A Rainy Morning at Sea

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We awoke to clouds and fog and rain but we were still a way out to sea. We were hoping the weather would clear before we reached Cozumel.

Our morning had fallen into a pattern. We got up, dressed and went to the Lido deck for the breakfast buffet usually a starch like pancakes, waffles or French toast. There were the eggs too, Scrambled, hard boiled, Benedict or an omelet station where you could have them prepared to order.

Of course there was the meat: bacon, sausage, ham and turkey bacon. Grits and home fries pretty much round out the standard fare. Move on to the fruit bar and there were oranges, bananas, melon wedges, fruit salad and more! Another station was set up for the continental breakfast. Yogurt, bagels and toast, muffins and corn bread. I think I also saw cereal boxes and milk on that table.

You’d think that’s be enough for anyone but they even had a dessert table groaning with cookies, Jell-O, cakes, brownies, cheesecake and chocolate pudding. You could even make yourself a bowl of frozen yogurt or soft ice cream.

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Beverages include coffee or tea, orange juice, apple juice, orange~promegranate and lemonade.

No wonder people say they over-eat on cruises! All of this food is included with your cruise!

Bt the time we finished breakfast the ship had pulled into Cozumel, an island off the coast of Mexico. We were directed to go to the Xanadu lounge just one of the many lounge and stage areas on the ship. Shortly after we reached the lounge one of the cruise people came around with stickers with the number 20 to put on our shirts. There was no explanation but we would soon find out the reason.

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It was still raining but pretty soon they confirmed that the excursion was still a go and called for us to line up in twos. Like funeral procession we were being led off the ship as a group and our numbers identified us as an excursion group and therefore entitled to priority disembarkation.

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Getting off the ship was easy. We just had to give security our room key which was scanned to show that we had left the ship.

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Now began the half walk half run down the long pier into Cozumel but we didn’t even slow down as they hurried us around a corner and onto another long pier. At the end of the pier was the ferry to the mainland. As we boarded little did we know this innocent looking boat would soon become an instrument of torture for about half the group.

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Aboard Ship~Day 2 (Tuesday)

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Back on the ship after our Key West experience we headed to the Horizon Bar and Grill on the Lido deck for a quick lunch while the Imagination cast off for Cozumel, Mexico.

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One thing about being in the ocean on a large cruise ship is that the staff and especially the cruise director work very hard to keep everyone entertained. Special events like karaoke, break dance exhibitions, bingo, dance classes and Towel Folding Fun supplement the casino, book reading and swimming pool for activities.

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There is an internet café but with a charge of $.75/minute that seemed a bit rich to me. Especially when someone who had used it said the connection is very slow so you are paying for “dead” time.

There’s also something to be said for just sitting on the deck and watching the waves. It’s kind of mesmerizing. The ship doesn’t roll much although you do get a bit of motion now and then. It’s been particularly stormy between patches of sun and clouds.

Tuesday Night is elegant dining on this particular cruise. My dolphin sarong was just the added touch needed to dress up my navy pant suit.

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This was also the Prime Rib or Lobster night. I went with the lobster. I’d been looking forward to that since I found out there was lobster served on every cruise. Today’s menu was lobster tail and grilled shrimp, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Served with drawn butter it was melt in your mouth goodness. Since it is elegant fine dining I splurged and had a glass of chardonnay with my meal. It was excellent too.

Joe is not a shellfish eater and he doesn’t eat meat but there were other options available. He had grilled chicken. Dessert was a Grand Marnier Soufflé for Joe but I was content with a small dish of chocolate ice cream.

A very satisfactory dinner under our belts we went to listen to the karaoke singers for a bit before making our way to the Dynasty Lounge for the Living in America show.

The Dynasty lounge has wonderful semi circle seats. We got there a bit late so had to sit in the back. I joked that it was the cruise ship version of “Obstructed View” as there were a couple of poles but it really didn’t interfere with the show which was excellent.

The ship was rocking a bit more as the weather had turned windy and rainy but the dancers never missed beat…literally! The LasVegas style show was a medley of songs that featured a state or town. For Example Neil Diamond’s “America” was stolen for the title song with a slight variation in the words. Instead of “we’re coming to America” they sang “we’re living in America”. Of course there were songs like Chicago, New York New York, Give my regards to Broadway, and Sweet Georgia Brown including basketballs. Elvis’s Viva Las Vegas introduced showgirls with elaborate head gear.

No pictures. Photography and video is prohibited.

The lead singers Patrick and Aretha were terrific. I thing Aretha is well named. As former dance instructors Joe and I couldn’t help critiquing the choreography. Simple. Most of the patterns were pretty basic but execution always makes the difference and the dancers executed their patterns well especially when you think they were dancing with a rolling stage under their feet.

There were a lot of costume and set changes which had to be challenging too. All in all it was a great show. Without a doubt this was the best day of the cruise so far.

We’ll be sailing all night and well into the morning before we dock in Cozumel. We have an excursion planned for Mexico so we’ll see what the day brings.