Vacation Day 2 & 3

Day 2
First Day on the ship
We awoke in the morning to a huge list of things to finish before being able to embark on our journey. After finishing packing and repacking we checked out of the hotel and went to see C's parents and pick up his sister. From there we returned the rental car to the airport and then went to a gathering of family and friends. When C was very young his oldest sister had a few very close friends, over the years one passed on and another was lost touch with. When she regained contact she was destroyed to find out her best friend growing up is loosing a battle with Cancer. Her friend just returned to the island this week to see all of her old pals. One get together was on Sunday and L wanted to be able to introduce and "show off" the entire family. It was important that time was made to stay and visit before going on the cruise.

It took us a while to get onboard, but once we did we were greeted with a large room with porthole windows that over look the bow of the boat. We quickly started exploring and grabbed some much needed lunch. There is ice skating, roller blading, mini-golf, rock climbing and a grand promenade of shops and bars. The ship is amazing and huge.

Dinner was casual since we didn't all have our luggage yet. But it was very good. Our head waiter, Oliver, is excellent. But our assistant waiter is a little obnoxious. It just reminds me of someone who is trying to hard to be "American", or like Americans. He is just a little over the top. He also tends to end his sentences quieter than he started them, so it gets harder and harder to understand him as the conversation progresses.

After dinner we just explored the ship. There are a few clubs, a casino, and a Johnny Rockets amongst a bunch of different bars and places to stop and eat.

Day 3: A Day at Sea
Every other ship I have been on I have been bored to death on sea days, but not this one. C's sister and I went to play bingo, and between the two of us we won three games! We also went to the onboard art auction. This is one of my favorite things to do and we have quite a few artworks at the house that we have bought this way. It was good to find out that one of our favorite artist's works have appreciated over the past few years; we can barely afford him now. Luckily we won a raffle, so we can still bring home one of his newest works! C's sister bought some stuff for her new apartment too, so it was a fun time.

Dinner was formal, so it was time to get dressed up and get our pictures taken; we got a great picture of the three of us. We need to get some copies so we can give them out to C's mom and family.

After dinner we went to see the show. I have to admit I have been disappointed by the caliber of shows on board. But the nice thing is there are many other things to do, so we don't just sit there bored. Since its Monday I went to the onboard cyber café and posted some homework. I wanted to blog but the darn thing was so expensive (and slow on top of it!) I decided to wait till the end of the cruise.