After awhile we became aware that an announcement had not yet been made that we had firmly docked and the ship cleared by the local authorities. Finally, Captain Binetti made an announcement that, due to the heavy swell, they were having difficulty setting up a safe gangway. This sounded interesting, and so we headed over to the starboard side of the promenade deck to peer over the railing at what was going on.
The gangway, which sometimes moves a slight bit while we are docked, was moving several inches back and forth on the dock. They couldn't set up any forward gangway at all, only a midship one. And finally, about 20 minutes late, an announcement was made that the gangway was in place and the ship had been cleared. A few brave souls started down the gangway, despite its significant movement and the heavy rain, which had just intensified.
We had no intention of joining them. First, because a Royal Caribbean ship had gotten the cruise ship dock, we were in the edge of town at the freight dock. There was nothing in the near vicinity to see or do, plus it was rainy and windy. We went inside the ship to return to our cabin.
And that is when we realized that the ship was in a constant tilt to the port side. Keep in mind that we were docked. It's the one time we kind of count on having a still and level ship. Not so today, it seemed. We changed into swimsuits and went up to the hot tub on the back of Deck 17. It was intermittently rainy and sunny, but the air was warm and the cool rain on our faces felt good while we were in the hot tub.
Eventually, we went inside to shower, G to the cabin and me to the spa at the front of the ship to use the larger showers, steam room and sauna. Walking down the long corridor to the front of the ship was like being in a fun house, with a tilted room and hall. Climbing the two decks to the spa was very strange, and I clung to the railing while I did it.
Back together we both commented that our heads felt funny. Not that we were sea sick, but we definitely were experiencing vertigo as a result of the tilt. We felt like we were moving in jello.
After a light in lunch in the dining room, we decided to brave the near constant rain to run into the large terminal at the dock, in which several souvenir tables had been set up. It was very strange to hear the ship moving up and down against the dock. Docked ships are usually very stable. It felt good to be on terra firma for a while, but eventually we made the dash back to the ship, where we decided the only remaining option was a nap, turned around in our bed so that our heads weren't going downhill. There is a good documentary on TV about the history of Castro in Cuba. It's obvious that this is going to be a lazy day from start to finish.
