aeddubh | Last day of the cruise (Reply)

We started our last day on the cruise by "sleeping in"- in the context of this vacation, it meant not getting up until 9:00 AM... After getting up and getting dressed, we had a leisurely breakfast (I'd discovered where they were keeping the Tabasco sauce, so my eggs and homefries were much improved), and then went to the disembarkation briefing. Not a lot of real intel to be gained there, but we did get to hear a cautionary tale: for normal disembarkation, you had to leave your checked bags outside your stateroom door by midnight the night before, with no access to it until after you get ashore. Some people apparently forget and pack all their clothing, and Big Tex remembered seeing this big heavyset guy disembarking barefoot, wearing only a white tank-top and pair of tight pink shorts. Tight pink shorts that had "JUICY" written across the butt in big shiny letters...

We were also subjected to our one and only (thank the Powers) sighting of Fun Ship Freddy, the Carnival costumed mascot and Abomination of Desolation. We'd been fortunate before- we'd just seen the occasional picture of that monstrosity... Also, one of our few encounters with children in a group (there were 200-some on board, but the staff kept them so busy we rarely saw them- kudos to the staff!) was a line of them marching along chanting "We want Fred-dy! We want Fred-dy" in a rather grim and foreboding way. But our luck had run out. There IT was, capering on the stage. At least we were on the balcony and had a clear line of escape...

After that horrifying experience, there was only one solution- boat drinks. We equipped ourselves and settled in on the Serenity deck, where we spent most of the afternoon. It was another glorious day- blue skies with some puffy white clouds, not too warm, and the wind was mostly cut off by the rest of the ship. We spent the time reading, drowsing, writing postcards, and chatting... a waiter circulated occasionally, so we could get drink refills, and we were close to one of the dining areas, so lunch was gotten without too much difficulty, too. Eventually, we decided to check out a loose gems sale they were having in the shops, but it was pretty lame (

monsteralice was sure that most of the gems were heat-treated) and bought some more photos. There were some truly impressive Hallowe'en inflates on the Promenade deck- a horse-drawn hearse, hug pumpkins with a cat on them (said cat had fallen over and we decided it was drunk) and a grim reaper framing the entrance to one of the bars.

We went to the LARPer cocktail party, which was fun. We were also sharing the part space with several other groups, all of whom were in costume... this made for good people watching and some excellent eye-candy. I was amazed at some of the elaborate costumes that people had packed. That wicked Petra was working the party, and kept plying people with drinks... which were free... it's her fault that I had two more margaritas than I was planning on. Really, it is. After that, many of the LARPers trooped back to the Serenity deck to watch the sunset, which was another lovely one. We were beginning to see oil rigs at this point, which meant we were getting close to land... Then we headed back to the cabin to start packing.

At dinner that night (wonderful once again), there was speculation as to what the staff would get themselves up to this time. It turned out to be a silly-but-kinda-sweet version of "Leaving on a Jet Plane"- "Leaving on a Fun Ship".

monsteralice went off to finish packing, while I joined

mohnkern and

ravenrose on the Serenity deck for a brief but heartfelt Samhain ritual. We were already in the Mississippi by this point, having entered the channel sometime during dinner. We hung out and chatted for a while afterwards, and I had a Scotch while they smoked cigars. Then it was off to bed.