Honeymoon Diary

This diary is to service the curiosities of our wedding guests and people who might be considering a cruise of the western Caribbean on Norwegian Cruise Line's MS Dreamward. The ship was rechristened the NCL Dream in 1998.

January 1996

Monday -- Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (NCL's Private Island)

The Bahama Mama Rama shuttles passengers from the ship to the Beach at Great Stirrup Cay

After sailing through the night, we arrived at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas early Monday. Sandy and I were very disciplined that morning. At 8 a.m., Sandy was at step aerobics, and I went up to the jogging deck. I was rewarded with an early peek at the island where we would be spending the day. There is no dock at the island so they use a tender to ferry the passengers ashore. As I ran, I could already see the island's tender, the proud "Bahama Mama Rama" transporting supplies to the island.

Before the cruise a few veteran NCL cruisers had told us that the private island was fiction. Invariably, bad weather had diverted their NCL trips to Nassau instead. Well, the island does exist, but I cannot report sunny skies. Great Stirrup Cay is due east of Miami and on that January morning it was overcast and cool. The island is uninhabited except for a few maintenance buildings, a snack hut, and that staple of Caribbean commerce: the gift shop. I was told that a handful of intrepid NCL staff live on the island full time.

Although it was no day in the sun, it didn't look like rain, so after grabbing a buffet breakfast we prepared to catch the next run tender run of the BMR. (The breakfast buffets, by the way, were regularly anointed with bagels and nova lox. Everything else was gravy.) The ship tried to hawk their snorkel rental gear, but we had our own in anticipation of going scuba diving later in the trip. And when the ship's dive-in desk told us that the water was only 74 degrees, we stuffed our wet suits in our bag as well.

The BMR deposited us right onto a beautiful sugary beach. But by the time we had walked down the beach and settled into a chaise lounge, our teeth were chattering. Hands shaking, we quickly donned our wet suits and took the plunge. Other cruisers who dared to only wade up to their ankles, looked at our wet suits in gap-mouthed envy. Once in the water we were very comfortable, and we snorkeled twice for almost an hour each time.

The water was crystal clear and the reef was only 20 feet below the surface. Large schools of yellow-tailed snapper immediately swarmed around us. Their behavior spoke of years of previous cruise visitors: "Feed me!"

Down near the reef we saw dozens of parrot fish. A large sting ray was resting in the sand in about eight feet of water, but he was lazy and didn't want to fly even when I nudged him with my fin. A HUGE lobster came out of his hole, antennae flailing. He was gigantum -- much larger than any I've ever seen before -- and only eight feet below the surface! I paused momentarily to contemplate the tempting entree possibility, but left him alone. We were impressed by the variety of critters we could see in just ten feet of water. The ship provided us lunch on the island. There was also live Calypso music and volleyball.

That night we went out to the deck hoping to see a nice dark starry sky, but the ship's deck lights were very bright. We finally found a dark deck on the top-most level above the bridge. But when we looked north all we saw was the bright glow of the south part of Florida -- miles north -- illuminating the entire horizon.

A day at sea is relaxing. Some friends had commented that they would get bored being confined to such a small space, but there's plenty to do. We watched an ice carving demonstration next to the pool. We listened to a talk about the ports. The pool deck was saturated with the Calypso band's hypnotizing beat. The choruses lodge in your head only to emerge hours later, repeating themselves, over and over, unrepentant.

Even surrounded by miles of water, you never quite disconnected from modern media. The New York Times FAX was available each morning, and CNN and ESPN was available 24 hours in your cabin. There's also the ship's ocean channel which shows the view from the bridge. You can sit in bed and watch the ship come into port. This bolsters my suspicion that people have become so accustomed to the televised representation of an event that it rivals the event itself. Six movies repeated themselves throughout the week. We never made a point to sit down and watch one so we saw the end of Sandra Bullock in "The Net." Then we saw the beginning. We saw the end again, and again the beginning. Never quite caught the middle. Bullock was having a big week on the Dreamward. One of the other films was "While You Were Sleeping." For real recluses, there were pay-per-view movies. One thing we like was how all of the on-board talks were repeated on television. We missed one so it was nice to be able to get the information while dressing for dinner.

Our cabin was comfy. One week before sailing we lucked into a free upgrade that put us on a high deck with a sitting area and a square picture window. No dinky porthole. The cabin steward spoiled us. We could leave for only 15 minutes and return to a spotless cabin, replete with the ubiquitous Andes Candies set gently in the center of each pillow.

At dinner, Sandy and Andrew pause for the ship's photographer.

The food on the ship was very good to excellent. As you probably know, the food is included in the price of the cruise, so there's no economy in declining a course. The ship assigned us to a cozy table for two with a grand view out of the stern of the ship, where a soft-spoken Haitian gentleman took care of us. Another honeymoon couple occupied the next table. We had the late seating so we never hungry again for the midnight buffet and only attended two. One of those was the chocolate buffet. It was a spectacle. Volcanoes of chocolate mousse flowed with rich chocolate sauce "lava." We enjoyed ourselves but didn't gorge ourselves.

At the second dinner, the wine steward delivered a bottle of Chardonnay to our table with a card signed, "Love Mom."

The evening shows were very good. One night it was a juggler who among other things, balanced an entire TV on the tip of a ten foot post balanced which, in turn sat squarely on his forehead (he then took a remote out of his pocket and changed channels!) The next night we saw a Vegas-style vocalist whose repertoire was a little mature for us -- but hey, it's not everyday that you hear a near-perfect Streisand cover. There was also a comedian and three nights of stage shows by a dance company. We were impressed by the sophisticated choreography and creative costuming (and lack thereof, at times). One of the shows was a condensed version of the Tony award-winning play, "Dreamgirls." The show lounge was smoke-free.

This the granddaddy of Mayan excavations. It's located at the center of the Yucatan peninsula, over three hours west of the coastline. It takes two days to see it all. We got two hours.

Quick background: Chichen Itza was the most important city in Yucatan from the 11th to 13th century, but it was first settled in the first century, about 400 AD. The Maya were sharp. Not only did they had sophisticated understanding of the movement of the heavens, but they had an accurate calendar, a complex numbering scheme, and understood the concept of zero (no trivial feat, in the days before checking accounts). In Mayan, "Chichen Itza" means mouth of the tribe of the Itzas" or "Chicken Pizza" depending on who you ask. The is usually identified its El Castillo pyramid of which you have likely seen in photos. The pyramid has 91 steps on each of its four sides which totals 364 steps. Then there's one more step on top: 365. They understood the calendar quite well.

We enjoyed comfortable weather that day. The Yucatan has two types of weather, our tour guide told us: hot, and very hot. On this January day it was only hot, but comfortable. The bus was stocked with water, soda, and a boxed lunch. After the long bus ride, our tour guide took us through a few of the major buildings including the famous ball playing court, where the hapless members of the losing team were beheaded. The carvings are stunning and include numerous representations of snakes, eagles, and jaguars -- each holding a unique significance. The tour guide gave us the option of either accompanying him to the sacred sinkhole, where the Mayas once sacrificed countless people to placate the rain gods (water shortages were a chronic problem) or climbing the El Castillo pyramid. We didn't ponder. Mountains are meant to be climbed.

The pyramid's steps are very steep, but it was not a difficult climb. The view from the top of the pyramid gave us a full appreciation for what we would not see that day: many large ruins in all directions. The observatory, El Caracol, was visible through the trees. The guide told us that it is the only round Mayan building in all of mesoamerica. We took some photos from the top. A few Gainesville friends have already suffered through them. Coming down is more harrowing. Like most tourists, we kind of just slid down the steps on our butts, one step at a time.

Three more hours on the bus and a ferry ride later, we met the ship at the coastal island of Cozumel by 6 p.m. Cozumel is famous for its great reef diving, but we would not see it on this trip.

That night we diligently attended the honeymooner's champagne party. They immediately established who among the group had the longest engagement and who had dated the longest. Believe it or not, there was a couple who had been dating longer than us. They showered us with champagne, cocktails, cake, and a coupon for a free photo from the ship's photo gallery.

Cancun was created in 1968 as a American playground. There's not much to do except enjoy the bars, shops, watersports and beaches. We signed up for the ship's snorkel excursion. They did not offer a scuba package.

The waters were very choppy that day, yet the water was very clear. It was only 30 feet from water surface to reef, and I managed to dive down and fetch a big Conch shell. I left it behind, but Sandy took a picture of me holding it. On the way back some people, succumbed to the rough seas, but Sandy and I were fine. Back on the dock we ate french fries at the Fat Tuesdays which is strategically situated so that docking ships passengers must pass through it on their walk into Cancun. Cancun, we decided, is really culturally a territory of the United States.

Our fellow honeymooners at the next table told us they had a great time para-sailing in Cancun.

This was the highlight of the trip. The jewel in the crown. The mother of all ports. We dove that day.

"Grand Cayman," the joke goes, is Spanish for "How Much?!" It's very expensive and the exchange rate is high. Actually, the island is as British as all get out -- right down to the cars driving on the left side of the street. It's expensive, but a very nice place to vacation. Ask John Grisham. He used the Caymans as the setting for the law firm's private escape in his book "The Firm." But we weren't there to rub elbows with the mob. The Caymans feature some of the best diving terrain in the world.

The reefs were so shallow and the water so clear, that our divemaster from Red Sail Sports mapped out our dive plan by just pointing out reef landmarks from the boat. We dove the islands south -- leeward -- and the water was as smooth as a lake. Donning the gear on a steady boat make it enjoyable.

At the bottom coral reef stretched out like fingers and you could swim between them along the coral reef wall. There was a shallow trench you could swim through which nearly enveloped you in coral. We met a sea turtle and he swam along with us on the way back to the boat. A beautiful dive we will not soon forget.

Back on the dock, we had just enough time to stop by a local liquor store to buy a bottle of the Cayman's famous Tortuga Rum. It's a treat at $10/bottle. Duty-free.

Heading back to Ft. Lauderdale, the seas were rough and the skies rainy. We spent most of the day inside eating, playing Scrabble, eating, playing Yahtzee, and eating. We were just thankful it didn't rain while we were in port.

Sandy enjoys a tropical drink on the ship's deck.

At the farewell dinner that night, the waiters and bus staff danced and sang to an island beat with the obligatory flaming baked alaska balanced on their heads. We couldn't make out the chorus, but it sure sounded to us like "have another Rum Runner... have another Rum Runner..." Hmm...

There was another good show that night, and the cruise director bought us a round of drinks.

We enjoyed our cruise. It was especially well-suited for honeymooners. We appreciated the itinerary because we had the opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty of the ocean on three days, and the spectacular Mayan ruins as well. However, we don't expect to take another one too soon. This isn't really traveling. It's touring. You never escape the protective bubble of the cruise ship. In port, passengers are even issued little NCL stickers to wear on their shirts so that the natives can instantly peg you as a cruiser. The cruise even encourages you to stick to their pre-approved shops. For some this may be convenient and comforting. For us, it was a bit limiting. We never wore the stickers, and shopped where we wanted.

When we do plan our next cruise, we wouldn't hesitate to book NCL again. We had an excellent time.