Sunday – January 3, 2016
And so, we “went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat, they took some honey, and plenty of money, wrapped up in a five-pound note.“
Well, hardly a “boat,” more like a gargantuan floating hotel and summer camp. The Norwegian Dawn sails between New Orleans and the Western Caribbean all winter long carrying flocks of people, like us, trying to escape cold weather and find warm sunny days.
The ship left chilly New Orleans as the sun was setting and turned around in the wide river. We spent the next seven hours meandering through the Delta and down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
From the highest deck, watched as the ship passed the oil refineries on shore and the commercial vessels on the river. Then we explored The Dawn. Yes, there are bigger ships, but this was our first cruise and we were suitably impressed by her stats and what we saw. Built in 2002 at a cost of $450 million, she is 958 feet long, 125 feet wide, and draws 38 feet of water.
The five story atrium with elevator shafts are pictured above, but The Dawn had 15 decks for 2570 passengers and 1070 crew this week. I took the photo below of the 1,000 seat Stardust Theatre when we gathered for an emergency drill.
There were a dozen restaurants, scheduled activities, entertainment, movies, and musical performances, a full-service fitness room, two jogging/walking decks, large pool, several hot tubs, shops, and a large casino.
The Mississippi River had been calm and soothing and we fell asleep to gentle rocking. But the Gulf of Mexico was experiencing squalls and the seas were rough the next morning. Whitecaps dotted the water. Captain Teo announced eight foot seas and suggested holding onto handrails.
Monday, January 4th was our “Day at Sea” and the ship plowed through the inky water toward the Yucatan Peninsula. The temperature outside was still cool, but it didn’t stop our cruise mates from shedding their winter clothes for shorts, bathing suits, and flip-flops. All the pools were heated!
We had no communication with the outside world: no internet, no telephone, no texting, no newspapers, no television. There was just time to relax, rest, and enjoy the happenings swirling around us.
Live Caribbean music played all day around the outdoor pool where most of the people congregated. So we spent the day relaxing, exploring, and sampling the wide assortment of venues and activities.
