Cruise World-first full day-January 6 en route from
Florida to Costa Rica.
Weather: 80 and sunny. Light rain at 5pm.
I watched American news last night as I unpacked tile 1
and didn’t fall asleep till 2am. I
brought way to many items so it’s a good thing I have closets, shelves,
drawers, and the bathroom to myself.
I slept anxiously for fear I would miss the cruise critic
party or my first breakfast ritual so I set the alarm for 8:20. I slept quite
well having gone to bed feeling exhausted. Although there was turbulence last
night, it did not alarm me and I enjoyed being rocked to sleep at sea. In fact,
being rocked to sleep by the sea is one of my favorite elements of cruising.
At 8:40AM, I finally responded to the alarm and sprung
from bed. What to wear!?!?--I had many options. I settled for aqua pants and
jacket.
First stop: aft elevators straight up to the lido deck
for breakfast. I found a lovely window seat and made a good cup of Cafe Bustelo. (I brought my own from home.) I had smoked
salmon and a strawberry yogurt. One of the servers asked me what I wanted and
brought the yogurt to me. It was a peaceful morning watching the waves crash
against the ship.
Next stop, I listened to part of the shore excursion
presentation on Costa Rica, then left early for the one and only cruise critic
party. Pete from California did a yeoman's job of organizing the event,
compiling and updating rosters, and even printed 250+ names tags compete with
cruise critic handle and place of residence. I was disappointed that none of
the captain’s staff attended but it was nice to meet more people. Perhaps the officers chose to avoid this
meeting on a world cruise for fear of being bombarded by guests for the next
115 days! I suppose I understand.
Next, our new trivia team formed and played the first
round at 11:45. Betsy and Joan from Juno
had play together previously on another cruise. I found it funny that Betsy had
not remembered Joan's name, although she referred to her as a friend.
I left early to join the solo travelers’ lunch, already
in progress. I sat with 5 ladies at a window-side table.
A trivia member came to find me during lunch to give me winning
dollar certificate!!! Our team came in
third.
2:00-I listened to the worst lecturer ever drone on about
Columbus' 4 voyages.
Next, high tea at 3. then, changed for dinner.
4:45-5:20- I sat in the aft pool area after the rain. It
was quite, calming, and peaceful. I
experienced moments of bliss.
At dinner time and I am testing out different dinner
tables. I was seated with with Frank and
Judy whom I met on my 2014 HAL Noordam cruise. They were good company.
7PM trivia in Crowes nest. We tied for first. At one point I said we and
the asked do you mean “the royal we?” I realized I was only American on the
team so WE did not apply. ha!
I went into theatre early to get good seats for
production show--Good unobstructed seats. It was a terrific show of song and
dance high quality movie and James Bond-themed numbers. There were not enough dancers in the cast
though; only three women and two men. Perhaps there were injuries.
Casino watching. I spoke with woman who cruises for free
often (on several cruise lines) because she spends so much in casinos. I was unaware this possibility existed. Of
course, this will never apply to me because I don't gamble.
Piano bar listening and watching was fun.
I did my usual evening activity and brought chamomile tea
back to my room.
I watched shore excursion videos for a bit. Then drifted
off to a sound sleep.
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