Getting to know the ship

 April 2, 2025

 We had a lovely dinner last night and were once again seated next to a window.  Somehow the view seems much the same….H20…  There are many restaurants on board and most without a cover charge.  The food is excellent in general and not great for the waistline.  The servers are shocked when I only order an entrée and skip the starter and dessert.  Alcohol is of course an extra cost as we did not buy the alcohol package.  It does seem that most passengers did buy the alcohol package as all day long folks are wandering around with wine or cocktails.  Now that the boat is swaying with the waves one wonders how many falls there might be!

This ship is huge and is fully booked, making finding a quiet place quite challenging. There is a library which is tiny and a game room.  The game room is very loud with many folks playing Mah Jongg.  The only quiet spaces are our room and one dining room reserved for other game play during the day.  This place is a floating casino and though we see no one smoking we can smell it. We half wonder if they aren’t piping in cigarette odor to make it feel real. 

Yesterday evening we saw a “Howling at the Moon” dual piano show. Pretty good entertainers, popular music from the 60s -80s (appropriate for the demographic on board!). A bit of American jingoism on the part of one of the singers. Wonder how non Americans feel about that. But, very entertaining nonetheless.

As we meet folks from around the globe it’s interesting to see how the U.S. is viewed.  Ed met a tour guide from Italy who spent three months in the states and visited 40 states!  He loves the U.S.  I had a chat with an Australian woman who expressed concern about the current political climate and is hoping for a revolution.  We breakfasted with two Brazilians who wished that English were their native language as it’s so ubiquitous around the world.

Today we will read, play cards, walked and dined at the Japanese restaurant. The biggest decision we faced was choosing which direction to walk.