Many of you have asked about life on board the ship, so we thought we’d take advantage of a little down time and tell you!
We’re trying to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so on most of the days we’re in port we have something scheduled, either an excursion through the cruise line or something we’ve arranged on our own. Our schedule on those days is dictated by the our arrangements; sometimes we have to be ready to check in for the tours by 7:15 a.m., sometimes by noon. That is usually determined by what time we arrive in the port.
It took us a little while to develop a routine for the days we’re at sea, but after three months we think we finally have it figured out. Pam rises early (usually between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m.) and does her Bible study, journal and the blog. If there’s time she also walks 3 miles/day. Ken’s up by then and may have done his own 3-mile jaunt. We get ready for the day and head off to breakfast, usually in the main dining room where we can enjoy yummy pancakes or eggs and bacon or lamb chops.
The ship offers lots of activities throughout the day – lectures, bean toss, mini-golf competitions, painting, crafts, trivial pursuit, cooking demonstrations, etc. We don’t usually partake of these things; we do more of our own thing. We meet our friends El and Terry in the card room at 10:00 and play double deck Pinochle until 1:00, when El has to leave us to go play Bridge. If the weather’s nice we may head to the pool for a couple of hours; if not, we’ll read a book in the library or maybe hook up with some other friends for Mexican Train or Phase 10. Occasionally there will be a lecture we’re interested in and we’ll do that instead. At 3:00 it’s time for Ballroom Dance lessons (yes, Ken’s taking dance lessons!). There’s about 20 people the class, and after four weeks we’re actually getting to be pretty decent.
By 5:00 we’ve dressed for dinner and are playing SkipBo, Cribbage or Backgammon and enjoying Happy Hour in one of the lounges as we listen to the band or piano (depending on where we’ve gone) in the background. This is also an opportunity for us to practice our dance moves, but we haven’t been brave enough to try that yet.
We almost always share a table at dinner, regardless of the restaurant we’re in. Our options are the main dining room, the Polo steakhouse or Tuscano Italian restaurant. All are excellent, but Ken’s favorite (of course!) is Polo and Pam really likes Tuscano. Dinner is usually at 6:30, and depending on the conversation may go until 8:30 or 9:00.
There is entertainment every night. Sometimes it’s the ship’s string quartet or pianist, sometimes it’s the ship talent singing and dancing, sometimes it’s a musician, comedian or magician from outside, and sometimes it’s a movie. From 8:30 – 9:30 you can dance to the music of the ship’s band. We did that for the very first time ever a couple of nights ago and had a great time. We pre-arranged with several of our classmate to be there at the same time and make our debut together, so it was a lot less intimidating, and it was a good time. On the nights we don’t go to the show we may choose to play games with friends, read or watch movies we’ve downloaded when we’ve been in ports with high-speed internet.
Every few weeks the ship does something special for all of its Around The World guests. Sometimes it’s an evening reception with free drinks and appetizers; sometimes it’s an 11:00 reception with a beautiful display of appetizers and deserts. Most recently it was sushi and seafood. We’ve never seen so many lobsters!!! One day they prepared a special brunch for us. What an amazing display of talent. Every decoration was made by the culinary team on board – the most incredible food art – from ice sculptures to chocolate to fruit and vegetables – very impressive!
It’s a rough life and we are thoroughly enjoying it!
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