Into the blue Texaribbean

Southern Living, Nov 1997 by Ford, Gary D

Texans and other Southwesterners don't have to fly to Florida for a cruise. The Norwegian Star now sails from Houston.

For hundreds of Texans today, this Caribbean cruise from Houston begins in the seat of a car.

Keith and Dolores Ferguson from Austin drive over, while honeymooners Terry and Jill Wright zip across town from Spring, Texas. They park their cars at the Port of Houston, and by 5 p.m., the Norwegian Star sets sail east and south into the blue "Texaribbean."

It's another journey for the Norwegian Cruise Line ship that takes mainly Southwesterners on weeklong cruises in the western waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. As we board at a port so close to home, it feels like we're beginning the cruise a day early, already stretching out on deck chairs instead of spending hours in the air flying to Florida.

We depart with blasts of the horn and long curls of streamers. Several effervescent crew members, dressed in shirts with bands of red, white, and blue like the Texas flag, teach us how to dance the "Texarena."

But slowly, Texas loses its grasp as the engines shiver beneath us. Two hours later and past Galveston Bay, we turn starboard and sail south at 16 knots, heading toward the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

And now it seems like any other cruise. Some go exploring fore and aft, ranging up and down stairs and elevators, piecing together the jigsaw puzzle of the nine decks. Down on deck three, a movie theater plays first-run films. Up on deck nine, in the Top of the Star Bar, some settle back with tequila and cigars. Elsewhere there's a health club, spa, small casino, and the Stardust Lounge for live entertainment.

We're aboard what was once one of the largest cruise ships. With a passenger capacity of 800, it ranks as a midsize vessel in a cruise industry that now sees ships that carry more than 2,600 people. With its muted colors and modest appointments, it's not as swanky as the Holland America ships nor as vivacious as Carnival Cruise Lines vessels.

Our ship's cabins expand in size with the higher decks. Mine is on deck seven, with two twin beds, television (CNN and movies), telephone (calls to land are expensive), and a daybed beside a windowa tempting nest for reading and watching the passing parade on the deck outside.

But the sun tempts even more guests to gather around the pool deck above the wide, white swath of the wake. Terry and Jill already are stretched out in the sun, grateful for a cruise that's just a short drive away.

"This is a big seller once you take out the airfare," Terry says. "It takes time to get to Florida. Timethat's what nobody has anymore. This is really convenient. We spent two days of our honeymoon in Galveston, went home, packed our bags, and came on out."

Jill, Dolores, and fellow passengers Bobby and Jacqui Moszeeall first-time cruisers-couldn't have picked a better ship for beginners. The Norwegian Star is relaxed and family oriented and doesn't stand too much on ceremony or formality. On the two formal dining nights the women sparkle in black and white, while most men choose dark suits or sport coats.

At dinner, few first-timers and seldom cruisers are intimidated by well-traveled tablemates spinning tales of exotic adventures. If someone brings up places like Paris and Athens, they're probably referring to the towns in Texas.

It's a solid, middle-class crowd of all ages, people with whom Jill Rogers feels right at home. A native of Enid, Oklahoma, she was chosen as cruise director because the line wanted someone with an energetic personality to kick off the cruise experience. "Also, I'm an Okie," she adds with a laugh. "They knew with all these Texans and Oklahomans, I'd get along just fine."

Jill has arranged a fifties night, a sixties night, and Big Band music for passengers. A supervised children's program keeps kids busy, while adults practice their golf swing, play one-on-one in basketball, or shoot skeet. You can learn line dancing, browse duty-free shops, and attend an art auction with ridiculously low prices.

And of course, you go ashore. On through the week, the ship calls at Calica/Cancun, then Cozumel, and Roatan (just north of the coast of Honduras), where passengers take tenders to shore for shopping, golf, snorkeling, scuba diving, and excursions to Mayan ruins that rise from steamy jungles.

But I think the best parts of the cruise are at sea, where tans darken, new friendships deepen, and days lengthen with so much freedom of time. It's a serene seven days, where most aboard, young and old, look for plenty of sun and sneak in a little snooze time.

"It met our expectations and then some, although our cabin on deck three was a little smaller than we expected," Jacqui Moszee would say later. "But I miss it. I'm ready to do it again."

"We were pretty positive about everything," Keith recalled. "Dolores had a great time. Mainly we took the cruise just to relax."

If you go, you may find the star shines brightest in Le Bistro, a small, intimate niche. It's a great place to escape the assigned tables in Seven Continents and enjoy quiet dinners for two. There is also afternoon tea with jams and scones and marble cake, all set to live violin music. There, Texas seems a sea away.