Babymoon Day 2: At Sea

Today was our scheduled "day at sea," which means we headed past the Bahamas on our way to Grand Turk. Since all the Cruise lines leave Ft Lauderdale on the same day, each line sequences their itineraries a little differently so that all of the ships don't arrive in the same ports on the same day. We'll hit the Bahamas on our way back. So today was our day to explore the ship, and also for our first of two "formal" dinners in the dining room during our cruise.


Unfortunately, I was still in some serious sleep deficit from the combination of the prior week’s hectic schedule and the fact that it took me a little while to get used to the rocking of the ship. We hit a rough patch of water early in the AM, and it felt like someone was shaking me awake every few minutes. With that in mind, we both headed for breakfast (mmmmmmmmmm....waaaaaaffllllllles), then I returned to the room to nap for a few hours. This turned out to be the best decision I could have made, as I awoke refreshed, energized, and ready to face the day.

While I was sleeping, Whitney had a wonderful nap of her own in a deck chair in the sun, watching the ocean in between snoozes. She also took a tour of the ship’s kitchens, which was very interesting. During lunch, she met a nice couple, and it turned out that the husband was an Air Force veteran. Once Whitney shared that I was recently retired from the Air Force, this immediately made them feel comfortable talking...and talking...and talking. It turns out this couple has two sons, one 46 and one 48, neither of whom were married, and they had given up on the idea of grandchildren. Whitney pointed out that I am nearly 46 and about to become a first-time daddy, so they should still hold out some hope, however slim.

When she returned, I was out of bed and feeling grrrrrreat! We toured the remainder of the ship discovering several additional decks full of chairs, views, and sun. We found the Explorations Cafe, which is a combination internet cafe, coffee shop (Whitney was very happy), and fairly well stocked library. You can check books out just like at the public library. We noticed some beautiful black and white portraits around the ship and learned that the photographer was on board. We booked a slot for a sitting. This was our formal night for dinner, so we were already dressing up anyway. The photo shoot was a lot of fun. If felt much more like a photo shoot than a “sitting.” Miki, our photographer, put on loud music and took pictures constantly while instructing us to look at him, look at each other, look away, turn, hug, whatever. It was a pretty neat experience. We will see the results tomorrow.

Dinner in the formal dining room took FOREVER!!! It’s a good thing we were eating early, or Whitney would have left before dessert to get to bed! We ate with 6 other people, including a couple from Boston (she is actually German, but has lived in Boston for 20 years, which makes for a very interesting accent!) The other four were from California, a woman who was touring with her in-laws and her mother. While everyone was nice, we would have preferred to be seated at our own table to enjoy some intimacy over dinner. We decided afterward that we would go to the next formal dinner (Thursday) but spend the other nights to ourselves in one of the casual dining areas.

After dinner, we headed to “The Mainstage,” which as you might expect was the theater for the live productions we would see throughout the week. Tonight’s performance was a revue of nightclub music over the years, from the Cotton Club to the Copacabana to the Moulin Rouge, and a sampling of others. The young troupe was high-energy, and a few of them displayed real talent, particularly the female vocalist. We would see these young singers and dancers cross-supporting other entertainment offerings during the week, with one of the young female dancers serving as the assistant to the magician (including disappearing/reappearing in a see-through globe).

Once the revue was over, I still had energy from my nap, so I talked Whitney into entering the Music Trivia contest hosted by “DJ Dave.” We teamed with an aunt and her two nephews, Alex and Adam. Alex is a musician, and had a surprisingly deep knowledge of 50’s and 60’s music for a younger man. It turned out we made a great team, and won the contest by a significant margin...only our first of several victories during the week.

Once trivia was over, it was finally time for bed. We were looking forward to an early disembarkation the next morning and wanted to be rested and ready.