“A travel adventure has no substitute. It is the ultimate experience, your one big opportunity for flair.” -- Rosalind Massow
Summer is here and that means vacation! I just returned home from a cruise to Jamaica and Grand Cayman Island. The cruise experience was a first for me and my husband, and so was vacationing with 60 other people that we know. We traveled with Melanie Pascal’s Dance Creations and our dancers had the opportunity of a lifetime to not only sail the open seas, but to perform on the cruise ship. Our dancers were awesome because they work hard and train with the best. From the moment we stepped onto the ship, memories were being made. Yet, the performance was definitely the highlight of our vacation. Aside from performing, if someone asks me what I will remember the most about life on board, I will tell them it has to be the meals in the dining hall.
Each night was an interesting evening of elegant dining with everyone attending dressed in his or her best. It was a chance for our group to see each other and catch up on all the fun stuff we had done that day. Our men dressed a little nicer and our ladies had the opportunity to dress up and feel pretty as we showed off our new dresses we bought on the islands. From the moment we entered the dining hall, we were waited on hand and foot. The Maître’d greeted us with a smile and the waiting staff pulled out the chairs for the ladies and placed our napkins in our laps. Fine China and sparkling glasses decorated each table. Bread was delivered to each person and water poured into our glasses as we looked at the menu and “ooohed and ahhhed” over the choices. 
Each meal we enjoyed in the dining hall was extravagant. It was definitely a sight for this Southern girl to see! It was the type of dining where you have three forks, two knives, and two spoons- you think there’s no possible way each person could need all that silverware, but we did! Appetizers preceded the entrees and each plate of food was fancifully decorated in the finest culinary style. Things got really interesting when everyone seated at our table ordered something different. It was so much fun to see each plate and hear one another’s reactions as we took that first mouth watering bite. There was strawberry soup with fresh mint, lobster bisque, prime rib, shrimp, veal parmesan, grouper, and too many other items to name. There were items I had never heard of, and some that I could barely pronounce, but we tried them all. And just when we were stuffed to the gills and didn’t think we could hold another bite, the dessert menu was placed in our hands. My favorite dessert was the warm chocolate melting cake that surely lived up to its name.
Our waiter assured us that each dessert was calorie free and that salt air has been known to shrink clothes. I didn’t believe the part about “calorie free” but I can testify to the fact that salt air really does shrink a person’s clothes! There was something special in store for us each night in the dining hall. There were magic tricks from the waiting staff or a big song singing after the meal. Some nights the waiters jumped onto the tables and danced for us right there in the dining hall. We crowded around and twirled our napkins in the air, clapping and raising our glasses in excitement. The truly amazing part of the dining experience was our view of the ocean as we ate our meals. Our table was seated at the back of the ship where huge glass windows provided a breathtaking view as we sailed the Caribbean. As I looked around I wondered if this was how the first class passengers aboard the Titanic felt when they dined so exquisitely in their day. Sometimes the ship rocked and we could see the water in our glass shake. One night, we actually wondered if our plates would stay on the table, but they did.
As all good times must come to an end, so did our time aboard the Carnival Destiny. It’s back to the old grind and reality on land. It’s back to paper plates and paper napkins and only on fork per meal at the Rorrer household. That’s OK because we like the plain and simple, but it was nice to enjoy such elegance for one week!
