CruiseMan3000

When you cruise, do you normally bring your best friend along? Sometimes? If you can tolerate sharing a cabin with them for the whole cruise? Well, I'm not sure what kind of bff's y'all have, but I've got the world's ultimate best friend... a few of them actually. Yeah, we actually met on the high seas some years ago when I sailed Carnival Miracle from Ft. Lauderdale. So, how'd we meet? I'm glad you asked! I was walking around the buffet getting my grub on for a few days, paying nobody any mind. Then, I walked to my room one day to change my clothes after yet another feasting I had on Lido. I roamed through my suitcase to see what I was "in the mood" to wear and came across the perfect outfit for the evening... or so I thought. I go to put it on and um... yeah, it wasn't working. I looked like Cedric the Entertainer trying to squeeze into a Michael Jackson get-up. Translation: I looked a hot funky mess! So I ruffled some more through my clothes and voila! My new cruising bff and I were officially linked by the hip... literally. Since my clothing options were getting fewer and fewer, the one sure thing I knew I could put on besides my sun-block was my blue and white pair of swimming trunks! Oh yeah, not only were they my saving grace, but they have these things called elastic waistbands that are perfect for any man having a food bulge in their mid-section. And yes, I spent an entire two days on Carnival Miracle proudly wearing my swimming trunks... my cruising bff! Since then, I have become more healthy as many of you may know. I've lost 60 pounds, workout daily (even on cruises), but I still have my cruising bff on standby in my suitcase just in case I need a little more grace while on vacation, hehe. Do you purposely pack elastic clothes while on cruise vacations? If you do, are swimming trunks your #1 choice? Feel free to share your thoughts below! Be sure to check back next week as I share another funny story with you from my high seas adventures! Also, let's not forget to remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as we nationally observe his birthday today. He is the biggest rock-star in my book and truly one of the greatest American ever produced! He lived a life undaunted and had a dream that I'm proud to be a part of. Check out my personal tribute to him on The Ocean Escape.

Aww thanks -- you're too kind with your comments! I'm glad you enjoy reading along! And no way? Your husband was raised right then! THE ONLY breakfast commodity worth standing in line for! :-) If he was there, I know he would have helped me fend of the perpetrator!

Let's go back a few years when I sailed Norwegian Sun from Miami. Great ship. Amazing cruise. It was the morning I was supposed to disembark the vessel and I was a little sad. You know how after you have such a great time on a cruise, you don't want to leave? Yeah, that feeling was hovering over me like a cloud. In fact, another cruise was awaiting me that afternoon.This was the first time I decided to do a back-to-back cruise. You see, as soon as I disembarked Norwegian Sun, I was jumping in my rental car, driving north and boarding Regal Empress for a cruise to the Bahamas from Port Everglades. Very rarely do I remember my hunger pains (because I don't miss a single meal) but I vividly remember this day -- I was incredibly hungry! I got up, showered, dressed and made a b-line for the breakfast buffet. Things were going great. I got a table on the patio area, aft of the ship, had a nice a Miami breeze caressing my bald head and Mr. Sun (the real guy, not the ship) was having fun coloring me because I could sense the blackness of my skin getting darker with each minute -- but it was greatly welcomed! So I had my food there, enjoying everything from fruit to pancakes and even a piece of smoked salmon, but I still longed for something "extra." Then I remembered I got a glance of something on the buffet I have been eating ever since I was a child: cinnamon buns. Cinnamon buns are my guilty pleasure and since I was on vacation, I thought I'd indulge in one... or two. Plus, the sun was having too much fun with my skin (I thought I'd give him a break). So I got in line at the double-sided buffet, keeping my eyes on the pan that had the cinnamon buns in it. Mentally, I was already downing like two. As I got closer and closer to the pan, I realized the number of cinnamon buns started becoming less and less. I began praying, "Lord, please let me just get one. I just want one." My turn was next! Finally, I'll get to have one! And guess what? There was exactly one cinnamon bun left in the pan! So I grabbed the tongs, situated my plate and then... then... another pair of tongs comes into view. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. From out of nowhere, this older gentlemen, reached across two pans of food and placed his tongs RIGHT ON TOP OF THE ONLY CINNAMON BUN LEFT! Was this really happening? I had a decision to make: I could be the good Christian guy my mom raised me to be, or I could be the hungry Black man getting what he wanted at any cost. Well, since my mom wasn't around, and since my stomach started singing loudly, I decided to go for it. I looked at him. He looked at me, then he opened his tongs and clasped them around the cinnamon bun. I thought, "This guy CAN'T be serious, can he?" So I got my tongs and clasped it from the other direction... and began pulling it back. Next thing I know, the cinnamon bun is back in the pan and we keep pushing each other's tongs back. The people in line were laughing and I uttered, "This ain't funny! You don't know the code? Well let me break it down for you: S-T-O-P! You never come between a hungry Black man and his food! Didn't your momma teach you?" After saying that, the laughs reached new heights and I notice a crowd spectating this happening like it was the SuperBowl. Needless to say, I won the tongs battle and the man was so angry, he threw his tongs on the ground. Yeah! Who was hungry now? It wasn't me! But he should have known better not to challenge "Hungry Black Man 3000!" So I enjoyed my cinnamon bun, cleaned up my dining area and headed off the ship knowing if another person ever decides to challenge me with tongs on another cruise ship, they'll meet their match... and they better pray I'm not ravenous! So bring it! But seriously, don't you think that guy was rude? Reaching over those pans to get into the cinammon bun pan, then putting HIS tongs on [what was about to be] MY food! The nerve of some people! Good thing I did the Christian thing. Well, until next Monday's post, y'all have a cruisetacular week!

Thank YOU for reading! Be sure to check back next Monday! I have a very funny story to share! ;-)

I know that's right! Momma knows best... and cruising is at the top of the list! So glad to hear y'all had such a great time!

Aww, thanks so much for your kind words! Thanks for the welcome! I'm truly excited to be here! I'm with ya, ships and food are a match made in heaven -- LOVE IT! I can't wait to share more with the site! And thanks, I know my mom would enjoy hearing those words!