Day 3 – April 11, 2023 – Tuesday – Jeran’s birthday – At Sea

Th time change messed up our inner clocks. Sleeping in isn’t an option until we get caught up with PST. I normally wake up between 0430 and 0600 on the west coast, so here in eastern waters it’s worse. Getting that time back is something I’m looking forward to.

We went to breakfast in the main dining room, for some reason, and sat with Robert and Tracey from Saskatchewan. They own a farm and are, no doubt, very hard working people. They were very nice and it was fun talking with them.

At 1000 we attended a presentation by Stephanie about something. It was very informative but I have no idea what it was about. Maybe Diane can fill in those blanks.

At 1100 we attended another presentation about future cruises and how their star system works. Hey! I remembered that one. We are 2 star cruisers which means we’ve obtained 40 stars on this 20 day trip because we upgraded to a suite instead of a lowly cabin. In total we’ll have 47 stars after this cruise. Once we get to 5 stars (500 nights at sea) we get our laundry done for free. That’s a huge perk and keeps your cabin bathrooms from looking like this …

As you can see, our suite had a jetted tube that works almost better than an agitator. Rinses everything pretty good, too. Sadly, although the air circulation is really good, it’s not enough to dry things like this. It took a couple of days. As you can see, most of the clothes are mine. That’s only because she insists that I change my underwear every day. I keep telling her that I have a method that makes wearing a pair of underwear for four days. She’s not a fan, however, so I swapped them out daily. I brought 20 pair and she still found a reason to wash the old ones anyway.

At 1230 we had lunch on the Lido Deck. Sat with a couple who live on Hayden Island. Go figure. They live on an island right off I-5 between Oregon and Washington. Their boat was one of many that burned up about 6 years ago. It was 45 feet long. That’ all I know. Maybe their names will come to me in a vision later today. Nice folks and seasoned travelers.

At 1400 I joined a group of 19 other people in the Crow’s Nest on deck 11 forward for a painting class. I enjoy those and have attended many with our daughter, Jennifer, and her daughter, Lydia. This time we painted a beach scene with beach umbrellas and a couple of people.

My umbrellas look a lot like festive sand dollars. It was fun. Now all Diane has to do is figure out how to get it home. I suggested that we just leave it for the crew to hang on a wall somewhere but she vetoed that. For some reason, when I paint something she keeps it no matter what it is. So, we’re stuck with it.

I have to add that before we put any paint on the canvas we had to load a paint brush with a bunch of paint. Everyone was wearing an apron, provided by the ship, which proved to be very fortunate to the lady sitting next to me.

I don’t know how it happened, but my fully loaded paint brush landed squarely in her lap. She was very understanding and gleefully handed me the brush without fear. Quite an ice-breaker, huh?

After that mishap the day was lost to me. I’m sure we went to dinner, probably on Lido Deck, then went to bed. Tomorrow we’ll be pulling in to Cartagena for a few hours.

Day 2 – April 10, 2023 – Monday

Our cabin boys knocked on the door about 0830 and told us we had to vacate the place so they could clean up our mess. It really wasn’t much of a mess because we only took up residence yesterday. We were just about ready to leave to search for a couple cups of coffee so their timing was impeccable. Actually, they didn’t make us leave. They’re really nice fellows.

We chose the main dining room for breakfast where we were paired with a couple from Wenatchee, Washington. It’s a pretty fancy place and those who seat people always ask those who are being seated if they would like to sit with strangers. We said “yes”, both times. So far.

We had a nice visit while eating. I had a breakfast bowl with two poached eggs over potatoes and vegetables. Diane had oatmeal and Greek Yogurt. She eats a lot of yogurt. So much, in fact, that I’m sure she’s picking up an accent. I was totally OK with Tillamook yogurt for a long time until they got a conscious and dropped their sugar content to an undesirable level. Raspberry was my favorite. I can still eat it if I add sugar, but Diane frowns on that.

After eating, we went to a presentation in the main theater of upcoming ports of call. it was hosted by the Cruise Director, Stephanie. I think it was Stephanie. Yup. I checked. It was Stephanie.

After listening to Stephanie extol the wonders to come, we wandered off and were drawn in by an art history presentation that proved to be extremely interesting. The paintings on the ship are amazing. Actually, all the artwork is amazing. It’s everywhere.

We wandered back to the Lido Deck for sandwiches because it was time to eat something. It’s always time to eat something on a cruise ship.

On the way I stopped at one of the public restrooms and learned that they don’t have paper towels. Interesting. No, they roll real, little towels up instead. Nifty.

While seeking a table a nice lady pointed at the seats next to her and her husband. We took them and learned they were Peggy & Ken from a village between Corvallis and Albany. Again, very nice folks.

I ate my ham and cheese in addition to Diane’s mystery meat. Should have taken a photo. Neither of us could figure out what it was, but it was on an entire miniature baguette roll so I didn’t care. I love baguettes. Even the little ones.

Then, we spent the afternoon lounging on our balcony watching the coast of Cuba sail past us. It was miles way, but I knew it was Cuba because, oddly enough, Google Maps works at sea. What fun.

At 1700 it was time for dinner and we chose the formal dining room again. We sat with a couple from Canada, a lady from Mississippi, and a lady from California. We all shared our names, but I can’t remember any of them. I just know the guy from Canada was a truck driver and his wife is a nurse. As always, it was a fun group. The lady from Mississippi is a professional cruiser, it seems. She’s been everywhere.

We finished our transit along the northern coast of Cuba and turned right before we hit Haiti. Next stop is Cartagena, Colombia. It will take us another day at sea to get there. The ship is moving along at 19 knots. A nice clip.

A few miles off our starboard side is a Carnival cruise ship going the same direction. Being on our starboard side meant they were closer to Cuba than us. It was good to have a buffer should someone on Cuba take offense for getting too close. They left Fort Lauderdale just ahead of us so had plenty of opportunities to choose the east most position, but they didn’t.

Tonight, we get back one of the 3 hours we lost on the airplane ride from SEA to FLL.