Since I have a fear of water, it was a great accomplishment on my part to go on my first cruise. Despite some initial fears, I made it through in one piece. During the cruise, I had a massage, a manicure, played the slot machines, ate, partied and just had a great time.

My trip started two days earlier with a stop in South Beach. It is an interesting place and the first thing I noticed was that people walk down the street and stare at you, sometimes tripping over themselves. South Beach is definitely a one day place for non-beach goers like myself.

The time came when it was time to walk the plank of this big ship that was going to be ocean-bound for three days. I was a bit apprehensive, but made it on the ship safely. I found my room and unpacked and then walked around the ship until I found my friends.

Unbeknownst to me, my friends had planned a surprise party for me on the cruise. All of a sudden the cruise staff came to our table and sang "Happy Birthday". I was truly surprised. I received lots of cards and gifts which made me not fear my surroundings. It was truly a wonderful experience.After dinner, we headed to the casinos. This was the first time that I had been in a casino or gambled. I had a good time playing the slot machines.

After watching the sunrise, the Trio went on an exploration of Nassau. We took a horse and carriage ride around Nassau, then strolled the streets looking in some of the shops for stuff to buy for our nieces and nephews. Later we ate Bahamian food, conch fritters, fried red snapper (which they served to me with the head intact, I immediately chopped it off), grouper sandwich and peas and rice. We then took a cab to Paradise Island.

The Atlantis Hotel is gorgeous with many, many nooks and crannies. We saw a huge turtle, a blue fish, sharks, stingrays and other fishes. They had this huge water slide which looks like it goes a long, long, way down. We then took one of those little ferry boats back to the shore.

That night was our formal where we got dressed up. After our formal dinner, we headed back to the casinos and afterwards stopped at a rotating bar. We had fun singing around the bar. The next day it was time to get back to dry land.

Overall, I had a great time and I would cruise again.