What the heck is that thing in the sky, man it is bright, oh yeah, the sun, haven't seen my old warm friend in the sky in a while, so good to see and feel you again. Here we are in the land of cruise ship ports, I thought Fort Lauderdale was big, never seen the Miami port but the this port here in Tampa is no slouch with three ships in today, two massive and then our little 1300 passenger Ryndam. Check in was a breeze, walking on the gangplank toward the ship we see the very friendly face of a former dining room steward Willy, wow someone we know - it is a small world after all. Using a single word to sum up this ship after day one, would be intimate. This ship has recently gone through a make over, clean, bright and fresh are more words that come to mind. Love the Pinnacle (had dinner there last night), love the Explorers Lounge, Love the Showroom, they have a great tiered set up with cabaret style tables and chairs by the stage. The showroom also has installed state of the art sound, lights and great screens, fantastic. I am sure as I explore this ship some more there will be a whole lot of "love's" to be had.
This ship is also FULL, really FULL. We booked this last minute as most of you know (four days prior to departure) and the only room we could get was an inside cabin, more on that later. We were able to get an outside for our last week but we are okay and will just enjoy this experience. Coming up to Key West, music just began and it is time for me to head to a lecture on this first port.
Key West, Travel almost 300 miles southwest of Miami and you wil find the tiny island of Key West. This island offers a year round tropical climate with temperatures constantly floating in the 80's. Ernest Hemingway called Key West home in the early 20th century as did Tennessee Williams. With many outdoor entertainment venues this port is a very nice way to kick off a holiday cruise. Our plan is to just walk off the ship and wander around. Which is exactly what we did, strolled this very touristy town. We stopped in at the Hard Rock for a lunch and then headed to the Butterfly Conservatory (highly recommended to us). A great experience as I have never seen so many butterflies in one area at one time. Stolled some more and had to stop at Kermit's for the Key Lime Pie, absolutely delicious. Back to the ship by four, all aboard was five. A little R&R as then ship left and sailed off into a magnificent sunset. Now we have two sea days to really explore this ship, wonderful. So, all good so far. Captain's reception tomorrow….
A few pictures of our couple days here, hope you enjoy…
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