Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2011 > July > 20 > Entry
A Carnival at Sea
What can be said about cruise ships that has not already been said? At any given time, a city the size of Austin floats on hundreds of vessels flying the flags of dozens of international cruise lines. Their number and variety bewilder even the seasoned traveller.
Plus a couple of gay men from Austin.
For the relatively short trip from Galveston to Cozumel and back, Kip and I joined the Keller family, celebrating John and Annette Keller’s golden anniversary. The 10 Keller grandchildren took full advantage of this 70,367-ton waterborne mall and motel, as well as the tropical day excursions in Mexico.
By design, one could hardly tell that the party took place at sea. Early on, Kip and I sought out the sunniest, windiest decks, just to soak up that oceanic feeling. Didn’t last too long. Eventually we discovered a quiet coffee spot (Rolls Royce) and a martini bar (High Society) that served higher quality potables in comfortable settings.
We played a lot of canasta with Kip’s brother and his wife. I read Gary Cartwright’s entertaining book “Galveston.” And we watched the human circus go by.
Guests circulated around the ship from dawn to way past midnight, concentrating on three nodes: Pool deck, casino and central shopping atrium. I was gratified to note that the population was fairly evenly distributed among American ethnic groups and ages, with the exception of very low showings for infants, the elderly and college-agers.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, despite the fact that virtually none of the organized games, shopping or entertainment suited our personal tastes. We almost completely escaped the incessant snapping of professional photographers on land and at sea.
The company of loved ones sufficed. That in itself was a vacation.
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