Time on the Ship

Daily blog posts weren't really possible on the cruise. After a full day at sea we began having our daily shore excursions, so time was much more limited and our time on the ship was still quite busy. Throughout the rest of the cruise, while on board, we did a variety of activities.

We spent a fair amount of time in the gym and spa area. We each had two massages and Barry had an acupuncture treatment. We also attended a Detox workshop and consultation. We worked out several days in the gym and spent time walking and jogging on the top deck. Every day but one we spent time in the Hydro area, enjoying the hot tubs, sauna, and quiet relaxation areas.

Every evening except two, we attended the LGBT gatherings in one of the quiet bars, where we met some fun people. That helped the cruise feel a little smaller, and we enjoyed spending some time with our new friend Nicholas from Tennessee. One afternoon and early evening we hung out on the pool deck with Nicholas, occasionally getting in an out of the hot tubs. Barry and I also spent time on the pool deck on the last day at sea, catching some sun and reading. We also took advantage of one of the poolside barbecues that afternoon.

Enjoying time on the pool deck.

We caught some of the entertainment on board, too. Of course we heard the reggae band poolside and almost every time we walked past the pool. One night we caught the staff leading Christmas Carols in the atrium while we dined at an unremarkable restaurant. During another dinner, we experienced the woman who sang pop tune covers in the atrium nightly. We caught bits of other nice piano music, singers, and jazz combo playing in some of the bars and in passing. The big theater was used nightly, and we attended a couple of shows there. The first night we caught the very end of a variety show featuring all of the entertainers. The next night we saw most of a production called "Band on the Run" - a "HIGH ENERGY" review of many 70s and 80s pop tunes. There was a lot going on! Singing, dancing, live band, lights, etc. There was some good singing and dancing. Although it was not universally stellar, it was entertaining. One night we went to the Second City production which was quite funny and very entertaining. On the last night, we went to the "adults only" Second City show in the lounge, which was also fun. The other show we saw was called Elements and moved through acts themed around water, wind, fire, and ice. This featured the dancers doing very good, mostly modern dance, a few amazing tricks by the magicians, a couple of features by the aerialists, good music, and great lighting effects. It was really well done and well worth our time!

Most of our dining was in the "Garden Cafe" cafeteria, which had an amazing selection and variety of food, although it was usually crowded and wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing setting. We had a couple of nice dinners in the Venetian restaurant, and one nice dinner in Aqua restaurant. On our last night, we had a huge meal in the Brazilian-themed restaurant, for a modest up-charge. I don't know when I've eaten that much food... the meal started with a robust salad bar. I didn't know what was ahead for the evening; otherwise I would have only made one trip for salad. After the salad, the meat started coming. Servers bring it right to your table. The brought two kinds of chicken, two kinds of sausage, two kinds of steak, two kinds of ribs, lamb, pineapple (to cleanse the palate), and I don't even know what else. We had some flan for dessert, which was fine, but didn't live up to the rest of the meal and the flan we had in Mexico on Christmas Day.

The Atrium Bar, with the Brazilian restaurant upstairs.

We had our photos taken on two evenings and bought some Amarula in the duty-free shops. We woke up to witness several sunrises and we watched one or two sunsets. We even spent one evening resting an reading in our own cabin. We never spent any time in the casino, we skipped the towel folding demonstration, we didn't see any movies or play shuffle board. We missed dozens of other events, activities, and performances. Obviously, there's something for everyone on board and never a reason to be bored on a cruise.

Sunrise on the ship.

Several of the delightful towel animals that greeted us in out stateroom.