It’s not cold
on deck. It’s in the 70’s.
I was playing
on the Kindle Fire while I listened to the lecture and one of the young Indonesian
stewards came and stood behind me and watched me play. I explained that I was
playing Angry Birds. He said he is on Level 27. Smart Alec! I am still in the
beginning games. I told him to go away.
Some of the
stewards know our names and greet us all over the ship. There are very kind and
run all over to help us. Mumin waits on us often and Tua is also very attentive.
Our room stewards are Dodi and Moi. Ahmed is our waiter in the main dining
room.
There are only a few women among the staff on this cruise and not many
older people. Almost all the stewards are young men.
Bill and I
both made a valiant effort to avoid overeating at lunch and I was starving by
3:00. There are always sandwiches, salads and desserts set out to eat in
between meals. Tea is served in the formal dining room every day at 3:00 but we
don’t need any more treats.
I stopped by the Lido deck and had some of the
salads. There was a broccoli salad, a seafood salad, a jicama salad, green bean
salad and more. There is also an ice cream stand and they change flavors every
day.
On previous
cruises, I walked at least two miles a day but my knee is too painful so I am
swimming in the pool instead. Bill plugs his computer into the nearest outlet
and is pretty happy there.
I am trying
to watch CNN but it keeps cutting out. The only reliable channel is Fox but
that will soon disappear, too. There are movies on the TV and they can also be
borrowed from the library.
Today they are showing Chocolat, the latest Harry
Potter, an old Woody Allen movie and also two documentaries. There is a sitcom
like The Big Bang or The Office sometimes. There are ship channels that play
previous ship lectures, also.
Bill keeps
taking the remote control away and changing the channel. He can’t stand Sean Hannity
but it is the only fresh content available. Once in a while Fox lets some
actual news get on the air and I hate to be the last one to know anything.
There is a
game room and some people play bridge or card games all day. There is a huge
puzzle in the library. There is a book club and a knitting circle. There is a
casino, of course. There are 1 cent and 2 cent slots but we don’t don’t play
them. There are not many people there in the daytime.
Tonight there
is a choice between an old Tina Turner concert playing on the big screen in the
stern, which is also a bar and pizza place. Or, there are two guys who won the
X-Factor a few years ago playing in the big lounge in the far forward area.
There is also the movie, ”Amelia”, playing in the movie theater and several
bands playing around the ship. There is dancing in the Crow’s nest and a sing
along in the piano bar.
This is a
formal dress night. We are already tired of dressing up. Given the choice, we
would wear cargo shorts and t-shirts all the time. Bill has a suit and that is
what most men are wearing. There were some tuxes at first but I haven’t seen in
a while. I have a black velvet pants outfit that I worried would be too warm
but it’s fine. They keep the public areas pretty cool.
