The best thing about today was that it happens to be our son's birthday. So, happy birthday, Ken! Hope it is a good one…
It's always a good thing to have a few days at sea, after four busy days in port. Would have been even better if the sailing was less rough and windy. Heavily overcast, the captain mentioned the winds were a force 7 on the Beaufort, and the sea swells were 12 feet. Even with the size of this ship, we seem to be rocking and rolling quite a bit. No doubt, there will be a few new guests with sea sickness. In the old days, we always knew when to expect rough sailing when the sea sick bags showed up near every elevator. We do not see that anymore.
Many years ago, we sailed with friends who made the remark that here we sit, twiddling our thumbs, while Rome burns. A very old saying, but it sure applies to what we are hearing and seeing on the news today. Not to get political, but none of us are feeling confident about the world's situation. It also seems that Covid has taken a backseat. How long has it been since we have heard the statistics of the Covid casualties, or the numbers of folks that need to be vaccinated? Perhaps watching HGTV or the Food Channel has some merit. And of course, with today being a day at sea, there were dozens of things to do on the ship. Even with that, we still were glued to the TV during the day.
Doing some internet work, we came across an interesting thread on Cruise Critic concerning the Step One Dance Company's performances on the Rotterdam. They had reduced their show to one an evening, instead of the usual two. Same as here. It has been weeks now that the one show was at 7:30pm. There must have been many complaints about it, because we saw in the When & Where that there were two shows tonight ….one at 7pm and the second one at 9pm. About time. We have a lot of catching up to do now that we have the time to go without interrupting dinner.
There is a new comedian onboard by the name of Keith Bender doing a show called All Grown Up. The room was more full of guests for his show compared to the group that attends the BB King's All Stars. We guarantee that by the end of 11 days, some of these folks will have hearing problems. We do by just passing by the venue after dinner.
We missed another wine tasting event at 1:45pm in the dining room. Nice to be asked, we have yet to go. Barb usually attends, and says it is really nicely done.
Going out in the morning and once in the afternoon, we got some miles in on the promenade deck. Not easy walking with the high winds and light sea spray covering one side. Only a handful of people attempted it. Being in the Caribbean, you would think it was always warm and muggy. Not even close today, as we wore our jackets.
We did a little exploring today, wanting to see the cabanas up on deck 12. Interesting concept, we guess it is OK for folks that like to be isolated. It is not something we would chose to do, because we never stay in one place very long. One nice thing about the cabana area is that they do have a small spa to go in if it gets too hot. Climbing up the outside stairs, we reached deck 14, the Sun deck, which really is deck 13, but never is labeled as that. Superstitious we guess. Knowing there were some coins buried in a wall, we found them. This is a tradition that dates back centuries, and continues to this day. Not sure who the Madrona is for this ship, but it is not the Godmother. Quite possible that the Madrona is Ann Marie Bartels.
There are lounges up here, but they would have blown overboard with today's wind. All of them were lashed down. There is also one outside shower for the sunbathers that come up here.
On the way back, we strolled through the Crow's Nest, which is huge. It felt like walking into a church with people reading (sleeping) in over-sized chairs. In our way of thinking, having the shore excursion desk here, as well as the Explorer's Café, is next to out of sight and out of mind. Fine for some folks, just not our cup of tea. We remember Crow's Nests that were fun with a live band and dancing. Guess those days are over. And what about the library? Sadly, it does not exist here. What few books are there, are not to be removed. We did see huge jigsaw puzzles, which is surprising, knowing that social distancing is impossible leaning over a table. Board games were also available, but we saw no one playing any today.
Lunch was a salad and sandwich in the Lido. At 2:30pm, it is never crowded there. In fact, we had almost the entire Lido to ourselves. Now that's what we call social distancing. Funny story, we got in an elevator that filled up with eight people. Two people panicked and jumped out. That's when we noticed one man had no mask on. They were newbies, what can we say. It is possible, that in a few days, mask-wearing inside the ship might be optional.
Dinner was with Barb tonight, the first gala night of this cruise. Most folks looked pretty sharp, but there were a large number that were not dressed for it. T-shirts and shorts with flip-flops don't do it for us. Yes, we did see one man sitting near the bar at the Rock & Roll venue, looking as if he just came from the Seaview Pool. Remember when it was suggested that the dress code of the evening applied to attending the show in the Queens Lounge and any other public space that evening? Boy are those days gone or what?
Anyway, we all had the rack of lamb and were not disappointed. The food has been very tasty and served hot most nights. And by waiting to order our dessert, the ice cream arrives frozen solid, not melted. Fredy, our head waiter always checks on us, and Presty seems to find the time to pay a visit. Yes, we are treated well.
Bill & Mary Ann
Friday, February 25, 2022
Report #69 Day At Sea Thursday-February 24, 2022 En-Route To St. Maarten
