Quiet day at sea

Our 3rd day at sea was perhaps the quietest of all thus far. We tried being outside a bit, but it was quite windy and uncomfortable. There were a number of hearty souls sitting out by the pool, and Bill did a couple of laps around the promenade deck.

As he did so, I walked around the ship and browsed in areas I had not yet seen. I stumbled upon a group of square dancers in the most unlikely of locations – a bar called the Dungeon. At night, it apparently is the spot for alternative rock music for hip twenty-somethingers. But amidst the gargoyles and skeletons that made up the décor, the cheerful dancers doe-see-doed. It was fun to watch. I recalled my neighbors when growing up in Columbus, Nebraska, who were square dancers. She had the most beautiful dancing gowns with layers upon layers of petticoat that I'm sure swished when she danced. But I digress....

After lunch, we went to the very top deck and looked down at the ocean and the ne'er say die vacationers sitting by the pool as our ship cruised along. It was quite relaxing. After a three-mile run on the elliptical, Bill and I went down to the tiny theater and watched the daily movie, along with 30 or so others. The little theater was packed to the brim.

For dinner, instead of going to the dining room and eating with our regular table mates, Bill and I elected to go to one of the premium restaurants on board the Navigator, the Portofino. It is a wonderful Italian restaurant, at which you pay a $20 per person fee to eat. We enjoyed a delicious four-course meal, and split a bottle of wonderful red wine.

We ate later than usual, and it was a two-hour meal, and as a result, the dining room was emptying out as we finished the last of our wine. The chef came out and introduced himself to each table. He was from Jamaica, and had quite a few months to go before he could go back home to his family.

I find the individual stories of the service people on board the ship to be very interesting. Our waitress, for example, is from the Philippines, and her husband is also on board the ship. He works on the housekeeping staff. She said Royal Caribbean keeps families together. Our regular nightly waiter is from Romania, and his six months (that's the length of the time they work on the ship) ends when we get to Rome. He is eagerly awaiting connecting again with his fiancée in Romania.

There was a dancing party by the pool that began at 11 p.m., but Bill and I were long since in bed.