Gym'll fix it!!

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Chris and Roisin's first wake up at sea was at 8am when a knock came at their door. It was the cabin steward with breakfast. Nothing too strenuous just the usual danish, cereal, yoghurt, fruit (and fruit juice), tea and/or coffee. This was not going to be the rule but as this service was included they thought they'd give it a try.

They were adamant to give the gym a whirl. At least if this is the only day they use the equipment it will go down on record as having 'given it a go'!!

The gym is amazing! State of the art. AND FREE!! There are at least a dozen hi-tech treadmills a number of cross-trainers, bikes (sit up and beg ones as well as the ‘easy rider' type!) and weights to tone bits of you, you would have thought were beyond redemption!

20 minutes on the treadmill was enough to be going on with. They didn't want to peak too early!!!

At 10am the gym/spa staff held a raffle to win free treatments. It was a bit of a ‘this is what we can offer for an over inflated price but you can afford it' type of event but Jeremy from Serbia seemed to be entertaining albeit the audience participation he was trying to incite was becoming repetitive although Chris had to snigger at watching a bunch of ‘seniors' getting excited about a free facial!

No sooner had this mildly entertaining raffle finished than it was almost time for the ‘Trip Advisor/cruise critic' meet and greet. Trip advisor is a web site for like-minded travellers to share experiences and leave useful feedback and tips on hotels and places. No matter what place you enter in to the search engine, whether it's up in the Himalayas or lost in the Amazon, wandering the Serengeti or even walking with Penguins in Antarctica, you can bet someone has been there.

Chris and Roisin were greeted by the organiser, Marianne, who gave them their name badges. It wasn't long before they were approached by Colin from Toronto who opened the conversation by saying, "I see you're from the UK. Do you think the Commonwealth Games will still go ahead??" Chris was caught off guard by this opening line so just replied, “Probably” as he shrugged his shoulders in a Little Britain, ‘Computer says no' sort of way!!!

It's amazing how many Americans and Australians have some connection with the UK whether it be a relative having roots there or having worked or been brought up in the UK. It's always London though. It's as if this is a safe bet that, if questioned, they can keep the conversation quite general without being found out.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ray stuck a hand out to Chris and Roisin, “'Elloh! I'm Ray, from Leeds. I was told there were other Brits here and you were just pointed out by that lass o'er there!!”

Chris and Roisin both replied in unison, “Are you Bob's dad?!!”

Prior to this trip, the role call was published on trip advisor. This is a list of people who have identified themselves as on the same cruise and was a way of breaking the ice early doors. The list states your hometown and user name as well as your real names. The organisers planned to arrange events outside of the cruise line schedule, but with the support of the cruise staff. For example, it is Canadian Thanksgiving on 11th October and if enough people are interested, the ship will lay on a special dinner to celebrate.

‘Bobsdad' is the user name that Ray and his wife use. Chris and Roisin had identified them as the only other Brits on this role call. It looked like Ray had done the same.

Bob, as it turns out, is Ray's dog!!!

As lunch loomed, Chris and Roisin finally slipped away.

The weather, as the ship sailed further in to the Pacific, had been overcast until now. However, it was warm with a slight warm breeze. It was no surprise when looking out on deck that a fair number of sun loungers were still occupied despite the lack of sun.

The Princess Patter emphasised that the reservation of deck chairs and sun loungers were strictly forbidden and anyone reserving chairs by placing books or towels on them would have them removed if the sun bed was unoccupied for more than 30 minutes. It's all very well this notice being in English but had anyone thought of telling Herr and Frau Joly in the next cabin??

After lunch, Chris and Roisin took advantage of the Spa (Thermal sanctuary). Unlimited access to the VIP area. This included hot stone lounge chairs, a mild aromatic steam and sauna and the rain forest and fog shower. This was what the doctor ordered. Robes and flippy-flops were supplied.

Oh, Lordy-lord it was 4pm already…time for afternoon tea. This was a waiter service and after the tea was served the next waiter appeared offering an array of sandwiches. The next waiter offered an assortment of pastries, then another with small fancy cakes and finally the scone waiter. Oh, closely followed by the waiter with the cream and jam!! If there were redundancies (god forbid) and the scone waiter had to go. Would that automatically mean that there wasn't a job for the jam and cream waiter??

They all seemed to be lining up eager to serve. No sooner had one waiter served you than another appeared eager to please. It was rapid fire. Like a scene out of a Monty Python sketch!!

Chris and Roisin enjoyed their high tea. They got talking to a couple from Australia. He was 70 and lo and behold, some one else with UK connections. He went to the UK (London, surprise, surprise) a boy and came back a man. Roisin was waiting for an interesting anecdote but it was as the Ozzie said – he went to London a boy (aged 8) and came back a man (aged 22)!!! Simples!!

It was only day 2 of the cruise and Florin, the dinner waiter had lost another table! On day 1 his service consisted of a table of 6 (fully occupied), a table of 4 with 1 American couple and another table of 6 where Chris and Roisin were the only occupants. Chris and Roisin were still the only one's on their table but the table of 6 were now a no-show.

Roisin asked Florin was he expecting their table be full (as it is set for 6 persons). He answered that the other 4 have opted for the ‘any time' meal option. This is whereby you do not have a fixed time for dinner but have to use a different restaurant. The draw back with this is that no reservations can be made. It's on a first come, first served basis.

Dinner remains to be exquisite and the good thing is that certain dishes are marked as recommended by the spas staff as healthy – low in cholesterol and sodium yet still yummy!!

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Comments

[Elaine]

You forgot to mention the white gloves for High tea staff - silver teapots - sandwiches with no crusts! The ships webcam is keeping us all up to date too with your position!!!!Enjoying the blog Chris - hope you and Roisin are enjoying your
holiday just as much.