Overheard Sunday morning on the Xingolati Cruise:

Dude #1: I feel like I’m on acid.
Dude #2: You probably are.

I still feel like I am on that ship, physically. I feel dizzy. It is like landing on the ground after a 14 hour plane trip times infinity, dizzy-wise. It is unsettling. But, I am going to try to use the weird feeling of being on a boat when you’ve definitely got two feet on the ground to do my best to write about what was definitely one of the craziest, funnest, most colorful experiences of my life. It was like being at the coolest party in the universe for three straight days.

I took four rolls of film, and now I gotta go and buy a scanner because seriously some of the images in my brain are never going to come out right in words. Images like tribe chicks dancing in the hot tubs with tall strawberry daquiris and lit cigarettes in their hands. Or the most outlandish crowd ever screaming the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody, as performed by the Flaming Lips, while a dozen giant balloons bounced up and down on their heads in a gold Vegas style showroom. Every deck chair on the ship taken on Sunday by the recovering from the night before-ers, the philosophy readers, the sleepers, and the still-partyingers. How about the acrobat boy with raggedy Anne hair who wore the same outfit of black leggings and a striped red and black T-Shirt and did contortionist shit 24/7? Anyone on that boat who is reading this is going to know exactly who I am talking about. It was a swaying, liquid free-for-all where you could get away with just about anything. It was the Haight-Ashbury and downtown Vegas, it was a contact high and a tequila hangover. It was insanely colorful. This is about the best I can do. You just gotta go next year.

The ship’s crew was totally blown away by us. The cruise director said it was definitely the best cruise he’d ever worked. One waiter asked if we all knew each other. It did seem like everyone talked to each other. As I was in the cafe getting coffee one morning, this young guy with blond dreadlocks and eye makeup danced up to me. “Wanna get some BREAKFAST?” When I told him no, that I had to get some coffee for my friend, he gave me a big kiss on the cheek and danced off. I’m not sure if it was all the X or what but every morning when I passed the hot tub full of people they all yelled “Hey!….” I am not the only one this happened to. It also happened to blogger Jeff who has a similar take and also some pictures on his blog.

The food… I was so sketched out before we left. It was OK at first, but it did get a little bit gross at the end there.
I really loved that crew. I loved the never-ending bottles of Champage from John the East Asian headwaiter guy’s rolling cart. I loved the lights, the colors, and the all-out happy vibe of 2000 other passengers.

Best band/experience? Mutaytor. Craziest night? Friday. Lamest guy? The one who tried to steal my bottle of Champagne when I was talking to one of the ships officers, while watching Mutaytor on Saturday night. Earliest drink? Recovery bloody mary on Sunday. Latest drink? Glass of Moet & Chandon earlier on Sunday. Craziest good karma stuff? Winning a free internet contest, almost winning the slot tournament, and winning $100 for filling out my comment card. There was no one on the ship who won more Carnival sponsored contests than me, but Colleen says it’s because only four people entered. Craziest bad stuff? Someone ODing on the ship. Slipping on the wet deck and fucking up my back on Sunday night. Being held on the ship for five hours when we arrived back in Long Beach. Just like any trip, the high has gotta be balanced by the low. But all in all, that was three of the best days of my life. Both Colleen and I agree, if we could change one thing, we’d get a cabin with a view. And that’s pretty good for an inaugural trip.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 18th, 2005 at 6:43 pm and is filed under Adventures in Rock and Roll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.