The Carnival Dream berthed at Costa Maya
Cats don’t generally like water; we’re civilized beings. We try not to get our silky fur wet. God made us so we didn’t need to bathe like humans; our little pink tongues do a most efficient job of cleaning.
Caribbean Cruises
So, when Nina suggested an ocean-going cruise in the Caribbean, I had a little panic attack and started panting. She can be rather surly and uncompassionate at times by neglecting the needs of little animals, especially of the “stuffed” variety.
Toulouse enjoying a Bahama Mama on the Lido Deck of Carnival Dream
And gasped. The ship we were going to travel on was the Carnival Dream! I gaped at the 15-story high boat that resembled a small city and rested my gaze on the longest sea-waterslide (at 303 feet) perched atop the top deck. Nina grinned like an urchin. She’d known all along that I could handle this kind of water.
Aboard the Carnival Dream
The Carnival Dream is the latest in the Carnival line of luxury cruise ships to tour the Caribbean Sea; her maiden voyage took place only months ago when she sailed from the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy to New York in late September 2009. The Dream is Carnival’s largest ship at 130,000 tons and carrying 3,646 passengers. The Dream launches year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises and offers a wide variety of places to eat, relax, walk and enjoy the view. I enjoyed riding the coolest glass elevator with a spectactular view of the Dream’s 11-deck high atrium; chilling in the Ocean Plaza, an
View of the Waterslide from the Lido Deck
indoor/outdoor café; the Lido Deck open-deck lounge and seaside theatre; and the waves pool. The Dream also features an expansive spa (see a later post of mine) and more bars than a small town.
We boarded and got settled in our 12th deck (spa level) stateroom, complete with large comfy bed (I need my room!), couch and table and large balcony. After “mustering” for safety procedures, the ship set sail and we entered the open ocean. I admit that I felt some discomfort at the idea of being in the open sea where any trip off the boat was going to be a wet one. But I soon settled down as we explored our waterborne city of fun.
Fun Things to Do on a Cruise Ship
If you’ve never been on a cruise before—like me—you are in for a treat when you do. It’s an experience in affordable luxury. Cruise ships are like giant hotels that glide over the ocean and take you to exotic destinations for humans and cats alike. They do it safely and with lots of fun. Cruise ships offer a diversity of experiences to your individual taste. For instance, while Nina went out drinking and dancing to all hours of the morning with the marketing crowd, I laid back in the stateroom, ordered my favorite peanut butter and jam with milk through the 24-hour room service, and watched bad movies. Each day that we explored the ship, we found something new. Live entertainment varied from the cozy piano bar on Deck 5, a lively Mexican band on the Lido Deck to the Vegas-style shows and comedy acts all over the rest of the boat.
Like most exploration, it got a little dangerous. One day I’d strayed onto the mini-golf turf on the top deck and before I knew it someone had used me as a ball! Nina rescued me only to take me aft to the huge waterslide. Thankfully, she didn’t insist I get wet.
Of course, one of the best known aspects of a cruise is the food. Even those who don’t cruise know this. Fine dining happened every evening at the Scarlet and Crimson Restaurants. Nina could have left me at the Chef’s Art, a steakhouse and seafood restaurant. On the Lido Deck, The Indian Tandoor, served by a few surly Tandoori Nazis, was still well worth the insult. But don’t piss them off! They’ll shut their buffet windows right on your tender little paws if you do. When Nina lost me she knew she could always find me at either the Wasabi Sushi Bar or the Plaza Café Patisserie.
Nina rates cruises based on how many new exotic drinks she discovers that blow her socks off. She rated this cruise a 3. I gave it a 10! But she tells me that’s because I have less muscle mass. Or is it that I have no socks to blow off?
Toulouse on the Mini-Golf field
We were introduced to the Bahama Mama on the Lido Deck by a fellow marketing passenger. Made of rum, grenadine, and pina colada mix, it’s a refreshing drink that sneaks up on you only after you’ve been compelled to have about five of them. We discovered the second drink thanks to me and then we ended up introducing it to the rest of the boat, practically. Nina had her sites on the traditional Vodka Martini (because of the olives) but I convinced her to try the French Martini after Tanya the bartender described it to us; it contains Chambord (French raspberry liqueur) and pineapple juice in addition to a generous portion of vodka. It packs a sweet punch. The third drink was the special of the day suggested to us by one of the Lido Deck bartenders. The Tiramisu Martini was a funky drink trying to be a cake. I should have known better. Nina didn’t. She blithely drank hers down then watched in drunken blissful unconcern as various friends and total strangers came over to cuddle me and maul me and put me into embarrassing positions.
Ah… the life of a celebrity travel cat…
Next: “Cozumel by Bike—Toulouse Rides a Harley”
Cruise with Toulouse: find out about how you can join a cruise with your favorite traveling cat right here.
Photos by Nina Munteanu
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Toulouse, you write a good story! I’m surprised all that water didn’t give you the heeby-jeebies……or is that what you were hiding from when you got lost? Keep up your good writing. Maybe you’ll get published or something!
Too Loose! the security code to get in here to the comments was like 18 numbers long and my memory is fading as you know. can you shorten things up a bit? thanks. and hey…yo… cat!……
I wrote THE SNAILPAPER STATEMENT
today, and here’s a preview:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that while the Digital Age
is upon us fast and furious, the print newspaper — hereafter dubbed
the “snailpaper” — shall persevere as a good daily read, a
fascinating look at the world around us and a valuable tool for
understanding oped pundits and above the fold headlines. Sure, the
dear snailpaper will also be seen as a useful tool
for wrapping fish at the Fulton Fish Market or lining the bird cage in
the den, but all kidding aside — har! har! — the daily snailpaper
can hold its head high and be certain of its place in the culture.
While news migrates in pixels and bytes to the Internet at an
exponential rate, piling breaking story upon breaking story and
turning everyone and his mother into a 24/7 news freak and RSS
aggregator, the plodding snailpaper will nevertheless remain the
bedrock of analysis and insight, from sea to shining sea, delivered at
a snail’s pace, yes, read at a snail’s pace, yes, and absorbed, word
for word — on glorius printed paper! white newsprint reflecting inked
letters! — at a snail’s pace, yes, as long as the Republic of Letters
shall live.”
Full blast here:
http://zippy1300.blogspot.com/2010/02/snailpaper-statement-mini-version-by.html
The Carnival Dream sounds like a fab ship. I like Nina’s grading by exotic drinks. You must have been knocking them back!
Hey, Toulouse! So, the cruise wasn’t so bad, was it? LOL! How about another one?… I hear there’s a great one in the Meditarrenean!
Your friend,
Nina
It’s Mediterranean, Nina! (Geez…. you see what I have to deal with here?…)
Okay, maybe another cruise would be all right… We could kick back a few more like Jean-Luc was suggesting… :-3
And, yes, it is a fab ship, Jean-Luc!
:-3
Thanks for stopping by, Cathy and Jean-Luc and Danny (although I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about, Danny! — I prefer my snails — or escargot — sauted in garlic butter and stuffed in mushroom caps, and my fish as a ‘Bouillabaisse’ (preferably in Provence), and my bird baked or roasted…
Here’s one for duck: DUCK CONFIT (directions): Catch one fat duck…then…
Press duck legs, flesh-side down, into salt. Lightly sprinkle additional salt on fat side. In a non reactive container layer duck legs with herbs and spices: Place 3 legs in container, fat-side down, cover with peppercorns, garlic, thyme and bay leaves and press on remaining 3 legs, flesh-side down. Store overnight, covered and refrigerated.
Remove legs from container, rinse off salt and seasonings under cold water and pat dry. Place in a deep saucepan or Dutch oven large enough to hold legs in one layer and pour in melted duck fat. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, reduce heat to very low and cook until meat actually pulls away from drumsticks. Allow confit to cool in its fat. Store, completely covered in fat, refrigerated, for up to 1 month before using.
The texture is tender, the taste is rich and they can be enjoyed hot, cold, sautéed, in soups, or salads. I like mine straight out of the bowl!
Bon appétit!
votre ami de gourmet, Toulouse :-3
Danny was making a good point about the endurance of the printed form despite the lightning speed of news on the internet and blogs and Facebook. His reference for “snailpaper”, was as an endearing term for print form vs digital form–not escargot! Check out his latest Oped here: http://open.salon.com/blog/danbloom/2010/02/06/confessions_of_an_old_fuddieduddy_ofd_the_daily_paper
Hey Toulouse,
You sure get around!
Leave it to you to cruise in style.
You should thank your lucky stars you weren’t on the Kon-Tiki
Merci, Karen! :-3
Yes, I do get around and most always in style (despite Nina’s bohemian lifestyle and penchant for unconventional adventure, like cave-tubing — being Romanian, she comes by her gypsy lifestyle honestly)…
As for the Kon-Tiki…. Shhh…. Let’s not tell Nina about it, shall we? It might give her some ideas…
Ton ami,
Toulouse :-3
I think it was great. Maybe you should get Toulose to right a little short story of his adventures. I really enjoyed that
Thanks, Dar!
I’ll tell Nina that this one’s MINE! (She likes to borrow from our adventures. Next thing you know, you’ll find this adventure in some SF short story of hers about Mad Maxine, Galactic cop, whose chasing Pissoff, an alien from Capicolo who sells the dangerous and illicit hallucinogenic drug “moon dust”. She’s caught up to him/her (we’re not sure what sex or if Pissoff even has a sex) on Beta 9, a bog planet in the Cozumel Galaxy…they’re riding Bog-skippers (the newest fad in Harley-Davidson adventure-riding of the 23th Century and the pulse-coupler of Maxine’s skipper has just broken… (see my post on riding Harleys on Cozumel: http://toulouseletrek.com/41/cruise-with-toulouse-riding-harleys-in-cozumel/)
Ton ami,
Toulouse :-3
p.s. maybe I can correct your spelling too!
LOL! Neat idea, Toulouse! Thanks, dude!
Your friend,
Nina