Another sunny morning greeted us when we awoke. The sun had not yet risen, so off it was off to the stern of the ship for sunrise pictures, the first of the crossing.
Sunrise – Transatlantic Day 6
After getting some coffee and hot chocolate to have in the room, we got ready to go to breakfast.
The plan for today was just like the last few, relax out by the pool for most of the day. We are both a little under the weather, although our colds are not too bad. As an update to last night’s plan to go and watch the meteor shower, we went up to one of the upper decks, trying to get away from the ever present background lights on the ship’s decks. It was a bit cool, mainly due to the winds. We laid on deck chairs for about 20 minutes, but we did not see anything. Then, some clouds appeared, so we just called it a night, thinking it was not a good idea for us to be out in the cool night air with our slight colds.
After breakfast in the buffet, we headed back to the room for sunscreen, and then headed to the pool deck. Initially, it was quite hot; the wind was directly from the stern, but blowing less than the speed of the ship, so there was only a slight relative wind from the bow. Around noon, a few showers popped up, and we went through one that was fairly heavy rain. It was interesting to be able to see the showers forming, and then approaching as we headed in their direction. They were not large, but you could clearly see them approaching from out on the horizon.
We had to wait to go to lunch because as soon as the heavier rain shower started, everyone seemed to head in for lunch at the same time to avoid getting wet. We did not want to get involved with that crowd, so we went later at about 1:00 pm. After lunch, it was back out to the sunny pool deck.
Later in the afternoon, we headed down to the pool bar for a couple of beers, and to get out of the hot sun for a little while. As the sun started to get lower, and a few more clouds formed, it was cool enough to have our daily hot tub session. One of the issues we have been dealing with is all of the European parents who don’t seem to be able to read the signs, or care about letting their young children into the hot tubs. There is one group of German’s that uses one of the larger hot tubs as a heated pool for their very young children. There are signs clearly posted about not letting children into the tubs with swim diapers, or, children too small to be totally potty trained. It is clearly a health issue, but this same group does it every day. It is hard for us to understand how they do not realize it is unsanitary, regardless of any signage. I guess they do not come from areas where hot tubs or pools are prevalent, maybe they just don’t think about it. I am disappointed that the cruise line does not say something to them. It is one thing to break rules that do not impact others, or others’ health. It is different when health concerns are at risk, not to mention that the hot tubs can be pretty hot, and that is probably not good for the young kids anyway.
We went back to the room and had a drink and played cards on the balcony until it was time to go and see the sunset. We went to the bow of the ship, but by the time we got there, the sun was already behind some of the clouds. It was not a very good sunset for pictures, so it was back to the room to get ready for dinner. Once again, there was nothing on the dining room menu that perked our interest enough to go through the effort of going to the dining room, so once again, we went to the buffet.
We had decided to spend some time tonight packing so we do not have to do it tomorrow night, which will be our last night on the ship. Plus, we were still feeling a little bit under the weather, and today Stephanie seems a little worse than me. I think she is about one day behind me, I felt better today than yesterday. When we got back to the room, our cabin steward, Anna, had made us a towel monkey, and it was hanging in the room.
Towel Monkey Made By Room Steward
Tomorrow, we will be arriving in Nassau at about 9:00 am. We are going into town to visit a couple of sights that are within walking distance of the pier. We are planning to go to The Queen’s Staircase, Fort Fincastle, and the Water Tower, all of which are close to each other, and just a few blocks from the pier.