Day-9 (Oct 28) Cruising at Sea

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Today was a day at sea which, of course, meant no shore excursions. We started the day by sleeping in until 9 a.m. Judging from the crowd at breakfast, the majority of the ship did the same. Also because no one really had any where to go, everyone was having a leisurely breakfast. A waiter came up to David while he was searching for Janet and asked with a heavy Italian accent, “Are you looking for a table?” David replied “No, I am looking for a wife”. The waiter responded “You would have better luck on a Singles Cruise”, and he walked away.

We used the day to catch up on some minor details like getting all of Kathy’s photos downloaded to the Garvin’s laptop. Between Kathy and David we have some great photos of the places we have been. It was fun to review them and remember some of the great places we have been.

Today we change time zones. Because the ship’s crew wants us to have as much fun as possible, the official time change was at 3 p.m. This may add an extra hour to the day, but it also added confusion to the day’s schedule. There was an ice dancing show scheduled at 3 but people had trouble deciding if it was the first or second 3 p.m. They are having the show again later in the cruise so that is when we are planning to see it. An ice rink on a ship is definitely something we want to see.

Jim and Kathy attended a “scholarship at sea” lecture on the history of cruise ships. There have been many advances in the design of cruise ships. Instead of a sharply pointed bow, they are now being built with a bulbous rounded bow (patterned after the shape of a dolphin) which produces extra range for the same amount of fuel. Our particular ship carries in excess of 3,000 passengers and a crew of about 1,400. The newest ships are being built to hold as many as 5,000 passengers.

After a simple lunch, we spent the afternoon exploring some the ship and checking email. The internet connection leaves a lot to be desired so just checking emails takes about a half hour. It was interesting to hear that it was 40 degrees in Florissant when we were sitting here in shorts. While sitting at the place where the connection works we got to talk to the others in our group who do not eat dinner with us. Everyone seems to be having a good time. Today’s rest was very refreshing and should give us renewed energy for our excursion tomorrow.

Tonight at dinner we had Vichyssoise, Shrimp Cocktail, and Caesar Salad. For the main course we had Coq au Vin, Cheese Ravioli with Crabmeat topping, and Atlantic Salmon. Dessert was Apple Tart and Chocolate Hazelnut Cake. And of course we had another bottle of wine. After dinner we found that the rabbit had not returned to our cabin, but instead a turtle (we think) was sitting on the bed and Kathy’s cabin had a stingray.

Afterwards we went to the show in the Metropolis Theater to see a comedic juggler. He had a lot of really funny one-liners and did some good juggling at the same time. These shows can only be one hour long, because that’s as long as people can last without having another meal. We all enjoyed the show greatly. However as the closing act, he needed 4 men from the audience to assist on the stage. He chose 3 from the front rows and then was looking for a younger fellow (defined as someone still with his original hips). We were sitting in the 8th row, but Jim was near the end of the aisle and was drafted to help juggling 3 machetes while riding a unicycle. All the previous shows Jim had sat closer to the center of the row (in our group of 5) but tonight he was within easy reaching distance. Anyway, it was a lot of fun to watch even though Jim’s part only dealt with getting onto the unicycle. It was a very funny show.

Tomorrow is our final excursion at Tenerife, on the Canary Islands.

FYI …. Internet service on the ship has not been great at any time, but they have warned us that satellite coverage while crossing the Atlantic is less reliable, so blog updates may not get posted some days.

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