Day Five: Remortgaging My House and Heading Back to Miami

I was pleased to report that I was over the worst of my Norovirus (it’s absolutely no fun at all) and managed a full hour of sunbathing in the Caribbean sunshine.   I had successfully managed to avoid my fellow passengers by being sick for the most part and was left with a bit of cabin fever (pun intended).

I decided to venture out and meet new people.  I didn’t really – I’m the most socially awkward person on the planet, so what I actually did was go to the casino and have a look round.  I’m not much of a gambler, but it did have lots of available toilets nearby.  You know…just in case.  I vowed to stop gambling as soon as I won money for a new pair of shoes, or enough to pay the massively high bill I’d rung up on the ship, despite having spent an inordinate amount of time laying on my bathroom floor. 

It would appear that, on top of the large cocktail bill on the first night, I incurred a daily charge for gratuity that I didn’t receive, internet access at 40p per minute (I totally need that), a fuel charge (!), which I can only assume is my contribution to keeping the ship moving, and an additional gratuity charge for no reason apparent.   It’s probably just as well I’d been ill.  I can’t imagine what I’d have spent if I’d left my room for any period of time.   Costs to cover wear and tear on the carpets?   A charge for admiring the views? 

I could have stayed at home in bed and hired someone to come over and violently shake my bed from side to side for a mere fraction of the price.  I might consider that next time.  

I paid up, resigned myself to no new shoes when I got back to Miami and couldn’t wait to grab my rental car and drive down to the firm ground of Key Largo.

I also decided that cruises aren’t really for me.   I’ll definitely be sticking with my tried and tested road tripping from now on.    I did have some fun, though!  Plus, I filled a few pages of the blog with my innate ramblings. 

Also, I totally ditched the herbs I bought in Jamaica before I went back through US Customs.   I thought it was the most sensible option…