Our first plan for the morning was to sit in "our" hot tub, the one we've always used on Deck 17 aft, just three decks up from our cabin. The weather was mostly sunny and probably in the 70s- warm, but not hot. We didn't linger, intending to get to breakfast before the dining room closed at (we thought) 9:30am. I showered first, and while G was showering, I finally looked at today's Patter with the dining hours on the back. I hollered in to G, telling him not to rush: the dining room had been open from 7am to 9am, not 7:30am to 9:30am as it had been last year. It was exactly 9am.
And this was my first valuable lesson of this cruise: just because something was done one way last winter doesn't mean it's being done the same way this winter. Must. Remember. That!!
So, our choices were the International Cafe (IC) on Deck 5 in the Piazza for coffee and (mostly) pastries, or the buffet one deck up from our cabin (which serves breakfast until 11:30am). Made to order omelettes sounded good, so we headed up to the buffet. We shared a table with a delightful couple from Fort Lauderdale who are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. She kept telling him to shush, or not to say something; he kept telling her to stop doing that. He told us that, now that he's almost 80, she doesn't want him up on ladders anymore. G and I were very amused...we had that EXACT same argument in our house just last weekend.
But they've lasted 60 years. Maybe there's hope for us yet!
After breakfast we went down to Deck 7 and strolled a bit on the Promenade. It was busy with walkers and even a runner, but there were also several people enjoying the sun and water from the chairs along the side.
Then, I was on a mission. I cannot find the razor blades I KNOW I packed. I use pricey, 5-bladed ones, and I packed enough for the entire winter. Well, guess what? Maybe I didn't pack them (although I distinctly remember figuring how many I'd need, counting them out and putting them in a ziploc bag). I returned to the cabin and did my own digging through suitcases. It's especially confusing as there are still things in our bags under the beds: cold weather clothing for our return home, but mostly the inventory of toiletries we'll use up over the course of the cruise. So it's not as easy as knowing with certainty that the stored suitcases are empty.
Alas, the razors did not turn up. This is truly perplexing. But it's also a familiar feeling...we went through the exact same process last year.
Luckily, G brought plenty of disposable razors, and that's what I'm using until we're back in Fort Lauderdale. Then I'll buy my own razors. And band aids. 'Cause I'm going to be a bloody mess by then. One shower down, and I already have three cuts.
G vacated the cabin while I pulled out the suitcases (really- we can't both be in here at the same time when we're packing, unpacking or digging. There is simply not enough room), and headed to the morning bingo game. We had two free cards we'd received yesterday, and although our chances of winning are about 1 in eleventy-hundred, he's always up for a challenge.