After a bit of a late start in the morning (head cold) I get myself turned completely around and can't find the dining room - so I go and get Aidan to show me. He has already roamed the entire ship and has figured the whole thing out the night before. He mentions his night and states he's not going back to the teen center as he was picked on. I just listen and try to be supportive and then basically tell him to suck it up, he's got 7 more days out here. Colin finds us at breakfast. There's a lot of trying to figure out where kids are: Brian thinks I'm a little nuts for wanting to know where the kids are all the time. Call it the mother in me, but I can't relax unless I know that they are relatively safe and not floating in the ocean.
The day is a lazy day at sea... swimming in the heated pools; exploring the ship; using the steam room and jacuzzi in the "adult section" While there are many kids on the ship, this cruise has definitely attracted the "mature crowd" and by that I mean the old. Lots of old people. Good luck if you get stuck walking behind one and you are in a hurry. Julia has her only good day in the kids' club when she finds a group of girls to do nails with. Ed has less success as "there's only girls, mom!" and there is only so much access to the Wii.
On the advice of Maria, we are dressed and ready for dinner a good 2 hours before - so we have time to take (and stand in line for) the formal pictures. We get to take pictures at 2 different backgrounds (I thought we'd have time for more) and sadly the only ones that turn out (without goofy faces) are the ones in front of the cruise ship backdrop - complete with bear in the background. Brian looks as if he's being literally tortured as we wait in line: pictures are not his favorite. I convince him that it's only this one night and he sort of believes me. As we wait in line for the pictures in the piazza, there is a band playing and a champagne waterfall photo op. There are appetizers circulating and free champagne, so the atmosphere is lively. Not a bad way to wait for pictures! ("Torture," comments Brian. And Colin.)
Dinner is another lovely affair. We will be the last people at the dining and this will continue through the whole cruise. We literally close down the dining room. The kids seem to enjoy the dinners as much as we do. The food is great - I can't remember all of it, nor did I photograph it. Suffice it to say, cheese was a prominent fixture in every meal. Dessert too. And the food was extra rich. And every night had some kind of chilled soup that mysteriously resembled a blended drink you'd find on a Carnival cruise. We get to know our waiters, and they are a great pair, Mario and Ricardo. Out of all the staff on the ship, we get to know them the best, and like them the most. As we sailed north, the sun stayed out later and later, and was still light out at 10 pm. Our tables were right next to the dining room windows so we were gifted with great views and natural light at every dinner.
Bedtime again for me and some of the kids. Aidan stayed up so late every night. I don't want to know how late, really. Some days, I don't know if he even went to bed... although there were days when he slept at such odd times during the day, that the kids' room never got cleaned. At one point, we kicked the kids out just so they could get the bathroom cleaned. But it's vacation. By the 3rd day on the boat, the room looks like a tornado hit the closet. Managing the clothing is not their collective strong point.
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