Floating five-star luxury for the price of living at home, a new island to explore every day after which you return to find your duvet turned down – no wonder so many old people think it’s a great idea! Staff who know your favourite drink after the first (long, boozy) evening and smiling faces making your omelette, benedict, fried or poached eggs just the way you like it.
Boarding into the three story foyer to the strains of the beautiful Ukrainian string quartet we were only too glad to shake off the memories of the rude port staff and the dust of the Fort Lauderdale harbour and grab a glass (or three) of bubbly proffered by white-jacketed staff.
While exploring the ship before the launch party we found that many people had made themselves immediately at home – obviously not strangers to the lifestyle or our boat, the Constellation. Pigging out at the buffet, grabbing at many books and newspapers from the library as their little arms could carry, trying to pick up the Ukrainian musicians
- Deck Eleven at Sunset
(not literally, thank goodness) and chain drinking at one of the many bars - the immediately obvious drawback to our new floating lifestyle was many of our fellow passengers, a group largely made up of Americans, Canadians and British (who you could easily identify as they waited in line for 4pm afternoon tea).
Three of us shared an interior double cabin (read – absolute cheapest they have. Why spend money on a place to sleep?), with mom and I comfortably ensconced in the king-sized bed and poor Craig on a pull-out chair. At least he had unfettered access to the bathroom! We unpacked everything into the ample cupboard space and stored
our suitcases away neatly. A little tip for the aspiring cruiser – take the smallest, cheapest cabin you can, unless you are absolutely loaded or planning to spend lots of time in your room. Spend the money you save on drinks – if you’re not a teetoller they’ll cost you a pretty penny.
During the next few weeks we’ll take a Soapbox cruise around the gorgeous islands of the Eastern Caribbean – St Thomas, Antigua, St Lucia, Grenada, Tobago, Aruba, and Curacao.
