Sea Day

Monday, March 10, 2025

Bob was actually up and out of bed before me today which was unusual. I didn't sleep well but finally fell sound asleep sometime after 5 am and then had a hard time waking up around 7:15. I knew Jon and Michelle would be up and ready to go to breakfast so I forced myself to crawl out of bed. Bob went down and walked a couple of laps on Deck 3 while I got dressed and then we headed to the buffet. Ideally it would be nice to have a balcony cabin but the next best thing is only being one deck away from the promenade deck...the biggest balcony on the ship!

When Erin saw us walking in, she quickly came with my coffee and Bob's OJ but thanks to the norovirus protocols being lifted the silverware and salt & pepper shakers were already on the table. I resisted the temptation to get one of the crab cakes for "Eggs Chesapeake" and just went with the English muffin and two poached eggs. I will sure miss having those prepared for me each morning when I get home. I do occasionally make poached eggs, but not often.

After breakfast, Michelle went to play pickleball with the guys but didn't stay long. She met up with me on the promenade deck where we worked on our NY Times puzzles of the day. The schedule showed a clearance sale in the shops at 9 am and the two of us went to check it out. Michelle bought two t-shirts....one from Half Moon Cay and another with a photo that looked like Curacao. The shirts were marked down from $19.95 each to 2 for $25 and with the purchase came a free backpack! As she was checking out she saw the Caribbean charms. We had each purchased a charm bracelet on a previous cruise together so Michelle bought several more charms to add to the bracelet.

We spent a little more time on the promenade deck before going to the art studio for the origami class. The colored pencil class was just finishing up so we put our things down to save a spot and went into the Crow's Nest to order lattes. The line was longer than we realized so by the time we got our orders, Ian (the art instructor) was already starting the class.

The project was to make paper cranes out of a square piece of colored paper. Ian would show a video explaining each step and then he repeated the step using a camera that projected his work onto the screen at the front of the room. He was a patient teacher and gave good directions but it still took us all of the 45 minute class to get one crane made. We had a 2nd piece of paper, but I would never be able to remember the steps on my own.

Michelle and I returned one more time to the promenade deck where she continued to read her book and I played games on my iPad. To get two chairs together required a little maneuvering, but we made it work. A lady sitting nearby decided she would watch several videos on her phone at full volume. Not sure if it was her grandkids or what, but I do know that it was very annoying.

When someone sat down next to Michelle and started coughing frequently, we got up and left and went back to our rooms. I got a message from Bob that he and Jon were at the buffet so we went up to meet them.

We were still sitting at our table at 1:10 when Michelle scolded Jon because he was late for the military meet up that had started at 1:00. Bob decided to return to the pickleball court and Michelle and I changed into swimsuits and went to the pool. Everyone else had the same idea and at first we couldn't find any lounge chairs. Eventually we each snagged one and then finally two chairs together became available so we moved a third time! The DJ was blasting the music way louder than I would prefer, but I told myself it was still better than shoveling snow back in Minnesota!

The sun was hot and I was getting thirsty so I pulled out one of the Mariner cocktail coupons we had been given when the cruise began. I wasn't sure if it could be used for a pina colada but when I asked the waiter he said "Sure!" Oh my how good it tasted. 

Bob showed up around 3:00 and I reminded him that he probably wasn't going to get a seat for the watercolor class he wanted to attend if he didn't take off right away. I decided I would rather lay in the sun by the pool because I can paint at home in the middle of a blizzard.

When I decided I had had enough sun for one afternoon, I came back to the cabin and showered and dressed for dinner so I could be done before Bob returned. After so many port days in a row, I had welcomed a lazy day at sea but there were many activities that I could have attended...a cooking show, a towel folding demonstration, lectures on rum and Caribbean music, poolside games, afternoon tea, Tech for Travelers (photo editing), multiple trivia contests, line dance classes, afternoon movie and several different art classes.

Last night, when we left the dining room, Bob made dinner reservations for tonight and tomorrow night at 5:30. We never know whether we will be seated on the upper level or the lower level of the dining room. Tonight it was on Deck 3 so we had to take the elevator up one floor to get to our table. I was concerned about how we were going to like having open seating (instead of fixed dining) but I can say it has worked out well. I miss having the same waiter every evening, but the flexibility of dining when we want has been nice. We have never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table as well. 

Tonight was dressy night.

Bob was hungry from all of the pickleball and ordered three appetizers which seemed to surprise the waiter. I ordered two myself...the shrimp cocktail and a salad. My main course was beef tenderloin Oscar and then creme Brulée for dessert. As we were walking out of the dining room, we were surprised to see Erin handing out the after dinner treats (only offered on dressy nights now.) I made sure to get some of the candied ginger...mmmm. 

Eating at 5:30 pm works out perfectly because we leave straight from the dining room to get to the theater about 30 minutes before the show so we can get good seats. There are a couple of double seats on the top row of the balcony where Jon likes to sit. He calls them the "love seats"!

Tonight was the production show, "Hey Mr. DJ". This was a repeat from the last leg of the cruise, but good enough to see again. It featured the whole cast of singers and dancers. There are two male singers (Casey Berry & Daniel Grest) and one female singer (Sebastian Sowell) and there are four girls and two guy dancers. We often see them eating in the buffet and we suspect that two of the girls might be sisters...or even twins.

Cruise Director, Valerie, introducing the evening show.

With all of the games being back on the shelves in the Crow's Nest, we played several rounds of Boggle and then a couple of games of Rummikub instead of our usual card games.

I'm not sure where the time has gone, but tomorrow is the last day of the cruise. Sad that the cruise is almost over but even worse...it means we have to pack. 😞