Typical Day at Sea

Between Tenerife, Canary Islands, and Nassau, Bahama Islands, we had 7 full days at sea.  So, certainly one might wonder what we did for 7 full days without going mad?  Well, aside from eating wholly too much, there was actually quite a lot to do, and we could not do everything we would have liked.

There was a Catholic Priest on board, and he said Mass every day at sea.  So, after breakfast, we took the opportunity to go to Mass each morning.  It was nice getting to know a few people as there were about 15-20 people each morning.

The ship has (at least for sea days) numerous trivia quizzes.  We joined up with a few other random couples, and competed against the evil teams (evil being those who were not on our team, and who seemed to perpetually win).  We made some good friends that way, and enjoyed spending time with a few different couples. 

One of the staff who ran some of the activities was a young English girl, Jodie, and not yet very "worldly", being a mere 22 years old amongst passengers from 40 on up.  So, we had fun teasing her, especially when she did not get the "American humor" or pronounced things in her "English country" accent.  It wasn't long before she realized she could give it back, and I think she had a lot more fun thereafter.  Theresa told her, at length, that she could hit me if she wanted; which was not passed up!

One of the trivia scenes was a compilation contest.  They formed several teams of up to 10 people, and the questions had increasing points each day.  We joined them a few days late, but still contributed a few points.  One of the questions required us to list all of the colors of the rainbow, in order from the inside to the outside of the curve.  Ironically, just that morning we had seen a rainbow out of our cabin and photographed it!

Since the team was all Americans and British, they named themselves the "Lend-Lease" team.  Amusingly, the two Canadian staff that were running that event did not "get it".  (Think WWII) 

By the last sea day, our team had amassed the most points just before the final question.  It was a "Jeaprody" style finale, where we could bet as much as we wanted of what we had.  So, we took a picture of the "current leaders".  We'll just leave the story off there.  Carol and Barrie (our British friends) are the woman in the front, and the guy at the back.  Bill and Mary (our NYC friends) are across from me and in front of Theresa.  We had a few meals with them, and many other trivia competitions.

The leading team (at the time the picture was taken)!

There were also a few lecturers, so we attended some of those.  One guy lectured on ocean voyages, Columbus, and the histories of the places we went or were going.  Another guy was a bit of an opera nut, and lectured on opera, operatic composers, music, and such like that.  Once was enough. But, he was tenured (I think?) at University of Houston, so we inquired to see if he knew anyone we knew.  Not so much.

Of course, there was also evening entertainment, including a few dance shows, musicians and singers, and a magician.

One night after the show, they had a "competition" for the bar staff.  Bacardi had sponsored it, and the winners from various cruise ships could compete for a grand prize.  No idea what the prize was, but they needed "judges".  So, I volunteered!  They had five drinks all featuring ginger, and some (apparently forgettable) liquor produced by Bacardi.  The judges were to rate each in categories like "presentation", "name", and of course "taste".  So, I got to try each of the five drinks.  After sampling each, I let Theresa try a little of each as well, and then unceremoniously finished them off (waste not, want not?!).  They then gave away one of each drink to the "onlookers" based upon who was first to answer some random question.  Theresa won one of the drinks (which was most unfair, but...), so we headed off to sit and enjoy our ill-gotten gains!  :-)

Theresa and her free drink!