Baby Let's Cruise

Five single guys go on a cruise. Many might say that either sounds like the makings of a "gay cruise" or a recipe for "trouble." I'm happy to report neither was true. My friend, Brad, rallied five of us to go on a cruise in search of good times and to escape the daily grind. The promise of frozen drinks on deck, gambling chips in hand, and possible onboard romance lured us to an eight day adventure at sea.

I could not have asked for better group of friends to travel with. Not a dud in the group. No attitude, no posturing, no competition. All of us are professional, outgoing, and pretty natural talking with the girls onboard. No matter what else was going on, the party always seemed to be where we were. Especially at the piano bar. That was our usual evening routine - rousing a bar-wide sing-a-long to well after 1AM. Then it was off to the dance club where we'd dance to music way too young for us. Finally ending up on the Lido deck for 24hour pizza at 4AM. Repeat the next day.

As for onboard-romances, I'll have to keep that within the circle. Let's just say that stories of biters, deep-talkers, coffee girls, stinkers etc. will be told for years to come. Interesting thing about cruises, or maybe vacations in general, the threshold for action is a lot lower. Maybe it's the knowledge that it's not the real world, and that what happens isn't really real either. Sounds more like rationalization. But who am I to spoil the fun?

In the end, I learned a few things. 1) Losing your voice singing every day at the piano bar makes it impossible to compete in the karaoke finals. 2) The crew are definitely not supposed to get frisky with the guests. If they do, they get a talking to by Captain Capusti. 3) Don't bring sand to the beach at the Plaza de Mercado. Rookie mistake (sorry Brad).