just funnel cake, for breakfast. It was good. We pack up the room and head to the pier

 

Embarking

 

Quick and event less, we wait until later in the boarding process to try to get on. There are still good lines at 1pm. The grandparents go up 1st with the kids and an older man running the queue for VIPs takes pity on us and lets us in line there probably cutting an hour off the boarding process. After the trip down, I will take it.

Key West

 

It is hot and we ride the HOHO bus. The kids get tired and I had back to the ship with the babies. Most of the group drinks a local watering hole for locals, Schooner’s Warf.

Really good food and the best hot dog I have ever had (hey, they kids ordered them and daddy has to have a taste).

 

Freeport

 

We had a good day in Freeport’s Paradise Cove. This is probably one of the weakest stops I have been to on a cruise. The storm in 2005 just about took this town off the map. It was really sad. If I ever went back I don’t know that I would get off of the ship.

Nassau

Atlantis was great. I plan to go back there next year instead of a cruise. There was something there for all the kids. The lines for the slides were not long and the place just rocked. It is a must see.

Days at sea

The kids played on the water slide and swam on the 1st day. On the 2 days coming back into port they went to camp carnival. The camp runs for about 3 hours in the morning and another 2 hours later in the day. It gives the grownups a break and the kids something to do. The kids all say they hated it but when I would look in on them they were having fun.

 

Debarking

 

Random thoughts

Kids: Many complain about kids on the ships. If you take a cruise in the summer or school breaks, you are going to have to deal with kids. If you take a trip on Carnival, you are going to have to deal with kids in hot tubs, on the stairs, and in the adult pools. If you don’t want to have to deal with it, don’t cruise that time of year.

 

Class of people: Here is a quote for a little old lady in front of me, “there sure is a lot of riffraff on here.” Middle class southern people go on cruises out of the southern ports (Galveston, Mobile, New Orleans). If you don’t want, to put up with middle class folks, Carnival is not the line you need to be cruising.

Aft wrap: There are 6 on the ship. We booked a wrap and 3 more rear facing cabins in a row. It is great. You can hide from the sun the room on an aft wrap. The 4 balconies together allowed for the entire 16 people to sit on the rear of boat. The balcony on the aft wrap alone allows 6 to 8 to drink in one spot.

 

Food: Read a lot of complaints about the food on the Triumph but I found the dining room food to be quite good.

 

Eastern Caribbean: Like the movie, Black Hawk Down, I have seen it once but probably don’t need to cruise it again. Atlantis was great and I will go back, but I don’t think I need to see Freeport or Key West again anytime soon.

 

Dollar for Dollar cruising is still the best bang for your buck and allows for the family to have time together to catch-up on things.

 

Personal note, this was my 10th cruise and 70th day at sea. I love the family vacation at sea, but I think I have seen enough of the Caribbean to pick a couple of places out on land to go back and just sit. I think our next trip will be back to Atlantis or a Disney cruise. The next cruise for the wife and I will be back to Northern Europe.