Friday, May 24 AT SEA

Oh boy. These sea days are very long. There don't seem to be as many activity choices during these days and they are even longer when there aren't available friends to wander with or to spend time talking to, or to play cards with...sigh. We are missing Jeanne, Belinda and Mick who companioned us through the islands. And this is only sea day number two...

I did sleep better last night and I think Jeff did too. And, the cruise director called in this morning saying he would sort things out for us...wonder how that will work out. I could end up in a dinghy off the port bow!

Today we are sailing with a falling barometer. We are off the coast of Eastern Australia, having passed the Whitsundays, but still transiting the Great Barrier Reef...we should pass by Cairns and Cooktown as we head toward Cape Flattery. It's very cloudy, but mild in the 70s. By tomorrow we should be back in the more tropical mid 80's.

If you've never been on a cruise ship for a sea journey or if it's been a long while you can forget the little things that come into play on a daily basis onboard. For instance, there's a dress code. Formal Nights are designated during spans of sea days and they are taken seriously. After six o'clock only formally dressed people should be seen in public areas. And that means only closed- toed shoes for ladies. I, however, did not bring any such shoes. I brought sandals, casual and slightly dressier. So last night was a formal night and we were invited to a birthday dinner at 8:00 pm in the Italian Bistro for a cast member. Jeff poked through my shoes to find the right ones. I told him I didn't have any, and didn't have any for the last cruise either. I just wore a pair of grey linen slacks with a black lacy shell and a salmon colored linen jacket...shoes? Black strappy sandals and freshly hued toes to match the jacket. Not really formal attire, but very decent for a tropical night onboard. I suggested that we find an out of the way place to scan the elite passengers dressed for the festivities...so we did. On the way I saw only a couple pair of women's feet NOT in sandals!

As we watched the parade of people headed to and from the champagne fountain and the Captain's Welcome Speech, I would say about every third couple or single was dressed for hunting in the outback, fishing on the coast, or wandering homeless in Smalltown, Anywhere.
Sad to say that formal rule was broken often. I can safely say my ship wardrobe will do nicely, thank you very much. Check.

There are other rules too. Like the one about not peeking under the ladies restroom doors to see if any are unoccupied when all the doors are closed. Hah. You must guess, then try a door, hoping if anyone IS in there, that she locked the door properly. Of course the door you pick to try isn't locked, is in use, and both you and the occupant are embarrassed along with the other ladies waiting impatiently. Oi!

And, no one is supposed to go into the dining room for lunch wearing shorts. Come on! This is the tropics!

Sorting out tipping is tricky too. If you are a passenger you are automatically charged about eleven dollars a day for gratuities which you assume are shared by all the service staff. But what about the hairdresser who cut your hair and you didn't tip, but found out later perhaps you should have tipped...and now you run into her everywhere it seems...I think she's going to get a late make up tip!

Yes, you can become overly compulsive about these oddities, but I refuse. I simply state them for you to consider. I've gotten them off my chest so they won't bother me anymore!

I'm looking forward to tonight...Jeff has two shows to perform so my evening is taken and will be fun. Moments to Remember is this one. And, it's not formal, it's Smart Casual, whatever that is...probably what I wore last night!

The daily newsletter has taken to posting a quote and I offer their choice for today: "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller