Cruise Pt 2

{O N B O A R D}

This is our first real look at the ship. I was prepared for something huge, but this thing is a behemoth. The MS Norwegian Pearl is 995 feet long. It has five 100,000 hp engines that each consume 1 gallon of fuel per second. It cost over 500 million dollars and took two years to build. By way of comparison, the United States Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are 1,069 feet long, just 74 feet longer than the Norwegian Pearl. The Nimitz-class carriers are the largest warships in the world.

A couple o’ Major Babes are waiting to welcome us aboard. I find out later that they’re showgirls who perform in the Stardust Ballroom every night.

They have a lunch buffet ready for all the people embarking. Very nice. (I did notice a fly stuck in the Italian Dressing, which I pointed out to the Maitre d’. He is mortified and has someone take care of it immediately. He thanks me for bringing it to his attention. Our room won’t be ready for two hours, and our luggage isn’t on the ship yet, so after lunch we look around and try to get the lay of the land. There’s bars and restaurants everywhere, 4 Jacuzzis, 2 pools, all kinds o’ stuff. Full basketball court, with a bleacher section, even. Tennis courts, bocce court, golf putting green, and a rock-climbing wall so huge it’s attached to the ship’s funnel. Jogging track that runs around the perimeter of the ship. Full fitness center.

Inside are a huge casino, an art gallery (more on this later), and an Internet café (Suzanne found out how much it would cost beforehand.) Suzanne: ‘No.’

Me =

The economic system on the ship is set up to bone everyone to the greatest extent possible. For example: each room has a phone. To call a toll-free 800 number will set you back $5.95 a minute. There’s a bunch of duty-free stores on the ship selling all kinds of stuff for rich people. There’s a jewelry store that’s as big as anything at Eastview that sells Colombian Emeralds and diamonds. Couple o’ nightclubs, a bowling alley, and the Stardust Theater.

There’s a library with a pretty good selection of books. Fancy-schmancy spa where you can get all kinds o’ treatments plus get your teeth whitened by the on-board dentist. If I’d gone in that spa I’m sure my wallet woulda lost weight.

There’s a martini bar. A champagne bar. A whisky and draft beer bar. This ship stocks 800 different types of wine. A cigar lounge. A steakhouse. An Italian restaurant. Mexican. Japanese. Chinese. French. You’d have to be mighty picky to not be able to find something you wanted to eat.

We hear the announcement that our rooms are ready. We check it out. We had gotten a mini-suite, one step above a balcony stateroom. There are several staterooms above ours in size and price. The real rich people can get the Owner’s Suites (there’s two on board) that have private elevator keycard access. Plus they have their own Jacuzzi. Their own private garden. Their own dining room. Their own concierge and butler. The entire ship is full, so someone’s using all the high-power, uber-expensive suites.

Our suite is very nice. Because it’s on a ship, the emphasis in on the wisest use of space, so everything is built in. We have a 6’ X 9’ foot balcony with a sliding glass door. There are two chairs and a little table out there. We get our stuff put away, and then go on deck to see the ship put out to sea.