Day 06: Dancing Queens
The whole first full day was filled with music and dancing. Several of the ship’s entertainment crew were on the dance floor during other musicians’ performances. The Cruise Director and Entertainment Manager both have experience in musical theater, and we saw glimpses of that before we knew it about them. Dancing is a major theme of this ship for those who want to partake. And for those who don’t, there is the Observation Bar with light piano music.
Day 07: Rainy Sea Day
We had breakfast in our cabin. It’s one of only two real options. Today, we repeated that because it was a safety drill day for the entire crew. They have to sound alarms and go through exercises for an hour once a week. During that time, everything is closed. We will eventually visit the other breakfast option. You know, like on a random day when we wake up early enough.
We took a deck of cards up to the Observation Bar and started a game of cribbage. After lunch, we picked it back up. I’m currently winning 3-1. We only played three sets, but I skunked him on one of them.
We were going to go back and soak in the hot tub, but by then, our ship found the small rainstorm they had warned us was coming, so (I took ibuprofen and) we both napped instead. Sleep on this boat is quite good with the gentle rocking back and forth.
The waves looked the same, maybe a little smaller, but the swells were larger. It was gentle and soothing.
We lazily got ready for the formal night. The night before, the hostess asked if we’d like to sit with someone or be on our own. We asked to sit with others. And then, as soon as we sat, they took away the other two place settings, so we were on our own anyway. womp womp. But for formal night, they asked again, and we said yes again, and we met N and R from Oregon. They are a delightful couple (so far) and we had lovely conversations. We saw them again in the Club and at the Show. We all seem to get along quite well (again, so far).
The show was pretty good. We sat in the back and felt the sound wasn’t that great back there. The music era they used was quite older than we are and was a lot of Beatles (his fave, not mine), but it was still good. The group is the Seabourn Six and they are all very talented.
Dancing at the Club after the Show was also quite good. I danced with a woman that reminded me of my grandmother….which was a little odd since my grandmother never danced.
We came back to our cabin to find a red rose tucked inside the bedding topper. We gave her a champagne glass of water.
Day 07 – our first tea
After breakfast, we sat on the pool deck and chatted with some other guests before moving on to the observation lounge to watch the ocean. That needs to be our sunset spot before we get to Hawaii (and turn south).
After lunch, we headed back to the cabin, so we could nap before afternoon tea. And yes, it was lovely. He didn’t care much for most of the treats, but really liked his Red of Africa tea. I also enjoyed my Highlands BOP Ceylon.
Just before dinner, the ship had a block party. It was silly as large parts of the officers literally ran down the halls pausing only long enough to cheers every single glass held by everyone who popped out of their cabins. Silly or not, it was so fun! And we made new British friends in the cabins around us.
After dinner, we went to Name That Tune, which was really difficult. I contributed nothing. He contributed a little. Our team carried us through a solid middle. I’m still not sure the third chord of one of the songs was correct. I knew what it should have sounded like. And I had never heard of some of the songs.
The show was supposed to be Broadway. It was not that. They started with a medley of five Beatles tunes. Again. Lesson learned for me to sit in the back, even if the sound isn’t as good back there. At the very end, they finally did a Broadway piece….and it was Les Miserables. They did a very good job, but it was not the show that was advertised. We need variety; where are the 80s tunes? Some of the much-older music coupled with the “encouraged” hand waving and clapping reminds me of music hour at a nursing home.
We danced a bit at the club, but we were tired, so our little group (the same Brits from the block party) sent the last band home early. During the night, we had our first real time change. The ship strays a little from the real time because there will be a lot of bopping about. We even cross the International Date Line multiple times (3, I think).
After dancing, I needed a soak, so I drew a bath. Yes, there is a bathtub in every cabin. Both it, and the biggest towels I’ve ever touched, are quite a luxury.
Day 09 – a special day
When we booked, they asked us if we were celebrating any special days. Today was one of those.
Our breakfast was late. I was hangry, gave up, and went to the buffet version. Apparently, I just missed them.
I’m still leading the cribbage count 3-2.
At the 12noon briefing from the cabin, we learned we had crossed the halfway-to-Hawai’i point!
Lunch was very crowded and chaotic; the staff were even a bit rattled which is not their norm at all. Afterward, we went not-so-hot tubbing; the water was only about 97-98ºF. We got out and dressed for afternoon tea only to learn that it’s only three days a week. He loved it (color me shocked), so we will be back.
On this whole trip, we have wanted for nothing. Well, other than tracking down his Dr Pepper a few times. This is a wonderful way to travel. We are doted on at every turn. The staff know and remember every little detail. We are fully spoilt.
The company that our travel agent partners with had a little reception for all of us that booked through them. The presentation was exactly what we expected. We both think it was the guy’s very first time speaking; he did okay for that. It was very “thank you” and “we’re here to help you book another”, but not sales heavy. And then around the corner, we saw another one. Something I’ve been thinking about is the number of business layers in this trip. I can’t help but wonder how much extra that makes it all (unnecessarily) cost. I’m going to start a list. Stay tuned, I guess.
We had a lovely dinner to celebrate this special day and then saw a good show. It was a solo act from one of the singers in the sextet. The entertainment still hasn’t landed on much that is “my” music, but it’s still nice to see their talents.
After a long day, I was wiped out. I put on a movie and saw about 10 minutes of it.