Sunday, November 12 – The Last Sea Day for a While

Tomorrow starts a week of ports.  That is the one difficulty with Mediterranean cruises; there is no rest for the weary.  So today was a day to rest, something we have perfected.

We followed the sea day routine of breakfast in the MDR followed by the NYT crossword.  We had decided to attend a 2 pm concert by a pianist we saw the other night [and failed to include in the journal].  She is quite good and today played a selection of dance music including a Chopin Polonaise and his Fantasie Impromptu; de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance; two selections from the Nutcracker; and something from Stravinsky’s Petrouchka; as well as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Since we had been disappointed by the port talk the other day, we skipped not one but two of them today.  Instead, we returned to the cabin for R&R and a chance to prepare for tonight’s Gala Night.  Of course, we were all glammed up but were not surprised to see that many people, mostly men, were not.  There were any number of them in sports shirts and polos.  We often wonder why there is a so-called dress code if the staff is not going to enforce it.  Luckily for us, the few passengers who are still in our section at dinner were dressed more in keeping with the spirit of Gala Night although D was the only man in a tuxedo.  To put it in perspective, though, only seven of us remain in our area for the 8 pm seating.  Two changed tables because they did not like their location and four moved to the 5:30 seating.  It is so empty that we could go bowling between the tables and no one would notice.

MA did not have a good rest this afternoon and felt a bit under the weather.  She came to dinner but did not really enjoy it.  Although she had no fever, she still felt warm and a dizzy.  As soon as we finished eating, we hurried to the room before she could pass out.  We made it back without incident but by 9:30 she was in bed.  We had planned to go to the show tonight [for a change] to see/hear Vox Futura, a group we enjoyed on last year’s cruise.  We know they will do another show soon, but it would have been nice to see them twice.

We are scheduled to be in Dubrovnik, Croatia, tomorrow as the busy stretch begins.  D bought tickets for the shuttle into the old town since we will be docked in Gruz, a half-hour away.  It was only after he bought them that he remembered the forecast for rain tomorrow.  The tickets, of course, are not refundable unless the port call is canceled.  It was a good idea at the time.

Our hope is that MA feels better and that the weather is also better.  Barring hitting that daily double, we will be having another sea day in port.


TOMORROW – Dubrovnik in Doubt

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