Cruise: Part II

Entry Date, Monday 11/19. Day II. 8:20am

Captains bah-log... The worst thing ever happened. I have an appointment today for an acupuncture consultation at 9:00am. I set my cell phone alarm for 8:00am last night and went to bed. It took sometime to fall asleep -- probably, partly due to the excitement of being on vacation and partly due to the shock of being on a ship in moving water. I was probably out around midnight or shortly after. My cell phone alarm woke me up at "8:00am" according to the phone. I did not feel right. It was like I got much less than 8 hours of sleep. Maybe 4? I snoozed a bunch of times, got up, dressed and put my watch on. I glanced at the watch: 3:50am. What? I double checked the time on the TV. My watch was correct. My cell phone had switched from EST to UTC. That bastard... I couldn't figure out how to change it back, so I did some fast math and set it for 1:00pm (which would actually be 8:00am) and went back to sleep.

Last night was kinda fun but nothing exciting. I went in the hot tub on the ship's pool deck for about an hour. Had dinner while a woman sang upbeat party cover songs to a keyboardist backing her up. She said "put your hands together" and other similar sounding statements more often than she sang lines to the songs. Then, I went to the Spinnaker Lounge, located at the front of the ship, for the "Sail Away" party. It was kind of lame. I met a server there, Ricardo, who told me that the first night is always low key, but that other nights, the Spinnaker Lounge was the place to be for dancing, drinking, girls, etc. Next Stage, one of the ship's bands, came on and played upbeat party songs. The lead singer, a woman, explained that they are a Philippino band. She had a powerful voice. The lead guitarist sang some of the "guy" songs, including the guy parts of Love Shack (which was funny because he had that Asian accent, "rove shack, baby, rove shack.").

Entry Date, Monday 11/19. Day II. 2:30pm

I am having lunch, a latish one, at the Blue Lagoon restaurant. I have an amazing seat next to a floor to ceiling window. I can see the wicked ocean roll by. 12 foot high waves, according to the cruise weather station on stateroom TV. The ocean is endless (of course) and disappears into the fog. The sky is overcast. I heard that it might rain today. The temperature is 66, again, according to the weather station.

The acupuncture appointment was pointless (see what I did there?). The acupuncturist had little to say other than how amazing acupuncture is and how many people she has helped. She was not interested in hearing about what my ailments are and was trying to sell me three sessions before even having one. So, I didn't book an appointment.

Man... the ocean is really rough today. The blue-green water rises and falls with white caps. Wind blows the surf sending sprays of mist across the unsettled sea -- I just wrote that.

After the appointment, I went to the Garden Cafe (a buffet) for breakfast. I ate out on the aft deck (the back of the ship).

After breakfast, I went to the main deck to hang out. But it was really too cold and I left. I went back to my room and I met my Room Steward, Barrington. Barrington is a huge guy. He says very little and asks if everything is alright by stating, "cool?"

I napped for a bit (and dreamed about napping in the sun on the main deck). Then I awoke and went to get lunch (where I am now).

There is live music everywhere. Right now, I can hear a jazzy instrumental band playing on the floor below this restaurant.

Before taking this cruise, I have been telling everyone how you "don't even feel the ship moving while you are out to sea!" because this was true of the last cruise that I took. This time, it is not true. Since we pulled out of port, people have been walking the corridors like drunken sailors. I have been using the handrails wherever I go (and there are handrails everywhere). I haven't felt sick or nauseated really, but my body has been weird. Today, however, I really feel fine. I think I have started to adjust to the constant movement. The Nux Vomica helps.

Entry Date, Monday 11/19. Day II. 9:00pm

It's 9:00pm and people on this ship are - get this - dressed up! That's right people-who-told-me-not-to-bring-ties-long-sleeve-shirts-and-blazers-on-this-trip... we are looking good! I'm about to get myself fancied up, grab some dinner, and then hit the Spinnaker Lounge for "Big Night Out Party" Woooo! (Spinnaker... why does that sound familiar...)

After lunch, I wandered around for something to do. I went to a hip-hop dance lesson that was advertised in the Freestyle Daily, but it was like 60% kids and 40% not-women-that-I-want-to-dance-with, so I went back to my room. I played my travel guitar for a bit and then read (I had bought a Jason Bourne novel before the trip. I enjoyed the movies and wanted a good "beach read"). Then I shaved and changed and grabbed a couple drinks in Bar City, which is kind of a common area between three bars. There is a stage and Randon, the acoustic guy, was playing. I had a mai tai. Randon played Cat Stevens and the Beatles. One thing that is weird about this guy, is that he'll play three or four songs in a row by one artist, then move on to three or four from a different artist... so weird.

When I finish my drink, I went to the Fyzz Lounge for an advertised "Singles Get Together." There were three girls there sitting together, one very awkward-looking guy (no not me) sitting alone at the bar, and two girls sitting together at the bar. I ordered a Mojito and Nancy, one of the three girls sitting together, struck up a conversation with me. She was one of the people on the Cruise Critic website who signed up for the Meetup on the ship. I had missed it, due to a nap. She said I didn't miss much.

One of the Assistant Cruise Directors came in and set up the room for a Salsa dancing lesson. Nancy joined up with her friend Angela, who she was traveling with. I introduced to myself to a thin woman with reckless hair and glasses. Her name was Myra and she was quite bad at dancing. I was only slightly better, but was really struggling with the salsa, especially on the moving boat.

It was quite a workout and I was sweating. Myra and I sat down when the lesson ended and chatted for a bit. She was cruising with her husband who was not doing too well with the waves. He was back in their room, very ill. She went to check on him, but not before I invited her to look for me at the "Big Night Out Party" later. I also asked Nancy and her friend to look for me.

I was sweaty, so I went back to my room, changed into my swim suit and headed up to the pool deck. I swam for about a half an hour or so and then went in the hot tub. I met a young Philippino woman and we exchanged some words, but she was very difficult to understand and I got the idea that she was not able to understand me.

I went back to my room, shaved, showered, and journaled (nope, not an actual word). Now I'm going to get decked out and head to "Big Night Out."

PS -- it just hit me: I am so incredibly relaxed right now. Viva la Vacacione!