Today turned out to be a good one for two different types of activities. One was turtle-watching and the other was for packing. Turtle-watching was by far, much more fun. You had to be patient to see them, but one by one, they floated by the sides of the ship. Guess we counted around 30 of them within 15 minutes. Eventually we quit at 35. The only other sighting was one lone brown booby as it flew around the front of the ship. Hoping to see dolphins, we never did, since we seem to be too far off of the coastline.
The weather was still warm and humid, although a bit less than yesterday. Sometime around mid-day, we passed the area of Acapulco, which used to be a stop on every Mexican Riviera cruise. Not so anymore. Even on this trip, we will not make a stop at Puerto Vallarta, another fun place, but dangerous these days. Too bad.
Life onboard has continued much the same as on the grand voyage. Group games continue throughout the day, including team trivia. The only difference is that it has been held in the Crow’s Nest at 1pm. Bet that ruins the quiet for the dedicated readers up there. The same game happens again at 7pm, also interrupting what used to be Happy Hour for some on the grand world cruise. For those who need to know, Happy Hour is only at 4pm in the Ocean Bar and Crow’s Nest, although there is no music in the Crow’s Nest until 10pm. Only then, the drinks are buy one get one for $2 at that late hour.
The pitch for sales is going big and strong in every shop onboard. The biggest pitch is for rare colored gemstones, watches, and all jewelry. Ever popular is the movie in the Wajang, but mostly for the bags of popcorn. Today’s movie was “A Dog’s Way Home”, which we will watch tomorrow.
Lunch followed our continued job of packing. It still amazes us how much we brought that has been stashed away here there and everywhere. We think we are more than halfway done…perhaps. We missed going to the dining room for lunch, but made a trip to the Dive In Grill for food to go. Our burger and hot dog were completely wrapped, while the whole tray was covered with a napkin. It never fails, because riding down in the elevator, someone always tries to figure out what smells so good. Watching a Keanu Reeves movie while eating lunch was relaxing, especially now that the custom sandwich maker is no longer an option in the Lido.
We had to laugh when we noticed a box on the table across from the front desk. It is a comment box for the hotel director, Norbert. What a great idea. He even has slips of paper to leave messages for him. We may put a few suggestions in that box before the trip is over. Speaking of the front desk, we had to make a visit there today due to some questionable charges on our shipboard account. It appeared that our complimentary dinners in the Pinnacle Grill have come through with ½ off charges. And using a gift card for buying sodas, it was double billed to our account. Always a good idea to check the account online, because if we had not caught this, we would have been out over $75. Anyway, they promised to fix it all, and apply the credit by tomorrow.
This evening was “gala”, or was it? Judging by the most casually-dressed people we noticed sitting on deck four, it could have been a regular night. Not that there is anything wrong with that, since most anything goes these days. At the very least, the fellows had on collared shirts, which is all that is asked of the gala dress code. Jackets and ties are optional. Tuxes and sparkling gowns are the exception. Times are a changing, as the saying goes.
We had been asked if we would like a guest host to join us for dinner tonight. It would have been the hotel director, however, we still are nursing the ever-nagging colds, and felt to best to decline. As it was, we ordered only a few courses, and were done shortly after 9pm. Shared desserts of a soufflé, chocolate cheesecake, and special delivery chocolate biscotti cookies were the best.
The entertainer this evening was a pianist and composer, Jason Lyle Black, with a show of music blended with comedy. However, waiting until 10pm was not in the cards tonight.
Another goodnight quote: “I haven’t been everywhere, but it is on my list”. – Susan Sontag –
Bill & Mary Ann
