Justin Arin

Age: 24
Occupation: Professor at University of Florida
Number of Cruises: 6
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International
Ship: Jewel of the Seas
Sailing Date: May 1st, 2005
Itinerary: 14-Night Transatlantic

May 1st, 2005: Day 1: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Last year, I took a cruise on Legend of the Seas. Onboard, I booked a 5-night cruise on Voyager of the Seas. My mother and I were supposed to go on it. My mother moved to London a couple of months ago, so I canceled our Bermuda cruise and booked a Transatlantic with my girlfriend. The day we arrived on the ship, I was so happy! We got on the ship around 3:00, and i took an hour-nap. My girlfriend booked us a seaweed-wrap massage. I had NO clue what that was, but I've gotten massages before on cruises, so I figured it was the same. It was maybe about 5:00 and the ship set sail, and we didn't have our luggage. We had Main-Seating Dinner, so we just had to go in our normal clothes. we met our waiter, assistant waiter and headwaiter. They were very charming and funny. After Dinner, we saw the welcome-aboard show, which was a good show. I personally don't really go to the shows so i must say the show was not half bad. Then, our luggage came, and I unpacked everything. I went to the Zanzibar Lounge afterwards, but I was so tired I went to my room and ended my day.

Day 2, At Sea
My Girlfriend and I went to the Seaweed-Wrap Massage. It was amazing, they wrapped you in seaweed and massaged you at the end! It was AMAZING! Later, we went to the pool area and I went in the pool while my girlfriend laid out in the sun. About 3:00, I went and played some basketball while my girlfriend went to the internet lounge. We met back at the room at 5:30 and got ready for dinner. We made reservations at Chops Grille. The food was outstanding, but when you go to Chops Grille, per person it costs 20 dollars. My girlfriend was excited for tomorrow, because she had only been out of the country once, to the Bahamas. She went back to the room after dinner and watched a movie and ordered room service. I went to the Schooner Bar. I must say, the Schooner Bar was so much fun. I met a couple from Norway, who were very interesting. I left the bar around 1:00 and went back to the cabin. I didn't fall asleep till around 3:00, because I sat on the balcony for a while with my girlfriend.

Day 3, King’s Wharf, Bermuda
I booked an excursion called “Glass-Bottom-Boat Safari”. We went to a dock area and boarded the glass-bottom-boat. They took us to Bermuda’s “Sea Gardens”, which was very neat! There were so many fish and the many beautiful Coral Formations which were so unique! It truly was an amazing site! I definitely suggest that excursion if you go to King’s Wharf. We were in Bermuda for two days, so we figured we could stay out as late as we wanted. I have a friend named Scott, who lives in Hamilton, Bermuda, not too far away. He came and met us and he drove us to his house. The drive itself is so beautiful. We stayed at his house shortly. We arrived back at King’s Wharf about 10:00pm and heard about a club. We went to the club and had a great time. At about midnight, my girlfriend felt nauseous, so we went back to the cabin on the ship, and we fell asleep not too long after.

Day 4, King’s Wharf, Bermuda
I woke up around 10:00. My girlfriend woke me up because she wanted to go to the beach. She also wanted to get off the ship, before we had 5 at-sea days ahead of us. We went to the beach for a couple hours, but we had to get back because the ship left at 4:00. The rest of the day, I stayed back in the cabin while my girlfriend went out. My back was aching very badly. I ordered room service for dinner and fell asleep around 10:00.

Day 5, At Sea
I woke up at 7:00, and ran around the jogging track a couple times with my girlfriend, and then we went to breakfast. My girlfriend and I went to the Solarium until it got dark, and we went to dinner. After dinner, we went to the Schooner Bar, got a couple drinks, and had a good time! Then we went to Champagne, a bar next to the Schooner Bar, and got a couple more drinks. I got tired at about 2:00 and so did my girlfriend. We went to sleep.

Day 6, At Sea
I went to the Online Lounge with my girlfriend. I got my e-mail and surfed the net. We went to the Solarium again because we had so much fun the day before! The best part about the solarium is there is a pool and you can get food there. I played some basketball and then that night we didn’t go to dinner. Instead, we got an early start at Champagne. I didn’t have any alcohol that night because I wasn’t in the mood for any. Instead, I had Diet-Coke and just plain old water. I went back to the cabin at around 9:00 and just sat on my balcony and had room service. I fell asleep in one of the chairs on the balcony that night.

Day 7, At Sea
I woke up on the balcony at around noon and I felt fresh. I went to the Shipshape Fitness Center and worked out. I worked out for about 4 hours. I went back to the room and took a shower. It was about 5:00 when my shower was over, so I got ready for dinner. I didn’t like the menu for dinner, so we left and went to the Windjammer. The food at Windjammer had pretty good food for dinner. Before I didn’t even know they had food at dinner, because that is where I go every morning for breakfast, which I must say is wonderful! That night, I went to the casino! I played blackjack for a while. Once I won, I left the table and went to a slot machine. Usually, I only play twice or possibly even three times but I won on my first try! It was about 2:00 and I went back to my cabin because I was so tired!

Day 8, At Sea
I went to church on the ship early that morning. My back ached all day so I stayed in the room. I ordered room service for breakfast and lunch, but around dinner time I felt better. I went to dinner and my back started to ache again! I fell asleep around 10:30.

Day 9, At Sea
I woke up thinking “Finally, the last at-sea day before Europe!”, and I was so happy! But I was also sad, because I’ve felt so relaxed, because I was out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! We went to the photo gallery and then we went to the Shopping Mall Area. My girlfriend went in every single store! We were there for hours! She got perfume, souvenirs, jewelry, gifts and more! She definitely enjoyed the mall out at sea! Later we went to Latte-Tudes and got coffee, even though it was around 1:00. I got the courage to climb the rock wall. The ship was rocking but believe it or not, I had a good time! We didn’t go to dinner, instead we got a bottle of wine and two fruit plates from room service. We went to the Schooner Bar for an hour or two and then went to Champagne for the rest of the night. I saw the couple from Norway again. We talked briefly, because they left and went to the Congo Bar. Then we followed them, but once we got to the Congo Bar, I felt tired and so did my girlfriend. I had big plans for the next day!

Day 10, Lisbon, Portugal
I woke up around 6:00 and watched the ship dock at port. My girlfriend woke up around 6:30 because I made so much noise outside. We docked at about 7:00. I think we were the first ones off the ship. A man offered a tour by taxi to Castelo de Sao Jorge (Saint George Castle). We climbed up to a top of a tower and the view was beautiful. We stayed on the top of the tower for about 10 minutes till one of the greatest moments in my life occurred. I purposed to my girlfriend. She said yes almost instantly! We were so happy! She said she already saw the ring in my suitcase and was waiting for me to pop the question! We went back to the ship at 4:00. I went to the EXPLORATIONS! Desk and booked an excursion for Vigo, Spain called “Sightseeing and Bayona”. We asked the couple from Norway if they wanted to go to the Serengeti Card Club and play some cards. We played cards until around 9:00 and then me and my fiancé (no longer girlfriend) went to the Safari Club. We didn’t have much fun there so we went to the Viking Crown Lodge, where we went to the bar. At around 12:00, we went back to the room, because we had a excursion the next day.

Day 11, Vigo, Spain
Our tour started at 10:00 and we docked at 9:00. We got off the ship around 9:30. We met our tour guide and went to Bayona. Bayona used to be a major Spanish port for centuries and now is a historic landmark which holds once treasure-hunting galleons that now sit right in Bayona. Bayona was beautiful. Then we went sight-seeing around Vigo. It is a beautiful city and keeps its old charm. The city almost looks like you are stepping back far in time. I don’t remember when the tour ended, but once the tour was over, we walked around Vigo ourselves. We went back to the ship at about 3:45. We went to dinner and then we went to the Zanzibar Lounge. My fiancé wanted to go to the lobby bar so I followed her. We stayed out till about 3:00 because another at sea day was ahead of us.

Day 12, At Sea
I went Shipshape Fitness center and worked out until noon, and I went back to the cabin. I took a nice, long and very refreshing shower. After my shower, I went to the library. I read two books and when I looked at my watch, it was 5:30. I realized I had to go to dinner. I hadn’t eaten all day! I guess I forgot because I had my mind set on doing so many things. My fiancé looked all over the ship for me. I guess I forgot to tell her where I was going. After dinner, we decided to go to the show, then we went to the Congo Bar. I had a long day, and at around midnight I went back to the cabin, and my fiancé and I ordered some room service and watched some TV.

Day 13, Le Harve (Paris), France
We docked in Le Harve, France, about two and a half hours from Paris. We got a taxi to Paris. I lived in Paris for a year and a half because my father was in the army so I showed around my fiancé. We went back to Le Harve and arrived there around 7:00 and walked around the port area. We got back on the ship at around 8:00. We ate dinner in Paris, so we weren’t very hungry. We didn’t go to any bars tonight, we went to the casino at around midnight and then we only stayed for about an hour or two. I ended my day back at the cabin at about 2:30.

Day 14, Zeebrugge (Brussels), Belgium
I booked the excursion “Bruges Sights and Beer Tasting”. The tour was so much fun! Bruges is a very interesting town. The Beer Tasting was lots of fun and I sure enjoyed it. We tasted so many different types of brew. I may have been a little loose once we got back to the ship. It was the last day! I was sad, but I had done so much on this cruise. We went to the farewell show that night. We packed all our stuff later on that night. My girlfriend and I went to Champagne, the Schooner Bar, The Zanzibar Lounge, The Safari Club, the Congo Bar and the Lobby Bar. Yes, we did a lot that night. I fell asleep at around 3:00 and got a got a wake-up call for 7:00.

Day 15, Harwich (London), England
I only got 4 hours of sleep and I woke up groggy. We had our final breakfast in the Dining Room. My mother waited at the port for us. We said good-bye to the Jewel of the Seas and met my mom in Harwich. She told us congratulations and we went to her apartment.

Overall, I had a wonderful cruise! I will never forget this experience! I got on this cruise as a single man and now I am engaged! Onboard, I booked a cruise on Navigator of the Seas to the Caribbean, and my mom will come also.