Twelve-Hour Days and Thirteen-Hour Nights

Friday, November 25, 2022

Azores Time Zone

Day 1 for me; Day 3 for Ken

At lunch today we both ordered coffee ice cream — our go-to flavor. It was not incredible — it was inedible. It seemed like it had ground up almonds and ice in it. Neither one of us could finish it, and that NEVER happens with ice cream. We found out later it was plant-based ice cream.

They actually do a good job here of providing vegetarian and vegan menu choices. They put a little leaf on the menu next to the plant-based foods, but you have to, you know, pay attention when you read the menu. 

We are feeling better today. Ken is feeling GREAT.

I am feeling so-so, which is definitely better relative to yesterday.

The seas have been calm, the weather has been delightful. There were no Black Friday crowds in our cabin, and we did not feel obligated to get up early to grab DEALS. I don’t even think there were any deals today on the ship.

What I DID today: I took a nap after lunch, I read, I caught up on some email when I had internet, and I went through some of the photos from this trip. I ate a lot. I watched Under the Tuscan Sun after dinner. I took a lot of pills. I went outside on our balcony for a while.

Ken had this beautiful Cretan-style salad

What I did NOT do today: I did not leave the room. I did not get any exercise. With the exception of Ken, I did not speak to or see another passenger.

We have begun a series of clock changes as we travel west. We have to cross six time zones, so we will be resetting our clocks almost every day. At least we are gaining an hour each time.

What a spectacular sunset tonight!

See how the clouds are reflected on the ocean? Awesome!

Don’t you love the colors?

Today’s color is tan.

A Room Service Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Arrecife, Spain

We have arrived at the Canary Islands, but, of course, we can’t get off the ship. It’s okay! We have been here before. 

I woke up today feeling crummy. I didn’t have to take a test to know I had Covid. I had a sore throat and my teeth hurt. Whenever I get a sinus infection my teeth hurt. It took me a while to get going, but I finally took an antigen test and it was positive, as I knew it would be.

We went through the same drill as two days ago. The ship has an Infectious Disease Officer. We called her and she sent a nurse up to give me a PCR test. Yes, the PCR test came back positive.

Ken is feeling pretty good. He took an antigen test today, too. He thought it would be negative, but it was still positive.

So, today is Day Two for Ken and Day Zero for me. That’s how you count, by starting with Day Zero. On Day 5 you get a PCR test. Another one on Day 6. If you have two negative tests in a row, you are good to go. That will apply to Person A, even if Person B in the same room is on a different Day. 

I am disappointed because I will miss both cooking classes I signed up for. They have the most amazing state-of-the-art classroom for cooking. The classes are very hard to get into, but I signed up as soon as the classes became available. We will also miss some of the specialty dinners we had reservations for, and all of the happy hours and evening shows, and one of the Captain’s cocktail parties. Oh, poor me in this gilded cage. I must not forget that I have so much to be thankful for.

I am so thankful to be on this wonderful ship with my wonderful husband.

There are doctors and nurses and an Infectious Disease Officer to take care of us. (The IDO is an actual full-time position and she is listed as one of the senior officers.) The staff check on us at least twice a day and take our temperature and check our oxygen levels. We have both had normal temps and oxygen every time. 

We also have an incredible group of room service waiters to take care of us. We can order from the room service menu and the main dining room menu and the buffet menu and the grill menu. And the bars. If we really want to, I think we can also order from the specialty restaurants. The menus are all on the TV. It takes 15 minutes just to go through them and decide what to order.

This is our Thanksgiving dinner. After we ate our appetizers

I had to get the turkey, but Ken had steak

We both selected the Duo of Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie

We also have room stewards to take care of us. We are not supposed to let them in our room “unless absolutely necessary” (don’t go there), but they are still available to bring us towels, sheets, extra pillows, clean wine glasses, etc.

We also have TV and free movies. And a BALCONY that we love, love, love.

Now that we both have Covid, we don’t have to wear masks 24/7. We can eat at the same time. (On the first day we were still figuring it out. The weather was not yet outdoor weather so we took turns eating in the room. Yesterday was warm so Ken ate on the balcony and I ate in the room and we kept the door open.) We can sleep in the same bed.

I guess our last two days of precautions were unnecessary, but there was no way to know that. I probably already had been exposed to Covid before Ken tested positive.

I am also thankful for Ranked Choice Voting and for the election results in Alaska.

And last, but not least, we are both so very thankful for our wonderful family.

This was a very lovely Room Service Thanksgiving! We are together and there is so much to be grateful for.

Tomorrow we start our 5-day crossing. We will make landfall in Antigua, on Day 6. There is no Day Zero for this timeline. I am playing Jimmy Buffet songs in my head. If all goes well, one or both of us will be able to get off in Antigua and go to one of their gorgeous beaches. Will they need a forklift to get us off by that time?

Tonight we watched “Dear Evan Hansen.”

I hope everyone had a healthy Thanksgiving with much to be thankful for.

Today’s color is Cranberry.