CRUISING
Some folks choose a cruise for the ports of call, others for just the experience of being at sea. The motivation for our five-day Western Caribbean cruise was a gathering of the Chief Penguin’s cousins. Some of these cousins saw each other weekly as kids, but hadn’t spent any appreciable time together in years except for an occasional family reunion. Counting us, there were nine in the group hailing from Colorado, Virginia, upstate New York, and Florida.
Our ship was Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas. It’s one of the smaller ones in their fleet, but, by my lights, it’s large carrying more than 2,000 passengers and hundreds of crew. Like many ships of this sort, it has the requisite number of glitzy spaces. 
Lots of bars and lounges and music almost everywhere; during the day piped music and at night, performers of all sorts—singers, bands, shows, all with loud, if not blaring music. In fact, it’s hard to escape the music, but we did find a few spots that were quiet and peaceful. One evening we enjoyed a small orchestra playing big band music, most of which was danceable. If you want classical violin or country music, you could find that too, and late at night there’s usually a disco experience somewhere. We sailed during March, spring break time, and a preponderance of passengers were college students, families with small children fleeing the still snowy north, and teachers escaping the classroom, along with a smaller coterie of senior citizens.
Royal Caribbean sells drink packages which we didn’t buy. We were sometimes the beneficiaries of the Chief Penguin’s cousins’ generous perks and didn’t plan to drink that much. But, given that on this line, you pay for every drink except water, juices, coffee and tea, you’d think that the staff would be more present in the lounges encouraging you to imbibe. Not so. Occasionally, service for a pre-dinner glass of wine was slow or non-existent.
Food was plentiful and, mostly very good. The range of selections in the Windjammer Café for breakfast and lunch (we didn’t eat dinner here) was extensive! Everything from eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, cereal, fruits, smoked salmon, toast and English muffins, omelets, and probably twenty-five different kinds of pastries, doughnuts and rolls! At lunch, you could always get hamburgers, hot dogs and fries, but also hot dishes like fried chicken, a Moroccan veggie stew, chicken curry, salad fixings from an appetizing salad bar, plus pizza, beef stew, rice, and pasta. And then cookies, puddings, cakes and soft serve ice cream for dessert. It’s easy to over indulge and hard to go hungry! There was even a gluten free corner on one of the many stations.
We opted for dinner in the formal dining room, Minstrel, and, Cousin Jane, our tour director, had arranged for us to have a set table every night at 6:00 pm. Table 326 was round and worked well for the group. We had the same two great waiters, Swapneel and Vasiljie, every night. I do have to say that the dining room was always full and felt crowded, but the service was efficient. The wait staff worked hard to see that you got your food in a timely fashion. The dinner menu offered three courses with five or six choices in each course and three special entrées for which you paid extra. Some items were regulars, but there was always something different too.
My horseradish-crusted salmon was delicious and my chicken cordon blue nicely prepared, but a bit skimpy on the filling. The arugula and radicchio salad was good, the Caesar one adequate. It’s traditional fare; if you desire pork vindaloo, Windjammer is your spot.
We had two full days at sea, and, if you want to be active, besides the pool area, there was a rock climbing wall, fitness center, basketball court, shops to explore, and classes to attend, plus the casino. Or, like us, you can find a quiet nook to sit and read and watch the rippling waves.
Our first port was Key West, a town we visited twenty-five years ago with our then pre-teen son. We disembarked after the long lines for the trolleys wound down and spent a brief time re-exploring the downtown. Sloppy Joe’s, Hog’s Breath Saloon, and the Banyan Tree Inn are all still in business. 
And I even remembered the name of the resort (The Reach) where we stayed before! With its funky, quirky ambiance, carefree style, and more bars and restaurants than you can name, Key West is Florida’s answer to New Orleans.
After a day at sea, we docked at the port in Cozumel, an island twelve miles off the Yucatán peninsula. There were six cruise ships in the port. 
Once we disembarked for the many shops on the pier, we were part of a huge throng of tourists. Shopkeepers were outside optimistically hustling for sales which we resisted. We made the circuit of the stores, walked toward the taxi stand with the idea of going into San Miguel several miles away, but were deterred by the long queue. We then debated getting a mid-morning beer or a margarita but didn’t. We headed back to the ship for lunch (and a beer) followed by several laps around the outside pool deck. Each night there was some sort of performance ranging from a magician to the Las Vegas Tenors to the crew’s big show on the last night. 
I think the cousins enjoyed each other’s company—possibly more than they expected—-and as the cruise progressed, more time was spent together after breakfast and at lunch. A big thank you to Jane and Ed, seasoned cruisers, for making an enjoyable experience even more so!
Our port of embarkation was Tampa and the boarding process was quite well organized. Disembarking, if you carried your own luggage, was very efficient and customs and re-entry to the U.S. speedy. We were off the ship, through customs, and at our car at the cruise parking garage in about 30 minutes. Would I do this again? Yes, as we’ve discovered that cruising out of Tampa is easy, and being aboard the ship, whatever your destination, is a relaxing change of pace—a vacation from retirement!
READING–FAMILY SECRETS
I enjoyed two novels while at sea. Here are my thoughts on one of them.
The Heirs by Susan Rieger. Rupert Falkes, an English orphan, became a very successful lawyer, and he and his wife Eleanor had five sons. When he dies, a strange woman comes forward claiming that her two sons were his. While this event is disturbing, the novel focuses more on the sons’ past lives and their relationships with their mother and with each other. Upper class and wealthy, the Falkes are a privileged lot living a privileged life in Manhattan. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different family member, and the reader becomes party to some of their secrets, but not others.
Rieger is especially astute on the close, but sometimes fraught, relations between parents and offspring. Whatever she knows or thinks she knows about Rupert’s past and his possible involvement with another woman, Eleanor never lets on to her children. She evinces more benevolence than hatred or upset toward these interlopers. Infidelity and competition recur throughout this family as they contemplate both their father’s legacy and what form of legacy they might leave. It’s a little hard to keep the sons straight, but Sam stands out as the gay brother who desperately wants to have a child. An enjoyable read, particularly for anyone familiar with the New York scene.
