June 15, 2008

\ une 15, 2008 – FATHER’S DAY

It’s the day we’ve been looking for, if for no other reason than that it means we get to unload our suitcases and quit having to ferret through them every time we want something! The morning was breakfast at the hotel again (this time in shifts; the guys move faster than the girls), after which we were in the lobby waiting by 11:00 checkout. A $40.00 cab ride later and we’re at the docks waiting to get on the ship.

Check in was remarkably easy this time. We moved right on through the lines and were on the ship by 12:45 or so. They lock you out of the rooms until after 1:00 so they can clean and things, but that just gives a little time to explore and go get some lunch.

The Ship, Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Sea, is the 3rd largest cruise ship in the world and you feel it after you’ve walked back and forth a few times. We are at the absolute tail end of the ship (cabins 7392 and 7394) in wonderful rooms. A king size bed plus a large pull out for the boys. There’s 2 “living room” chairs and a coffee table, also, plus a desk and a vanity with a mirror. The bathroom has an actua\ tub in it and is every bit as big as you’d expect, and there’s tons of closet and storage space. The balcony is as big as some of the cabins we’ve had before. It’s really, really nice.

Down the center of the ship there’s a promenade with shops. Instead of just the two or three that are usually on a cruise ship, there’s probably a dozen or more different places. It’s open for about 5 stories up, and some cabins have windows that open out onto that. Not as good as a balcony, but not a bad second choice!

Yesterday was Benita’s 49th birthday. We made arrangements to have a slice of cake with a candle for her at dinner, plus the obligatory rendition of the “Happy Birthday” dirge by people who don’t have English as their primary language.

The best surprise that we pulled off, though, took weeks of coordinating and happened in the afternoon before we went down to dinner. After we got in, Eddie and the kids went poolside while I unpacked in our room. Bobbie Jean wanted to rest in the cool, and Benita unpacked in their room. During this time, we were getting text messages from Benita’s brother, Robbie, who was joining us on the cruise as a surprise.

Everything was going well until just as I get the message that Robbie and his partner Brian are on their way in the elevator, Benita and Bobbie Jean pop out of their room dressed for the pool. I sent them the back way to the pool, pretending it was shorter, while Robbie and Brian were coming up the other hallway.

They got settled, snuck out for some lunch and later we had everyone out on the girl’s balcony while Eddie brought them in. Talk about surprised!\inner was nice but uneventful, so I’ll spare you the rendition. The best t=out it was while walking back I stopped in the casino to play my favorite slot machine – one called “Texas Tea”. My $10.00 turned into $96, which I wisely cashed out after losing $20.00. I seldom have a net gain in the casino, even for a day, so that was kind of nice.