We're on our way to Dominica from Fort Lauderdale. The water here in the middle of the ocean is a pure Ultramarine Blue color, so unlike the color from Monterey north. The engine at the back churns the water to an aqua color.
Haven't gotten sick, but the rocking really keeps me sleepy, not to mention the lack of sleep (about 42 hours) from Friday morning to finally getting our heads on a proper pillow last night. All sea day today and tomorrow.
They have so many activities going on we can't do it all. We went to a lecture today on identifying good art...ha ha! This will be an ongoing lecture, tomorrow doesn't seem quite as relevant, but we'll see. After learning about the six elements of a painting, we reviewed VanGogh's "The Langlois Bridge at Arles," and "Woman in a Purple Robe" by Matisse. We learned that "art is a message without words." The six elements are line, color, form, space, shape, and texture. There must be a real interest in art here. We walked past the art auction and it was packed with people. The free champagne may have been a factor, but people were definitely bidding.
Also walked our first mile on the deck, which was interesting because you get to go up and down steps as well as just walk. I can now understand how people can be blown off a deck. We're really trucking along here; the sea is quite calm, so the captain is going pretty much full speed ahead. Three times around the ship is about 1.3 miles. We are on level 5 (no upgrade, Shannon), so have plenty of opportunity to use the indoor stairs. Our dinner table mates are very nice. A couple from Fairfield, CA and an couple from upstate NY, immigrated from Russia.
For Captain Greg: our Captain is Andrea Poggi from Genoa, Italy, a 1971 graduate of Nautical Institute in Genoa. The sea is "slight" less than 4' swells, the wind is moderate (force 4) from the SE, water temperature 27c. Outside temperature 79f, 100% humidity. 20.3 Knots
Theme: "Princess, the cure for the common cruise." Our table mates say however, that since Carnival bought Princess, that the service/amenities have been downgraded.
I ordered my bottle of CabSav (thank you MJ) and discovered they have no sommelier. I only had one glass as I did not want to be any sleepier than I already was. I ordered the prime rib. The waiters seemed a bit stressed and service a bit slow lasting from 8:15 to 10pm. The west coast people went home to bed, while the NY couple went to see the late live show.
Our room is tucked in a quiet corner. We have no one on three sides and the end is an access only by crew, an emergency exit of some kind. It is also on a good floor with the library and lots of activities close by. One weird thing about this room is that there are twin beds on both sides on the walls. They are closed up, but you can whack your head on them as I did last night. I told Dennis if he wasn't good he would have to sleep on one of those bunks. This must be a room for people with kids, we think, and the queen bed is usually made into singles against the wall.
As we got ready for the first formal night, I plunked down on the bed to take off my walking shoes, and unfortunately Dennis had placed his glasses on the bed...right where I plunked. The purser thinks that *maybe* the upholsterer can fix them, one doesn't know until he tries. So we'll see if he can work some magic tomorrow.
Tonight was the Captain's reception with free drinks and a speech from the man himself. It was short, and he spoke glowingly about the ports we would visit.
We enjoyed a nice dinner and were surprised with a special chocolate cake and an anniversary serenade. That was very nice, and I told everyone that neither of my kids had remembered our anniversary, although it is a crime to forget theirs. :-] After dinner we listened to the band, danced one dance and exited when they announced that karaoke would begin next.
The internet connection is faster than we've previously experienced, but still very pricey. When I showed up at the internet cafe with my beautiful, fast, and efficient MacBook, the guy immediately made rude remarks. I smiled sweetly since I've had so much practice with this inane attitude from my little brother, Mike :-) And yes, it hooked up just fine.
Haven't gotten sick, but the rocking really keeps me sleepy, not to mention the lack of sleep (about 42 hours) from Friday morning to finally getting our heads on a proper pillow last night. All sea day today and tomorrow.
They have so many activities going on we can't do it all. We went to a lecture today on identifying good art...ha ha! This will be an ongoing lecture, tomorrow doesn't seem quite as relevant, but we'll see. After learning about the six elements of a painting, we reviewed VanGogh's "The Langlois Bridge at Arles," and "Woman in a Purple Robe" by Matisse. We learned that "art is a message without words." The six elements are line, color, form, space, shape, and texture. There must be a real interest in art here. We walked past the art auction and it was packed with people. The free champagne may have been a factor, but people were definitely bidding.
Also walked our first mile on the deck, which was interesting because you get to go up and down steps as well as just walk. I can now understand how people can be blown off a deck. We're really trucking along here; the sea is quite calm, so the captain is going pretty much full speed ahead. Three times around the ship is about 1.3 miles. We are on level 5 (no upgrade, Shannon), so have plenty of opportunity to use the indoor stairs. Our dinner table mates are very nice. A couple from Fairfield, CA and an couple from upstate NY, immigrated from Russia.
For Captain Greg: our Captain is Andrea Poggi from Genoa, Italy, a 1971 graduate of Nautical Institute in Genoa. The sea is "slight" less than 4' swells, the wind is moderate (force 4) from the SE, water temperature 27c. Outside temperature 79f, 100% humidity. 20.3 Knots
Theme: "Princess, the cure for the common cruise." Our table mates say however, that since Carnival bought Princess, that the service/amenities have been downgraded.
I ordered my bottle of CabSav (thank you MJ) and discovered they have no sommelier. I only had one glass as I did not want to be any sleepier than I already was. I ordered the prime rib. The waiters seemed a bit stressed and service a bit slow lasting from 8:15 to 10pm. The west coast people went home to bed, while the NY couple went to see the late live show.
Our room is tucked in a quiet corner. We have no one on three sides and the end is an access only by crew, an emergency exit of some kind. It is also on a good floor with the library and lots of activities close by. One weird thing about this room is that there are twin beds on both sides on the walls. They are closed up, but you can whack your head on them as I did last night. I told Dennis if he wasn't good he would have to sleep on one of those bunks. This must be a room for people with kids, we think, and the queen bed is usually made into singles against the wall.
As we got ready for the first formal night, I plunked down on the bed to take off my walking shoes, and unfortunately Dennis had placed his glasses on the bed...right where I plunked. The purser thinks that *maybe* the upholsterer can fix them, one doesn't know until he tries. So we'll see if he can work some magic tomorrow.
Tonight was the Captain's reception with free drinks and a speech from the man himself. It was short, and he spoke glowingly about the ports we would visit.
We enjoyed a nice dinner and were surprised with a special chocolate cake and an anniversary serenade. That was very nice, and I told everyone that neither of my kids had remembered our anniversary, although it is a crime to forget theirs. :-] After dinner we listened to the band, danced one dance and exited when they announced that karaoke would begin next.
The internet connection is faster than we've previously experienced, but still very pricey. When I showed up at the internet cafe with my beautiful, fast, and efficient MacBook, the guy immediately made rude remarks. I smiled sweetly since I've had so much practice with this inane attitude from my little brother, Mike :-) And yes, it hooked up just fine.
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