For our first full day of cruising we started out with such good intentions. In fact, that will be our theme for today “Good Intentions.” Here are the pictures to go along with the blog.
I don’t know exactly what I was expecting to accomplish, or even if I thought I would be able to stick to it, but I got up early today and headed to the gym (good intention #1). I worked out for 40 minutes and headed back to the room expecting to find a showered and chipper wife waiting for me. What I found was a dark room with a slumbering, groggy wife. It might have been at that moment that the reality of how different our approach to this honeymoon cruise would be. Regardless, Alicia, being the supportive wife, pulled herself out of bed and into the shower.
This seems like a good time to mention the undiscovered sport of showering on a rocking ship. I must’ve asked at least 6 different people about their cruise experiences. Each one talked about something different. One encouraged us to get out of our rooms and participate in the activities. Another spoke of the food and the need to completely abandon all ideas of eating healthy. Yet another spoke of how we would feel the gentle pulse of the engines as we slept. Not ONE person warned us that we would feel as if we were in a constant state of drunken disorientation as long as we were on our feet. Regardless of what we do, it feels as if our equilibriums suddenly go on strike and we stumble unexpectedly in one direction. Showering I can deal with, but I have abandoned all hope of trying to pee standing up. Anyway, back to the story…
We left our room and headed to the dining room for breakfast. There we were seated with two other couples – Dick and Mary, and Joe and Sherry. Joe and Sherry are newlyweds also. Both couples are from Pennsylvania. They were both nice, but neither one seemed as talkative as Alicia and I.
After breakfast we went back to the room and gathered up our Bibles and computers (good intention #2). We wanted to spend some time reading the Word and writing our thoughts. The time ended up being spent analyzing Alicia’s laptop to try and determine why she has run out of room on her hard-drive. After several clicks we determined that her hard drive was just too small for what she needed to do on a consistent basis. So we’ve decided to invest in a larger hard-drive when we return. Not exactly the spiritual insight we were hoping to receive. So we gave up on the computers and elected to indulge in some sun-bathing on the deck lounge chairs orbiting the pools. I think that lasted all of 10 minutes due to the amount of wind and the fact that we were still in pretty cool weather. What do you think we decided to do next? Yep, that’s right. The only thing there is to do on a cruise ship. Eat.
We headed to Horatio’s Restaurant on the Lido deck to partake in the lunch buffet. Each day Horatio’s gives us a different taste of the nations. Today’s taste was Mexican food. There was an American buffet, Chinese buffet, Pizza station, hot sandwich station, and Mexican buffet (not to mention the dessert station). You can only imagine what two people, who love to eat, do with this kind of selection – try it all. The part of cruising that spoils you is the fact that you can simply discard what doesn’t meet your tastebuds’ approval. There’s no need to worry about finishing it, since you don’t pay for it anyway. We ate to our bellies’ content (including dessert) and headed back to the room to rest. Alicia was doing much better today in terms of her adjustment to the lulling of the ship.
After a small nap we gathered ourselves and headed down to the Fountainside Café for the Amazing Miracle Race (Think “Amazing Race” confined to a 915-foot, 10-deck ship). We were given a set of 10 clues. Each clue pertained to a different part of the ship. We had to identify that part of the ship then answer a question about something specific found there. For instance, one of the clues referred to the place “where Batman goes to rest.” We identified that place as the Gotham lounge. Then we had to count the number of barstools found there. We only had 20 minutes to complete as many of the clues as possible, so we split up. I would call out a location on the ship and what information I needed to Alicia and she’d scurry away. We were the last team to return to the starting line. We had all but one of the clues filled out. We scored 14 out of a possible 20 points. The winning team (which had 5 people) had 17 points and won the plastic trophy. Alicia and I were not heartbroken, but after running around the ship at a near sprint for 20 minutes I was sweating buckets.
This was a great place for me to start preparing for our first night of “cruise elegant.” This is the first night when everyone was asked to dress semi-formally or formally for dinner. Alicia and both enjoyed this opportunity to shine. I brought the only suit I have, which, regrettably, is the suit I purchased for my grandmother’s funeral. It’s a dark, olive green suit, so I chose to wear a white pin-striped shirt with a red diagonal striped tie. The whole thing went together well, however I felt more like I was going to church or worked at a bank, than “elegant.” Alicia, however, looked amazing. She wore a beautiful black tank dress with some very pretty beading designs on it and black heels. She finished it off with a red pashmina wrap that really looked elegant. I was proud to escort her around the ship.
Before we headed to dinner we attended the Captain’s cocktail party. This was our opportunity to meet the Captain and the entire crew. There was a jazz band on stage and, before the official introductions, we took some pictures with “Fun Time” Freddy (yes, Carnival Cruises has their own chimney headed mascot). After the introductions Alicia and I decided to express ourselves and step out of our comfort zones by slow dancing on the stage, with other couples, to the jazz music. We basically mimicked whatever couple seemed to know what they were doing.
Once we’d danced to a full song we strolled off to dinner, stopping on the way to have our pictures taken by one of the ship’s photographers. Dinner was, of course (here’s that word again) elegant. Though there are always at least 5 appetizers (or starters, as they were listed) and 6 main courses, the center pieces were the lobster and prime rib. And yes, I had both. Alicia opted for neither. Dinner was interrupted with something they called “Showtime with Frankie.” Frankie was the South African Maitre D. He introduced himself, demanded that everyone say “hello Frankie” on the count of three and explained that the wait staff would now serenade us with “O Solo Mio.” I’m not sure if anyone else found this amusing, but I did for one simple reason: though it was mentioned repeatedly that the ship’s crew was made up 59 nationalities, I estimated that wait staff was 85% Filipino or Indonesian (the other 15% were either black or Latino). So having Asian men sing a famous Italian song to us to create a romantic atmosphere tickled me, a bit. The best laugh was only moments away.
After Alicia and I had finished our dessert, D, Francisco and a few other members of the wait staff brought us a piece of cake with two candles in it. The men sang us “Happy Anniversary” in their broken English and slightly-tone-deaf way and it was very touching. One waiter took our camera and asked us to lean in, over the table for a picture. Apparently that wasn’t good enough, so he told us to kiss… over the still-burning candles. What happened next would only last a few seconds, the reputation would last the rest of the cruise. Against my better judgment I leaned in for my kiss. Alicia also leaned in and right at the moment our lips touched, the left side of her hair fell off her shoulder and right onto the candles. The Aww’s turned to horrified Ohh’s as my wife’s hair ignited. In a flurry of smoke, embers, crackles and flapping hands, the moment began and ended in mere seconds. The nauseating smell of burnt hair, however, lingered and permeated through the dining room. I held my breath and waited, teetering on edge of loving encouragement and hysterical laughter. My reaction was hinged on hers. To my surprise and relief, Alicia started laughing. We both laughed to the point of tears. One concerned shipmate after another paraded by our table to express their shock and empathy. What an amazing wife I have! She actually had to encourage them!
Because of what happened, Alicia needed to go back to the room to wash and repair the damage (which turned out to be minor). Once she was satisfied that she wasn’t sporting a freakshow hairstyle we wanted to take an evening stroll on the Lido deck. We walked, arm-in-arm, along the perimeter of the top of the ship, taking in the breeze, taking in the moment, taking in each other.
It was a full day of good fun, but it was after all our honeymoon, so we headed back to the room to enjoy the remainder of the night cuddling and talking and… well, you get the idea.
See you tomorrow.
I don’t know exactly what I was expecting to accomplish, or even if I thought I would be able to stick to it, but I got up early today and headed to the gym (good intention #1). I worked out for 40 minutes and headed back to the room expecting to find a showered and chipper wife waiting for me. What I found was a dark room with a slumbering, groggy wife. It might have been at that moment that the reality of how different our approach to this honeymoon cruise would be. Regardless, Alicia, being the supportive wife, pulled herself out of bed and into the shower.
This seems like a good time to mention the undiscovered sport of showering on a rocking ship. I must’ve asked at least 6 different people about their cruise experiences. Each one talked about something different. One encouraged us to get out of our rooms and participate in the activities. Another spoke of the food and the need to completely abandon all ideas of eating healthy. Yet another spoke of how we would feel the gentle pulse of the engines as we slept. Not ONE person warned us that we would feel as if we were in a constant state of drunken disorientation as long as we were on our feet. Regardless of what we do, it feels as if our equilibriums suddenly go on strike and we stumble unexpectedly in one direction. Showering I can deal with, but I have abandoned all hope of trying to pee standing up. Anyway, back to the story…
We left our room and headed to the dining room for breakfast. There we were seated with two other couples – Dick and Mary, and Joe and Sherry. Joe and Sherry are newlyweds also. Both couples are from Pennsylvania. They were both nice, but neither one seemed as talkative as Alicia and I.
After breakfast we went back to the room and gathered up our Bibles and computers (good intention #2). We wanted to spend some time reading the Word and writing our thoughts. The time ended up being spent analyzing Alicia’s laptop to try and determine why she has run out of room on her hard-drive. After several clicks we determined that her hard drive was just too small for what she needed to do on a consistent basis. So we’ve decided to invest in a larger hard-drive when we return. Not exactly the spiritual insight we were hoping to receive. So we gave up on the computers and elected to indulge in some sun-bathing on the deck lounge chairs orbiting the pools. I think that lasted all of 10 minutes due to the amount of wind and the fact that we were still in pretty cool weather. What do you think we decided to do next? Yep, that’s right. The only thing there is to do on a cruise ship. Eat.
We headed to Horatio’s Restaurant on the Lido deck to partake in the lunch buffet. Each day Horatio’s gives us a different taste of the nations. Today’s taste was Mexican food. There was an American buffet, Chinese buffet, Pizza station, hot sandwich station, and Mexican buffet (not to mention the dessert station). You can only imagine what two people, who love to eat, do with this kind of selection – try it all. The part of cruising that spoils you is the fact that you can simply discard what doesn’t meet your tastebuds’ approval. There’s no need to worry about finishing it, since you don’t pay for it anyway. We ate to our bellies’ content (including dessert) and headed back to the room to rest. Alicia was doing much better today in terms of her adjustment to the lulling of the ship.
After a small nap we gathered ourselves and headed down to the Fountainside Café for the Amazing Miracle Race (Think “Amazing Race” confined to a 915-foot, 10-deck ship). We were given a set of 10 clues. Each clue pertained to a different part of the ship. We had to identify that part of the ship then answer a question about something specific found there. For instance, one of the clues referred to the place “where Batman goes to rest.” We identified that place as the Gotham lounge. Then we had to count the number of barstools found there. We only had 20 minutes to complete as many of the clues as possible, so we split up. I would call out a location on the ship and what information I needed to Alicia and she’d scurry away. We were the last team to return to the starting line. We had all but one of the clues filled out. We scored 14 out of a possible 20 points. The winning team (which had 5 people) had 17 points and won the plastic trophy. Alicia and I were not heartbroken, but after running around the ship at a near sprint for 20 minutes I was sweating buckets.
This was a great place for me to start preparing for our first night of “cruise elegant.” This is the first night when everyone was asked to dress semi-formally or formally for dinner. Alicia and both enjoyed this opportunity to shine. I brought the only suit I have, which, regrettably, is the suit I purchased for my grandmother’s funeral. It’s a dark, olive green suit, so I chose to wear a white pin-striped shirt with a red diagonal striped tie. The whole thing went together well, however I felt more like I was going to church or worked at a bank, than “elegant.” Alicia, however, looked amazing. She wore a beautiful black tank dress with some very pretty beading designs on it and black heels. She finished it off with a red pashmina wrap that really looked elegant. I was proud to escort her around the ship.
Before we headed to dinner we attended the Captain’s cocktail party. This was our opportunity to meet the Captain and the entire crew. There was a jazz band on stage and, before the official introductions, we took some pictures with “Fun Time” Freddy (yes, Carnival Cruises has their own chimney headed mascot). After the introductions Alicia and I decided to express ourselves and step out of our comfort zones by slow dancing on the stage, with other couples, to the jazz music. We basically mimicked whatever couple seemed to know what they were doing.
Once we’d danced to a full song we strolled off to dinner, stopping on the way to have our pictures taken by one of the ship’s photographers. Dinner was, of course (here’s that word again) elegant. Though there are always at least 5 appetizers (or starters, as they were listed) and 6 main courses, the center pieces were the lobster and prime rib. And yes, I had both. Alicia opted for neither. Dinner was interrupted with something they called “Showtime with Frankie.” Frankie was the South African Maitre D. He introduced himself, demanded that everyone say “hello Frankie” on the count of three and explained that the wait staff would now serenade us with “O Solo Mio.” I’m not sure if anyone else found this amusing, but I did for one simple reason: though it was mentioned repeatedly that the ship’s crew was made up 59 nationalities, I estimated that wait staff was 85% Filipino or Indonesian (the other 15% were either black or Latino). So having Asian men sing a famous Italian song to us to create a romantic atmosphere tickled me, a bit. The best laugh was only moments away.
After Alicia and I had finished our dessert, D, Francisco and a few other members of the wait staff brought us a piece of cake with two candles in it. The men sang us “Happy Anniversary” in their broken English and slightly-tone-deaf way and it was very touching. One waiter took our camera and asked us to lean in, over the table for a picture. Apparently that wasn’t good enough, so he told us to kiss… over the still-burning candles. What happened next would only last a few seconds, the reputation would last the rest of the cruise. Against my better judgment I leaned in for my kiss. Alicia also leaned in and right at the moment our lips touched, the left side of her hair fell off her shoulder and right onto the candles. The Aww’s turned to horrified Ohh’s as my wife’s hair ignited. In a flurry of smoke, embers, crackles and flapping hands, the moment began and ended in mere seconds. The nauseating smell of burnt hair, however, lingered and permeated through the dining room. I held my breath and waited, teetering on edge of loving encouragement and hysterical laughter. My reaction was hinged on hers. To my surprise and relief, Alicia started laughing. We both laughed to the point of tears. One concerned shipmate after another paraded by our table to express their shock and empathy. What an amazing wife I have! She actually had to encourage them!
Because of what happened, Alicia needed to go back to the room to wash and repair the damage (which turned out to be minor). Once she was satisfied that she wasn’t sporting a freakshow hairstyle we wanted to take an evening stroll on the Lido deck. We walked, arm-in-arm, along the perimeter of the top of the ship, taking in the breeze, taking in the moment, taking in each other.
It was a full day of good fun, but it was after all our honeymoon, so we headed back to the room to enjoy the remainder of the night cuddling and talking and… well, you get the idea.
See you tomorrow.
1 comment:
It all sound SO fun! I'm glad y'all had such a great time! I can't wait to hear about the rest of it. Keep it coming!
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