We had breakfast, as usual, then left the ship to browse the port area. It was the usual cruise port shops. Nothing interesting. So we started the 5-mile walk into Freeport.
We didn’t get very far before Marlene’s shoe broke (the heel came off). So we went back to the ship, got a different pair of shoes for her and headed back out. But on our way out we got some advice: go to Port Lucaya. It was supposedly more interesting than Freeport. So we, along with 4 other cruise passengers, took a cab 12 miles to Port Lucaya.
We shouldn’t have bothered. It was pretty much the same as the port area. Same trinkets. Marlene did find a sterling silver ring and I found some Bailey’s-flavored popcorn. Then we took a taxi back to the ship.
We had dinner in the buffet. We could have gone out after dinner – the ship didn’t leave until midnight – but there would have been nothing to see. We weren’t expected in port that day (we were there only to get some repairs done to the engine) and all the shops and restaurants – the ones that opened at all – shut before 5pm which was when we were supposed to have departed.
We danced some after dinner and Marlene, as always, got a lot of nice compliments on her dress. We were on our way to the casino when we got a call from Tim and Rachel – they wanted to see Marlene. Rachel was traumatized by an incident in the casino. She had sat at an empty machine – after asking the person at the next machine if it was free. As soon as she inserted her card three security guards surrounded her, telling her that she had taken someone else’s money and she had to cash out immediately. She was escorted to the teller, like a thief, with the entire casino looking on, wondering what was going on. Turns out the person using that machine before her had been unable to cash out and had left $100 in the machine. It got transferred to Rachel’s account, without her knowledge, when she put her card in. It was all resolved, but not before Rachel vowed to never sail on Carnival again. It was handled very badly.
Yet more evidence that this is the Cruise From Hell.
Marlene and I went to the casino and I stopped my losing streak, but just barely. I won $10 (down $490). Marlene won again. She is up over $1,200.