Ed and I got home yesterday morning from a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a quick three-night trip on Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas, and the route went from Cape Canaveral in Florida to Nassau, Bahamas. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the midst of Christmas Winds: unusually strong and gusty winds that make for cool weather and very angry seas.
Fortunately, I’m not prone to sea-sickness. The real downside is that our second off-shore day, scheduled to be held on the private island CocoCay, was cancelled. Ships anchor off-shore there, and passengers are ferried to the island in smaller boats. Big waves meant no ferrying, so we had to sit at sea for a day.
All that rocking back and forth on the ship was no problem. Once you get your “sea legs” it’s pretty easy to move with the rocking motions of the ship. The trouble for me started when we got off the ship. I was fine in the car, but every time we stopped, I could still feel that rocking. By last night, it was rocking and dizziness. Apparently, this is a common condition. Sometimes, your body leaves the cruise, but the cruise doesn’t leave your body. I’ve been told this shouldn’t last more than a few days. In the meantime, I’m working from bed.
On an up note, our first full day was in Nassau, where Ed and I took an off-road Segway tour. They put big knobby tires on the Segways and a guide leads you along trails. There were only five of us on our tour, and the Segways tackled the ruts, rocks and sand with no trouble. Our route followed the coast for part of the distance, and thanks to the beach’s location we were blocked from the wind. We sat on an entirely empty beach for a while, just enjoying the sunshine and the calm water (and air). It was a side of Nassau most tourists don’t ever see, and being out in the wild with no loud crowds or crazy traffic made the Segway tour a perfect vacation activity.
