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| What vacation looks like on a cruise in 57* Weather |
I was awoken on my second morning by the sound of the sea banging against our vessel, Nieuw Amsterdam. The shaking wasn't as violent, but hot dang, we were rolling. I dressed and was ready quite quickly, may have set a new record for me. Really was not comfortable being in the tilt-o-game in the room alone. Maggie had left early in the morning to do her exercises. We girls didn't have plans to meet until nine, but I could not stay in the room without getting a look at the seas.
I went up to the pool deck where the food was near and generally most people end up. However, when I went up there, I was the only person out by the pool who didn't work there. It was not too surprising being that it was about 57* by the pool, possibly cooler. And yes, I was technically inside. Due to the swells outside, the waters in the pool were raging back and forth from the ship's movement. The wakes inside were a nice micro example of what our ship was enduring. Made me think of the brave/courageous/possibly fool-hearty sailors who first made their way up the Pacific Coast in the 1540s (talkin' Juan Cabrillo and his lot). I CANNOT imagine going north bound up the Pacific in anything smaller than a 965' vessel, let alone in a galleon. WE were being tossed around out there.The idea of facing those seas in a small craft chills me to the bone.
Speaking of chilly, I was glad for my outfit choice - a cardigan and long jeans. It was refreshingly cool. While I sat on my lounge chair with a blankie and a hot cup of coffee, I watched a few gentlemen on crew place a net in the water to keep people out. Guess they have to account for the lowest common denominator as I would think it was obvious to stay out of the pool with the water splashing violently about. It was entertaining and the sounds of the splashing seas calmed me.
One by one the girls found me out by the pool. I may have enjoyed three rounds of breakfast by the time we left, but I can neither confirm or deny that statement. Today was a TRUE vacation day. Our group of girls took a fun behind the scenes tour of the galley, then Maggie was off.
Carolyn and I did some exploring and found the Silk Room, which was a quiet retreat that overlooked mid-ship on the eleventh floor. The view was fantastic and hardly anyone was there. It was a nice intimate setting, but it was a bit too cold up there for us! (Yes, we were on our way to vacation in Canada, but when it comes right down to it, we're still California girls.)
Somehow we ended up regrouping with Felicia and the three of us visited for HOURS by the pool. I was supposed to join Maggie for lunch with the captain, but I completely missed it. Time means little when you're on vacation. The girls and I eventually started to get hungry around 2, so we wandered into the room behind us and to our dismay the cafeteria was closing. The stewards were polling down the curtains over the buffet stations, but Felicia was not about to swallow that pill - she jumped forward toward the counter and yelled: "NO! Don't do that!" As if we would otherwise starve.
Thank goodness for her actions, for they did, however reluctantly, serve us, but the booth next over was open, so it really wasn't that big of an issue. The special thing about the food on this day of our cruise was that it was all Dutch themed. You see, it was Koningsdag! KING'S DAY!!!! For those of you loyal readers, you'll remember our very first report of the Dutch and King's Day back in 2014. On our cruise boat, there was cake. LOADS of cake celebrating the birthday of the King of the Netherlands. There was tons of cheese and pea soup, but it was the bottom of the barrel, so it didn't show as well as I'm sure it would have fresh.
We spent a long time in the cafeteria and learned that at the peak of the storm we were cutting through those twenty foot swells. The seas have calmed substantially, but we the vessel was still rocking.
After while, we wandered to the crow's nest (11th floor) and stayed through Trivia. We did horribly, but it was fun. I did end up getting a few correct, but the people who scored our card cheated us a point! As if it made any difference.
After Trivia, Carolyn left to freshen up while Felicia and I walked the decks, trying to get in our steps. We did pretty well considering how we had been sitting all day. We had our fun walking and exploring, but tonight was formal dining, so it was time to doll up. We were all hoping to slide by in less than formal attire, however, when we saw a few folks parading about in nice tuxedos and gowns, we decided against comfort for the sake of class.
Back to the room I flew. I quickly showered and changed. Maggie returned to the room and also dawned an elegant gown. We were looking sharp for dinner. There was a half hour wait so we received one of those buzzers and then walked to the nearest sitting area, the piano lounge. We sat in the bar section, but we were positioned where we could watch the glares of the piano listeners, cutting through the fools who dared to speak as they walked by or for those imbeciles who sat like us in the bar section and talked. Talk about hilarious. Even Carolyn and I received death and dagger glares when we walked IN SILENCE to the bar. Felicia and I laughed like children trying to get away with something silly as we sat there and watched all of this happen. It was great when our buzzer rang and we had to walk past this group of Medusas. Daggers. Just daggers.
At dinner we enjoyed lobster and steak and flour-less chocolate cake.....................it was so good. I could have eaten 10. I may have ordered two desserts, possibly three, it is hard to recall now.
No guilt.
Guilt is not allowed on a cruise. It's listed somewhere in that small print contract that you have to sign before you board.
From dinner we walked to the piano bar where we were serenaded by the tunes of the marvelous Sir Elton John and Billy Joel. I sang along with almost all of the Elton songs, but like everyone else, the Billy songs were left to the Piano Man. (I may be jamming out to that song now...and it's nine o'clock on a Monday...) My group was laughing as we observed that the Canadians were much more Elton fans than Billy's, but there were enough of us singing along to make it all an incredible evening. Probably my favorite part of the cruise.
We snuck out to go to another show. Felicia and Maggie were right near the door, so they slipped out unnoticed, but Carolyn and I had to slip around the piano. The pianist called us out and said, "Ladies, no, don't go! The best part, my break, is yet to come!" So we danced on our way out as he played. The last we heard was him bidding us luck through the sobriety check.
The last show for the evening was called, "Sideshow." Carolyn ended up heading to bed, so Felicia Maggie and I went to the show. Felicia and I lost Maggie for a little while, but we knew where to find her - the front and we were right.
The show was wild. It was an acrobatic musical with mostly contemporary pieces, but they threw in "I put a Spell on You" and "Fever," which I liked a lot. The acrobatics were impressive and I'm glad I saw it, but I the pianist was my favorite by far.
From there it was off to bed. We were due in to land for the next day, so it was time to rest.
Until we wake up next week on our fourth day!
Your humble author,
S. Faxon
PS - I challenge you to not sing along with this:
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