Final Installment of Cruise

November 11, 2010
This is the 5th day of our cruise at 6:00 am and woke up early for a change. I decided to order room service coffee and try a bit of writing. We have had a wonderfully restful cruise. Lee and I have not stepped off the boat since we got on. We had decided that this was going to be just a cruise with no ports of call. The ship stopped at three ports and so far a day at sea. We have done nothing but eat, drink (in more moderation than we expected) and gambled. So far the machines have been very good to me. I have already put my money that I brought along to gamble with and $200 extra in the safe. And I have in my pocket $135 to gamble with now. Lee hasn’t been so lucky this trip he is feeding the machines. That is normally the reverse with us. Yesterday, our day at sea, we had a fun filled day. We enjoyed breakfast with Jim, Alma slept in) then played bridge with Lucille and Norma, hit the slots a bit then went to a wine tasting. By then it was time for Lunch. After lunch tucked into a quiet nook to read a bit, gambled some more then time for dinner. Ah what a “chore” shipboard life is. After dinner we did a fun thing. Lee and I. Jim and Alma went to the Martini Bar and had a flight of martinis. A flight of martinis is a sampler of 6 of their different martinis. You get a small glass of each. The drinking of it is not what's fun. It is the watching of the mixologist prepare the drinks. He takes all the shakers, mixes the drinks in each then stacks up 12 of them together. Then he hops right up on the bar and tips them over so that the drink pours into each of the glasses. It was amazing to watch. I wasn’t all that fond of the drinks but it sure was fun to watch.
We have had some really rough seas. Waves were up to 18 feet. Really difficult to walk around. Good time to find a quiet nook to just sit. Or a good hot machine in the casino. As I am writing this we have pulled into Funchal Portugal. It is just beautiful! It is still dark and the mountainside is like a black velvet cloth strewn with jewels. It is spectacular. The sun will be rising shortly and we should have a marvelous sunrise. The weather is cool and clear. But not so cool you can’t step out on the veranda without a sweater. I am sure Lee with have to wrap up like a mummy as he tends to get colder than I do. As for right now I am just sitting here with the door open and enjoying the morning.

Adendum
The remainder of the trip was pretty much the same every day. I would get up early, order my coffee on the veranda then wake Lee up to go to breakfast. Many people like to go up to the buffet but we enjoy going to the main dining room, sitting and be waited on. So much easier than carrying those trays to the table. After breakfast we would play bridge until time to eat lunch. Again in the main dining room. After lunch time to read a bit then maybe a movie if they had something good. Not a real good selection of movies on the ship I have found. I also spent time watching Grey’s Anatomy season 6 on my iPod. Next is afternoon cocktails, sometimes on our veranda with Jim and Alma and sometimes in the Martini Bar. Then Dinner, a show, maybe some gambling then to bed to read. On the cruise I read 6 books and Lee read 5 so the Kindle really came in handy. Surprisingly enough I gambled away the $135 that I kept out of the safe but the rest I actually brought home. So unlike me.

Once we got out into the Atlantic the seas became calm so smoothing sailing all the way across the Atlantic. It was just so beautiful every morning I would get up early and watch the sun rise over the ocean. I will be posting some pictures later as soon as I download from the camera.