Oct. 26. 2019

I was wide awake at 5:15a.m. what the heck! It's hard to figure out but i think we're about 14 hours ahead of British Columbia so it's about 7p.m. last night there and i'm living in the future here. It might have been an ideal time to phone home but then i don't want to disturb my neighbours even though they disturb me with their tv on way too loud too early too often but i won't play that game. If not for that adjoining door i'd be more comfortable knowing it's pretty sound proof  in cruise cabins. But sometimes you take what you're given and this is the cabin that was assigned to me and it was a bargain so i took it.
All there is to do this early is play my IPad game so it's a good thing i brought it. Actually that's not technically correct as the casino is open 24 hours when at sea and there's food to be eaten and probably passengers to talk to in the Lido but who wants to do either at 5a.m?

I was ready well before 9a.m and the plan was that Judy was going to knock on my door at 9:15. I decided to go to the Lido and find her there and save her the trip. I took my new water bottle with me to fill it with the awesome mango juice that's available only in the mornings. So i walked through both main sections looking for her and when i didn't see her i returned to my room and would you believe in that short of time Anthony had already vaccumed, dusted, made my bed, removed my garbage and laundry, left fresh towels, turned the thermostat down and left me a very cute towel animal.
Judy arrived a couple minutes later and we took off for the Lido so i could get my breakfast and she had already eaten so she just had coffee.

We then went to the Morocco room for trivia and dance class was still in operation. Annie came to our table to tell us of a galley tour that was going to be held today and we hadn't known about it because the info about it was sort of buried in the Fun Times program and i guess i skipped over it. I know that everyone wants to be in on these kind of tours and i'm thinking there'll be lots of people attending. I did a galley tour on HAL years ago and it was awesome and free to see the area where all the food is prepared but now-a-days i think some cruiselines are charging a fee. So we def wanted in on this one.
Well. as it turned out we got the last seats available in the back and the room was full with at least 300 or 400 people. The head of the food dept. gave us a rundown of it and then he said we'll leave from the back of the room and use the stairs to go down to the galley. Luck was on my side and i became the 5th or 6th person in the lineup! It was very cool to see and hear what goes on on deck 0. We didn't get to see any actual food preparation but it was cool to see the place with the fridges, stoves, freezers, grocery and all sorts of other lists and the spic and span stainless steel. I didn't find out until later that Judy and Florine didn't make it; they couldn't do that many stairs so they just hung out in the casino.

We went from there to another trivia game in the atrium and out of 20 questions we got a few but nowhere near to ship on a stick fame. From there we went to the spa where we could win a nice prize like a 3 day spa pass or a massage pkg but we didn't win either. So we went to another trivia and it's subject was scary movies and lots of passengers came dressed for Halloween. There's been a lot of people around the ship today with their costumes on and some were really pretty awesome. Surprising that people will make the effort, take the time and use a lot of space in their suitcase to bring all the stuff they bring.

We went for lunch in the Gold Pearl and i started off with a glass of an awesome fruity whatever it was with floating chia seeds in it. and then a salmon and veggie dish and banana cream pie for dessert. Since i've been home i've found those drinks in my fav grocery store and i've been enjoying several different flavours of them ever since and they're actually real good for you too.

I walked with Judy and Florine to their cabins so they could get their swimsuits and go for a little swim and then i walked to my cabin to take a little break and phone my hubby. My timing was pretty good; it was 11:30 p.m.on Fri. the 25th at home and 1:30 in the afternoon of the 26th here on the ship so i am a full 14 hours ahead of him and living in the future.

Later i went to the casino and found Judy and Florine and we played the slots for awhile. I didn't win anything but Judy picked up $50. We left there and went for dinner in the Black Pearl and sat with a mom and her son from Australia and then Florines roomie  arrived so we had a table of 6. During dinner the Aussie mom revealed that she had been chosen to make a dress for Queen Elizabeth! What a feather in her cap that was. I would have liked to chat with her about it, the whys and when and how it all happened, the fabric and fitting etc. but she was on the opposite side of the table from me and the din in a crowded dining room makes conversation hard. It was a fun lunch with a lot of people in costumes a little early but what do i know of American traditions, maybe they celebrate a few days unlike us who just do on Oct. 31st. But i guess because we'll be off the ship on that date it can be a free for all for a few days which is a lot more fun.
My last cruisemate Annie and her friends were all dressed up as witches and they were all very beautiful witches. Another witch i saw had a huge spider on her shoulder. There were all sorts of costumes everywhere and another one i liked was a monk and then there was a nurse pushing a wheelchair with a very cleverly made pillow person sitting in it. Lots of guys too dressed as the devil or an animal but most went the way of the macabre.

There were free drinks today in the atrium and i was going to take a blue one until Annie recommended the pink one and it was very nice, and that one drink made me tipsy.A drinker i am not,lol!  I went back to the casino like a glutton for punishment, left there and saw a jewellry clearance sale was going on so i took a look. A couple rings tempted me but i ended up not buying because i've already got way too many rings.

Soon it was time to head into the Spectacular showroom and it was a really good show tonight with 50's music; a lot of Elvis and the members of the Glee club doing partners dances to a variety of the songs of the good ol' days which the audience also sang along to. I think it was the best show of this cruise so far, only 3 more to go before we depart.

Everyone is out and about tonight but i had such a full day and am too tired for any more celebrating. so I returned to my room to rest and prepare for my excursion to Vietnam in the morning.