1st Day at Sea.

Monday, April 19, 2010

We lost an hour last night but they promised to give it back to us on the way home.

I slept great in my little bunk. I woke up around 6:30 and peeked out the porthole and the sky was just starting to wake up so I went back to sleep finally rising around 8:00. I took a shower (our shower is about the largest spot in our stateroom). It felt good. We have no cell phone service and the batteries on our walkie talkie’s are dead. I left them plugged in while we went to breakfast in the Venetian Dining Room.  The dining room is beautiful with a window wall at the back of the ship.  I was very good and just ordered an egg white omelet with a side of fresh melon. John had a couple of eggs with ham and a glass of juice. After a leisurely breakfast I went up to the Internet Lounge and checked my email and upated my blog. John joined me and we went down to the stateroom to grab the things I’d brought for the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. All of the ship’s officers and key crew members were there and introduced themselves. One of our members had some ‘ice breaker’ games for us and it was a nice way to meet some new people. I didn’t join in the Scavenger Hunt. There were beverages and pastries available. I had a cup of tea and stayed away from the ICK.  We were there for about an hour and then it was time for another feeding. We went to the buffet this time and I grabbed a small banana, 2 hard boiled eggs, a tiny piece of salmon and a slice of tomato with a glass of water. It was just fine.  We went down to the stateroom and John stayed to take a nap and I grabbed a sweatshirt and went up to deck 7 to wander around. I found our embarkation photo and it was not awful so I bought it for my album.  I’m parked near the sushi bar thinking of perhaps having sushi for lunch before my massage.  John is having a good time even if it means he finds things to complain about. His biggest complaint being all the extra costs for things on the ship. Some things I don’t mind paying extra for, because I have the option to either do it or do something else (for example, there are plenty of restaurants including in the fare that are more than adequate for our needs so it’s my choice to pay a cover charge to eat in one of the specialty restaurants if I want).

I decided that since I was on my own for lunch today I would indulge in the Sushi Bar which has a $15 surcharge. I sat at the counter and really had no idea what to order. I think I wound up with a Godzilla Roll (because of the name) and a Spicy Tuna Roll. I know I wanted to try the Scallop Roll but decided to see how hungry I was and how large the portions were. Turned out what I ordered was more than enough and it was delicious. There was a family sitting next to me and when the waitress brought them a plate overflowing with assorted rolls I thought it was for everyone but it turned out to be for the 6-yr old child. Mom and Dad each got their own platters of food. And here I was with just two rolls. After eating the spicy tuna roll my mouth needed something sweet but I saw what the fruit sashimi plate looked like (mom and child each had one). I ordered the mochi ice cream which was a small scoop of mango ice cream incased in a rice paste shell and frozen with julienne fruits along side. It was fabulous. From lunch I went into the casino and donated the $4 I had in my pocket. At 2:30 I made my way up to the spa for my hot stone massage. I just wish I could do this every day. When she got to the scalp massage I thought about Rocky. He loves having his head rubbed and hates when you stop. I purchased some spa products to use at home. My hair looked like I had been electrocuted and, of course, I didn’t have a comb or brush with me. I took the elevator down to Deck 7 and found the ship’s store and John. 2200 passengers on board and I had to bump into my husband! We went to the Blue Lagoon for lunch for John and a snack for me. Now we’re relaxing in our stateroom watching tv. I’m going to have to shampoo my hair before we can go to dinner.

It was 7:00 before we even thought about dinner and John wasn’t particularly hungry after having a cheeseburger and fries and potato salad in the Blue Lagoon for his “snack”. There was a line to get into Aqua so we went up to Spinnakers, the buffet on Deck 12. I got some salad and chilled asparagus spears, some flounder and rice, all good for me, and then I succumbed to a slice of pizza. I wasn’t going to have dessert but I found the crepe station and had a boysenberry crepe.  We sat by a window and watched the sun set and ships on the horizon.

After dinner we headed down to Dazzles Lounge for the music of Jose and Patti. We were lucky to find two seats together with a view of the stage. By 8:30 the lounge was packed and the show was wonderful. It was all music of the 60’s and there were people dancing in the aisles. What a trip down memory lane. Even John enjoyed the show.
After the show we packed it in for the night and watched a little tv and went to sleep.