Wednesday – Day at Sea
Oldest son wanted to eat breakfast in the dining room again, but
couldn’t convince anyone else to get up that early so he went
alone. He was seated with some “interesting” (not in a positive way) type
people. The breakfast was not a total bust though in that he saw several
dolphins swimming alongside the ship! Sister and I went to the Mediterranean
Restaurant but again the lines for the hot food were so long I just opted to
grab a couple of danish and a cup of coffee. Bob joined us after his morning run.
Later in the morning the guys (Bob and sons) had gone to play
shuffleboard and sister and I were roaming around the ship not doing much. I
had my digital camera with me and at one point got it out to take some photos
and realized that the LCD screen on the back had cracked. I was not happy. I
had bought this camera (a Canon SD200) specifically to use on this cruise and
it was only a couple of months old. To this day I can not think of a single
reason why the screen broke…it just did. After getting home I did some
research online and realize now that broken LCD screens are a major concern
with this model (and others in the SD series.) I checked out several different
photography boards and saw many posts from others who had their screens just
break for no reason. The warranty specifically states that broken LCD screens
are not covered, but I sent the camera in and just received an email saying
that they would fix it for no charge provided the inside of the camera doesn’t
indicate any type of water damage, corrosion, etc. (which it shouldn’t). I was
able to keep taking pictures using the viewfinder until Friday when the whole
camera just died. Since two older sons both had digital cameras we were able to
still get photos from the last few days, but like I said…I was NOT happy.
The family met again for lunch in the dining room and this time
had a gentleman from New Jersey join our family. He was traveling with his wife
and kids but they didn’t want to eat in the dining room so he came alone.
Following lunch everyone (but me) went to the pool. I chose to go
back to the cabin and sit on the balcony and read. I’m not sure if I would
spend the extra money to book a balcony, but I must admit, it was a
luxury that I thoroughly enjoyed this time!
After we found out that we had been upgraded to the balcony I
started reading posts about how wonderful it is to prop open the balcony door
and hear the ocean waves lapping on the ship. Following suggestions I read, I
made sure we packed a bungee cord and also Bob “made” a wooden door wedge
covered with sand paper just in case the bungee plan failed to hold open the
door. Guess what…the balcony doors on the Victory stay open by themselves…all you
had to do was open it fully and it stayed. I will also share another revelation
from this cruise…it is too hot and humid to leave the door open! The
air-conditioning in our cabin was “adequate” although sister and I both would
have preferred to have it cooler. (Hot flashes might have something to do with
that. 😉) A
maintenance worker even checked it out (on our request) but said the vent was
wide open and nothing more could be done. We did not leave the balcony door
open…ever.
In contrast to our cabin, the inside cabin where two younger sons
were staying was “frigid”…about the same as living in a meat locker! They could
have closed the vent a bit, but they liked it that way. Youngest son declared
that his cabin was the best place in the whole world to sleep…I’m sure it was
due to the cold temps AND the extreme darkness of the inside cabin. Also
Carnival has replaced all of the ugly orange bedspreads with wonderful white
down comforters…AND gotten some new pillows that are so comfortable…both make
sleeping an “experience”!
Back to the day’s events…since Wednesday was a sea day, tea time
was held in the Ionion Lounge at 3:30. I think the family must have felt guilty
for making me go alone on Monday and all showed up this time. I appreciated the
effort, but could tell that three sons would have rather been anywhere else but
there! They ate a few of the finger sandwiches and even tried a cup of tea, but
then oldest & youngest had enough and left. Middle son had fallen asleep
sitting up (guess the classical music was too soothing) and didn’t wake up
until we were almost ready to leave. The only reason he woke up then was that
he was drooling down his arm! Oh well…Bob, our daughter-in-law, my sister and I did enjoy tea
time…it’s such a relaxing respite from the heat and crowds on the Lido deck.
Wednesday night was
the Past Guest Party on the Victory which reminded me that I need to back up
and explain about our room situation. Carnival’s policy is that kids can not be
booked in their own cabin…someone over the age of 25 must be included in that
room. The only exception to this rule was if guests are married…that meant our oldest son and his wife could at least be together even though neither one is yet 25. However
it meant that our middle son (aged 21) and youngest son (aged 17) could not be booked together.
So…for booking purposes only, Bob and I split up and each was booked with one of
the boys. This really doesn’t make much sense since the first evening on the
ship we went to the Purser’s desk and they cheerfully made new key cards for Bob and son #3 so they could change rooms. That meant they each had to carry two cards
for the week…one was strictly a door key and the other was the Sail & Sign
card that got swiped for purchases or getting on & off the ship. However it
also meant that now the two boys were together like we had wanted in the
beginning!
The day before the Past Guest Party, the room
steward delivered invitations to the cabins. Sister and I each got our
invitation but Bob didn’t get one. I just assumed it was an oversight so went to
the Purser’s Desk again and they printed out an invitation for him without any
questions asked. That night at dinner the topic of the Past Guest Party came up
and youngest son announced that he planned to go since he had gotten an invitation!
Turns out since Bob was really booked in that cabin, his invitation had been
delivered there. The youngest son just “assumed” that since he had an invitation in his
possession he was going and going to take his older brother as his
guest!
Neither boy was happy, but I made it clear that
they were “not” invited to the party! We had checked and found it was OK for
the oldest son to attend with his wife (who had cruised on Carnival in the past) so the five of us went on Wednesday following
dinner…and I do mean “immediately” following dinner. The party was held in the
Adriatic Lounge and when we arrived there was a very long line waiting to
enter. By the time we handed over our invitations and got into the lounge, the
only available table was waaaaaaay in the back of the room.
Bob and I had skipped the Past Guest Party on our
Paradise cruise last summer since our traveling companions were not previous
cruisers. I felt bad knowing we had missed out, but after attending this party
I realize it wasn’t such a big deal. There were plenty of free drinks and hors d'oeuvres but since we had just eaten we didn’t even
try the food. During the “party” they gave away a bottle of champagne as a door
prize and then showed a movie showcasing all of Carnival’s ships. The guests
would cheer when they saw one of the ships that they had sailed on. Not being
big drinkers, I’m not sure if we would attend this party on future cruises or
not. The fact that they try and squeeze the party in between dining times
really makes it inconvenient for the earlier diners.
No comments:
Post a Comment