At Sea

You know what's great about "at sea" days? There's both NOTHING to do, and EVERYTHING to do! Our cruise director, Angela, is adorbs, and has like 1,000 things to do every day. Which is great, but you also don't have to do anything! And you literally can't leave the boat, so they are nice days to just relax.

I've really leaned in to drinking coffee out of a martini glass. I mean, what's not to like? This is a cafe shakerato with coconut. We like to post up at Cafe al Bacio for a couple hours, caffeinating, reading etc. It has an art deco vibe - yellow and black, with tall wing back chairs. The other feature of this cafe is that on the opposite side of the coffee bar is the Gelateria. Mom has had cinnamon and coffee (so far!). 

Also, these little baby bear beds are somehow amazing. I am the pickiest person about sleeping, pillows, covers, temperature - everything. Maybe they are lowering the oxygen level in our cabins so I just pass out. I barely move at night, and I'm giving napping a real chance. ;) Mom has broken in the veranda with sketching, photography and the like. 

Cruise ships are like casinos, only it's a little easier to figure out if it's day or night. They are HUGE, and you can get lost easily, but they also try and make spaces seem small and intimate. Our room number is 1231, but you cannot find that on the 12th floor. I know, because we've tried! We haven't made that mistake in a couple of days! Ha! Actually, our room is right outside of the library, so we've done a pretty good job of finding our room (given that we are on the correct floor!). 

On the second day that we came back to our room, there was a cloche and two forks!

My immediate reaction was: Danger! Obviously I'm reading too many mysteries where a poisoned cucumber sandwich has been placed in the room, or a scorpion lashes out when the cloche is lifted. Mom spun around in a circle thinking we must have got ourselves in the wrong room! But, as it turns out, we were upgraded to a "concierge" class, and little afternoon apertifs are brought to our room everyday. They are so cute!

I mean, there were more, but...sometimes you're so hungry that it disappears fast! We mostly go to the Oceanview Cafe which is a glorified way of saying "buffet". The Caesar salad is amazing, I'm quite fond of the pina colada, and they have those little mini desserts like they had at Todai back in the day. Last night, in an ode to my aunt, we played cards until bedtime. 😊

🤍🤍