Adoption

Tuesday, February 04, 2014
At Sea, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Sailing South at a leisurely fifteen knots, it is a balmy 77 degrees as a brilliant sunrise illuminates our course. The sea is calm; "ripples" the bridge calls it. By contrast, the Kansas City Star web site says that my grandson Miles will be at home today as the schools where my daughter Megan and son-in-law Eric teach are closed. It's a SNOW DAY at home! I suspect there will be much rejoicing at their home as their favorite thing to do together is exactly that: to be together. I know there is much rejoicing here as I have no love for snow days preferring sunny days instead.

Cruising solo is being together without being together. People are all around you but Norwegian’s Free Style Cruising concept removes the “forced togetherness” of a set seating in the dining room. Had I wished to take the step of going to the dining room whenever the mood struck me, I could have been seated with a group in much the same way as I would have aboard another line. I did not do that, however, opting to make a plate at the Garden Café and sit outside at the aft-facing “The Great Outdoors” bar. This haven seemingly is, early in the cruise, undiscovered by most of my fellow passengers.

The Singles Social Champagne Toast for all single and solo cruisers hosted by the Cruise Staff was attended only by me. There was no champagne, there were no solos and there was no staff. There was a salsa dance class scheduled for the same place at the same time. Also, the first big show in the Stardust Theatre was offered simultaneously. I doubt there will be another Singles/Solos event so that opportunity has, so to speak, sailed.

I found my way to the Stardust Theatre a bit late and found it to be quite full. A sampling of the upcoming Frankie Valli tribute group was offered and they would appear to be very good. The Cruise Director, Pedro, did the typical emcee thing. He is so far remarkable only for wearing a knee length dress jacket that gives him an oddly eccentric air. A bottle of champagne was presented to the longest-wed couple. From New Jersey, they have been together for sixty-six years. Gladys offered up advice for staying together that long: patience. To my disappointment, no George Washington Bridge joke was offered.

Clocks were set back an hour overnight; we are now on Central Standard Time as we skirt twenty miles to the West of Cuba and head for Cozumel. In the distance, I strain to hear the beep from the horn of a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air but it is not to be.

Across the Garden Café I see that I am the target of a wave. It is Jan, husband of Valerie who celebrated her birthday yesterday. I met them in the line to check in for the Pearl; she stood out as she held a beautiful bunch of flowers (mostly fragrant lilies) with a troubled look. As I was complimenting her on the flowers she confided that she, a Brit, and Jan, a Pole, were worried as to whether or not the Norwegian folks would allow her birthday bouquet aboard. Discussing that, we became friendly.

Here they are this morning and they have invited me and my coffee to their table. Soon we are deep conversation about their summering in Florida and their friends on board, a Polish couple and another couple, Brits transplanted to upstate New York, who have joined them aboard the Pearl. Soon, I am invited to join the six of them for dinner tonight; we are to meet in the Champagne Bar at 6:30.

I excuse myself to change into walking clothes and I soon find myself on Deck 13, circling endlessly until my timer says that seven miles have passed by. Of note is that each time I complete a lap I have a bird’s eye view of the pool and its three attending hot tubs. I am alarmed when I note a mom and toddler still in diapers in one of the hot tubs. I point that out to a ship’s officer and he bolts for the offending mother to remove the child from what could become a gastrointestinal cauldron of disaster. What goes through people’s minds when they allow such a thing to go unchallenged? The hot tubs will today note my absence. Yuk.

It is 10:30 as I complete 1 hour and 45 minutes of fast walking and I need to shower before I attend a scheduled “Meet & Greet” reception for “Cruise Critic” members of which I am one. The senior officers of the Pearl are there and they welcome our small group and take questions. The Captain (also Paul) says there are 2,565 passengers aboard and all the cabins are filled. There are few children aboard. That is why there are no unfilled cabins but many unoccupied beds accounting for a “full” ship sailing at 500 persons below absolute capacity. Passengers, he says, hail from 45 countries with 85% being American.

I meet no fellow “Cruise Critics” who seem to want the company of a solo traveler but, frankly, the feeling is mostly mutual. One discovery made after the function is that there is a second place to walk aboard the Pearl. On Deck 7, unlike on most ships, one can make a complete circle of the ship’s perimeter. Here, a mile can be covered in half as many laps. I’ll test that later in the cruise believing that it will offer less monotony and better shelter from the sun than can be had on Deck 13’s “jogging track.”

I stroll up for lunch and then to The Library for a book. James Patterson seems an appropriate mindless choice so I grab a copy of “Honeymoon” about which I know nothing except that the book jacket announces it was named 2005 INTERNATIONAL THRILLER OF THE YEAR by an unnamed namer. As I write this, I am 252 pages into the story of a beautiful woman who marries and then kills her husbands, some simultaneously and some consecutively. Thankfully, the story does not take place aboard a ship.

Now for a word or two about inside cabins. This one (10549) is exactly the same as the oceanview cabins I have occupied aboard other ships except that where there once was a window or porthole there is, instead, a mirror. And, since it gets very dark at sea at night, this cabin is no darker than the others I have slept in. The difference is that when it is 3:00pm o’clock nap time, the darkness inside is the same as it would be at 3:00am outside. Instead of paying extra, there is a discount for this darkness; inside cabins cost quite a bit less than oceanview cabins and a lot less than balcony cabins. So far, I have no problem with this arrangement as it makes my bar bill more palatable.

As to the bar bill: for reference, a Bud Light Platinum bottle costs $6.46, a glass of Beringer Reserve cabernet costs $9.53 and a glass of Avalon cabernet costs $10.64. Yesterday’s total: $33.09. An “all-you-can-drink” package is available for $54.12 per day. I opt not to partake; I fear I will try to profit and spend too much of my cruise with an elevated blood alcohol level. Also, there is the matter of great mystery about what brands of what beverages are available with the package. They are very illusive regarding that very important point. I intend to investigate this prior to my next voyage, something I should really not do for obvious reasons.

Back to 10549: one redeeming feature about the bathroom in this cabin is that rather than the normal cloth shower curtain there is a sliding plastic shower door offering less spillage. The commode sits, inexplicably, at an angle that, when I am at rest there, places my left knee squarely against a wall. I find that troublesome but not overly so. There is more than ample closet and drawer space but then I am the only one in here and, on Norwegian, I’ve no tuxedo or suits or ties or even nice slacks. This is a Dockers and blue jeans crowd who thinks that dressing up is having a collar on your shirt. I am, so far, fine with this as a change if not as a permanent arrangement. I’ve a Celebrity Cruise coming up on March 31 and I will happily tote my tux for that seven day adventure.

The beds in 10549 were on my arrival arranged as two twins (I have the option of pushing them together to make a queen but I don’t) with a bunk folded into the wall above one of them. I would not have noticed the bunk except for the fact that when I opened the closet door I found a ladder stowed there. I’ve a safe and a mini-bar and a television and a small desk with a chair. More mirrors line the walls making the small space feel, well, spacious. 10549 will suffice primarily because other than sleeping and showering I intend to spend precious little time there.

Dinner with my adoptive family of Brits and Poles was delightful as was the Four Seasons “Oh What A Night” tribute show later. After that, Michael rocked the piano bar and after that, well, it is time for bed. Cozumel is scheduled for 7:00am. As usual, I plan to be up to see it.

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