Our last sea day. We only spent a few chilly hours at Encenada. Apparently cruise ships originating in the states have to stop somewhere outside of the states if their crew is going to be nonUS citizens – so that is the reason for the quick stop in Mexico. In general the crew are on the ships for 9 months at a time and then they go home for several months. Many have held these jobs for decades and have families. We have had truly lovely people serving and caring for us. They are well selected for being able to be patient and kind. I am sure their quarters are a place that they can “let down”. This can’t be easy.
I met a woman in the check in line on March 27th – a lifetime ago. She was from Fr. Worth and traveling with a woman who was the sister of 2 brothers that she had known for years. They knew of each other but not well. In spite of warnings that it was risky, they shared a cabin and got along great. We ran into them on our first sea day and started playing cards in the afternoon. We played King’s Corner, Canasta and Rummy. We shared several meals together and it feels like we have gotten to know each other. We laughed a lot. We often ended up in our room for one reason or another. One of the women’s first husband had relatives in Iowa. Her most vivid memory of her Iowa visit was seeing flies mating for the first time. We had a good laugh about that.
Saturday night was our last formal night and they served lobster, one of Carol’s favorites. Carol did not want the rice and wilted spinach that was served with it and was thrilled when the waiter offered her a second lobster tail instead.
Yesterday the passenger that had been practicing ukulele and Hula dancing on our sea days gave a performance. I had watched a bit of the hula dancing at the beginning and definitely saw a LOT of progress during the cruise. They were charming performances.
One more morning hot tub, one more afternoon of cards, two more sit down meals and packing. We have to have our 2 big suitcases outside the room by 9 PM. We meet us at 9 AM for transportation to the airport.
I am not deterred from doing another longer cruise, but I would do one with way fewer sea days in a row. The extra space of the mini suite is nice. There was less time on the balcony than we had hoped but the Pacific in March is not necessarily very warm.
Aloha!!
Tamara Unleashed 