Day 14 ~ Blissed Out at Sea
Friday, May 6
We’re up and out by 8 since this is my last chance to check out the breakfast offerings at the AquaSpa. The good news is that there is nothing that makes me regret sleeping in the previous 13 days. And I am very grateful that I have a cabin mate willing to deliver my daily ration of coffee and Special K to my favorite table on the veranda.
The ship slows down for a couple of hours so that a helicopter can land with blood (Type O, we hear) for one of the passengers. And the hallway seems to be increasingly cluttered with wheelchairs, as if we were headed to Lourdes rather than Fort Lauderdale. So much for the health benefits of cruising.
We’re up and out by 8 since this is my last chance to check out the breakfast offerings at the AquaSpa. The good news is that there is nothing that makes me regret sleeping in the previous 13 days. And I am very grateful that I have a cabin mate willing to deliver my daily ration of coffee and Special K to my favorite table on the veranda.
The ship slows down for a couple of hours so that a helicopter can land with blood (Type O, we hear) for one of the passengers. And the hallway seems to be increasingly cluttered with wheelchairs, as if we were headed to Lourdes rather than Fort Lauderdale. So much for the health benefits of cruising.
The final dance class is the tango, and we do surprisingly well, although instead of spelling out T-A-N-G-O with the slow, slow, quick, quick, slow, Snookie’s left feet may be spelling G-O-A-T. I think this is what I want to learn next – lots of opportunities to be dramatic. More dance interactions: The guy most notable for the Mickey Mouse tattoo on his head corners us to announce that he is a dance instructor in England. Who’d have thought it? And the Barbie woman and her husband are eight-time ballroom dance champions. I feel like I’ve been trying to sing a duet with Pavarotti. Or balance my checkbook in front of Einstein. We are so out of our league!
We have lunch on the fantail with the express goal of using up some of our credits. Three hours and four beers later, we still have a way to go. But we share our shady table with a couple from Canada, who seem pleasantly surprised that we too are appalled by the Osama Bin Laden death celebrations and that not all Americans are obnoxious chauvinists. (On the other hand, I consistently assume everyone is American and persist in yammering away at people, oblivious to the fact that they don’t speak English.)
Apparently one of the entertainers ticked off most of the audience by including the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America” on his program earlier in the week. As noted, this crowd is heavily European and not particularly impressed with American jingoism.
Apparently one of the entertainers ticked off most of the audience by including the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America” on his program earlier in the week. As noted, this crowd is heavily European and not particularly impressed with American jingoism.
Now for some serious shopping. Snookie snags a jacket (with a not totally in-your-face Celebrity logo) and after roaming aimlessly through the displays of jewelry, $5 T-shirts and ugly purses, I blow the rest of our credits on $100 worth of Clinique. My wrinkles can always use moisturizer, the prices are better than Macy’s, and we avoid that rapacious California sales tax. Don’t tell Jerry Brown.
We’ve finally found something more obnoxious than the party band: For the first time, we catch a whiff of cigar smoke from the Sunset Bar above us. We suspect it’s a crowd of Americans hastily polishing off their illegal Cuban cigars. Like our onboard credits, you can’t take it with you.
We’ve finally found something more obnoxious than the party band: For the first time, we catch a whiff of cigar smoke from the Sunset Bar above us. We suspect it’s a crowd of Americans hastily polishing off their illegal Cuban cigars. Like our onboard credits, you can’t take it with you.
We have neither the energy nor the inclination to “do” dinner and end up with wine and noshies on the balcony. This is more our style. But it’s been a good trip, and Snookie is almost ready to face the Water World come Monday morning. Me? I’ve got jury duty!
Sail on to The End
