Travel Tip? ---Don't leave your cruise ship without the means to take an alternate route to the next port. Cruise ships will leave without you.
Despite Amtrak dumping us out into the night in April, our trip to Charleston, SC proved to be a super fun success. Best of all, Phil and Henrik seemed to really enjoy being with their parents. Lucky us!
Bolstered by the enjoyment of our “spring break”, I again approached Bill at the nearby Swarthmore travel agency, asking for suggestions for our summer vacation. All of us had been bitten by the travel bug by now.
Bill suggested a cruise to the Bahamas on a Royal Caribbean ship, Majesty of the Seas. To add to the fun, he said we should consider spending a few days in the Florida Keys before our five nights at sea.
A cruise? Now THAT sounded like fun. Best yet, it would be a new mode of travel for all of us.
Checking out some of the Florida Keys before sailing sounded like something my young explorers would enjoy. None of us had experienced cruising before and only Pete had spent time as a teenager on the keys.
I put my deposit down! We scheduled the family trip for June of 2004. It all sounded perfect except for one key element none of us had thought about.
Florida in the summertime can be HOT; I mean really hot. And in 2004, the end of June was blistering with combined high temps averaging in the mid- 90s with very high humidity.
We had no prior knowledge of course. With no internet “accuweather” reports to rely on, we embarked on our trip not knowing what we were in for.
Probably a good thing.
We flew into Miami. Pete splurged on renting a gorgeous Sebring convertible for the four of us at the Miami-Dade airport.
First stop? Key Largo, located approximately at mile marker 100 on the Overseas Highway. Bill had reserved lovely condominium/hotel accommodations for us during our three night stay.
“Woo-hoo! Put that top down!”, we all yelled as we climbed into our rental. And off we went.
We didn’t go too many miles before we were completely turned around.
Body heat and tempers flared quickly.
“Put that top up!”, we said in unison. We felt like ants under a magnifying glass.
We sure could have used Google maps. We must have spent 15 minutes trying to figure out where we were and how to find “South” on our seemingly enormous folding paper map. Finally, with the air conditioning blasting wonderful cold air on my frazzled family, we saw the signs for US 1 and took it.
The drive over the ocean was beautiful and soon enough we were enjoying watching mile markers whiz by above the blue green waters. It’s only a two hour drive to Key Largo and by the time we arrived, we were starving! Our boys spotted the sign for Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen and figured it could be a great place to find their favorite food, mac n’ cheese, of course. Sure enough, the restaurant had plenty of things the boys liked to eat. The license plates adorning the walls were especially fun to check out. After a bit of a rough start, it appeared that our trip was back on track!
After lunch, it was a short drive to Ocean Pointe Suites at mile marker 92 —and technically a half. Wow, what an oasis! Our condo was spacious, had a great view of the Atlantic and best of all, we enjoyed wonderfully cool air conditioning. We didn’t know how vital having good a/c was quite yet.
We unpacked quickly and threw on bathing suits. We couldn’t wait to check out the marine life in the waters near our condo with our new snorkel equipment . With great enthusiasm, we all headed out to the small beach outside our hotel.
“Jeez, it’s really hot!”, we said to each other a bit breathlessly as we put on our flippers. Lounging on the sand was definitely not a comfortable option. Quickly, we all stepped into the knee deep water. After a bit of paddling around with the sun beating down on our backs, we deduced that large colorful fish may not choose to inhabit shallow waters near large resorts. Despite not encountering any fish over six inches, we deemed our first foray into this part of the Atlantic a success!
We soon discovered that it was very important to stay near or in the water. Henrik got photogenic with the friendly seals at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. We spent a day snorkeling at the fabulous John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (where we did see thousands of colorful fish). I more or less dragged the men to see the original African Queen in Key Largo. As you can see in the photo, Phil and Henrik were less than impressed with the not yet restored, forlorn looking relic from the famous Bogie/Hepburn movie.
The heat proved too much on Saturday, June 26. We drove to a nearby movie theater complex hoping to enjoy the cinema in air conditioned comfort. Dodgeball proved to become a family all time favorite. I can guarantee we hadn’t laughed as much as a family—ever, or since. In fun, Pete still loves to tell someone who needs extra encouragement, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball”.
Our adventure worthy of a magnet was exploring the Everglades National Park by airboat. While the boat ride was fun (and loud), it was Phil who especially enjoyed being allowed to handle a live alligator after the ride. Fortunately, we had no additional up close and personal encounters with our prehistoric looking, toothy friends.
On Sunday, it was time to stay closer to the cruise ship leaving out of Miami the next day, June 28th. Finding the idea of staying on the water again appealing, we made reservations at the Sonesta Beach Resort on Biscayne Key (sadly, it has since been torn down). To us, it was a beautiful and luxurious hotel. Phil and Henrik enjoyed a first during our one night stay —room service! While Pete and I escaped for a relatively romantic dinner in the hotel restaurant, the younger men feasted on their favorite foods; more mac ‘n cheese and pizza, in the comfort of our room.
Monday - Cruise Day!
Royal Carribean's Majesty of the Seas looked enormous to us though it was certainly not a “mega ship” by today’s standards. Bill told us he could bunk us in one room which suited the family budget just fine. We’d always done well staying in one motel room, how much different could a cabin on a ship be?
It turns out, a lot!
With some surprise, we soon realized after putting us and our luggage in our cabin, we couldn’t do much else besides sit on the two lower twin beds (the upper berths folded out from the wall at bedtime). Our situation felt cramped, but we did have a nice window.
No matter, we quickly discovered that it was way more fun being out and about on the ship than hanging out in our room.
Our excursions and ship amenities were fabulous! The family highlight was swimming with the stingrays in a protected pool in the Bahamas. Recently earning his SCUBA certification, Phil enjoyed his first dive in the ocean near the cruise line's private island. Henrik had great success on the rock climbing wall onboard and especially enjoyed the soft serve ice cream machine which he helped himself to after his favorite meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
A personal highlight for me was a relaxing massage.
Little did I know that we almost lost Pete while I was getting pampered in the ship’s spa.
It was the last day of our cruise and the ship docked in the early morning on Key West. With the boys in tow, we didn’t spend time in the bars but we did visit our first Ripleys Believe it or Not exhibit. Again, it was a really hot day. After lunch at Hogs Breath Saloon, I volunteered to take the boys back to the ship before my scheduled massage. Pete said he wanted to wander the main drag, Duval Street, a bit more before returning in time for dinner scheduled at 6 pm.
The boys knew the ship well enough to wander around on their own. I luxuriated in the peace and quiet while any muscular tension was literally rubbed out of my body. When done, I came back to the room where my sons and I got ready for dinner (for privacy, we took turns getting changed in our cabin’s bathroom).
I really didn’t know where Pete was but figured he’d join us at any time. He was always on time. It was one of the reasons I married him.
Back at our large group table, the three of us took our seats and I began to get a bit mystified as to what had become of Pete. It was so unlike him to be late.
Minutes passed and still no Pete. “Where in the world is your dad?”, I asked the boys. We were already back at sea so I figured he had to be on board, right?
Finally, Pete strides up to the table, dressed for dinner but looking a bit frazzled.
“Are you ok?”, I asked.
“I almost missed the boat!”, he said, still looking a bit bewildered.
“What?” The whole table asked in unison.
“Well, I decided to walk the length of Duval. “I bought a cigar, found a great spot to smoke and watch the people go by. I was so relaxed, I kind of lost track of the time”, Pete said while getting settled into his chair.
Pete went on to say he didn’t really hear the first warning blasts of the ship’s horn in the distance. He continued day dreaming in his very chill state before finally becoming aware of the time. Pete knew the ship was scheduled to leave at 6 o’clock. When he looked at his watch, he saw with dismay, it was minutes before 6!
To make things worse, Pete realized that he only had his cruise ID on him; no license, no credit card and very little cash.
You could hear a pin drop at the table as he continued with his story.
“I can’t run anymore so I more or less loped as fast as possible back to the ship”, Pete continued. He said that as he drew closer, he could see that the crew was in the process of bringing the drawbridge up at any moment. As he scrambled to the top of the gangway, one of the crew members said, “We’ve been looking for you”.
Moments after Pete rushed onboard, the gangway was raised and the ship pushed away from the dock; all within a matter of a few minutes.
Meanwhile, his family was sitting at the dining table completely unaware of the “drama at the drawbridge”.
To this day, we fondly remember when Dad almost got left behind, with no phone, drivers license, no credit card, and not enough cash to get off the key. We still wonder what would have happened if Pete had decided to relax just a bit longer on his walkabout in Key West.
Incidentally, Pete and I loved the lowest key particularly and remarked we had to return someday. I did not collect a magnet from the ship during the trip, but every year,we hang a Christmas ornament depicting the ship’s “The Wall” (the onboard rock climbing wall experience the boys enjoyed so much).
It turns out, this was to be our last family vacation with our “little boys”. Minds and bodies were quickly changing. One son in particular was growing up fast and we were to find out pretty soon that his idea of the ideal vacation didn’t necessarily include his parents any longer.
PS - Royal Caribbean sold Majesty of the Seas in 2020 to Seajets who renamed her Majesty of the Oceans. I'm not sure of her sailing plans as of this date.
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