As I write this the morning of Day Three, I’m not really sure what happened to Day Two, because it disappeared pretty quickly. I actually set the alarm on my cell phone to get up, so I would have some time to tromp around the deck before it got hot outside. I was feeling all smug because it was 7:20am, and then I realized that all the ship clocks said 8:20am – my cell changed times and I hadn’t noticed. Regardless of the “real” local time, the ship goes by a set time once it sets sail.
After walking a few rounds on the deck (5 laps is a mile), I headed downstairs to get my wi-fi connection. One of the folks I talked to on the walking track told me there were bad storms in Minnesota, so I wanted to check out the local papers. I got online and read about the flash flooding in southeastern Minnesota, then tried to get into the remote access email for work. Hah. After 3 tries, I was able to log in, but then I got a message about the http proxy being missing, blah blah blah. Enough of that.
Then back to the room for a shower and clean clothes, and off to breakfast. Criminey, what a food-a-thon they have in the Windjammer (approximately 150 feet of buffet)!! We all munched and then Caitlin and I headed to Deck 3 for a “Shopping Tips” bit that lasted for an hour, covering the best places to go in the next two ports of call. I just asked Caitlin what that hour-long presentation was called, and she replied, “A complete waste of time.” I agree.
Next up was some serious Caribbean sun time on the deck just above the pools. By staying along the outer edge, we picked up a pretty good breeze from the water. The sun was intense though, and after 30 minutes on each side (with a 50spf) Caitlin called it quits and returned to the air conditioning. I decided to cool off in the Solarium pool (adults only, so no kids running around – plus the 5-foot-deep pool has steps and a handrail going all the way in). A half-hour later I got out of the pool and tackled some more sunshine until it was just too danged hot to stand (which really doesn’t take too long). Another quick dip in the pool, a fresh water rinse in the deck shower to get the salt off, and it was time for a shower for me too.
Caitlin returned to the room about the same time I was getting dressed, and she and I headed up to the Viking Crown & Lounge for a “drink of the day” – today was a Caribbean Breeze. I had two, and the first one came with an umbrella. Woo hoo, my first real umbrella drink!
This was the first formal dinner, too. It was fun to get gussied up and go to a swanky meal, to be waited on hand and foot. This will be the worst thing about the cruise vacation being over: being without a crew whose sole purpose is to satisfy my every whim. Sigh.
When we returned to our rooms, we found the first of many nightly critters made from towels. Although I really wanted to stay up longer, it was just impossible. Caitlin did go out looking for something to do, but she couldn’t even stay up for the next round of Events – there’s a whole other nightlife that starts at 11:30pm, but somehow I doubt that I’m going to see any of it!!
