My Eyes Have Seen The Glory

After being on the road for five months and covering over 9,000 km (5,600 miles), today I would be travelling without my bike. Today I would be setting foot on my first cruise ship – the Carnival Glory. And, over the course of the next seven days, I’ll be visiting The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. I still have my concerns about being bored (or at least somewhat confined) on the boat but we’ll see how it goes. But, before any of that could happen, I had to get to the Port of Miami.

Fortunately, getting to the Port of Miami turned out to be much easier (and faster) than anticipated. My original plan was to get back on Miami’s public transportation; however, Omar (my Warm Showers host) was kind enough to drive me there instead. Suddenly the biggest obstacle of the day wasn’t an obstacle at all.

Boarding of the Carnival Glory was scheduled to begin at 1:00 and I was more than a little early. This ended up working out well as I was able to check-in before the crowds arrived. But it did mean that I had about three hours to fill before I could board. It was then that I remembered that I didn’t have much cash with me – and there are no ATMs at the port. The closest bank was back in Miami – about a 3 km walk over the bridge. So, that became my next objective.

The walk ended up being uneventful – although, I had to carry my luggage with me which was a bit of a nuisance since my luggage is actually my cycling panniers. First world problems. On my way back from the bank I even managed to find a cheap pair of sandals which I figured would be more practical than my very well worn shoes.

I returned to Port of Miami by 12:30 where I found out that boarding had already begun. No more waiting! By 12:45 I was officially onboard. As this is my first cruise, I don’t have anything to which I can compare it but it’s definitely a big boat. I actually have a harder time believing boats this size should float than I do with huge planes flying. For now though, it was floating.

Boarding was in process but access to individual staterooms still wasn’t available so I made my way up to the Lido Deck for my first meal. I stopped at the first place I saw – mainly because there were a lot of people and I didn’t want to carry my bags any further. The place was Guy’s Burgers. And it was good. Very good. And, Spoiler Alert, it would become a regular stopping point over the duration of the cruise.

I was able to access my room by 1:30 and from there I was free to explore the ship without the burden of carrying around any baggage. There really is quite a bit to do on the Carnival Glory – pools, water slide, stage theatre, comedy club, piano bar, basketball, volleyball, mini-golf. The list goes on. That said, my concerns about being bored remained. This was only day one.

Part of my booking included scheduling my daily dinner time in the dining room. My seating time was 6:00 and I was actually a bit reluctant to go. With this being the first night, I suspected the dining room would be crowded. Very crowded. Over the course of this trip, I think I’ve become a bit better at meeting new people but I still function much better within smaller groups. I almost convinced myself to skip dinner in the dining room in favour of filling up at one of the buffets but, knowing myself as I do, I knew if I skipped the dining room on day one that I probably would skip it all week. I decided to “get it over with” now.

I was right about the dining room being very crowded but, as is frequently the case, my anxiousness over this large social situation was misguided. I was led through the dining room to a table of eight. Actually, there were only five people there at the time. I was number six. I sat down and met Scotty, Joanne, Sue, Cynthia, and Steve. A table of fellow solo travellers. Over the course of the next hour, we ate, chatted, bantered, and ate some more. It was good but by the end I was ready to move on and explore the boat a bit more.

During my initial exploration of the Carnival Glory, the casino was still closed (as is the case whenever the boat is docked). With the boat now at sea, the casino was now open so I headed there to check things out. I wasn’t in the gambling mood so I just watched. A bit of craps. Roulette. Blackjack (and its many variations). I figured I’d play something at some point but now was not the time.

I resumed my wandering ways for a while before I ran into one of my dining companions, Joanne. She and a couple others from dinner were planning on going to the Comedy Club later in the evening and I was now invited to come along. The evening officially had a plan.

Each evening, the Comedy Club (aka. The Punchliner) featured four (or five) 30 minute performances featuring one of two comedians. Having watched more than a few comedians over the years, tonight’s entertainment was certainly not the pinnacle of comedy. But it had its moments.

After the show, there was more wandering around, a bit more food, some musical entertainment at the casino, but mostly there was more wandering around. All in all, it was a good first day aboard the Carnival Glory.