This cruise has had an abundance of “at sea” days. Originally we were scheduled to have five days from Los Angeles to Maui, four days in the Hawaiian Islands, and then five days from Kauai back to Ensenada, before finally returning to Los Angeles.

In the early morning hours of December 23rd, just before we were scheduled to enter the harbor in Nawiliwili, Kauai, our captain made an announcement over the shipboard PA system letting us know that unfortunately, both he and the harbor pilot had determined that due to the ocean swells and winds that it was not safe for our ship to enter the harbor. No other option to dock was available to us, so this stop was scratched from the itinerary. That then gave us six days at sea sailing back easterly.

Fortunately, both Tim and I are good sailors and the large swells help rock us to sleep each night. It does make walking around the ship a bit more tricky at times, and I know for sure that I sometimes look like a drunken sailor while navigating the long halls and staircases. Now I’ll need to look up the origins of the term “drunken sailor”. 😁

Much of our time was filled with relaxing, sleeping, reading, and of course eating! I’ve collected a variety of my photos taken over our journey just to give a snapshot into some of our activities (or lack there of).

This is just one page of the dinner menu. There is another page that lists a selection of starters, soup, and salads. I’ll probably do a separate post just on the dinner options and some sample plates. One night I tried one of the daily specialty drinks. It was delicious, but oh so sweet.

There are lounges and meeting rooms scattered around the ship. We especially enjoyed going topside to the Skywalker Lounge. The views are spectacular, it is quiet and not usually very crowded.

There has been a good variety for our evening entertainment. We have attended about half of the shows. Here is a small sampling to give you an idea of what you could expect in the evening. Most cruise ships offer two show times every evening. We have a table reserved for our group at dinner at 5:00. The early show starts at 7:30. This has allowed us plenty of time to have a very relaxed dinner, great conversations and then get to the theater early enough to get a good seat for the show. The theater can fill up some evenings when favorite shows and larger productions are being performed.

And this is such a small sampling of what is going on throughout the day. There are numerous art and enrichment programs, lectures, game shows, music and dancing, choir practice, crafts, dance lessons, scavenger hunts, the gym, spa treatments, outdoor movies, and of course Bingo, just to name a few more options. We even have our very own “The Voice” competition going on onboard.

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that we can “go with the flow” and enjoy whatever activity catches our eye and/or be content simply relaxing and being together. It takes very little for us to be happy and enjoy life.

We would love to hear from you:

Please comment what activities do you enjoy on a cruise or let us know what you would like to try?