Temptations of the Sea

I am not alone.

                   There is no one here, but…..

                   I can feel their presence,

                    Calling me, like the Mariners of yore….

                   The distant whispers of the Sirens of the Sea….

                   Or, in my case……

                   The Pastries…..

                   It’s Day Two of being up here in my Early Morning Office.

          The Culinary Staff has been hard at work long before even I got up. A mélange of aromas come wafting out of the kitchen doors every time a cook sweeps in or out of the galley.

                   And it’s driving me crazy!

                   I promise you that I am trying my best to meter my intake of this Fabulous Fare that is presented daily (hourly?) for our glutenous gastronomic delight. It’s a good thing that the portions are totally manageable.

                   If…. You take just one…..

                   There is no one stopping you from multiple portions.

                   Except Paula.

          The Portion Queen is trying her best to keep me from playing a part in Around the World in Eighty Days….

As the Balloon.

          Actually, compared to previous Cruises, I think that I’m doing rather well. It’s not that I have any more willpower, I think it’s the fact that there are so many mirrors between our room (which they smartly made look larger with mirrored walls) and the elevators have a mirrored finish in them.. well, let’s just say that the evidence is presented so clearly and concisely that any jury would convict me on the first try.

                   So, I’m a tryin’ to be good!

                    Last night we ventured to the Main Dining Room without making a reservation. I had wandered down there at lunchtime to ask the Maître d’ how dinner worked and I was assured that if we got there shortly after opening that we would not have a problem being seated. When we arrived, the line wrapped around the fountains and Grand Staircase but moved rather nicely. When we were asked about seating preferences we indicated “whatever works for you” and we found ourselves with two other couples that were traveling together. They were good company. The conversations came dangerously close to Politics and Religion, dabbling for sure in the latter, but all was good. (Phewf!)

                    By the time we left the dining room there was barely enough time to get to the Show. Knowing how the seating works in there and not wanting to fight our way anywhere, we elected to go up to the Hot Tubs where there was definitely no crowds and we had one all to ourselves.

A nice relaxing experience right before Zzzzzzz.

But!

Before we retired, we went through the Princess Patter, the daily “newsletter” of the ship so that we could plan out today nicely. There are so many things to do that invariably the times overlap. Trying to sift through all of the offerings was a formidable task but one that promises to fill up another Day at Sea. I am definitely looking forward to a seminar on veteran Ocean Liners while Paula will be honing her skills at Bridge.

          Oh, we also signed up for the Boat Building Contest. It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt for stuff that you can build a boat out of. Points awarded for originality, floatability, cargo carrying capacity, and “Name and Itinerary”

          They told us that we could not use any of the furniture or life preservers as materials.

Good thing I brought the Acme Boat Building Guide with me!