Finally, a year later than originally planned, we got to go on our Western Caribbean cruise. A whole week (ish) of warm weather and no internet access. People actually made eye contact and conversed in lifts. This was my third cruise, but I do believe it was the most appreciated, and interestingly, the least photographed. Maybe it’s in part because I’ve dropped the whole Project 365 thing, but I like to think that kicking cancer’s ass has made me more present in the moment. I took far more iPhone and waterproof camera snapshots than arty photographs with the big girl camera. Although, I still wanted to keep track of all those memories, and being a former English Major, I decided to capture the images with words. Because I was offline, I did my journaling in Google docs on my iPad, which I’m now transferring, one day at time, to the interwebs.
Cruise – Monday, January 11th.
Well, this has been a bit of a thing. Our ship was delayed by 5 hours getting into port from its previous journey because high winds closed the port of Houston. Then, we had some confusion with pour transfer to the ship from the airport in Houston due to what we now know to have been a poorly worded email. But, due to our diligence, we got a private coach bus from Princess to take us to the ship terminal. By 6:45, we were on board, champagne in hand. And our fun has begun.
Fun – but a bit chilly. It was in the 40s when we sailed yesterday, and today is only up to the 60s. Not quite pool weather yet. Due to the delay in leaving, our ports have been switch around, and we will have our first two full days at sea. For me, that means gym time! Yes, I’m gym-ratting here on board. After well balanced breakfast (bacon, potatoes, a bite of eggs, more bacon, and part of a sweet roll), I headed up to the fitness center. When I got there, all of the elliptically were taken, so I waited, but not long. When I finally got one, the display didn’t work, so I couldn’t adjust the tension or angle. But, I persevered and and put in my 20 while watching a Doctor Who (the 10th, season 4). Then, a bit of free weights and some stretching (standing stretches on the top deck of a large cruise ship is a fab core/balance workout), and I came down to cool off on our balcony. After a quick shower, I headed out to meet Mom and find me a daytime purse (forgot mine at home) in the shops on board the ship.
Buffet lunch (delicious korma w/Indian rice, Covina, steamed broccoli, and some pasta with a light cream sauce and BACON!), followed by a silly presentation on Effy Diamonds in the hopes of winning a pair. Nope. Didn’t happen. But, I did get a free pendant that resembles a blue diamond. I think I’ll give it to The Girl.
What I didn’t write at the time is that The Girl and I binged watched Doctor Who, season 4 during the trip. How apropos that the first episode is Voyage of the Damned, where the Titanic (the future, space version) collides with the Tardis.