1st February 2015

With the clocks moving forward an hour overnight, we made our way to breakfast at 8:45 am, though most passengers seemed to be running on “body clock time,” and once again, we were among the first in the restaurant. A minor mishap with my breakfast order arose when my poached egg was mistakenly given to another table, but it was swiftly rectified. In the meantime, I indulged in two tropical smoothies instead of my usual one.

We’d had quite a choppy night, with the cabin taking some unpredictable lurches. Despite the captain’s morning announcement that the swell was easing, it didn’t feel that way just yet.

After breakfast, with the meal safely “battened down,” Sue and I donned fleeces for our 3.2 laps around the deck. We started well but were soon sidetracked by Daphne, who was engrossed in a game of shuffleboard. I subtly urged Sue to join her while I settled into a sunny seat nearby to wait. About twenty minutes later, a rather exhausted Sue rejoined me; Daphne, it seems, is quite a character, best enjoyed in small doses!

With our mile completed, Sue settled in the Atrium with the onboard newspaper while I took my camera to reception for charging in readiness for tomorrow’s port visit.

We reunited in the Theatre for an interesting lecture on ’60s bands before heading to the other end of the ship for a showing of ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. I’m not usually a Tom Cruise fan, but this one wasn’t half bad, and it certainly seemed in line with his crazy Scientology beliefs.

Lunch in the Plaza was the usual fare, my healthy salad alongside Sue’s choice of a traditional English curry. Afterwards, we completed a blissfully uninterrupted 3.2 laps around the deck, then nestled into the warm seats in the Atrium. Sue pulled out her sewing, and I settled down with my book.

In the midst of all this, we found ourselves the unlikely heroes of the day. A sprinkler in the corridor ceiling had developed a steady drip. We’d noticed it earlier on our way to breakfast, and by the time we returned from lunch, the bucket placed beneath it was perilously close to overflowing. Concerned, we commandeered the bucket to our cabin and emptied it in the bathroom. Unfortunately, the toilet wasn’t designed for a swift influx of water, and we ended up with a bit of an overflow situation of our own! With some quick towel work, the crisis was averted, and we returned the bucket to its station. I daresay our valiant effort saved the ship from certain doom, or at the very least, a wet corridor.

Later in the afternoon, Sue went back to the cabin while I stayed in the Atrium, enjoying a set by the ship’s rock guitarist. You could see he longed to really let loose, but his restrained performance still came across beautifully.

After collecting Sue, we headed to the Theatre for a piano recital featuring a Spanish composer who, it seems, wasn’t a household name even in his day. The pianist had a curious habit of grunting through his performance, which initially had us wondering if the lady beside us had nodded off or if it was the ship’s vibrations. While the music wasn’t quite our style, the mystery of the noise kept us amused.

That evening, we changed into formal attire, enjoyed dinner with our regular tablemates, and made our way to the other end of the ship to watch Andrea Dickens. Her familiar song choices won us over, and we ended the night on a high note, retiring around 11:45 pm.