CRUISE VIGNETTES 06, Mardi Gras

CARIBBEAN CRUISE
In 1975, we found time for a cruise in the Caribbean. (We’ll let you guess how hard it for us to find time for a trip!) One of the men I worked with could not imagine we would spend that much money (cruise and airfare cost less than $1,500, as I remember) for such a short trip. I asked him how much he spent for lunch and drinks that day, then multiplied by the number of work days in a year, and showed him that our trip for two, cost far less than he most likely spent for lunch in a year. For my lunch, if I wasn’t entertaining a client on the expense account, I would go for a walk, spend a quarter on a banana and/or a croissant to eat while I continued walking. It isn’t how much money you spend, it’s what you want to spend it for.

THE MARDI GRAS
We flew to Miami, boarded the Mardi Gras, and off we went. Originally owned by Canadian Pacific, and named Empress of Canada, in January 1972 she was sold to newly founded Carnival Cruise Lines Inc. to become their first ship. Renamed Mardi Gras, the ship was refitted for her new purposes. By 2005 Carnival Lines was the biggest cruise line, with the largest, newest ships, but not this first year. The ship was not too bad, and the people who had never sailed on any ship before, thought it was great.

I don’t remember the exact sequence of this trip for sure, but after Nassau, we did visit San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, then back to Miami, then flew home to Los Angeles.

NASSAU
We sailed to the Bahamas, rented a taxi and toured around the city of Nassau, the capital city of The Bahamas, on New Providence Island, and its neighbor island, called Paradise Island. I remember going across a bridge to what was popularly known as “Pair-of-dice” island, because of all the gambling casinos.

Right near the harbor is the Nassau Straw Market. Bahamian women plait and decorate dried palm and sisal plant leaves to create items such as baskets, bags and dolls.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
In San Juan we toured the old town, the old fort at the entrance to the harbor, then rented a taxi to see other parts of the city, including a couple of the expensive hotels. We didn’t see much, but we saw enough to convince us never to go there on vacation. There has long been talk of Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state. Our taxi driver said that would be the worst thing that could happen to them. As it is, we treat them like a welfare state and give them a lot of money, and special treatment. If they became a state, they would have to work harder, and pay their own way.