The Cruise: Fun Day at Sea

The next day was completely on the cruise ship. Every night, they give you an itinerary of the activities and things going on the next day. Using that we found some things to attend, usually what we liked to do were the triviathons or super trivias, or game show things. We ignored the learn to gamble, learn what wines go with what foods, and other such things. Still, we had lots of free time, since most of the entertainment was unappealing.
We had planned on swimming in their little pools this day, but it turned out to be a rather blustery and stormy day. It made for some interesting walking on the rocking ship.
What we discovered though, was deck three. There was a nice deck around the ship that was usually deserted. Most people who wanted to be outside went to the top decks, the lido deck, with the pool, the food, the bar, the loud music, the crowds and crowds of people. We found the other deck a great alternative. There was usually no one there, the ocean was closer and you could hear it splashing against the ship, instead of hearing only the live music played at full volume. It was relaxing. From here we saw many flying fish in skimming across the water.

Hanging out on the third deck.

The storm picked up. Very windy.

Eventually everyone was ordered inside because of the storm.

That night was the first of two elegant nights. You had to dress up to go into the dining room. Here we are all dressed up. This is just outside our state room and taken by the room service guy.

Let me tell you about the dining experience. They had a late scheduled dining and an early dining. Or, like us, you were assigned to "your time dining." We could go whenever we wanted, but didn't have the same kind of importance, in my observation, as the scheduled diners. We didn't get a specific table every night, or the same waiter every night.
Anyway, they take you to a table, pull out the chair for the woman and seat her, then they put napkins in your laps and hand you an open menu. The menu is different every night. First you order a starter or maybe even two. They are things like salads, soups, fruit, maybe pasta, etc. And you order your main course. Then they take forever bringing it out. You might find, if you have the your time dining slot, that the food seems like it's been under a heat lamp for awhile. They start with a starter. When you finish, they take the plates away, along with any silverware you used. They replace the silverware with your next course, whether it be another starter or the main course. Always new silverware. After you've finished your main course they bring the dessert menu. There were the staples, like ice cream, sherbet, and a cheese plate, but they had other options that changed every day. After ordering that and waiting another long time, you got your dessert. If you tried to skip out before dessert the waiters, (which were all very friendly) tried to stop you and persuade you to stay. Anyway, they had some fancy things that we got to try, but I didn't really like any of the desserts ever. I have a huge sweet tooth, but none of their desserts even warranted me finishing it.
An hour and a half to two hours later, you left the dining room. Whew! So much time you have to schedule to eat. It sometimes got old.