Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Cruise #6 (Can you believe it?)

Back to the Eastern Caribbean!

We did a calculation today. Based on the cruise logs that we receive at the end of each cruise, we've now sailed 17,039 miles since November 8. The earth's circumference is just under 25,000 miles. By January 27th, we will have sailed the equivalent of around the world!

Day 51: Turnaround day

People often ask us what sorts of things happen on the ship during turnaround, and the choreography of passengers, luggage and trash coming off the ship, and fuel, passengers, luggage, supplies and food going on is really mind boggling to watch.

But, as we "in transit" passengers were checking off of the ship in preparation to pass through US immigration back into the country, and then check back on the ship with our new key card, we watched a piano tuning taking place in the Piazza. This was something we had never seen before, but it makes sense. A piano that is used hours each day by different pianists, that is on a moving ship in an environment with varying humidites...no wonder it needs to be tuned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty9R9QnOF_E

Palonia String Quartet

How can we get bored with the entertainment on board when the entertainment is this? Last night there was another Palonia String Quartet performance, and only one song (Canon in D by Pachabel, I never tire of that) was repeated. I am so lucky that G, whose father was a professional musician, loves most kinds of music as I do, and views live performances as a treat. This performance is always a highlight of the cruise for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFedWKJMXeY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUsekO3BlnA

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Sunrise: Day 50 (At Sea)

Today marks the halfway point of our season at sea, and we have been talking about how that feels. I anticipated that we would be dismayed, as in "I can't believe it's already half over". Instead, the feeling is quite the opposite. We feel that we've had such an amazing time...and now we get to do it all over again!
This Christmas cruise had (we got the official count) just over 400 kids on board, and it wasn't bad at all. Kids are kids, and there have been meltdowns in the dining room and pranks throughout the ship (removing room service breakfast orders from doorknobs, and switching the Privacy signs on cabin doors to instead read 'Please refresh my room'). But it's been fun to see the many little ones in strollers, and all the activities geared to kids and families.
This next cruise has 650 kids. This surprised me; I thought that many kids would have to start back to school before it ends on January 7th. Hopefully, it will be just as uneventful.
We were up early today, and caught this beautiful sunrise directly off the back of the ship. Unlike yesterday, today the sun wasn't blocked by any clouds, and we decided to enjoy some time by the Terrace pool, and so ate breakfast from the buffet while sitting in loungers with exactly that sunrise view. We changed into swimsuits, and G headed to the hot tub while I lay in the sun and listened to a book. It quickly got very hot, and before noon we both came inside to shower and go to lunch in the dining room. We love the sun, but are adamant that we not get burned again, and so have to take particular care in the early afternoon. Unless we were in the water, it really was uncomfortable to be in the sun. The noon report from the bridge stated that the weather tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale is forecasted to be sunny, but only 66 degrees. Is that possible, given how hot today is? We'll see...

More Motor City...and a football game


Yes, we saw Motor City again last night. Yes, this was our fourth time this season alone. Yes, we love it.

Afterwards, we went up to MUTS to watch the Saints game. I love the Saints because young ones I love love the Saints. Makes perfect sense to me! And it was a thrill to see Brees' record breaking performance on the big screen.