Day 9 - Sea Day

We had a fun evening last night. After dinner they showed Toy Story 3 on the big screen on the Lido Deck. They have shown a movie every night so far, but we didn’t make it the first week. They pass out blankets for you to use on the deck chairs and there is popcorn. It’s like a floating drive in!

Today is our single sea day before three back-to-back port days so we’re making the most of it. Sadly, it’s completely overcast and raining off-and-on today and, according to the captain’s daily noon announcement, it is only 57F/14C with 6-8 foot waves. This means lots of reading, the gym, and a nap for Andrew. Or at least attempts at a nap for Andrew…

As you would expect, we have new neighbors this week. To the forward side of us is a couple. The woman laughed near hysteria for the first hour we boarded the ship, which was concerning. However, and blessedly, we’ve yet to hear another peep out of them. The larger issue is to our aft side, where there is a family who, from the sounds of it, has at least 15 or more crying children. Ok, so it’s possible that there are only 2 or 3 children. However, I am not kidding when I say that the baby has been crying since we got on the ship. Really – SINCE WE GOT ON THE SHIP. YESTERDAY. NON-STOP. Andrew commented after we returned from lunch to more crying that it doesn’t seem normal for it to cry all the time. I agree, but am running out of empathy as we approach the 26-hour mark, with 6 days still to go.

Oh - and the crying isn’t the only issue. We have one of those doors in our cabin that, when unlocked on both sides, would allow someone to create adjoining cabins. The other cabin has the same door. I know this because, approximately once every thirty minutes, one (or more) of the other children opens their side and tries their best to get in to our cabin. Even more annoying is that, at no time, do I hear either of the parental units (of which I have seen two) tell the children to knock it off. I am sorry to say that I may soon be forced to pass off some of my Mexican mystery medicine as candy to these little angels next door!

P.S. Shelby, we found out on Saturday that we’re not going to Mazatlan this week either –sadly, there is no word on when any of the cruise lines will go back there. Passengers we’ve talked to are, for the most part, frustrated with the decision and feel that the cruise lines are punishing the tourism-dependent economy of Mazatlan as on over-reaction. They also note the irony that we can’t go to Mazatlan because two locals were shot, but that this ship sails out of a port that is only about 5 miles from Compton, the gang-shooting capital of the US. Hopefully things will settle down by the time you leave in a few weeks. We really do love Mazatlan!