Relax and reflect on your journey thus far with a few days of fun at sea. Get a behind-the-scenes look at life onboard with an Insider’s View Tour or attend a destination lecture to learn more about your next port-of-call.
Now, after ten or twelve days of frantic running around, we get a chance to rest and relax for several days.
Then a -1 time zone change came along so we woke up without an alarm looking at the sea. It's State 3 today, a few whitecaps on top of long 10-foot swells. The stabilizers are working well, keeping ships motion to a very bearable minimum.
At 0800 we threw our laundry into the ship's washer and went to breakfast. We did our normal breakfasts and looked at the water. The picture at right was taken. Other pictures subsequent to this will have the same subjects - water, sky, sun, cloud.
We returned to stateroom, then rotated the wash to the dryer. Now we're doing computer chores such as typing these notes.
We went to Trivia at 1000 and were joined by Barb (Fox) and Gary. Our team was a co-winner of the Nautical trivia. O contributed several items. O left to rotate laundry but found no dryer available so it's hanging in the shower.
The four of us combined in the timed Airport Codes trivia but came in below the winners. We just couldn't get ours onto paper quickly enough. But we did ok.
O's diarrhea returned.
16 November Tuesday
O had a miserable night with diarrhea. He went to the ship's doctor. The doctor did an abdominal examination and issued Immodium, Charcoal tabs, and an antibiotic with instructions on their use, and a bottle of electrolytes replacement.
Progressive Trivia began at 1215 with the team present - Paul (747 driver for BritishAir and a Scotsman), Steve(from UK), Lorna (Canadian), Eric(Dane/now Canada), Dolores (US), Owen (US). We got 15 for fair, not great. Continued tomorrow.
Went to the patio for picnic food, then to cabin to read. We read for a while then returned to Trivia. Second place both times. Had dinner in the dining room, steak for D and Cod for O. Since we'd already seen this evenings show (Sail With Me) we returned to the cabin and put up our feet.
17 November, Wednesday
I woke up feeling much better. Continued the drug regimen prescribed. Breakfast in Windows.
Calm day, mostly cloudy, warming up as we ease south. SS3-4. Did a couple of trivia sessions with the team and did fairly well.
I finished reading a Sandford novel. Started reading a factual account of the Salem Witch Trials, during which one of my 7th great-grandmothers was found guilty and hanged. It's hard reading due to all the detail so I'll skip a good deal of it and concentrate on what is said about Susannah Martin's fate.
Dinner in the Discoveries dining room (photo at right). Ate very lightly then went off to play games and read.
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All feeling well. Up and out for breakfast in Windows. Received several notes from the ship that we haven't yet spent all our on-board credit (OBC). We then bought a bear. Still have $$. I guess we'll have to buy a shore excursion in St Thomas.
Then the medical invoice for $105 came which was paid by OBC, reducing our balance but at least we didn't have to account for it separately. It's on the trip sheet so we might be recompensed.
At St Thomas we'll be tying up at Crown Bay according to Ferdinand the Fixer, which is where the old Submarine Base was located from '44 to about '65. O visited it while stationed aboard USS Seadragon in 1960.
The noon progressive trivia was hard on us. We lost ground to the lead teams. The team is at left and L-R, Steve (UK), Owen (US), Dolores (US), Lorna (Canada), Eric (Canada), Paul (UK, Scotland).
Afterward, lunch with Lorna & Eric in Windows that lasted until 1430, a bit of rest, and back for the 1600 pub trivia.
The 1600 pub trivia was all ours - we won going away. But following that was music by ABBA of which we know nothing. Steve & Lorna gave it a shot at 22 of 24, but couple at the bar got ém all. Found out later they are DJ's.
Off to play until dinner.
We at a light dinner in the Discoveries dining room by ourselves. Seating is spaced but groups can sit together; we weren't part of a group last night.
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19 November Friday
Another time-zone change in the night so we slept a bit longer.
At breakfast we could see that we were approaching a rain squall. Then a rainbow could be seen that eventually reached more than 180* (below the horizon on the left and right). The ship entered the squall which caused the people on the pool deck to scatter. A few minutes later, it was all over. Please excuse the reflections in the window in the photo at right.
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The progressive trivia at 1215 went reasonably well - we held our own. Lunch in the Patio with Steve and Margret, good conversation. The later trivias in the Den again went alright - we had fun and didn't shoot each other. Steve and Lorna are a sight doing '70s & '80s music trivia - they complement each other.
Ship is rolling slightly so the dancers show tonight is put off till tomorrow.
O finished another book.
Quiet, calm day, except in the US where the Kyle Rittenhouse trial result of not guilty drew much angst from those who support BLM and the like.
20 November Saturday The last day of O's 82nd year, tomorrow he will turn 82.
Up, breakfast, internet, self-serve laundry. O decided it's time to shift to tee-shirt & shorts. Ship rolling slightly, not a drama. SS=3 again, wind 40kph out of the north causing the swells.
Progressive trivia was ok, we stayed close to the front. Steve didn't show up - we hope his cold of yesterday didn't go to something worse.
O tried to do uploads but didn't succeed since the internet connection was so slow. Try again in the evening.
We tried afternoon trivia. The first set was "desserts". We had hoped our team would show up, especially Eric the chef. But alas, no one showed up. We joined John (Swede) & Lev (Norway) and tried anyway. Ridiculous. We got 6 of 20, the winners got 10 of 20.
But we continued and with our ragtag team of four, we won the second set - ordinary pub quiz - with. 14 of 20. Three others also had 14 but we all won. John & Lev live in Oslo, he is from Gothenburg originally.
We dined early to catch the early show, "Jump, jive, swing" by the band and dancers and singers. Show was nice, very active, some good songs. At the end, the cruise director gave the schedule for the next day including a note that Progressive Trivia is canceled due to illness. It turned out to be Steve, our Trivia partner and they were busy tracking close contacts, including us.
And then to bed.
21 November Sunday
Today is the 82nd anniversary of O's birth. D sang Hippo Birdie to Ewe at rising.
Nice looking day outside.
The noon address by the Captain showed us on time for arrival in St Thomas, seas down, running on two engines, everything normal EXCEPT one passenger has come down with Covid. That person is totally isolated. Still, it's a reminder to wear masks, etc.
That person turned out to be Steve, our trivia partner. He was saying yesterday he felt he was coming down with a cold and that things didn't taste right - two indicators of Covid as well as other things.
We dined lightly in the Patio, leaving room for tonight.
We went to PrimeC to celebrate. Dinner was very nice, well served, nicely presented. It took them a while to find an onion for my Gibson but they found one. We spoke with a couple seated next to us - a German couple now living in Austria near Zurich, Switzerland. Nice conversation, except Austria goes into full lockdown tomorrow and they're not sure they can go home. A birthday cake was given us for dessert - cute. And what was left was brought to our cabin later.
Then the phone calls began. First from staff telling us to quarantine in our cabin until the nurse came to test us, since we had been in contact with the Covid person. Secondly, the nurse called to change the rules to "stay in your cabin until 0830 tomorrow, when the test will be done". Third, room service called to see if we needed anything and to check that we had left our breakfast preferences card on the exterior doorknob.
No photos today.
Up, then wait to see what's next. Opened the drapes, found the sea nearly flat and the air warm.
Room service showed up with bacon & eggs, nice enough. Now wait for nurse.
Test technician showed up at 0812 and did the nose jabs. Deeper and more tickling than others. Says we should receive a phone call in an hour. At 0930 we were told both our tests were negative but now we must get a PCR test to enter the USA. Also we must check in with the Doctor's Office between 0900 & 1000 each morning for a temperature check.
We went to the Living Room to get our PCR test done. Long line, but we stuck with it, since we are required to do it.
The Captain announced the ships status, followed by Covid status. The one person's contacts were found by reviewing CC camera recordings. All contacts have tested negative, a sign of good Covid processes. Yay!
Lunch in the patio, nice but warm. Down to 13 knots since we're close to St Thomas. We arrive 0700 tomorrow.
D went off to a lecture on taking photos with smartphones, where she also purchased the picture taken in PrimeC last night. Then she got into a Q&A session with the performers. She looked but didn't see any of our trivia partners - it looks as though we burned ourselves out.
O read books and did some chores with Customer Relations.
In the evening we did the Movie Songs show, good singing by several entertainers.
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