I won't bury the lede......My phone is working again! Charged up and good to go. I'll still be getting a new one after vacation, but I know that it will be fine until then. And with that relief in place, I move on.
Today's big doings is our first port--Half Moon Cay. This is one of Carnival's private islands, and since we were the only ship here today, we had the run of the place.
First things first: The water shuttle. You see, there's no ship dock here at the Cay, so a water shuttle is needed. This is no issue today, the seas are calm, and there's no wind. Highs in the low 80's. We are officially in Carribean weather now. I love it.
I head down to Deck A and board the 100-person shuttle. The ship has two shuttles running continuously all day until the last trip leaves the island at 3:45. Anyone who misses that ship is on their own to contact the island authorities to figure else what's next.
I've been to Half Moon Cay 3 or 4 times before, so I didn't bother taking a shore excursion. As a result, I waited until the crowd died down, then headed off.
Ten minutes later, I disembarked the shuttle and started walking around the island, for real. The paths go all around the island. There are many things to do here, for a price: horseback riding, bike tours, snorkeling, and more. But one has to sign up for a shore excursion to do these things. On the other hand, one can just go over there, wander around, and enjoy the day. There, of course, is also a beach there to hang out.
Other activities are put on by the entertainment staff. There's a beach party, and in the afternoon, and actual tug-of-war competition. But I was back on board before then.
Before that though, lunch. Lunch can be back on the ship, or it can be at the set up on the island. It's the same either way. The island lunch isn't just the same as on the ship, it's literally from the ship. The first two or three morning shuttles bring personnel and supplies from the ship to the island to provision the day.
Back on board, a pretty quiet day, except for one interesting event at the trivia contest. At one of the games, the first answer was Weird Al Yankovic! I loved this, all the trivia I've done over the years, and his name had never come up before.
Tomorrow, Grand Turk.
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