It started with our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet at noon, where they offered us champagne to sip while we ate a few munchies and met some of our fellow travelers. Then, Bill was one of the lucky winners of the raffle drawing (I told him he should go put some tokens into the slot machine), and what did he win? You guessed it – a bottle of champagne. Finally, last night was our first formal dinner, and the Captain held his reception in the Royal Promenade. White-coated waiters offered us sparkling glasses of champagne. I felt like a grown-up in my cocktail dress drinking the bubbly wine surrounded by people in suits, tuxes and a beautiful array of cocktail gowns.
The weather was lovely, about 75 and mostly sunny. We attended morning Mass, and then spent much of the day enjoying the sun at the pool or elsewhere on the ship. We watched a father and son compete to climb the highest on the climbing wall. (It was a tie.) We watched some senior citizens play paddle tennis (and they were quite good). We observed the mandatory belly flop contest. (Two Germans against two Americans. Europeans men shouldn't even THINK they can compete against pot-bellied American men. The Americans won, of course.)
We did quite a bit of walking, and I spent 45 minutes in the gym while Bill did the stair-stepper for a bit. We're trying hard to stay ahead of our eating.
As I mentioned before, it was our first formal night. Everyone dresses up the most, I think, for the first formal dinner, and then it eases up. As we wandered around the Promenade sipping our champagne, I really did have a sense of being on a very elegant ship such as the Titanic or the Queen Mary back in the days. They even had a dance band playing hits from the forties. But, alas, pretty soon the disco ball came down and the music became more contemporary. Bill and I went up to bed.
One note: At Mass, during the prayers of the faithful, our priest suggested we pray for those taking a cruise to try and save a relationship, or who were taking what will likely be a final cruise, or for those suffering (or recovering) from a serious illness, etc. It made me think about the fact that everyone I see, standing behind them in the buffet line or watching them play golf or seeing them walk briskly along the track on the 12th deck, has a story. Realizing that makes me look at people a little differently. I hope it also makes me more patient. And it's fun to try to imagine their story.
Today looks to be a sunny and warm day again. Hoorah! We're enjoying them while we have them.
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