Monday, March 11, 2024 (sorry! the email with the photos hasn't arrived yet!)
It doesn't seem to matter what time you ask for coffee! Maureen had just fallen back to sleep when the phone rang announcing room service and four minutes later there was a knock at the doorr! Barely time to grab a robe if you sleep au natural! And they were nearly an hour early!! Oh, well.
We have lots of time to wander down to deck 3 for breakfast. On sea days you don't have to join the herd at the Windjammer! It is nice to be waited on; but you don't have a lot of choices. It's a nice break from the buffet and we only can do it twice. Scrambled eggs (better than those upstairs), bacon, potato cake, bagel and cream cheese, cranberry juice. and decaf - and as we're leaving the waiter says, "See you in an hour and a half"! I think we'll skip lunch or maybe just get some fruit! We see Tobi and Dean but Dan and Diana aren't making it to breakfast. They are doing an art auction at 10:30 or so. We are doing our first flash mob rehearsal, but there's some time to kill so we first stop back by the room and then check out the shops again.
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| Couldn't convince myself I needed a cap with gold sequins! |
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| The kids were loving the cotton candy! |
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| What a hoot! And what a talent! She kept dancing with all those drinks balanced on her head and that smile on her face!! |
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| Well... they're small! |
Wow! There are more than forty people in our flash mob! And the music is fast and the choreography is pretty complex! Our cute little Brazilian instructor promises we'll know the routine by show time Thursday night! I think she's optimistic!!
We stop at the shore excursions desk to ask, again, about the Labadee excursions and also what is available within walking distance from the DR pier. Apparently Labadee is fine, since they don't really go near Haiti proper; but there's not much close to the pier in DR.
A little more window shopping and then back up to the room to regroup and decide whether to have lunch or not. At 1:45 there is a free giveaway of something called an Effy Royal Rope. It's worth checking out and there's only a fifteen minute window! (Let me add that I made the trek and it was so seriously not worth it! But I got more steps and I don't have to have FOMO!)
After that there's a line dance class at 2:30, then dinner at 5:00 and the Tenors show at 7:00. We'll head straight to the Duck and Dog to get seats before Christ starts to play at 8:45. That should work - we'll see!
So - let me pick up after the window shopping...we do decide to have a bit of lunch, but just salad! Well, and a little tiny bit of dessert! I go in search of the stupid rope (it's one of those tiny fabric bracelets with the knot that slides apart. And it has a cheesy metal diamond hanging from it.)
Then I head for the line dance class. There are only three people there, counting me. One is a lady from the flash mob and the other is Chris!! I've seen her more in the past two days, than in the previous two years!! After twenty minutes, we all agree that probably no instructor is coming and we disperse. I check the room, but it's empty, so I go down where the Caribbean band will be playing. Sure enough, there are my buds! I actually get to see the end of the belly-flop contest!
It's hot in the sun and there aren't any available places to sit so I give up on the band and explore a bit. There are some cute sculptures in the Imperial Lounge and I read that the World Wildlife Fund was selling t-shirts, so I go check them out. It's a good cause and they're only twelve dollars!!
Diana texts me that they have changed their Dominican Republic excursion so I go down to change mine and that's easy! But they tell me that my Labadee excursion is canceled. Actually they say that Labadee is canceled but I learn later, from Diana, that it's only ours. And that's fine!! I was pretty nervous about going!
It's dress-to-impress night, so we all shower and change to our glad rags and meet at our assigned table. I think it's the first time we've all been together today. I've been texting with Diana through the RC app, but it's my first D&D sighting! Dinner is the usual - delicious! I'm going with the chef's recommendations night, Escargot à la Bourguignonne, Roasted Beef Tenderloin, and Crème Brûlée. So decadent!!
Right after dinner is the Nashville Tenors, which I was not prepared to enjoy, not being a huge country fan. Boy was I surprised! Strong, lovely voices and beautiful harmonies. One of the guys is a counter tenor and he sure can get up there. They ended with Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and it was a show stopper! Even had people with their flashlights waving in the audience.
We had planned to go up to the Duck and Dog pub for the guitarist and we all took different routes. Robin and I were going to walk up the two flights, to deck 5, but on deck 4 we saw Dean and Tobi and Dean said not to bother because it was packed. I'm concerned that the others won't know where we are and Dean goes off to find Ma and Maureen. I text Diana and she replies that she and Dan are up there with two tables and lots of room! Apparently the trivia players are finished and they vacated!! We all trundle up and the eight of us have plenty of space to settle in and order before the music starts. Chris is very good. When he plays "Margaritaville" he comes to our table and asked who's to blame and we all name Ma (Sheila) so he works her name into the song!
We're all such light weights that by 9:45 we're done. But we got to sing "Sounds of Silence" and "Miss American Pie" and "Uptown Funk", so it was a good way to end the day! I'm so beat that I don't even blog, hence the morning catch up! I'm going to post this and then see if I have time to add photos after breakfast. (or next Wednesday!)
