Rocking and a Rolling

Sunday, March 13, 2011
Being good followers, we set our clocks ahead one hour before retiring - the first of a good many time changes.  Sometime in the night we started rocking and rolling – reminded me of a ride on a “tilt-a-whirl” where you go one way for a time and then switch to a different direction.  The Captain explained that we were going through some high swells due to a recent storm in the middle of the North Atlantic.  Barney is convinced we are going through the Bermuda Triangle and struggling to get free.  We slept till after nine, then had to scramble to find something to wear to go to the Lido Buffet for breakfast.  From the looks of most other passengers they were in the same boat (duh!). 
Looks like we are going to have plenty of clothes for the trip.  Everyone is much more casual than on the 2006 World Cruise and that is great with us.  The cabin has plenty of storage and closet space so it should be easy to stay organized.
     
Lounged around most of the day and attended two lectures on the upcoming ports  We are “going it alone” in most of the Caribbean ports.  The internet has made this part of the trip so much easier as we were able to research all the ports before hand and decide what we wanted to do. 
We will have a little homework to do now as they have eliminated Egypt from our list of ports.  They have added a stop in Dubrovnik, Croatia and an overnight in Ashdod, Israel.  We are thrilled with both additions but do feel badly for the people who haven’t already experienced wonderful Egypt.  If you want to update our itinerary it is:

Sunday, April 17th    Dubrovnik, Croatia
Monday, April 18th   At Sea
Tuesday, April 19th  At Sea
Wed, April 20th       Ashdod, Israel for an overnight

We had the first of our nine formal evenings.  Barney’s tux was a little wrinkled, but then, so were most of the other gentlemen’s.  No time to get anything pressed so everyone looked a little worse for wear.  The dining room was beautifully appointed and the food was exceptional.  Dinner was followed by a Welcome Aboard Champagne toast by the Captain.  The entertainment was billed as a trio singing music of the 50’s and 60’s.  It turned out to be mostly very loud “Motown” so we, along with lots of others, left early.
                                   
…another “early to bed evening”.  Have to catch up on those lost hour somehow.