March 04, 2008 - Onboard

March 4, 2008

This morning Karen woke me up at 9:00, by which time she had already been to the gym and back. We went to breakfast topside and enjoyed a peaceful meal in the company of several hundred Germans fighting over seats. We had a “Cruise Critic” party at 10AM during which we got the chance to meet other members of cruisecritic.com. Immediately following, we got together with the people planning our event in Kiribati. It seems that it is s bigger deal than I thought, with the cruise line donating 1600 sets of bed linens and a few hundred pair of shoes. Apparently the ministers of education and health will be there to greet us. Since it is the first time one of Celebrity’s ships stops off, there is talk of this setting a precedent and of extending the activity to other cruises. A cruise ship is in the perfect position to be an “ambassador of goodwill” with the help of passengers and crew. We then attended a “honeymoon and anniversary” party where we “celebrated” our 8-year anniversary with champagne and cake. The couple most recently married got hitched 2 weeks ago, and the couple that had been married the longest was 54 years. When asked what advice he had for the newly married groom, the old mad said “take it easy, and remember – the wife is always right.” Good advice, I think. After lunch, we headed to the cabin for a rest. I headed for the gym and worked out for the better part of an hour, then hit the Thalassotherapy pool area. It was very relaxing. Later, we got ready for dinner. Tonight was formal night so we were looking sharp. We hit the martini bar before dinner and I was feeling pretty mellow after my Bombay Sapphire martini. Dinner was excellent as usual. After dinner, we went to the Navigator’s Club at the front of the ship with our friends Ed & Christine. We drank some cocktails and did some dancing. By the time we returned to our cabin I was pretty tipsy. I don’t know what time we fell asleep….