Day at Sea

Monday – Day at Sea

The kids never made it up for breakfast, but the rest of us went to the Lido deck which was very crowded. I didn’t even attempt to get the hot food and just grabbed some Danish and yogurt which didn’t have a line. One complaint (besides the long lines) I had with the breakfast buffet was that they put the butter on the line with the hot food. Who wants to wait in a long line just for a pat of butter?

Not sure what all we did that day, but do know Bob ran about a 5K on the outside running track. We did make it down the slide (a goal for me since I had never made it on a slide on previous cruises) and lounged around. Bob and the kids played some shuffleboard and I managed to get to the laundry room to iron their dress shirts…handy because it was located very close to our cabin on the Upper Deck.

I was surprised, but the kids decided they would like to have lunch in the dining room rather than on the Lido deck. It meant changing out of their swimsuits, but it was nice being away from the crowds and long lines. Lunch time was open seating in the Pacific dining room but we were lead back to the same area where our regular table was located. We had lunch and breakfast in the dining room several times throughout the week and each time we were seated in this same place. Since we had 7 people seated at a table for 8, the waiters would always seat a single person with us. It was nice to meet the people, but also awkward at the same time since our family was involved in our own discussions. We tried our best to make conversation with whoever was with us, but it just felt weird.

Later in the afternoon I couldn’t interest anyone else in attending “tea time” so went by myself and thoroughly enjoyed it. The event was held in the Ionian Lounge which by night was the cigar bar (no smell that I could detect however.) A string trio was playing and I was served tiny sandwiches and small desserts. A waiter came by with a wooden box filled with different kinds of tea bags and then brought me a pot of hot water. There were only about a dozen people attending. The atmosphere was somewhat spoiled for me because people were walking through the lounge to reach the Internet stations…many wearing just a bathing suit. It just didn’t seem right to listen to the classical music while sipping my tea and see some guy with a beer belly walk by in his swim trunks.

I worried that my kids would balk at getting dressed for formal night, but at the end of the week youngest son said it was one of his favorite things! The two older boys both had suits, but youngest wore the tux that we bought off Ebay for his prom in the spring. (I knew he could use it on the cruise so it made sense to buy instead of rent…and the tux looked great by the way!) The Captains party was held in the Adriatic Lounge and cruise director Steve Knisley was there in his kilt welcoming us. 

The free drinks were appreciated as we enjoyed the jazz trio that performed. Following dinner we attended the first of the production shows called “Livin’ in America”…good show and even the kids enjoyed it. After that it was back to the cabin for the “old folks” to prepare for the next day’s tours…I’m sure the kids were out and about the ship till much later….

We learned later that the Pharaoh often showed up late at night. 

(Side note about the sleeping arrangement.) After attempting to use the love seat the first night, my sister decided it just wasn’t going to work. Instead, Maila, the room steward, brought in a roll away bed. Comfort-wise it wasn’t too bad, but it did cause the room to be very crowded. When it was made out at night our room had literally no floor space left. The beds were pushed all the way up against the patio door, then the cot, then the couch, then the wall. There was about a 6” space between my bed and sister’s cot that we could squeeze out at night if one had to use the bathroom. There was a small convertible-height table in the room that at night had to be put up on the couch to make room for the cot.

During the day the cot was folded up, but still left in the room and it was always in the way. It blocked one end of the small couch so that it could only be used by one person. After a couple of nights, we left a note for the steward to leave the bed folded up even when she made up the room in the evening…we would unfold it ourselves just before going to bed. Otherwise trying to be in the room after dinner just didn’t work for 3 people. I was thrilled to be upgraded to the balcony room for the price of an ocean view guarantee so I couldn’t complain too much. In the future however I think I would probably make sure I had a room that was designed to be a triple and not take a chance.