Friday @Sea

I woke up around 6am. I logged into the Internet to get a jump start on checking my emails and posting on FB. After a few glitches with the Satellite, I was online and found the speed to be fast. Later in the day, I knew it would be slowing down to a screeching halt (at least via WiFi) as fellow cruisers tried to print out their airline boarding passes and check their emails.

After breakfast, Hubby and I walked around the Promenade deck (deck 7). It was a beautiful morning and the air was noticeably cooler than when we were in the southern Caribbean. We had our iPads with us and we found a comfortable place to sit outside of the Explorer’s Lounge.

Promenade deck

We did a little window shopping and I bought Hubby a Citizen Eco-Drive watch. We had been watch shopping in Aruba as well as on the ship to get an idea of prices. Hubby chose a titanium watch with sapphire crystal. We ended up getting it for 40% off. It’s gorgeous.

Hubby said he was feeling okay enough to continue with the cruise next week.  In the meantime, I emailed our travel agent to let him know about Hubby's trip to the medical center this week and he sent me a copy of our travel insurance.  Just in case.  You never know.

We ate a late lunch at Horizon and then headed back to the room. I checked the laundry room to see all the machines were in use. I headed down to the Internet Café to check on my emails and post on FB. At this time, I’m using my Hubby’s minutes. I had only 15 minutes left on my account. I planned on using his minutes (250) until I needed to add additional time to my account during the turnaround. I overheard that our minutes will roll into the next cruise. We’ll see what happens.

I walked up to the Promenade deck (7) to check out the sales events. They were having a ring sale. They had sizes 5 to 8 in various styles and with some interesting colored stones. After roaming around, I headed towards the back of the ship and climbed the stairs to the Lido deck (15) to visit the Horizon Court. I pick up two oranges and a banana to snack on later.

I ran down the stairs to check the laundry room one more time and there were two machines available. Back in the cabin, I gathered two bags of clothes, lots of quarters and dollar bills and headed back to the laundry room to confiscate two washing machines. I took one machine and put Hubby’s clothes in another. Powder soap detergent was $1.25 a box. Each washing machine cost $2.00. I loaded the machines and loaded the coin slots with quarters. After spending $6.50, I left the laundry room to head back to the cabin and enjoyed the bright sunshine and cool breeze of our balcony. 30 minutes later, I took a stroll down to the laundry room. I placed my two loads of washed clothes into one dryer (to save money). I loaded the coin slots once more. Clothes washing expense came out to a total of $8.50. Not bad for 1-1/2 hours of vacation time.

We enjoyed the late afternoon sitting on our balcony while the rest of the ship was packing. Throughout the evening I hardly noticed what should be a hallway full of luggage. The crew did an excellent job of moving and getting the baggage out of the way and into storage quickly. We noticed the crowds are light this evening. 

After a light dinner in Caribe Café, we headed over to the Wheelhouse Bar for some PCs at half price (8pm-12midnight specials). We then rushed over to MUTS to catch the 8:30 movie…Cowboys and Aliens. It was quite breezy and with the cooler air, we ended up with two wool blankets each.

Back in the cabin, I filled out the Customs card and gathered all our personal information together for when we do our turnaround tomorrow. Earlier in the evening we received our new cruise cards from our room steward.