Day at Sea

On almost every cruise, there are days at sea.  That wonderful time to relax, enjoy the ship, and do nothing.  After leaving Alexandria, the Pacific Princess headed to Ephesus in Turkey, and provided us with our last full sea day followed by formal night.

When I awoke, I noticed some movement of the ship, and as usual I was very hungry.  But after getting ready for breakfast and making my way upstairs, I was much less in the mood to eat.  The Pacific Princess is a small ship and the rough seas produced rolling.  After a VERY light breakfast, I returned to the cabin and laid down. This was the best position of me.

I watched a few movies took a nap or two as the day progressed and the ship continued to roll.  We were in an ocean-view cabin on deck 4 with a nice picture window to let in light.  Several times during the morning I would sit up and watch the roiling sea.  The outside of the window had a fine film of dirt, but it was still easy to see the water.  I was going to call the cabin steward and ask him to clean the outside of the window just to see his reaction.
While watching the television, my cabin darkened as if I had covered the window.  Upon sitting up and looking out, I realized a wave had cleaned the outside of my window, problem solved.  But that means the waves were at least 40 feet high.
After a light lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon as I had spent the morning. Once we entered the waters around the out-lying Greek Islands, the winds diminished along with the rough seas.  At the late seating for dinner, there were a good number of empty seats.  I did taste the Beef Wellington, but after a few bites decided it would be best not to finish.  One other table mate decided the same since the ship was still rocking some.  Of course, the ship's movements had no effect on the 'Special Gems of the Sea'.  When I decided I had finished, E ate the spinach from my plate and really wanted the beef, but felt guilty and returned it since no one would share it with her.
With less movement of the ship, it was easier to walk around the ship.  While in the lounge, I joined two passengers from Los Angeles and a member of the entertainment staff.  They inquired about the 'Gems of the Sea' since they had the experience of meeting E.  During a Zumba class, E had arrived late, how unusual, and was doing her own routine.  She repeated stated that the class was NOT Zumba since she did it on LA and was being taught incorrectly.  When asked if she would like to lead the class, E declined and left.

The crew member said they were lucky with only having to pay for the cab ride when they were late.  Some ports charge hefty fines for overstaying, in excess of $100,000.  She was on a cruise that was delayed by passengers in a port that resulted in the ship having to travel faster to the next port.  Traveling faster means more fuel, and they were presented a bill for the excess fuel consumed.  That would have gone over like a lead balloon.