Gold & Silver Ball

Our ‘entertainment’ last evening was to be provided by John Amos, the actor I mentioned a few days ago from ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’. His ‘show’ consisted of nothing more than him getting up on stage and talking about the chronology of his acting career. This might have been somewhat interesting had he not been highly critical of other popular actors & actresses he’s worked with over the years – it was all about HIM and wasn’t received at all well by the passengers – many simply walked out of the theater. I literally fell asleep after about 45 minutes – Cheryl had to nudge me when I started snoring. Very disappointing – he’s getting off in Lima, Peru and won’t be missed. He and his wife were at the sailaway party lounging by the pool and were ignored by fellow passengers – normally celebrities are signing autographs during activities like this, but his criticism of other actors left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, including ours.

Official headcount on the ship is 1103, so about 90% capacity. There are roughly 800 passengers booked for the entire world cruise – many will disembark in Sydney, others in Singapore.

Last year, the average age aboard was 76 – this year it’s significantly less, but I’d only be guessing – probably early 60’s. Many couples our age, a few in their 40’s and unlike last year, several teenage boys. The parties are all well-attended, the pools are busy and everyone’s generally in a good mood. Last year there was a lot of pushing, shoving, bickering & complaining – a different atmosphere this year, at least based on the first week.

Note to Marylyn & Harry sailing in Europe: Your waiters (Widi & Preston) from last year wanted us to be sure and say “Hello.” Preston was introduced on Day #2 as ‘Employee of the Month’. They both miss you!

Gold and Silver Ball this evening – we don’t look forward to these formal evenings because, first, we don’t dance, and second, we don’t like getting dressed-up for just a couple hours. There are a total of 19 ‘formal nights’ this year, one more than 2012. Dress code on all other typical evenings is sports coat (or business casual) in the main dining room, summer-casual in the Lido, adjacent to the pools. We will patronize the Lido on evenings when we simply don’t feel like dressing for formal nights or days when we have long shore excursions and want a simple, quick dinner followed by bedtime. Food in the Lido is largely the same as what’s served in the main dining room – just without table service – it’s much the same as a buffet-style cafeteria – quick & easy!

We typically turn the lights out between 9:30 – 10pm – while the parties continue until 1am – some folks are just getting to bed when I’m getting my first cup of coffee for the new day! I’ve learned that they’ve installed internet transmitters/receivers outside all elevators this year so now, instead of going up to the Lido on deck #8 to update the website, I pull up a chair right outside our elevator on deck #6. I’ve been getting a few strange looks from some people – but they’re either on their way to bed after partying all night or just waking up and on their way to the fitness room – either way, they won’t remember!

Our tablemates for several months...we were very fortunate once again this year to be paired with two wonderful couples! Jim is retired from the CIA, and Gary a former educator. Like Cheryl, Ginny was a homemaker for several years and Joyce retired from AT&T. Many interesting conversations and a lot of good laughs! As I update this blog nearly one year after the cruise, all of us still stay in contact with each other.  

Jim & Ginny - Ft. Myers, FL

Gary & Joyce - Portland, OR

        

Christian & Diane from Manila - our dear adopted kids. They serve us every afternoon in the Ocean's Bar during Happy Hour. We met them last year and stayed in contact with them through Facebook & email. They refer to us as "Mom & Dad". They have since become engaged and will marry in the near future!