RED SEA

MUSINGS FROM THE RED SEA

31 MAR 11

Over the next few days, I will have lots of time to reflect on the past three months and the final month ahead.  There is no question that this has been an “experience” and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  The positives outweigh the negatives by a huge amount.  I started a list of things I miss from home in early January.  Here’s the list in the order that I wrote them:

POPCORN

DRIVING

HD TV

FAST INTERNET

APOLLO CLUB

CHIPOTLE

CELERY

CELLPHONE

For some unknown reason, there has been no celery on the ship.  First thing I do when I get home is to run over to Whole Foods and buy a big stalk of celery, that is, after I make a batch of popcorn!

Of course I miss family. I really would have liked to have gone with Jeff’s Skeptours group cruise in March.  I would love to have gone to the concerts my two grandchildren are participating in and go to lunch at Luigi’s with my sister.  But I guess it ends there.  I’m really at home on a ship.

We have been averaging 23 nautical miles per hour since we left Salalah.  While this is not fuel efficient, the captain tells us the local pirates could not keep up with that speed.  There is 24 hour watch by security on the decks.  A mysterious wooden box has appeared on each side of the Promenade deck.  Its contents remain unknown but you can be sure there is some sort of security device inside.  I feel safe.

I’ve dropped out of HAL Chorale.  The amount of effort was not commensurate with the rewards.  My singing is now limited to the shower (pity the next door neighbors).  Part of the problem was the other male singers.  Their pomposity was only exceeded by their lack of pitch.  Particularly the fellow with the electronic pitch pipe who could find the note on his pitch pipe but never with his voice.  Then there was the poor (in my opinion) first performance.  Too many screamers and not enough singers.

Formal nights are always themed with the dining rooms decorated accordingly.  Many passengers then dress in the theme of the evening and seem to really enjoy doing it.  For example, last night was “Celebration Night”, celebrating all birthdays, anniversaries and the like that everyone will have during the course of the entire cruise.  Every place setting in the dining room had large party hats and helium filled balloons.  The amazing part is that a majority of the diners actually wore the silly things.  Folks were dressed in everything from tuxedoes to bed sheets wrapped around a large body with a weaved Omani cap. .  I could not help but think that this is just expensive adult day care. 

I’ve lost six of my ten pounds but the last four are a struggle. The food has been excellent and I can’t stay away from the ice cream bar at lunch.  We have six sea days between our last port and Fort Lauderdale.  I plan to devote myself to reaching my goal in that time frame.

Joe Wagg