Dear Cruise Diary — Day 8, April 28, 2013

Posted on by

Dear Cruise Diary

Day 8– At Sea in the Atlantic Ocean

April 28, 2013

 

I woke up at 7 am, a little earlier than the last morning or two and enjoyed being lazy in the cabin and finishing my book on the morning TV show battles. To shake things up further, I had oatmeal and an omelet for breakfast in the Windjammer while I read a four-day-old Dallas Morning News on my iPad.

I had two banking articles due the following day, so I headed to the promenade and a table in front of the Wig and Gavel Pub to write. Several people I’ve met so far stopped say hello – it was a good place to see people, but probably not the best place to write. By the time I finished the first article, the string trio was playing, the clock had sprung forward yet again and it was time to go to lunch. I headed back to the windjammer for my usual salad.

After lunch I went back to my stateroom to write that last article, but instead took a nap, then watched an episode of Hawaii Five-0 they were broadcasting and spent some time sorting photos.

The television stations are usually pretty limited at sea. There always are a few channels broadcasting news from the cruise ship – replaying lectures on ports and excursions, advertising wines and jewelry they sell onboard, and even broadcasting live video from a camera near the bridge, showing the bow of the ship and the ocean ahead. On this cruise, the cruise and activities directors did a little morning show combining comedy with highlights from the days’ schedule. Then there are a few networks — usually CNN International, but this time Fox News, along with Turner Classic Movies, TNT and a special CBS Eye on Royal Caribbean. It wasn’t not live CBS programming, but a prepackaged deal that was interesting at first but then just repeated.

I skipped walking, but did manage 16 flights of stairs by the end of the day. Before dinner, I joined some other solo sailors for a drink and went to dinner at 8 pm – a little later than my preferred time, but with all these time changes, I just didn’t realize how late it had gotten – the sun didn’t set until 9:48 pm. We had seven at our table: Marsha and Frank from Wichita, Alan and Lynn from Fort Worth and Jessie and Mark from just north of Tampa. Mark and I discovered we had both lived in Columbia, Mo., at the same time (I was in college) and had at least one friend in common.

The discussion at dinner quickly turned to gambling, as two of the couples really looked forward to the ship’s casino. However, the casino had been closed since the cruise started for a total remodel. The cruise line did tell us about this in advance (although apparently after final payment was due so those who didn’t like it couldn’t cancel and get their money back), and we got a $100 shipboard credit per stateroom to compensate.

The Mariner will spend the next few years sailing from Singapore and catering to Asian cruisers who really like to gamble, so thus the expansion of the casino. Dinner conversation  (and side bets) was around whether it would open as announced the next day. My dinner companions also reported that my favorite evening locale, the Wig and Gavel Pub, would be closed during the next segment of my cruise while they transformed it into a VIP gaming room. I was sure I would cope just fine regardless.

Speaking of the Wig, as I walked by after dinner, I joined Bonnie at the bar for a bit before turning in.

Tomorrow: Day 8 – At Sea in the Atlantic Ocean