The first night sleeping on the boat was relatively uneventful. David and I had a king-sized bed (two twins pushed together), which was quite a bit more firm than our mattress at home, but bigger, so that was nice. I barely felt the rocking of the ship, except if I tried to concentrate on it. I did a LOT of reading on our vacation (but more about that later).
When we woke up on Tuesday morning, we had already docked in Key West. The ship was docked there from 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM, so we had decided in advance to get up early and explore the area. We decided to skip having breakfast in the formal dining room and instead got it at the continental grill on the top deck of the ship. Bryan and Christine had booked a parasailing excursion for themselves, so they split with us, and my MIL, David, Amy and I all went into Key West via the tram that went through the naval base.
The tram brought us to Duval Street, the famous "main drag" of Key West, and left us there to eat, go shopping, etc. until the last tram left at 1:30 PM. My MIL wanted to get a sweatshirt, and David needed to buy a pair of sandals, so we went into a little boutique souvenir shop (the name of which eludes me, unfortunately, because I'd love to tell people to never go there again).
David picked up a pair of sandals and brought them to the main counter. They were not clearly marked with the price. He handed over his debit card. The saleslady, without telling him the price of the sandals, tax, etc, swiped the card as credit and handed him a receipt to sign without a price on it. I can't stress it enough, folks: always ask the price. David got his receipt and discovered that he was now the owner of $118 sandals.
I told him to return them. I didn't actually need to tell him that; my husband is nothing if not frugal. When he turned around to ask for a refund, the saleslady immediately got up on her haunches and started yelling that there were "no refunds". She also pointed to a sign taped to the front of the cash desk that said just that -- except that it was hidden behind a rotating kiosk covered in postcards. When David and my MIL both demanded to speak to a manager, she informed them that the manager wouldn't be coming in until 11 (an hour from now, NBD), and that my MIL "shouldn't be so ignorant".
Yeah.
Anyway. Long story short -- we ended up getting a refund when the manager came in, no harm was really done, but seriously, ask the price before you buy. I'm still shaking my head about it now.
We had an hour between then unfortunate sale and when the manager came in, so we went to Margaritaville to chill out and cool off. It was only 10:30 AM and I needed a mojito. Don't judge.
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| Margaritaville interior |
Unfortunately, we didn't eat at Margaritaville, partially because we were meeting Bryan and Christine for an early lunch, and they weren't back yet, and partially because the menu (while extensive) was a bit pricey. But I can say with first-hand experience that the drinks are top-notch -- and strong.
We waited for Christine and Bryan, and we did a little more walking and shopping. Dave and Amy discovered that Key West (unlike Massachusetts and Connecticut) doesn't have an open bottle law. You can buy single beers at kiosks and drink them while walking down the street. They took full advantage of this little opportunity.
We went to Sloppy Joe's Bar for lunch, apparently a hangout of Ernest Hemingway during his lifetime. The food was good -- I had a chicken quesadilla made with chedderjack cheese and black beans, David got a pulled pork sandwich. And my BIL got his much-anticipated conch fritters.
And for dessert, we went to the Key West Key Lime Pie Co. on Duval Street. I had Key Lime pie the night before on the ship so I had some Dreamsicle ice cream. My MIL had been hoping to find frozen key lime pie on a stick. She went one better and got it chocolate dipped. Delicious.
After that, it was time to head back to the tram, so we went back to the ship, got into bathing suits and spent the rest of the afternoon sunning ourselves on deck and reading. I finished The Summer Garden that afternoon (my review here).
Every Carnival cruise has an "elegant night" where the dining room has a semi-formal dinner and everyone dresses up. Our "elegant night" was Tuesday evening, so we got all gussied up and went out to dinner on the ship.
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| (Left to right: Me, David, Christine, Bryan, MIL, Amy) |
One interesting note: Carnival's formal dining room offered a "different" appetizer every night, something that you might not always find on every menu. Bryan and Amy tried them almost every night. On "elegant night", the appetizer was fried alligator fritters, which were apparently delicious (I was not brave enough to try them).
Unfortunately, David got a little seasick that night, so we went to bed early (right after dinner, pretty much). I read until very late, and he slept all that night.
Tomorrow: Mexico, and the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen.
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