The ship didn’t make very good progress since I last uploaded and the last time I looked, it was only doing 14 knots instead of our reduced normal 18 knots. We would normally expect to be doing 20 knots, so two days at sea at a reduced speed usually has one outcome – a late arrival... However the good news is that the Captain is positive about the engine problems being fixed by Dover, so our speculations about further delays and really major engine problems were way out – thank goodness. Not being a marine engineer along with about 2698 people on the ship, the speculation has been fun.
PAULA WENT TO ZUMBA CLASS with Bex, rather than Barbara. This is a policy the ship has to have to cover for potential non-availability etc., as no matter how popular these classes are, they do need more than one staff member able to take them. Paula staggered back stating that there was too much legwork – as if we don’t get enough from climbing stairs all day. When I can get a few minutes from our busy eating and socialising schedule, I must try and do a calculation of how much climbing we do. For those reading this, cruisers or potential cruisers(!), the main atrium ground floor is on deck 5. This is where the customer services desk, tour desk and Florentine dining room is located. Deck 7 is effectively our entertainment deck, with the Princess theatre at one end and the Vista lounge at the other, with the evening music and dancing in the middle along with other bars and nightclub, library and internet cafe. Deck 8 is the casino and pizzeria. We are on deck 11 and above us on 12 is the main pool deck, with one floor above – the buffet on deck 14 (no 13...).
As you can imagine, going to and fro means lots of stairs as we steadfastly refuse to use the lifts. With all the food available at anytime, exercise is essential but just to prove to Jill W that I am eating healthily, this today’s list of fruit.
Breakfast – bowl of pineapple and prunes plus a banana.
Lunch – flambéed banana, pineapple and peaches (with a tiny dollop of fresh cream...) – yes, a tiny dollop, honest.
Dinner – melon x 3, pineapple (again), kiwi fruit plus a squeeze of lemon.
Of course I am not saying what else I had to eat and the day’s coffee total was just one small coffee at dinner.
A cooler windy day and apparently Salalah tomorrow isn’t as hot as we originally expected, being about 30 degrees only. OK, for those in the middle of winter, or in the UK, 30 degrees doesn’t exactly sound cool...
Alana’s dance class was beginner’s waltz again plus a more advanced step. These classes are just so popular that the area for dancing is nowhere near adequate, so we end up dancing along the aisles.
On board lecturer Peter Headley joined our team for the quiz, but even he couldn’t raise our score to the lofty heights we experienced last week.
There was a lot of confusion regarding the on board cruise newsletter’s schedule and locations and the reality on what was another formal night. The first of course for the new arrivals. We had our photographs taken with dance teacher Barbara (the Brazilian.) She reminds me so much of daughter in law Manu when she speaks.
Somehow or other, the Dixieland Jazz scheduled at 5pm wasn’t on, but was on later but clashed with the stage show “Classically Yours”. Excellent song and dance show but the Dixieland session would have been more to my taste and apparently was superb.
As usual, a few minutes with Alana and brother Alan (Atrium 7th floor) on keyboards and also on vocals, with one or two others practicing the new dance moves. We managed a very convincing Merengue again but we were fortunate to have a couple who are also regulars at the Browns Bay RSA, to follow.
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