Year 4, Day 270, “Living the Dream”. Saturday, 1/25/2025. Day 3 of 10 day Tampa to Bahamas trip (Day 1 of 7 night Bahamas cruise on Radiance of the Seas from Tampa, Florida)- It is a cold morning here in Florida.
We are heading out of Tampa, Florida on a Radiance of the Seas Bahamas 7 night cruise.
We stayed in The Hilton Garden Inn in Oldsmar last night. It is being refurbished and the front desk area is a dusty cold mess. The bar is closed and there is no hot food being served. This morning they served a cold buffet in a meeting room for $14.95 a person It was really pitiful for $14.95 a person. So, off we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.
Then we headed to the Citrus mall for a nice warm inside walk.
We then made our way to Terminal two Tampa Cruise port around 11am. The traffic was horrendous due to the Gasparilla Parade Pirates. The annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest has been a tradition in Tampa since 1904. Over 300,000 spectators are expected to line the streets. It was pretty cool seeing so many people dressed up like pirates.
Once we got to the terminal we pulled up and dropped our luggage off. We then pulled across the street and parked in the port garage for $136.00 for our seven night cruise. You do pay up front and they only take charge cards.
We walked across the street and were on the ship within 15 minutes. Very easy quick boarding. The ship is very clean. The first thing we did was go to our assembly station. On a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the assembly station is a designated checkpoint. Guests must go there in the event of an emergency. Every passenger must watch the life jacket instructions video. They must also listen to the emergency horn before checking into their assembly station. Then it was lunch at the buffet.
One really lovely feature of the Radiance of the Seas is the glass elevators. These elevators extend 12 decks. They offer spectacular views while traveling between decks.
We were in our balcony room 7662 with our luggage by 1pm.
Look at all this paper information left on the desk/dressing table.
We spent a little time wandering the ship in the afternoon. Boarding day is a great day to explore your ship. It’s the perfect time to become familiar with the ship. You can find things you want to do while on your cruise.
Went to the Crown Lounge for specialty coffee. Wow the specialty coffee machine is gone. No reason to head to the Crown Lounge any longer. Then we visited the spa and made an appointment for a manicure/pedicure.
Dinner was good. We sat with six others. The Spinach and Artichoke Dip and the Pan-roasted fish fillet were excellent. We had a fun time with our dinner companions.
While at dinner we went under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. What a gorgeous sunset view. We have only been under this bridge a few times and we are always at dinner. The Port of Tampa Bay is located in an interior bay. To reach the Gulf of Mexico, you must cross under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Only ships that measure 180 feet or less from the top of the waterline can make it under this bridge. The captain announced that our clearance was six feet. We are close. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a a four-mile cable-stayed concrete bridge that crosses Tampa Bay. It connects St Petersburg and Bradenton. it is considered the world’s longest cable-stayed concrete bridge. On the average, more than 50,000 vehicles cross the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. This bridge was constructed in 1987. The dolphins around each pier were designed to withstand the impact of an 87,000 ton ship. The Radiance of the Seas which we are on is 90,090 GT. Uh-Oh, we better steer clear of that bridge.
Today’s cruise compass:
Things to ponder today! Have to leave you thinking.
16 Inch Wooden Cook Nutcracker: https://amzn.to/4geaGVH Another year round kitchen nutcracker decoration for above the kitchen cabinets.
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