WHAT TIME IS IT? CRUISE RECAP PART 1
I had already written up a long post before I realized that three pages have gone by and I’d only wrote about the first day! So, I’m rewriting this again, but this time in my note-taking form as I have it from my pad. Needless to say, I had a great time. Too great to do a full write up apparently!
So, the night before I left, I packed my purple bag until practically full since I was pretty much packing two wardrobes for two weeks. I needed to have my touring around clothes and then I needed some “respectable” clothes for the dinning room. No jeans and t-shirts please! Mind you, the majority of the people who actually followed dress code were the older people and us. I knew what kind of weather we were going to have, which was 50-60 ° F and rainy. It was the Mediterranean in the middle of winter. I packed 4 dress shirts, 2 knee length skirts, a pair of black khaki slacks, a pair of cargo pants, 2 formal dresses (actually one purple cocktail dress and the other a long powder blue prom skirt with a form fitting black t-shirt), 3 pairs of jeans, 10 long sleeve t-shirts, 2 regular t-shirts, a pair of shorts, yoga pants, my bathing suit, rain boots, sneakers, two pairs of shoes, a fleece pullover, a hoodie and my brother’s Army parka. I have to say, as butch as it may have been to wear a green camo parka around, I was glad to have it. It protected me from the whipping winds and rains and when I wore my hoodie under it, it kept me perfectly warm. Also, as I told my brother when I got home, I was getting some undue respect from people who recognized the very specific design of the parka as being official Army wear. Quite a few security guards at some of the places we visited gave me knowing nods and some military types traveling on the ship asked if I served. “No, it’s my brother’s. He let me borrow it for this trip.” “Nice brother!”
On Sunday, before my car picked me up for JFK, I programmed my DVR to record all the shows I’d miss while I was away. Lie To Me, Fringe, Leverage, Burn Notice, The Closer and Supernatural. Then there was the lovely ride to the airport. Speed up, stop short. Speed up, stop short. Speed up, stop short. I’m surprised I didn’t throw up. It made me think, if I’m usually motion sick in a car I’m not driving, am I going to be sick on the ship? Should I have bought some pills? Well, I was told by a co-worker that the ship would have anything I’d need, so I was just going to wait and see.
DAY ONE
My first glimpse of the Brilliance of the Seas from plane window.
Royal Caribbean Welcoming Committee picked me up from airport
Met Brenda and Toby
Checked in then had a salad at the Welcome Aboard buffet
Immediately made an appointment for a seaweed wrap and massage at the spa
1pm, the cabins were ready.
Our cabin was extremely small! The bathroom was a closet and the closet was like an armoire
Ga9 and Kris showed up and went to have lunch back up at the buffet
We explored the ship a bit then played pool on the equalizing pool table
Went back to the room on my own and unpacked
Met Lorenzo, our steward, and asked him to remove the unnecessary coffee table
Ga9 and Kris came back. Ga9 didn’t really think she needed to unpack, but then realized she had to since it would have been awkward to leave their luggage out
In the UNLIKELY event of an emergency, we had a drill
We went and explored the ship some and watched us depart Barcelona
Won raffle for $30 off a spa treatment
Played mini-golf while waiting for the rock climbing wall to open. In the end, it never did since it was too windy
Captain Silly (Zini), as we thought we heard him say, announced that the weather was getting bad and we’d be running from a storm. The ship was rocking a bit hard.
Took a shower and flooded the floor.
First dinner. Met our tablemates - Peter & Kim from England, Angela & Dean from Wales, Beppo & Clariza from Guatemala. Waiters were Rajiv and Bien.
Ate tortilla soup, salmon on lentils, and flourless chocolate cake with cherries marinated in kirsch
Went down to The Colony Club and listened to some karaoke
Our cabins had no windows and I had no watch so I never knew what time it was in the pitch black. Slept on and off feeling the rise and fall of the ship.
DAY TWO
Went to have breakfast at the buffet
Ran errands and emailed people to tell them I arrived alright
Went to the gym
Found my second home, the Thermal Suite! Loved that place! Heated lounge seats and floors with mild and intense steam rooms. Fell asleep on one of the lounge chairs
Back at the cabin, played Connect Four and had a cheese plate from the included room service
Went to change money. They didn’t have Euro coins so they gave change back in US dollars and coins
Was commandeered into taking a picture of a large group of Asian men and one little girl on the Grand Stairs
First formal dinner. Peter was happy to find us to be big Sci-Fi fans. We quoted Galaxy Quest and talked about favorite movies and tv shows.
Ate escargot, roasted duck and cherries jubilee
DAY THREE
Woke up at 6:30am to get ready. Forecast said Partly Cloudy.
Met up with tour group in the Pacifica Theater. Then was lead off the ship by a confused photographer
Palermo, Italy was cold and rainy. The windows on the bus fogged up.
Visited a working monastery with mummified people in the catacombs. Very intriguing, some of the bodies were extremely well preserved; some looked like they were tortured to death. No pictures allowed.
After the tour, we got some cappuccino and gelato at Bristol’s
Wandered around and bought sneakers for Kris during siesta time.
The store was selling NY Yankees hats.
Hailed
Stopped by an alley café for lunch. The food was prepared up the street.
Wandered some more then stopped by Bristol’s again for hot cocoa.
Hailed again.
Back on the ship, I shaved my bikini line and bled all over the place
Dinner, had Caesar salad, cornmeal crusted tilapia, ordered the asparagus and brie quiche and shared it with the rest of the table, and bourbon and banana crème brulee
Everyone sat around chatting for a while then everyone but Ga9 and Kris went to the Sports Bar to watch soccer (football)
DAY FOUR
Woke up around 7:30am and decided to get breakfast
Sat in the Solarium and read Good Omens for a while
Went to the gym then relaxed in the Thermal Suite
Mexican woman in the locker room mixed up our lockers. Then opened her robe to show me her breasts. I think she was trying to tell me they got burned.
Ga9 and I joined in a trivia game hosted by a woman with a very strong accent. We all began to play, “What is she saying?”
“What is the Soviet side of Germany called?” was actually, “What is the celestial sign of Gemini called?”
Afterwards, we played the Wii Price is Right, Beppo and Clariza joined in. Being from NYC, we kept overpricing everything and lost.
Then I went to a “5 minute makeover” session which turned out to be a sales pitch for an all-purpose powder which made me sparkly orange.
Met up with Ga9 and Kris afterwards to play ping pong. Was rubbing the make up off for a half hour without much progress.
Dinner, had spinach pie, scallop linguini and berry cobbler a la mode
DAY FIVE
Athens, Greece
Drove around in a really nice Mercedes Benz bus.
Visited the Olympic Stadium where they lit the torch
The tour guide showed how orange trees grow wild. The fruit is inedible but they’re good for throwing at politicians
Visited the Acropolis. Windy but amazing
After the tour, we stayed in town and planned on taking the train back to port. It took a while to get the guides to stop talking about taxis and tell us where the station was.
While looking for bathroom use, we came upon a little gyros deli and I got a very yummy lamb gyro for €1,30
While in Greece, I NEEDED to have some baklava. Found a small café that served a large slice for €4,30. Ga9 decided to give in and share it but was appalled to find the small cup of cappuccino she ordered was also €4,00!
Met up with Angela and Dean and took the train together. €1,00 for train was much better than €20 per person for a taxi, The walk from the station to the ship was not as bad as the guides made it out to be. But we’re New Yorkers, walking is our life.
Took a nap on the couch in the cabin then went searching for the helicopter pad, the most fore of the ship. No, I didn’t do, “I’m king of the world!”
Chatted with a US Navy Master Sergeant. He told me about how the Captain usually only gets 2 hours of sleep a day because the crew have to keep giving him updates. Land masses 5 miles from the ship is considered close and considering we’ll be “slaloming” through the Greek Isles that evening, he wasn’t going to get any sleep!
Found Ga9 and Kris in the outside hot tub and joined in. Hot tub wasn’t that hot. Then moved to the indoor Solarium and floated around for a bit. Got a nasty look from a woman when I joined in the hot tub as she immediately exited it.
Dinner, spinach dip and hummus, mahi-mahi tempura, and banana nut parfait
Rajiv brought out more desserts for us to try. Then Peter joked about how there’s so many chocolate lovers at our table that there’d be a fight if Rajiv put a bowl of chocolate in the middle of the table. A few minutes later, Rajiv put a bowl of chocolate chips in the middle of the table. “Did you put bets down with Bien?” lol We all passed the bowl around.
So, the night before I left, I packed my purple bag until practically full since I was pretty much packing two wardrobes for two weeks. I needed to have my touring around clothes and then I needed some “respectable” clothes for the dinning room. No jeans and t-shirts please! Mind you, the majority of the people who actually followed dress code were the older people and us. I knew what kind of weather we were going to have, which was 50-60 ° F and rainy. It was the Mediterranean in the middle of winter. I packed 4 dress shirts, 2 knee length skirts, a pair of black khaki slacks, a pair of cargo pants, 2 formal dresses (actually one purple cocktail dress and the other a long powder blue prom skirt with a form fitting black t-shirt), 3 pairs of jeans, 10 long sleeve t-shirts, 2 regular t-shirts, a pair of shorts, yoga pants, my bathing suit, rain boots, sneakers, two pairs of shoes, a fleece pullover, a hoodie and my brother’s Army parka. I have to say, as butch as it may have been to wear a green camo parka around, I was glad to have it. It protected me from the whipping winds and rains and when I wore my hoodie under it, it kept me perfectly warm. Also, as I told my brother when I got home, I was getting some undue respect from people who recognized the very specific design of the parka as being official Army wear. Quite a few security guards at some of the places we visited gave me knowing nods and some military types traveling on the ship asked if I served. “No, it’s my brother’s. He let me borrow it for this trip.” “Nice brother!”
On Sunday, before my car picked me up for JFK, I programmed my DVR to record all the shows I’d miss while I was away. Lie To Me, Fringe, Leverage, Burn Notice, The Closer and Supernatural. Then there was the lovely ride to the airport. Speed up, stop short. Speed up, stop short. Speed up, stop short. I’m surprised I didn’t throw up. It made me think, if I’m usually motion sick in a car I’m not driving, am I going to be sick on the ship? Should I have bought some pills? Well, I was told by a co-worker that the ship would have anything I’d need, so I was just going to wait and see.
DAY ONE
My first glimpse of the Brilliance of the Seas from plane window.
Royal Caribbean Welcoming Committee picked me up from airport
Met Brenda and Toby
Checked in then had a salad at the Welcome Aboard buffet
Immediately made an appointment for a seaweed wrap and massage at the spa
1pm, the cabins were ready.
Our cabin was extremely small! The bathroom was a closet and the closet was like an armoire
Ga9 and Kris showed up and went to have lunch back up at the buffet
We explored the ship a bit then played pool on the equalizing pool table
Went back to the room on my own and unpacked
Met Lorenzo, our steward, and asked him to remove the unnecessary coffee table
Ga9 and Kris came back. Ga9 didn’t really think she needed to unpack, but then realized she had to since it would have been awkward to leave their luggage out
In the UNLIKELY event of an emergency, we had a drill
We went and explored the ship some and watched us depart Barcelona
Won raffle for $30 off a spa treatment
Played mini-golf while waiting for the rock climbing wall to open. In the end, it never did since it was too windy
Captain Silly (Zini), as we thought we heard him say, announced that the weather was getting bad and we’d be running from a storm. The ship was rocking a bit hard.
Took a shower and flooded the floor.
First dinner. Met our tablemates - Peter & Kim from England, Angela & Dean from Wales, Beppo & Clariza from Guatemala. Waiters were Rajiv and Bien.
Ate tortilla soup, salmon on lentils, and flourless chocolate cake with cherries marinated in kirsch
Went down to The Colony Club and listened to some karaoke
Our cabins had no windows and I had no watch so I never knew what time it was in the pitch black. Slept on and off feeling the rise and fall of the ship.
DAY TWO
Went to have breakfast at the buffet
Ran errands and emailed people to tell them I arrived alright
Went to the gym
Found my second home, the Thermal Suite! Loved that place! Heated lounge seats and floors with mild and intense steam rooms. Fell asleep on one of the lounge chairs
Back at the cabin, played Connect Four and had a cheese plate from the included room service
Went to change money. They didn’t have Euro coins so they gave change back in US dollars and coins
Was commandeered into taking a picture of a large group of Asian men and one little girl on the Grand Stairs
First formal dinner. Peter was happy to find us to be big Sci-Fi fans. We quoted Galaxy Quest and talked about favorite movies and tv shows.
Ate escargot, roasted duck and cherries jubilee
DAY THREE
Woke up at 6:30am to get ready. Forecast said Partly Cloudy.
Met up with tour group in the Pacifica Theater. Then was lead off the ship by a confused photographer
Palermo, Italy was cold and rainy. The windows on the bus fogged up.
Visited a working monastery with mummified people in the catacombs. Very intriguing, some of the bodies were extremely well preserved; some looked like they were tortured to death. No pictures allowed.
After the tour, we got some cappuccino and gelato at Bristol’s
Wandered around and bought sneakers for Kris during siesta time.
The store was selling NY Yankees hats.
Hailed
Stopped by an alley café for lunch. The food was prepared up the street.
Wandered some more then stopped by Bristol’s again for hot cocoa.
Hailed again.
Back on the ship, I shaved my bikini line and bled all over the place
Dinner, had Caesar salad, cornmeal crusted tilapia, ordered the asparagus and brie quiche and shared it with the rest of the table, and bourbon and banana crème brulee
Everyone sat around chatting for a while then everyone but Ga9 and Kris went to the Sports Bar to watch soccer (football)
DAY FOUR
Woke up around 7:30am and decided to get breakfast
Sat in the Solarium and read Good Omens for a while
Went to the gym then relaxed in the Thermal Suite
Mexican woman in the locker room mixed up our lockers. Then opened her robe to show me her breasts. I think she was trying to tell me they got burned.
Ga9 and I joined in a trivia game hosted by a woman with a very strong accent. We all began to play, “What is she saying?”
“What is the Soviet side of Germany called?” was actually, “What is the celestial sign of Gemini called?”
Afterwards, we played the Wii Price is Right, Beppo and Clariza joined in. Being from NYC, we kept overpricing everything and lost.
Then I went to a “5 minute makeover” session which turned out to be a sales pitch for an all-purpose powder which made me sparkly orange.
Met up with Ga9 and Kris afterwards to play ping pong. Was rubbing the make up off for a half hour without much progress.
Dinner, had spinach pie, scallop linguini and berry cobbler a la mode
DAY FIVE
Athens, Greece
Drove around in a really nice Mercedes Benz bus.
Visited the Olympic Stadium where they lit the torch
The tour guide showed how orange trees grow wild. The fruit is inedible but they’re good for throwing at politicians
Visited the Acropolis. Windy but amazing
After the tour, we stayed in town and planned on taking the train back to port. It took a while to get the guides to stop talking about taxis and tell us where the station was.
While looking for bathroom use, we came upon a little gyros deli and I got a very yummy lamb gyro for €1,30
While in Greece, I NEEDED to have some baklava. Found a small café that served a large slice for €4,30. Ga9 decided to give in and share it but was appalled to find the small cup of cappuccino she ordered was also €4,00!
Met up with Angela and Dean and took the train together. €1,00 for train was much better than €20 per person for a taxi, The walk from the station to the ship was not as bad as the guides made it out to be. But we’re New Yorkers, walking is our life.
Took a nap on the couch in the cabin then went searching for the helicopter pad, the most fore of the ship. No, I didn’t do, “I’m king of the world!”
Chatted with a US Navy Master Sergeant. He told me about how the Captain usually only gets 2 hours of sleep a day because the crew have to keep giving him updates. Land masses 5 miles from the ship is considered close and considering we’ll be “slaloming” through the Greek Isles that evening, he wasn’t going to get any sleep!
Found Ga9 and Kris in the outside hot tub and joined in. Hot tub wasn’t that hot. Then moved to the indoor Solarium and floated around for a bit. Got a nasty look from a woman when I joined in the hot tub as she immediately exited it.
Dinner, spinach dip and hummus, mahi-mahi tempura, and banana nut parfait
Rajiv brought out more desserts for us to try. Then Peter joked about how there’s so many chocolate lovers at our table that there’d be a fight if Rajiv put a bowl of chocolate in the middle of the table. A few minutes later, Rajiv put a bowl of chocolate chips in the middle of the table. “Did you put bets down with Bien?” lol We all passed the bowl around.