Things you can't control (Nassau at Night)

My old friend Mike Robinson came onboard for a cruise this past weekend. His girlfriend, Jessie, came with him and they were pumped for a weekend of relaxing in the sun. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. It rained pretty much steadily for 3 days straight. From Miami to CoCo Cay to Nassau. It's nobody's fault about the weather, but, I still feel bad that their cruise didn't turn out the way they had hoped. We did get to spend some time together, though. That was great fun. I'm really glad they came out.

Also this past weekend was the official celebration of the 20th birthday for the Majesty of the Seas. The "Grand Old Lady" of the Royal Caribbean fleet was the largest cruise ship in the world 20 years ago. She's the smallest ship in the fleet now, but, that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve a big party. In addition to a HUGE birthday cake, professional pictures, live music, and champagne, the Majesty had a killer Hot Hits of the 90's playlist (celebrating the pop music of the time of her launch) during the live musician breaks including:

Mmm Bop by Hansen

If You Wanna Be My Lover by Spice Girls

I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston

I Want It That Way by Back Street Boys

My part of the gig was easy. Short fanfare for the captain followed by a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday. I played 9 different pitches for a total of 28 seconds of performance time and went out to dinner. Nice work if you can get it (and you can get it if you try).

Due to the weather, the Majesty stayed overnight in Nassau which gave me the rare opportunity to get off the ship in the evening. Nassau offers a variety of nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. Tony, Blair and I opted to take the chance to get a nice dinner. Sometimes it's almost imperative to get a break from the crew mess once in a while. It was also a chance for the three of us to get some hang time in before Tony's contract was up.

The restaurant we chose was on Blair's recommendation. It's an Indian place called Taj Mahal about a 10 minute walk from the pier. I started with Potato Bhaji (deep fried potatoes with lime and garlic-type sauce) followed by a main course of Lamb Biryani (lamb mixed with rice and rich spices). The meal was accompanied by Nan (a flat, tortilla-esque bread). Everything was outstanding. We left no leftovers whatsoever.

Lamb Biryani and Nan

Whatever Blair had (can't remember the name)

I also saw this sign in Nassau. A little on the nose, but, good advice.

Lastly, during the overnight Majesty was docked right next to her sister ship the Monarch of the Seas. This is the ship where my friend Ryan Leander is located now. He'll be there for the next 3 weeks or so until he signs off for vacation. Also saw another friend, Michelle, who I met briefly onboard the Majesty. She's in the Cruise Sales and Loyalty division and moved from Majesty to Monarch about a month ago. Tony knows her also from a previous contract. As I understand it, it's rare to see someone twice onboard cruise ships. Three times is almost out of the question. Good to see them again.