Days "at sea"

 The itinerary was as follows: 

1. All aboard

2. At sea - headed south toward Haiti

3. Labadee, Haiti

4. At sea - headed north toward the Bahamas

5. Cococay, the Bahamas

I slept long and hard, dreaming that I took my dog on a boat with me! Our room was pitch black and with no natural light, one's brain assumes it's still dark o'clock and it's easy to sleep in.  I was SHOCKED to sleep past 10:30am this morning but quick to flee the room quietly in pursuit of breakfast while B slept in.  

On deck 3 I entered the Main Dining room... filled with pretty tables of white table clothes and nicely set. I guess most people don't dine alone because after telling the maitre d I was a party of one, he handed me off to a waiter who lead me through the dining room calling "Single lady. Single lady coming through" before seating me at a tiny table near a porthole window. OMG! I can't be the only person to ever dine alone here?!

82 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind 29 mph. Sea swell 6'.  The ship had a gentle rock to it. I felt like I had had a glass of wine as I wandered, in an uncoordinated fashion, down the halls in search of photos to document life on the Mariner of the Seas. 

Today we were at sea all day. By noon, reunited with B, we had planned our day for tomorrow in Haiti, I had been given a pen by the liquor store guy who was super sweet and journaling had commenced. 

I was slowly compiling a list of things you should pack for a cruise:

1. A pen - they are surprisingly difficult to buy and you need one to sign up for things.

2. Cash. Both for tipping musicians on the boat and performing groups on and off the boat and for buying off-boat souvenirs. 

3. Whiteboard to stick on the door of the state room for receiving and leaving messages from fellow cruisers.

4. A waterproof lanyard for the ever-present Sea Pass.

We rounded out Tuesday afternoon wallowing in a hot tub, meeting interesting people, relaxing. 

Dinner was "dress to impress" and we did. Dresses, heels, makeup. We headed to the main dining room and one 3-course meal later, were released  back into general population to find interesting and entertaining ways to pass the evening. My choice was Schooner Bar where we found Natan Franco and his enviable piano skills. The evening was spent sipping wine, singing along to Neil Diamond, Elton John, Billy Joel and the like. 

Once back in the room, I slightly succumbed to seasickness, however.  My experiment with anti-nausea meds was now in full swing. Admittedly I left it a bit late before downing a pill and it therefore didn't stay down. I'm not saying the boat was even really rocking - more like how a little movement while reading a book in the back seat of a moving car can go really wrong and it can be hard to recover from. 

Plan B was my ReliefBand. I quickly fitted it to my wrist, squeezed in some contact gel and dialed it up. A with a decent buzz the nausea abated in about 30 seconds  - No kidding!