When you consider that vacation has the same root word as vacant and vacate, it is easy to understand that a vacation at its core is making your work schedule empty. As such, stretching out by the ocean or a pool is an excellent way to vacate our lives of worries and cares, and a sea day on a cruise is a perfect vacation. I started the day by eating a sweet, juicy pear on my balcony, thinking about nothing but the vast seas, fresh air and perfect fruit.
A delicious breakfast (in my case, a ham and cheese omelet, orange juice, and coffee) in Da Vinci's formal dining room brought the family together, and my three kids and I went off to play trivia. Okay, maybe searching our mind for little remembered facts doesn't seem like vacating it, but we like to play on vacation, too. With only one sea day, Princess had multiple trivia games scheduled this day instead of one or two as usual. We managed to play three, and we tied for most correct twice, leading to tie breakers. The second time, my son-in-law joined the team, and we took home the gold (in this case little stuffed eagles). We retired as World Champions, never playing again on this cruise.
There were also lots of dance lessons that day, but my wife and I only went to one. Granted, we have learned the cha cha a few times already, but it never hurts to learn it again, and sometimes it is more fun when you already know the basics and only add some flourishes.
The Princess Patter mentioned an Irish lunch with Guinness and jazz in the nautically themed Wheelhouse Bar, which of course appealed to us. We heard this combo several times on the cruise, and they always delivered an authentic sound with smooth, bluesy vocals and solos. I was happy that Darlene and Brooks joined us. I had fish and chips, but the cottage pie also looked great. The food was free, but the drinks were not. Jay and I were the only ones to go with Guinness, but we all had a great time.There was a full plate of activities in the afternoon, pretty much anything that one might find on a sea day times three, because they had to squeeze it all into this one full day at sea on a ten night cruise. I went to the art auction long enough to see a $20,800 original Picasso proof taken down without bids but skipped the wine tasting altogether. We went to afternoon tea as a family, which was a pleasant little diversion.
As usual, Julie had taken the traditional vacation route earlier, and I joined her in a lounge chair by the pool. Later, I joined Gina, who ordered a Margarita, by another pool. She said that was something she imagined herself doing when she thought of going on a vacation, and the sun definitely cooperated to make the setting perfect.
Instead of the Captain's Cocktail Party, there was a champagne waterfall in the atrium with free champagne. Amy took a turn pouring champagne. We originally planned to meet at this event, but Darlene and Brooks generally eschew crowds, and this event attracted lots of people. The timing resulted in many people going to the formal dinner at about the same time, overloading the head waiters who handed out buzzers to call guests back when tables were ready.
Darlene and Brooks are always on time, so we grew concerned when they still hadn't arrived despite the fact that we had been forced to wait an extra thirty minutes from our planned 8 PM dining time. It turned out they had gone to Da Vinci's, where we had formal breakfast that morning. The two restaurants look almost identical, and it was an easy mistake to make. They said they had an enjoyable meal, and we did too, although the service was very slow. The dinner didn't start out well, as the Caesar Salad was uncharacteristically dry, but the fillet mignon was pretty good. This was the least satisfactory meal of the trip, but it definitely had redeeming features.
We went to see the production show which seemed to be based on the old musical, “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” The backdrop was a beautiful 1920's era mansion suitable for the Great Gatsby, and the costumes were also terrific. On top of that, the dancers and orchestra proved themselves excellent, delivering enthusiastic performances. The singers were good too, but the concept was too old fashioned for me. I have no doubt that many elderly people have been waiting for a show just like this, and as always, what anyone likes is a matter of personal taste. It was not my cup of tea.Nightclubs featured lots of other great entertainment to the wee hours of the morning, but we knew Stockholm would arrive at our floating resort the next morning, so we turned in before midnight. Lest I be misunderstood, we enjoyed a great vacation day at sea.
