Day at Sea

            Wednesday, 29 Jan 2020 – At breakfast, we met a couple who lives in Belgium, Jerry & Emma, Emma being originally from The Netherlands.  They get their medical and dental care in India.  Apparently, he is from there.  After breakfast, we went to the pool for a swim.  It had rained during the night and the pool had been covered earlier, not heated.  Sally decided the water was too cold, but Jesse swam anyway.  Sally tried returning to our stateroom, but the maintenance staff was busy repairing the marble top on our desk, which had been badly cracked when the wine bottles fell on it earlier in the week.  We both sat in the hot tub for a few minutes before returning to our stateroom.  For lunch, we sat with the other dancers, Marvin & Liz, in the Terrace Café.  We learned that Marvin is a retired pharmacist.  Liz did his bookkeeping and also helped to run the families’ Chinese restaurant.  We found it interesting that they refer to their marriage as a “mixed marriage,” because Marvin is of Chinese descent, and Liz is of Japanese descent.
            After lunch, Jesse went to a dance class where he learned the “International Rumba,” while Sally napped.  Jesse’s dance partner was Juanita, who remembered us from last year’s cruise.  Although her husband dances, he doesn’t like to learn the “International” dance versions.  Marvin & Liz also attended the class.  Our dance instructors were a very young couple, Oliver, from Manchester, England, and Airi from Yokohama, Japan.  They are both graduates of the Northern Ballet School, UK.  Later, Marvin told us that they are a married couple.
            At 5:45 PM, we got all dressed up and went to the Captain’s Cocktail Celebration, where we were served complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.  The cruise director introduced the captain and the department heads, who all gave brief speeches.  Before and after the ceremony, we danced, along with Marvin & Liz, Oliver & Airi, and two other couples.
            For dinner, we enjoyed lobster and prime rib.  We sat near Sharon & Barry, who we remembered from the 2018 cruise.  They are originally from Wisconsin, but now live in Tucson, AZ.  After dinner, we retired for the night.