We have spent the last 2 days heading E/NE from Grand Bahama avoiding the storm north of us. Our course has resulted in lovely sunny days – a bit breezy – but easily hot enough to lie out on deck and swim in the pools.
Our days go along a pattern. I order breakfast in bed for myself which comes at about 8am. This includes tea for Bob who later goes up and has breakfast in the buffet. I like a bit of a lazy start and enjoy my coffee and breakfast in the cabin. We then meet in the art area at about 0930 and get set up for our watercolour class. It’s another well attended activity with a new instructor who seems very good. Yesterday we covered basics again and today we attempted a landscape taken from a photograph of white cottages amongst dense greenery in Bermuda. Can’t say mine was very excellent but practice makes perfect and I have only myself to blame for lapsing my painting during covid. Very enjoyable mornings though.
After art, we go back to the cabin, dump our art stuff and get changed into pool gear ie cozzies with something over the top. Then we go up to the buffet and have lunch. I generally have sushi and sashimi and maybe some seafood salad or a slice or two of whatever roast is on. Bob has whatever he likes….. Then we go out to the aft pool deck and peg out for the rest of the afternoon. It’s really nice out there and very peaceful with the ship being by no means full. Generally stay there till at least 4pm, often later. There is a mixture of loungers, arm chairs, sofas, shady areas and sun. 2 jacuzzies and the pool. A grill bar and a full drinks bar service.
Then a rest till around 730 when we go up to a bar for a drink – inside or out – and then dinner around 8/8:30. Had our first gala dinner last night, a black and white theme. We shared a table with 6 other people and had a very lively time. One lady came from Wetherby, another from Kent – small world. Then we go to the 10pm show. Last night we had a production show from the resident company who are excellent. Tonight it was a show by Jennifer Tierney who has appeared in quite a few west end shows including Wicked. She had an incredibly powerful voice and did a stunning show of power ballads including Bond themes like Skyfall and Goldfinger, Disney tunes like Wish Upon a Star and Frozen, Barbra Streisand film hits Evergreen and The Way We Were and of course songs from Wicked like Defying Gravity. Sensational.
The sky was dramatic tonight with distant storm clouds but thankfully our course remains calm and dry. Hopefully more sun tomorrow and they can keep us on a sunny track for a while longer.
It was St Patricks Day today and there were a number of themed events around the ship which we managed to avoid. Some looked like fun though including the ceilidh in the ballroom. We once spent a memorable Christmas in Scotland which included evenings spent doing reels and country dances. We were pretty terrible but that just made it more funny.