Back on the Star Trek cruise, after 2 years! It was almost like time travel, gathering with a whole LOT of people, no masks required (except for some of the cruise terminals), everyone happy and relaxed and ready to party. Apparently we sort of bookended the pandemic, and with any luck that statement didn't jinx anything.
We were thrilled to be joined this time by Dave and Michelle, hello Bogles!
Siobhan and Rodney had quite the odyssey to get there (although you can see from the above picture that they made it). A snowstorm in the northeast thwarted their flight plans, so they started driving south to look for an airport with a flight to Orlando. Luckily they started this process earlier than their original plans, and on Saturday morning managed to get on a direct flight from Baltimore with plenty of time to get to the ship. Phew! We were all so happy that they made it.
We were all just so relieved to be there (between travel adjustments and having to pass our required covid tests and vaccination card screenings and heck, the fact that the cruise was even happening in the first place) that we hung back in deck chairs to watch the cast introductions instead of trying to get a spot at the stage this time.
Yay Sonequa, it's so good to see you, woo hoo!
Welcome to the cruise!
We docked at Nassau the next day, so I took the opportunity to go for a run. The Mariner of the Seas is a lovely ship, complete with water slides on the top deck that I really meant to try out:
The fun thing about Nassau is that we once did an Urban Dare championship race there. I have some very distinct memories of running back and forth along the main street, trying to find... this:
There had been speculation before the race that we would go across the bridge to the resort, but that didn't happen back then. Seemed like a good time to try it now, and it was a pleasant jog up and over the seaway:
Jogging through neighborhoods and admiring the flowers:
Turtles!
I happened upon a public beach so I went over to take a look:
If this had been there in 2010, it likely would have been part of the urban race (in other words, "checkpoint!"):
The Sunday highlight was an evening with Anthony Rapp - he's such a good singer, so expressive. We loved all the songs he chose, especially the ones from Rent and other theater shows that he has been in. What fun, and worth getting in line early so we could sit up close. I was grinning the whole time.
A bit of exploration to look at the clever door decorations. This is the top part of a door with a whole bunch of tiny ships that lived down the hall from us:
Artsy tribute to the Gorn:
Cats and more cats:
A bunch of memes (I especially like Kate Mulgrew as Red - "Send Coffee"):
John spent some time watching Trek episodes while working on my hat for our one costume night:
Sailing away from Nassau and admiring the pretty blue waters:
JT loves to create and host game shows, always entertaining to watch. You never know what the contestants will do or say, and JT can riff with the best of them. Emily Coutts, Jayne Brook, and Robert O'Reilly were good sports:
Some other fun door decorations that John found:
I assume this person didn't know yet that Stacey Abrams had a cameo in the Discovery season finale - which was awesome!
Sort of a Roaring 20's version of Cornelius and a flight attendant from The Fifth Element for the evening party:
Action figure #1:
Action figure #2:
Nana Visitor is putting together a "Women's Trek" documentary, and we snuck into the theater to hear some of her interviews with fans. It was quite fascinating and compelling to hear a variety of unique stories - we stayed a lot longer than expected, and I look forward to the eventual film.
Monday morning rock climbing - John generally had the wall to himself so he made good use of it:
Working on routes of increasing difficulty throughout the week:
While we were there, he decided to try the trampoline, including the optional VR headset. I probably should have tried this one too (next time!):
Deadpool made a special appearance at the T-shirt party:
The crew of the Enterprise, aka Anthony Montgomery, Connor Trinneer, and John Billingsley, are absolutely hilarious together. Chase Masterson tried to steer things into the realm of "normal" but it was mostly off the rails. A moment of sanity, probably right before John said something lewd:
Other fun events included the Discovery crew panel, hearing part of Tim Russ's concert (love his music!), and several science presentations.
Two highlights for the night: Star Trek Squares - the most entertaining game show in the Trek universe. And Kenneth Mitchell's Mirror Universe rave, which was so inspirational and full of love and dancing, I can't really begin to describe it.
Tuesday was a bit of a recovery day for me, complete with a couple naps and mostly chillin' on the ship while we were docked at St. Thomas.
We did go to the climbing wall to "hang out" with Anthony Montgomery. He's super nice and made so many climbs with fans that his arms eventually decided they had had enough. But before that, I got a chance to climb beside him, super cool! Thank you, Anthony!
A video of me rock climbing with Anthony Montgomery (for however long it stays up on Facebook):
Garrett Wang did a funny standup show in the main theater, and the night concluded with the better-every-year overdub with Denise Crosby and friends. Her friends are getting really good at improv, worth staying up late for.
Might need another nap tomorrow...
[Photo credits include Dave Bogle and John Beard]
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