There has been a lot of ruckus in the media regarding the Carnival Cruise Line, who has left two boats stranded and plenty of customers floating on angry waters. I couldn’t let these circumstances stop me from an opportunity that was tossed right before my eyes just this last month. A friend of my co-worker posted on Facebook that they were unable to make it to a cruise with their friends, leaving them with 6 tickets aboard a Bahamas-bound ship with no one to claim them. After a few conversations, we were able to get a spectacular deal on a few tickets and were driving down to Miami from Jacksonville.

For anyone who has ever been on a cruise line, you know that your experience revolves around one thing: food. No matter where you go there is a buffet line of food waiting for you; right next to a handful of bars and drinks that are sure to attack your credit card by the trips end. This didn’t quite align with my vision to have a healthy-oriented experience as we wrapped up in Florida and moved north. Needless to say, there was plenty of wings, room service, and nearly 2 dozen ice cream cones out on the deck. I was a little disappointed by the quality of most food available, but certainly did not go hungry. I couldn’t help but observe human nature; habits which tell us that when we see food, we need to put it in our hands, no matter how disgusting it may look.

Our first two days were pretty dreary with clouds covering the sun and the consistent drizzling rain. The hot tubs were packed tightly with Spring Break’ing co-eds, Miami natives, and the occasional international tourist but the remainder of the decks were cleared (which meant the food halls were packed tight).  Our team tried to make the most of the technology-free time with a salsa dancing lesson, some golf swings, and a black light dance party. We had a cruise scare of our own when bathrooms went out on several floors and public areas- to apologize for down bathrooms and poor weather, the cruise ship had a 2-hour cocktail party with free rum punch for everyone. It makes sense to hydrate a boat full of people with broken bathrooms, right?

Fortunately, we had a wonderful day in Nassau, Bahamas where we hit the beaches and spent some time body surfing in some of the clearest water I’ve seen in my life. I’m still recovering from the 7-12 pounds gained, as well as a nasty accident that took me underneath the rip tide of a wave. I never thought I would say this, but I miss having the ability to do push-ups.

There are no secrets on the internet, which is why it is only right that I mention my involvement in the 2013 Mr. Sexy Legs Competition aboard our cruise. I hopped up to the pool and took on a handful of other men in the dance-off as I tried to woo the selected female judges. At the end of it all, the judges said that I was certainly the cutest, but perhaps my legs weren’t as sexy as the drunken man who nearly drowned along the way. If you can’t sense my defensiveness, you may need to get that looked at by a doctor soon. I was able to claim the award for “Mr. I Need a Tan Sexy Legs”, so I didn’t come home a complete loser. Nishant claimed the other side of the spectrum with the “Mr. Tannest Sexy Legs” award. I guess you could said we balance out the FLOBO team quite well.

Let it be known, Nishant surely won this round seen here… but I still think I had the overall best performance.