10th March 2016

Although we had a calm night, Sue woke with a migraine and wasn’t feeling her best. She managed to make it to breakfast but soon retreated to the dark comfort of the cabin and the bed. While she slept, I took a stroll along the upper deck, hoping to spot some sea life but finding none. I also scanned the horizon for any signs of approaching pirates; thankfully, there were none of those either. My wanderings ended by the pool, where I was entertained by the variety of passenger shapes and levels of enthusiasm attempting to follow a rather ‘fit’ young instructor leading an exercise class.

I attended a beginners’ Italian class in the ‘Infoteca’, hoping it might be a good opportunity to meet some fellow Brits onboard. However, the class turned out to be a mix of mostly French, German, and Austrian participants, and just three other Brits. Our teacher, while impressively fluent in all these languages, was very young and lacked teaching experience. Following a sheet of phrases, she spent most of her time speaking French in response to mistakes by the French participants. It was frustratingly hard to stay engaged while waiting for the Italian to be spoken. Annoyingly, I could read the Italian phrases and was eager to practise saying them, but she never called on me or the other Brits. Disappointing overall.

After checking on Sue, I attended an astronomy quiz on Deck 8. My score of 7 out of 10 was a bit of a letdown, but surprisingly, it turned out to be the top score. That said, I really should have known the other three answers!

I had lunch alone as Sue wasn’t feeling up to eating. For once, I managed to keep my portions to a reasonable size and remain proud that not a single chip, burger, or hotdog has passed my lips. Everything I’ve eaten on this ship has been either healthy or completely unpronounceable (Italian).

Sue felt a little better by 3 pm, just in time for the ‘Crossing the Equator’ ceremony. We joined most of the other passengers on the top deck to welcome Neptune, King of the Sea, and his courtiers. Permission to cross the equator was requested and, of course, granted. This was marked by a deafening blast from the ship’s horn and a flurry of paper streamers, which floated away into the breeze, no doubt destined to pollute Neptune’s realm. Poor form there, fishy! Dancing broke out soon after, which Sue enjoyed watching, while I seized the chance to hit the gym, assuming it would be empty.

I was wrong about the gym; it was packed. Clearly, not all passengers are fans of fishy ceremonial antics. Despite having to wait occasionally for machines to become available, I managed to complete my routine.

When I returned to the cabin, I found Sue had ventured out for an afternoon snack. Although she wasn’t feeling 100%, she was much improved, so we rounded off the afternoon back on the top deck with a couple of games of Scrabble.

We opted for an early dinner as there were three shows scheduled for the evening. At 7 pm, we caught the first performance, ‘Dance and Songs from Around the World’, managing to grab front-row seats. We were so close to the dancers that Sue noticed one of the girls had a ladder in her stocking. I must confess, I was paying attention to…other details! It was an incredibly energetic performance. How they managed to do two more shows that evening is beyond me.

A revelation this trip: Sue has a breadstick fetish. I’d never realised before, but she even pairs them with her ice cream! Tonight, I spotted several breadsticks disappearing into her handbag. It seems her middle-of-the-night trips aren’t for the loo but for a midnight feast!

After a leisurely late-night stroll around the deck, during which we joined the informal pirate watch, we settled in to watch some TV in the cabin before sleep caught up with us.