IRMO12HD

HUSH!  You're supposed to keep that a secret lol!

We visited the week of 13 March 2022. My Beach Cabana on Bare Foot was 599.00 I just pulled up my on board account to confirm. Our friends were in an Over Water cabana I believe it was 699.00 so the hilltop were most likely 499.00 and standard 399.00. I remember when the genie emailed us the pricelist how the prices were in intervals of $100.00 I believe. I am sorry I wish I saved the email. Honestly I think they may have been priced higher due to that spring break week. 
When we go back in June we are not getting one, @Lovetocruise2002 hubby showed us an amazing area to set up and have a great day, no cabana needed! There were towels and cold waters in the cooler and our attendant was fantastic, would do it again but only if we had more people, the three of us were all over the place leaving the cabana alone a great deal of the time. 
The concierge should email you the prices if you request them, have a great sailing!

I tried the walking trails in 2019. It's pretty tame, and paved the entire way
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/11/26/oasis-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-3-labadee
You get some nice views, but you can do it in about a half hour unless you linger for a while.

Excellent info. We are sailing Oasis two weeks after Adventure so hopefully find it both times. Yeah, he wants it twice from both sailings. I should charge extra for a profit. 🤣 Thanks guys. 

Different port and company, but I did a similar tour in Cozumel.  My wife & I were paired up with another couple in a jeep, and the groups were basically left on their own to decide the driving/seating location situation. In our case, we had a manual and I was the only one in the jeep who could drive stick, so that settled that decision. 

It was on Oasis in December
 

I use Bonine for myself.  I take it 30 mins before I board my flight, then I take one at bedtime daily.  It will make me sleepy some so taking it at bedtime works.  I did have a friend that used the patch and it effected her vision.  I asked the pharmacist about that and it is a potential side effect for some.  For this reason, I decided to stick with Bonine.

I use meclizine 25 mg at breakfast and dinner. If it gets to bad I have ondansetron and/or promethazine and have taught my wife how to give me a shot if needed.
In 2019 I had to give myself the shot and it did not turn out well. My thigh was sore for the rest of the week. LOL.
I like it better when I am the one giving the shots and so do my patients.

I don't get sea sick but I know many family members do. For our JIC seas sickness kit we have 1) Ginger Chews 2) Dramamine, 3), Ginger Tea 4) wrist acupressure bracelets (Some people swore by them others say they felt nothing). 5) MQ Patch same concept as those acupressure bracelets you can find them on amazon 6) I also second the scopolamine patches. I know some family members use them. The only draw back to some of the patches is that they can irritate the skin behind the ears. 

Yes on Ginger. You can get dried/candied ginger online (maybe at CVS or Walgreens - I've seen it at Costco) or even make your own.  Also, Bonine as mentioned. Start it the day before you get on the ship.

As a person who does get seasick....I've taken Bonine (Dramamine)-same Meclizine ingredient.  Dramamine also offers a different ingredient option (Dimethly.....sp?)  I forget which is "less drowsy".  I've also heard it said, but never attempted, that Guest Services does hand out sea sick pills......I'd rather have and not need than not have and they either aren't giving them out or ran out!   I start out taking 1/2 a pill and if it doesn't help me I add another 1/2.  my last sailing that method did not work, so I googled to see if another 1/2or whole pill would be ok and it was.  (always check yourself, don't take my non-medical advice).
I've read of the patch, but have never gotten it.
I also carry seabands (go on the wrist) but have never tried them.
Yes on the ginger, and I hear green apples (which you can get in the dining hall since you cannot carry them on) are helpful.
Last thought would be to ask your doctor for an antiemetic. (stop the vomit drug) Worked wonders when I went through chemo, never tried them on a cruise

I have taken both Bonine and Dramamine.  Both works with me.  However, I know that I will be taking a 1 hour nap 20 minutes after taking Dramamine. I take these OTC meds for short trips - think airplane.  For cruises and scuba diving trips, I get the Scopolamine Transdermal Patch.  I also do something with the patch that is not advisable: I cut 1/4 of the patch off and throw it away. I only use 3/4 of the patch.  When cutting the patch, I wear gloves and immediately wash my hands.  Do not tough your eyes!! 
Benefit of the patch over OTC: you just reapply the patch every 2 to 3 days.  OTC you will need to take daily or more often.
In your case, I would definitely go with OTC - just in case you need it. 

Its funny how i started this cruise with a basic schoolboy error and i finished it with another..however this one could have been more serious.
I mentioned how we basically just queued for 3 hours at Copenhagen Airport on way home and only had time to pop into 1 shop in Duty Free. This shop was for myself as i saw a sweater i wanted much to my wifes dismay. 
Due to being rushed i left my flight bag in the fitting room and did not notice until i actually sat down on the Aircraft. Realising what i had done i informed cabin crew straight away of the situation. I informed them that i wasnt worried about the bag, i didnt want flight delayed as it was my own fault and we were basically away to take off at any minute, i just wanted someone to get my bag and destroy the contents ( prescription medicine in it ) i explained that the last thing i wanted was a child finding pills and thinking they were sweets so if someone get find bag and just destroy. Ground crew came on and informed me that they couldnt get me my bag back and if i wanted it i would have to disembark and get a later flight. This wasnt what i asked so i informed ground crew that i wasnt delaying flight i just wanted someone to destroy contents of my bag
So i buckled up and waited for take off when suddenly air stewardess appears with my bag! To say i was shocked was an understatement and even more so when she told me she had talked with the pilot and informed him that my only concern was the bag was found and destroyed to prevent possible harm coming to others, the pilot was that unhappy with ground crew he actually got off plane and retrieved bag himself..BA flight 815 i salute you 👏 

Onboard 
Passenger total was 1500
Never heard of any Covid issues
Crew constantly cleaned 
No ques but then again only 1500 Passengers so it could be a lot different if an extra 1000 or so guests onboard. Promenade was at times empty.
 

Ok firstly apologies for not keeping this up to date but i was on holiday and having fun! 
Back home now after an eventful and very tiring vacation. 
Copenhagen is a Fantastic place! 
For those arriving at airport i have mentioned easiest way to get from Airport to city, if you decide to take taxi cost is between 250-300 DKK.
Ticket machines for train at Airport are easy however at City train station its a bit more confusing so i would recommend heading directly to the ticket office where they will help you out easily. 
Hop on Hop off bus costs $35 for 72hrs great way to see city if feet get sore for walking around the shops. Little mermaid stop is also the change over for cruiseport shuttle however this doesnt start until 2pm and runs hourly until 5pm, it is aimed more for cruiseships that visit port for the day.
When heading home we arrived at Airport 3hrs before our flight and had to que for most of that time! There has been a lot of negative press especially in UK regarding ques at airports etc all i can say from experience at both Copenhagen and Heathrow is that a lot of the ques are brought about due to passengers not adhering to the rules! Yes airlines reduced staff due to covid but that doesnt mean you can now take 3 cases onboard as cabin luggage or liguids more than the 100ml allowed.
Ques are caused by breaches in rules by passengers at security who then argue for 10 mins as they have to dispose of excess liguids or get bags checked in. You've just said you fly XYZ airline every month so it's not your 1st rodeo!! So why do you think these rules dont apply to you? 
Once we finally got into the duty free area after a long wait behind man with 3 cases as cabin luggage we only had time to enter 1 shop before we had to board. 
For Non Eu citizens ( this includes brits ) remember to get all your receipts from your shopping to claim back Vat, items purchased in Sweden and 1 other country which i cannot remember can be dealt with here also. So for cruises that stop in sweden remember to get tax free receipts and just show them at Copenhagen Airport.
 
 

Getting to cruise terminal 
Taxi from city centre to cruiseport is roughly 250 - 300 Dkk 
Other options are available but be warned if taking the metro there is a walk involved from station to ship, it doesnt look that far on a map we took taxi and past a few couples  struggling to drag their luggage over cobbled streets. 

Yesterday's flights got off to a bad start, basic schoolboy error....Dont use autofill on flight booking in screen if you haven't updated passport information lol this caused a bit of inconvenience when checking in at airport.
short flight down to London then 3 hr wait to head to Copenhagen. 
Arriving at Copenhagen at airport once you exit head for your mode of transport into city. Train took about 10 mins and cost roughly €10 for two tickets. Copenhagen Central station is the 3rd stop. 
 
 

I have no experience with this excursion, but have been to Grimsey Island aboard a small ship out of Dalvik (3 hour trip each way)
Having experienced that mode of travel, flying would probably have been preferred by most who were onboard (high winds and sea, most were seasick).
Lots of puffins on the cliffs northwest of "town".
The arctic circle monuments (2 of them) are classic photo targets.
A very cool place, very friendly and helpful residents, and I hope to return some day.
But not much to do there compared to Akureyri, which is a very cool place also.
Grimsey is laid back and great for watching/photographing birds.
Akureyri is not a big city, but more "civilized", with more sights to see and things to do.
And I am envious of your sailing! What an awesome itinerary!
 
 

The ATVs left us dusty and quite dirty.  After cleaning up, my husband and I headed to trivia and then to the waterslides.  We had promised the kids that we would try both slides, so try we did.  By the time we reached the slides, it was cold!  We froze waiting (only about 5 minutes).  The water was warm (in the pools, in the slides, in the flowriders, etc.), but once out of the water, we shivered excessively.  In any event, we did both slides.  From my perspective, the mat option is best and a shorter wait.  We watched the kids on the flowrider for a bit, and then changed and headed to dinner at Izumi.
We all love sushi, so Izumi tends to be our favorite restaurant on any of the RC ships.  Dinner on the Navigator's Izumi did not disappoint!  One great thing about the Navigator is that all of the speciality restaurants have fabulous ocean views.  Izumi is on one of the top decks, and we sat next to the windows.  We were on the wrong side of the ship for sunset, but still had great views out of the cold and wind (by evening, it was in the high 50s/low 60s -- cold for us California folks).  
We attended the headliner show (El Gacho).  It was not the best show, but the house band was so good that it made the entire show fun.  The RC talent on this cruise was just outstanding.  The musicians and vocalists in all of the venues were several steps above what I generally expect from a cruise.  We experienced a fabulous house band on the Symphony in March, but the house band on the Navigator was just plain awesome.
After the headliner show, I headed to the skating show in Studio B.  I got there a couple of minutes before the show started, and I had no problem finding a good seat.  Without giving too much away, the beginning of the show does not involve skaters, but got gasps, oohs, and aahs from the crowd.  The skaters did a great job (on a rocking ship), and I left with a smile on my face.  
Another thought -- we do not drink, but we enjoy the lounges, trivia, live music, etc.  Since together my husband, son, and I have 12 drink vouchers a day (Diamond), it would sure be nice if the bars put together a nice mocktail menu like they do a cocktail menu . . . 
That wrapped up a very, very full Saturday!

We've been doing early dining in MDR and specialty dining (as early after opening as possible) for a while now. More convenient for us in how we plan our evenings.  We've done late seating in MDR but that's just too late for us. We'd end up drinking more/longer during the day and wouldn't feel like eating a big meal so late.
Also late dining made it harder for us to get late night pizza, snacks and dessert. 😁

Make sure cellular data is turned off in addition to being in airplane mode. I know it’s supposed to turn off when airplane mode is selected, but I’ve seen weirder things happen. 
 
Our AT&T plan includes Mexico, so when we were there, I used cellular data and turned it back off when we left.  I did the same in St Thomas.  I never accrued any charges. 

Has anyone done this excursion?  It's out of Akureyri, Iceland, and involves a short plane ride.  I checked on the cost of the flight itself, and RCL's excursion price is really reasonable.  So I signed up!  Just curious if anyone has any experience with it.  I'll be on the Arctic Crossing T/A in September 2022

@She Sails Away thanks for taking us along.  Your blog seems pure and authentic. I got all the feels almost like being there.  You shared the realist  experiences like people standing on your heels in line, becoming Felix’s partner, your whooping, waving, making the best of everything… and all things cruising during Covid.  I love your writing style, your calm perspective of highs and lows; the little things that make the big picture.  
“After all the planning, it’s over”… but personal growth and self gratification are lifetime endeavors. Continue to find joy in the journey!  Safe travels. 

Last day of the cruise today! After all the planning, it’s over! 
 
Today was all about taking it easy. I woke up sore from swimming so much yesterday and pretty tired. I developed an earache later in the day, probably from getting water in my ear from swimming, (I have a messed-up ear), and I didn’t feel great because of it all afternoon, so I stayed in my room quite a bit. It’s OK though. I needed that, and besides, I wasn’t missing anything important. I’ve made it to all the shows and did all the events I wanted to this week. 
 
I slept late and then went to the solarium bistro for breakfast. It was completely packed and there was not a table to be had. I was picking up on an edgy, irritable vibe from the crowd and people were super vigilant and snippy about other people stepping in a food line in front of them, even by accident, just to grab a piece of bread or something. I wasn’t going to fight for some eggs, so I went over to the vitality spa café where there was no one in line. I got a protein shake and it was delicious. It was also $10. 😬
 
Then, I actually made it to the Schooner bar for trivia early enough to get a seat. I had a little table with two seats all to myself. A lady with a walker came in and asked me if the second chair was being used and I told her no and she sat down with me. We chatted and got to know each other. She asked if I was traveling alone… Funny how often that comes up… And I said yes. She shared that she is traveling with friends, and I gather they all have their separate cabins, and she couldn’t find them this morning. As hard as it was for her to get around with her walker, she listed the places she had gone looking for them, and she had been all over and up and down that huge ship. apparently none of them had bought Internet so they couldn’t text each other. She said something like, “I might as well be cruising on my own.“ It sounded like her friends weren’t as attentive as she was hoping.  She asked me about cruising alone and if I liked it, and said she would like to try it herself but she didn’t know if she could manage, with her walker and all. 
 
I was reflecting on how easy that is to happen, to come on a cruise with other people and all have such high hopes for all this fun, and then the realities of communicating and miscommunication set in and it can lead to disappointment. It just seems so important to be able to talk to each other ahead of time about what to expect. The last time my husband and I cruised together, before I even booked the cruise he made it very clear that he would spend the cruise napping and laying around and if I wasn’t OK with that, there was no point in booking the cruise because he wanted us to be on the same page. We were, I totally got it and knew how he would like to spend his time, so we came onto the cruise understanding how our days would unfold and understanding we would do several things without each other. And we had a nice week. And afterwards we talked about how maybe he just doesn’t like cruising all that much and maybe I do, and he was the one to encourage me to do some solo cruising.
 
in any case, Pat and I got to know each other and play trivia, then we took a short break, where Pat went and made a lap around the promenade to search for her friends, and then we played brain teaser trivia with everybody else in the Schooner bar.
 
I came back to the room and sat out on the balcony a long time watching people zip line. It’s the last day of the cruise and whereas the zip line has been somewhat sporadically used all week, that changed today. Everyone  who wanted to try it lined up and people went one after the other for hours. Same with the rock climbing wall… It has barely been used this whole cruise but everybody was on it today. And as is typical for the final day of a cruise, there was a very huge line at guest services all day long and an equally long line at Next Cruise all day long. And Next Cruise has  only had two employees in it this whole time, and they have been overwhelmed. 
 
I believe I mentioned a few days ago that Sorrento‘s only had two people behind the counter all week and they were 100% overwhelmed. There was always a very long line, every table taken, and they were frequently out of pizza for a few minutes at a time while waiting for new pies to come out of the oven. Well the day we went to Curaçao, I was walking by Sorrento‘s and there were six staff members lined up in a sort of military formation, with their hands behind their back, facing another staff member who seem to be delivering instructions on how the day would go. And then all six of those people got behind the counter  and Sorrento‘s was really under control for that one day. 
 
That was good to see, because those poor guys back there worked absolutely nonstop and I’m sure they dealt with angry glares all day long as well. They need to find a way to staff more people at Café Promenade because the same situation is happening over there and not everybody is polite about having to wait a few minutes for their turn.
Some of the shops have never open this week, which I have to assume is a staffing issue, and two of the biggest shops on the promenade have had one employee in them the entire time. There is one person running the entire gift shop, the one with all the T-shirts and hats and such. That seems crazy. Another thing I saw happen as the week went on is this: staff members dressed in sort of officers clothes, with bars on the shoulders and all, filling in as needed on the promenade in shops, pop-up watch sales on the promenade in the middle, even in Starbucks. I get the feeling that an all hands on deck policy was reached at some point this week to deal with everybody.

Here’s something else I realized today: the very first night of the cruise, I had reservations to see the aqua theater show, from the actual theater instead of my balcony. And one of the acts was a very strong man descending over the audience on a swing, dangling from a wire, and there was a woman in his lap, and while they were dangling over the audience, they did all these elaborate maneuvers that were feats of strength and agility and of course very dangerous, because neither of them were safety clipped to anything. And I remember this couple being in the act from the last two times I was on the ship, as well.
 
Those two were in the show the first night and then disappeared for the remainder of the week. The aqua show was performed multiple, multiple times, I think maybe six or eight times. I can understand if one night the wind was blowing too hard or something, but for them to be gone for the whole rest of the week? Naturally I am wondering if one or both of them tested positive for Covid and had to be removed.
 
The Covid thing also got real this afternoon when I was walking down the hallway and two employees came out of an elevator right in front of me. They were medical staff, dressed in scrubs, wearing masks and gloves, and they were carrying bags and paraphernalia that were very clearly Covid tests. They went down the hallway of deck eight where there are only cabins and nothing else. So obviously, they were going to someone’s room to test them. I thought, those poor passengers, they made it all the way to the final evening and now here they are having to deal with this.
 
For dinner, I went down to Scoops and got a gigantic waffle cone sundae, which I highly recommend. 
One last lap around the ship and I came across another cruise duck, which I decided to keep and take home.
I spent the rest of the evening packing my bags and preparing to leave early in the morning. On TV, on the entertainment channel, they broadcast a video of the 70s dance party the other night, so I watched that. I was surprised to see myself in the conga line going around the promenade. I looked so happy! 
 
so my second solo cruises in the books. I am definitely ready to go home… I miss my husband and I need to get back home and take my phone off airplane mode and get very busy catching up on lots of work and things like that. But I’m really glad I came and had a great time. And I learned more about myself and solo cruising and what to expect moving forward. I will most certainly be solo cruising again… I have a long one booked for the fall but I’m not sure if I will keep that reservation or not. I might be best sticking to week-long cruises by myself. I’m going to give it some thought. In any case, I have happy memories of Labadee, Aruba, Curaçao, the whole 9 yards. The Allure is not the most up-to-date of the oasis ships, that’s for sure, and I do feel the ship is understaffed  and has a few areas that need some work, such as temperature control, staffing, and most definitely Internet. And I feel like they need to find some way to make the food better. But overall, this is such a luxury ship and it is just an incredible experience to be walking around and looking at all the various venues here and all the things to do and reminding yourself that you’re floating in the middle of the ocean. 
 
back to reality tomorrow and that’s always jarring, but it’s time. I plan to Covid test Monday morning, wait about five days and then test again, before I go visit my elderly parents. I work from home, so I don’t see myself being around very many people next week so that should work out well. 
 
thanks so much for those who read along and commented. I’m going to miss blogging with you guys! I look forward to reading all of your blogs and all about your adventures to come.

Today was a great day that seems long and varied when I look back on it. I planned to sleep late but woke up super early and was just done sleeping. I went up to the pool deck at 8 AM and every single nice chair on the immediate pool deck was covered in towels and there was barely a person in sight. Don’t you love that?
Normally when I cruise I spend a lot of time by the pool but that hasn’t happened since that long swim on day one on this cruise for a couple of reasons. One is that the pools are jammed since we’re at full capacity. The second is that I saw some shockingly vulgar behavior on pool deck on day two (ladies in thongs grinding on each other, grinding on statues, giving their boyfriends full on lap dances and no reaction from the crew or lifeguard in any way.) No thanks!
So I’ve re-discovered the promenade this week and really spent quite a bit of time there and really enjoyed every minute of it. It is just a great place to catch various live music all day long and into the evening, sit in a comfy chair, find snacks, or just read a book.
 
But anyway—I figured the pool would be empty that early in the morning so I went up and swam for an hour, and then I joined in a 9 AM water aerobics class. I didn’t have high hopes… I associate water aerobics with standing around, flapping your arms and gabbing.
 
But this was so much FUN! The crew member that led the class was hysterical and he had us all smiling and laughing and whooping and raising our arms over our head on cue, and things like that. It was not your typical water aerobics class. We even formed a giant circle, put our arms around each other’s  shoulders and did a sort of Ethel Merman Olympic Synchronized Swimming floating thing, with half of us spinning the circle clockwise and the other half kicking their legs in the middle of the circle, making foam. It would’ve looked amazing from a drone shot.
 
I felt in high spirits after that, and went and got breakfast at the solarium bistro for the first time. There was a line of people waiting for their turn at the buffet and there were no plates available. After a few minutes, someone brought in fresh plates and I eventually worked my way through the line. It was quite a challenge to find a table even though one employee was clearing them as fast as he could. Several people were standing around bewildered with plates of food in their hands, searching for a table. Anybody with more than four people in their party was out of luck and had to sit at separate tables if they were lucky enough to find them.  Somehow I found one and ate (food so-so), then I went back to the pool and found a good chair (up on the sundeck since all the pool chairs were taken), ordered a  Redbull, and just lay there an hour, reading my book. Eventually I swam a little bit more and then it worked out that it was nearly time for the Men’s international bellyflop contest.
 
The last time I was on the ship, which was many many years ago, they did this event in the aqua theater. Now they just do it in the pool so there was quite a crowd but as I was in the pool already, I was able to just sit on the ledge of the pool and have a front row seat. They had eight contestants.
 
So. First contestant is an elderly man who is clearly drunk. First thing he does is get up, turn his back to the audience, pull his swim shorts down and bend over. 
 
One of those things you can’t unsee. We were all blindsided and shrieked. Then he pulled his pants up and looked at the cruise director (who looked stunned), and then he did it again! Corey put his microphone down and just stared into space for a minute, as though now he had seen it all. He told the guy to get in the water “before anything else came off.” 
So the guys all did their belly flops and they were all really good. The grand prize went to a teenage boy.
at this point it was 1 o’clock and I had been by the pool for five hours. That was enough sun for me. I showered and went down to the promenade for a snack and a napkin folding class. The class was one of those oddball things you try because you’re on a cruise ship, not something you would ever care about doing in real life. Well at least not me, anyway. But the cruise staff guy, Felix, made it very fun and funny. I had a virgin Miami Vice while learning how to make a flower napkin and it was all a good slice of ship life.
There was a gap there with nothing I really wanted to do so I hung out in my room for a while. I went back downstairs at 4:30 for a Latin dance class. Huge mass of people participated. Promenade was packed. It started out great— it was a 30 minute class and we spent the first five minutes or so learning how to do a dance move. Then it turned out the whole rest of the class was directed at couples. The guy leading the class was Felix, the same guy that did the napkin folding. He told everybody to get their partner for the next steps. 
 
I started sidling sideways to ease myself out of the group and into the lane of traffic where people were flowing back-and-forth. I was just going to leave quietly. Then Felix said he didn’t have a partner and he needed someone so he could demonstrate the dance moves. He asked if there was anyone in the crowd that didn’t have a partner.  I raised my hand and he said “come on up here, señorita!“ So I ended up being Felix’s dance partner for the rest of the class and it was actually fun.
 
in normal life, I am not a dancer and I don’t call attention to myself and I just don’t do things like this. But this is one of those disconnected cruise ship type things you do in the moment and you just enjoy it and it seems completely natural. You know what I mean?
 
so we all had a really great time and we were cha-cha-ing all over the place by the time the class was over and Felix was twirling me all around the promenade.
Something happened during the dance lesson. A lengthy announcement was made over the loudspeaker, and we could not hear or understand a word of it, even though Felix paused the music and paused the class. No clue what was said, but as the class was ending, large groups of security offers in uniform came hurrying through the promenade. I ended up in the elevator with them when the class was over, and figured out enough to know that they were looking for someone who had been reported missing. they had a printed out picture of the woman and someone told me that her friends had reported her missing.
I felt kind of sick to my stomach at the thought that maybe somebody had fallen off the cruise ship, which is straight where my mind went. I told myself that it was far more likely this person was drunk and passed out in a restroom somewhere or was taking a nap in some obscure corner of the ship and was unaware people were searching for her. I held my breath for a while, waiting to see if the ship turned around or begin searching the sea, and that never happened and there were no other announcements made and the security officers disappeared. So I’m hoping that everything worked out just fine and the lady was found safe and sound. 
At 530, I watched a teen competition at the Flowrider. The competition was to see how many spins each kid could make in 90 seconds. I really enjoyed that and the kids were so earnest and so into it. The same teenage boy that won the bellyflop contest also won this one!
Then: Stood in line at the Windjammer waiting for it to open for dinner, and the line got longer and longer behind me as we waited. had to be at least 50 people behind me.  Just moments before it opened, a couple wandered in, stared at the line in disgust, and then as it finally started moving, they just slid in behind me, blatantly cutting the line. The husband said to his wife, “just get in here.”
The people behind me were very busy having an animated conversation, and either they didn’t notice, or they decided to let it go, which was very nice of them if that’s the case. I was super annoyed on their behalf. The attitude of a husband was, “this line is ridiculous and it’s ridiculous to expect me to stand in it, so I’m just going to cut the line and make things convenient for ME.” I can’t imagine doing something like that, and I really wonder what the response would’ve been if they had been called out on their actions. The guy seemed to be spoiling for a fight. I mean it’s day seven of an eight day cruise, has he not noticed that there are long lines at the Windjammer at this point? Did he not expect to have to wait in one? Clearly not.
As annoyed as I was about the situation, I wasn’t going to turn around and try to enforce any rules or start a fight, I was a little afraid of what might happen. You just don’t know with people these days. It’s like those people hogging the pool chairs… Like, who gets up at 7:30 in the morning and claims a prime chair with a towel, and then goes back to bed? People do it all the time and I guess in their minds, it makes perfect sense.
 
These are issues that are so childish, but I guess after a week at see you really get invested in these kind of ethical dilemmas.
 
After dinner it was my turn to go see Mamma Mia. I have to admit this is not my favorite show. I’ve seen it twice before, both times on this ship, and it’s just not my thing. I’m not a big fan of ABBA and to me the musical is like watching three hours of karaoke.
It’s three hours long and started at 8:15, and by 10 I was starting to nod off in my chair like an old person. But since I got up so early, at that point I was looking at having been up for 16 hours. I got up and left and came to bed and I’m really glad I did. I really need to spend some time just resting in my room tomorrow or I’m going to go home exhausted!
tomorrow makes day eight of the cruise and I’ve never been on a cruise this long before. Most I have done as a week. I’m booked to do a transAtlantic in the fall which would end up being 16 nights away from home. So I told myself imagine if this cruise was doubled, how would you feel? Would you be really ready to get off the ship and go home or would you be up for another eight days? I’m not entirely sure. Of course the transatlantic would be an entirely different experience on a different ship (the Wonder,) but that’s a very long time to solo. I’m going to give that some time and thought. 
 
it’s funny how my solo status has come up so often in this week. It’s like someone said at the beginning of the blog, opportunities just present themselves to tell people I’m traveling alone. The reactions have ranged from shocked to intrigued to impressed to envious. When I took that tour in Aruba, a man in the tour asked me if I was traveling alone and when I said yes, it clearly wasn’t the answer he was expecting, and his eyes got wide and I think I saw a lightbulb go on his head, as though he just suddenly realized that solo cruising is a life option, and this information had rocked his world. He started talking about how he might do solo cruises in the future, as his wife works and he’s retired and has more time to travel than she does. 
 
you wouldn’t think you’d find yourself talking to people about such things, especially being an introvert like I am under normal circumstances. But it’s come up pretty much every day. And that’s been fine, it’s been fun to talk to people about it. But one thing everybody says immediately is, “how’s that, cruising by yourself?“ I don’t have a clever or commercial-like answer for this question other than the truth which is, “great.“ Or, “good.“ I know that’s not the enthusiastic or long or thoughtful answer people are searching for, but what is there to say? Everybody has different experiences with everything they do, especially travel. I think solo cruising is fun, and I don’t have tons more to say about it than that right there on the spot. It works for me depending on the cruise and I choose my cruises carefully. This is only my second solo cruise and I feel like they both have been a success, and by that I mean a really nice vacation.
In any case, that wrap things up for today and tomorrow is our last day! Relaxation is going to be the name of the game tomorrow for sure!