Grand Cayman and Jamaica
Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph
Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph
While on the Rock & Roll Holiday Escape Cruise in 2004, I made sure to keep a diary on my laptop to record the events of the 7 day cruise so that I would be able to do a complete write up for my anticipated "Rockin' Roll Report" upon returning to dry land and available Internet access. Here is what I journaled and later used as basis for my two reports on the cruise.
Cruise day 5.
Today was the stop at Grand Cayman. After the late night before, Janice and I had planned our excursions for late morning. Janice took a trip to Hell, while I went snorkeling with the sting rays. The snorkeling adventure was amazing. Jumped in to about 3-4 feet of water and walked around with sting rays swimming right up to me and rubbing against my leg. VERY cool. The water was a little bit choppy and it was difficult to get balance, and with so many people in one spot it was next to impossible to actually swim around, so it was mostly hopping from spot to spot and bobbing in the waves. I DID get to hold a small sting ray and got my picture taken – I hope it turns out (even if I'm sure I looked ridiculous!) After the rays it was off to the coral reef for more snorkeling, this time to see tropical fish. The options were to stand in line to get off the boat or to just hop off the side. I chose to hop off the side since it was taking so long for the line to move. Between the waves, the life vest, the snorkel, the mask, and the fins moving around was a bit of a challenge. I suspect I would have done better with out the inflatable vest, but we were required to wear it. Deflating it would have just meant it was in my way. I got some underwater pictures of fish and coral, but after I swallowed a mouthful of water I took my mask off so I could breathe – only to get water in my eyes! That was it, time to get out of the water – which was like bathwater it was so warm!
Back to the ship and after a shower I headed up to the casino to get rid of some nickels. I ran in to Darla and Emerson, and Darla told me she had just entered the Rock & Roll slot tournament. She didn't do very well, but we hung around for a while and got to see ROCK STARS come play slots. Nearly all the guys from REO played as did Ricky Phillips from Styx. Naturally, this meant the casino was packed with people. I tried to get my picture taken with Kevin Cronin, but he kept disappearing. By the time the tournament ended, Dave Amato had won the $500 prize!
A quiet dinner with the gang at the Paris dining room and then back to our rooms for an early night. We're all pooped after all the activity the past couple of days. Tomorrow… Jamaica and Journey!!!!
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I debated with myself over whether or not to post this part of the cruise diary as it's a bit of a "Behind the Music" kind of scene, but in the end it just is what it is. It was definitely a memorable evening.
Cruise Day 6.
Start at the end…. Just back from spending a good 4-5 hours in the bar with Neal and Ross. (And a bunch of other folks.) They were both totally plowed, though Neal much more so than Ross. I can't even begin to describe the whole scene – it was totally insane. After dinner we all decided to hang around the casino for a bit and see what was going on. Most of Journey walked through at one point, and so we had interesting spotting opportunities. After a round of slots, we headed over to the casino bar, where Jonathan was holding court. We chatted with Val and Butch for a while, then Darla and Emerson went off to see what else was going on. About midnight Darla and Emerson returned and told us to follow them. Turned out that Neal, Ross, Steve, Ricky Phillips, Dave Amato, and Kevin Cronin were all in the wine bar, so Janice and I headed over there. Cat, Jenn, Val, Butch, Carol, and Dwayne joined us a short time later. I spent most of the time talking to other fans, but Ross would stick his head in from time to time. Ross was talking about starting a movie career as either "the missing Douglas," "Dennis Leary's stand in," "Ernest," or "Billy Connelly" – complete with a Welsh or Scottish accent. Complete with impersonations of course. I was dying laughing. Carol knocked over her drink, which brought Ross back over to our section and more jokes and laughter. But it kept getting stranger…
At one point, Jenn and Cat tried to get Neal out of the bar and off to bed, but failed. Neal came over to our side of the bar briefly and was having his picture taken with some skimpily clad drunk woman and kept knocking in to me. That got an apology and then a hug as he recognized me. When the bar closed at 2, Janice and I were going to head off to bed as Neal and Ross had apparently disappeared. We discovered on our way to the elevators that they were just on the other side behind some pillars. THAT'S when things got interesting. Neal spent most of his time chatting with some of the folks from the UK, and according to reports from Val and Butch all references to Steve Perry were less than complimentary. Neal was also pissed that Perry's not coming to Hollywood, which while said in a state of total inebriation, was satisfying.
The crowd around Ross and Neal was mostly drunk, so it was pretty amusing. At one point a big haired, big boobed blonde that we've nicknamed "Stevie Nicks" came up to Ross and asked to have her picture taken with him. She THEN said "I don't know which band you're in!" Oy… Ross gave her a bit of a hard time about that in his typically goofy way. Some time later, "Stevie" was talking to Neal and he smacked her on her ass so hard everyone heard. Well, she was quite offended and stalked off in a huff. If you're gonna play adoring groupie, you've got to expect consequences.
I think I had my picture taken with Ross about 7 different times on somebody's camera. (Naturally, not mine having decided that after toting it around for 5 days that it wasn't going to be worth the hassle…. Color ME stupid!) Somewhere along the line, Val was talking to Neal about Hollywood and pointed out I was there and I got another hug and a sloppy wet kiss on the cheek – I suspect he was aiming elsewhere, but I turned my head just so…
By about 3 a.m. Neal and Ross started heading off towards the casino, so some of us followed them – I was particularly concerned that they wouldn't be able to find their rooms. Ross was in better shape than Neal, but not much. One of the few other sober fans sitting around the bar walked them off and disappeared. I can only hope she got them up to their rooms.
I did get one serious moment out of Ross… I finally had a chance to ask him what the 3 fingers in the air was all about – he reached under his shirt collar and pulled out a crucifix and said "plus one." It was a very cool and profound moment. Ross also made a comment about "ET", which of course led to "ET Phone Home" and… ta DA! SETI! Figures I go on vacation and get asked a question about SETI@home by a member of the band!
More on the Q&A and the rest of Jamaica later – it's 3:35 a.m. and I am EXHAUSTED… I'm glad I didn't follow Darla and Emerson down to my cabin at 12:30, but god I'm worn out.
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