Time to catch everyone up on our latest journey! We are aboard Adventure of the Seas, a cruise ship that left San Juan and departed for several islands in the Southern Caribbean. Because it takes a day to sail to our first stop Barbados, we had a day onboard the ship without a stop- called a "sea day". So what happens on a sea day on board a large mass market cruise ship? All kinds of things, here's a sample of some of them...
Unusual things- like an ice skating show on a moving ship.
Usual things- like buffets. Everyone seems to equate cruising with eating, and although there is so much more going on, there is plenty of food, including interesting things like an apple pie as big as a monster truck tire!
Interesting things-like this peek a boo bridge window looking down to the bridge where the captain and crew pilot this enormous cruise ship with the most incredible ease! It's a complex and high tech operation, and on a sea day, passengers have the opportunity to "peek" in on the action. (The upper part of the window shows the bridge, the lower part is reflecting the gym windows above)
Crazy things- like this scrum of passengers awaiting the "opening" of the jewelry store and an associated raffle for a pair of earrings. Crowds often build for sales of things that can easily be purchased at home at Walmart (probably for less!) Some people enjoy shopping as sport, but maybe some get enticed by the psychology of a "sale" or special event to purchase things they really don't need or want.
Peaceful, already included things- just 100 feet from the jewelry store bacchanal, I sit in a quiet spot where a real artisit, a 12 string classical guitarist, plays in a quiet spot. There is no charge for this, all this live entertainment is included in my cruise fare, and anyone can enjoy it quietly, while others shop!
Entertaining things- this Acapella group, re-Voiced, performed in the theater in the evening. This very talented and entertaining group also perform at no extra charge to guests. The man in the middle beat boxes, and I have never heard a human being sound exactly like a drum set, (even the cymbals!) but this man does, and he underpins a very talented group of singers!
Relaxing things- at the end of the day, (and in the beginning and middle) a cruise is about the sea. The motion of the ship on a sea day, the sight of the vast ocean, the pelagic birds swooping and diving in the ships wake, the sound of the churning sea under the massive engines of this large cruise ship are the things that connect the people on it to the ocean. It is an unusual, interesting, entertaining, crazy, peaceful, (with lots of food!) and ultimately relaxing island that can be found floating in the middle of the sea, and despite all that is offered onboard, all you have to to do is look out over the rail to breathe the salt air and relax!
