Second day at sea as we sail towards Aruba ... our first Port of Call on this voyage. It's a bit overcast and the seas are a bit choppy, but modern ship design overcomes almost all of it, and nobody seems to be any the worse for it.
We start the day with a room service breakfast as we have done most of the time on past cruises. It always makes for a very relaxing start to the day.
One of the best parts of this particular cruise is the lineup of movies that will be showing throughout the next (now 9) days.
- Finding Dory
- Dr. Strange
- Moana
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Beauty and the Beast
- Born in China
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- Cars 3
Today, however, we decide to see Cars 3 which we knew was going to be showing on the Fantasy this week so we did not see it in the theater prior to arriving. Today we head to the Buena Vista Theater (Deck 4 midship) and get ourselves comfortable and settle in to watch. Having been quite disappointed with Cars 2 we had hoped that Cars 3 would redeem the franchise. We were not let down, and enjoyed this latest entry.
Movie over it was time for lunch. Today we decide to go to Royal Court for lunch, and moments after we are seated I get a text (on the Navigator app - I refuse to connect to the internet and the outside world while I am cruising) from Jason to look up and wave to Brooke. It seems that Iris, Jason and Brooke are sitting just two tables from us. The come join us and we have lunch together.
After lunch it's up to Deck 4 and a lounge chair for some relaxation. While there I see many of the cruisers who are planning to participate in the Castaway Cay 5K at the end of the cruise, conditioning on the running/walking track which circles Deck 4. I feel a bit of a twinge, as I had planned on doing just that myself. However, a broken ankle a few weeks before the cruise had me wondering if I would be even able to make the cruise itself, let along a 5K. Some aggressive treatment by my doctor has enabled me to not only make the cruise but not even have to cancel my excursions. I am no longer wearing a boot, nor using a cane, but walking itself is a chore, and 3.2 miles is still quite out of the question.
At 4:00 I once again meet Iris and we bring Brooke for some toddler time in Andy's room.
Tonight, I have a chance to attend the featured show, so at 6:15 in the Walt Disney Theater we are seeing a very entertaining six man acapella group. They are quite good and I enjoy the show.
After the show it's back to the room to get ready for dinner. Tonight is Pirate Night on the Fantasy, and as we have done on Pirate Night in the past, we are all going to Palo (one of two adult only restaurants about the Fantasy) rather than our normally assigned Animator's Palate (for the second night in a row). Brooke gets to spend some time in the nursery tonight. Although when Iris made the reservations, all she could do was get a 7:30 reservation for 2 and an 8:00 reservation for 2 ... I made a point earlier in the day to head over and speak to someone at Palo and they simply combined the two reservations into one for 7:30.
Our meal at Palo this evening was as good as always, and we once again had a pleasant meal, good food and good service.
After leaving dinner, and picking Brooke up from daycare, some headed up where the Pirates in the Caribbean show was taking place and watched the fireworks which end this day.
Tomorrow will be an early morning. We pull into port at Aruba, and then Sandy and I will be taking Brooke on a bus tour of Aruba's natural wonders while Iris and Jason tour the island on ATV's.
