If you’re going to take a cruise, make sure you book a room with at least one full window and a balcony for two – otherwise, it’s simply not worth the cost. I’m not one for the great outdoors, but you simply can’t beat the views from any private cabin – no matter which direction you happen to be facing.

For our first cruise, Ponzi booked us in a closet with a small porthole – and it was quite uncomfortable. Our other two cruises (including this one, our honeymoon) have been in upgraded suites. 350 square feet may not sound like much, but it’s a perfect size when you’re looking for a home away from home.

I think what surprised us most about our Regent Seven Seas Voyager room was that it came complete with iPod speakers (a full dock from Logitech). We were offered an iPod to use, too – but Ponzi had already brought her own. How’s that for an extreme level of personalization? It’ll likely be twenty years before cruise ships come with Zune ports, I’d imagine. This ship’s a rockin’ – and if you come a knockin’, maybe you should use our doorbell instead? On second thought, this is our honeymoon – and we probably shouldn’t be bothered at all. What am I doing online again?!

Carribean Cruise Surprises

We have our own butler! I’m not sure what this means, though. I think we can ask him to bring us odd things at seemingly random times? “It’s three in the morning – where’s my freshly-pressed cranberry juice?” He asked us a zillion questions up front, but that’s only to make for a seamless experience on the open seas. Regent is spoiling us. I’m gonna call our butler again and ask him if he’ll come back and change the channel for us.

The one thing we’re missing: dress clothes. Thank goodness the ship has its own clothing store, which will most certainly have attire proper for dinner dress. “Informal” isn’t my kind of informal, by the way. Ponzi is using this as an excuse to buy an entirely new wardrobe. Guess it’s never too early to start planning for our next Seattle summer, eh? We’ll likely find a few cheap threads on shore, too. What I really need right now is a keychain (mine broke).

We’re at sea all day – which is fine by me. We’ve scheduled couples massages for each day we’re not docked, which we’re totally going to need after returning from our planned excursions. Ponzi’s got us going kayaking, hiking, flying, drinking, dining, and walking a million miles in comfortable shoes. I’ll do my best to take as many photos as possible. So far, this trip isn’t turning into a “Maui” – and that’s a good thing. And in other news…

Carribean Honeymoon Fun

Well, so much for free WiFi. Our travel agent from Vacations to Go told us that there would be free access available from the ship’s library, but it’s apparently closer to 35 cents a minute (ouch). I’ll just give Pluggd another plug for having kept us plugged in on our Alaskan adventure a few months back. The climate is certainly warmer in southern Florida!

Our experience with Regent has been superior to this point – far exceeding our expectations. The security line was non-existent, and despite not having our cruise passes with us, we were checked in swiftly (manually, as the computer system was down). We were welcomed aboard, guided to the theatre for admission, and promptly handed our suite keys. Five minutes later, we were having a casual lunch on the top deck – where Ponzi asked about the WiFi. The waiter noted that someone would be along in a moment to help with that. Imagine our mutual confusion when someone came along to pour some white wine – which we didn’t want or need. “WiFi” sounds a lot like “white wine” in context, eh?

While the Internet access certainly is not free, I’m able to get online from the comfort of my own bed in the Penthouse. Awesome! We haven’t even left port and already I can tell this is going to be a spectacular experience – as every moneymoon honeymoon should be.

Our Honeymoon Cruise Begins