Well the departure was a big letdown. There was no departure party like there always was on the Love Boat and the women were still in Miami so it was still 4 bazillion degrees. They were all tired from a full day of travelling and the daughter just wanted to sit for a while. They went to the pool deck to check out the party and as soon as they got off the elevator there was a staff member with a tray of Bahama Mamas. WooHoo. The daughter took 2 and then had to put them back on the tray so she could sign the slip adding them to her room charges. She thought it fitting that her first charge on the ship was BOOZE! LOL.
The women hit the deck and there was a poolside buffet with burgers, dogs, and jerk chicken. They grabbed food to go with the drinks and headed up one flight of stairs. Now they were on the top deck of the ship (deck 12) and the daughter could barely feel it move. They turned the lounge chairs around so they were facing the water and just sat and ate while the ship slowly left the Port of Miami. And it was still 4 bazillion degrees.
After eating and sitting around for about an hour the women were ready to explore the ship since the shops and the casino were open – the women wanted to see what the big floating hotel had to offer. The daughter had put on a seasick patch before they left for the airport that morning so she was doing remarkably well and was having very little problems so exploring was definitely what she wanted to do. They found the theater, the disco, the library, the coffee bar, about 80 restaurants, the jewelry store, and the art gallery. At the point just before the women fell down from exhaustion they headed back to the room…and that is when the problems started.
They got to their tiny room and started to unpack. The daughter didn’t need a lot of drawer space since she only had shorts and tops…she could just put them anywhere. The mother and friend packed their stuff away as well. The friend had the sofa bed that was right next to the balcony and if the bed was out then none of the women could access the balcony so the sofa bed was still folded up. The women spent a little time out on the balcony but it was 3 bazillion degrees and they were all tired so they decided to turn in for the night. That was when they heard a slight noise at the cabin door. The friend went to see what it was and there was a notice in the mailbox. Their shore excursion for the next day had been cancelled due to lack of participants. Well, the women weren’t put out at all since that meant they could sleep later in the morning and they would save the $50 fee.
The friend went to the reception area in order to verify the cancellation and the mother and daughter changed into jammies and slid between the cool, crisp sheets of their beds. The drapes were drawn, the room was dimly lit so the friend wouldn’t kill herself tripping over stuff when she came back, and the temperature was a very pleasant 70 degrees. The mother and daughter were starting to drift off to sleep.
The friend came back in and immediately turned on the lights and the TV. She opened the drapes and the door to the balcony (which automatically turned off the air conditioner) and started talking to the mother and daughter. The mother and daughter, annoyed by the sudden commotion and jarring lights and babble from the TV, asked her to please close the drapes so they would be able to sleep later in the morning. The friend said, “No. this room is too small and I feel claustrophobic with the drapes drawn. Also, I went to check into getting a different room for just me and I can get one without a balcony for $200. I don’t want to spend that money on a room so I will just stay in this one”.
The friend came back in from the balcony and started getting ready for bed, performing the nightly rituals – brush teeth, wash face, etc. She finally pulled out the sofa bed and she too crawled between the cool sheets. She maneuvered a bit to find a relatively comfortable place and then started flipping the channels on the TV. By this time the mother and daughter had had enough of the rudeness and asked her to turn off the TV and go to sleep. It was then explained that the friend had a habit of falling asleep with the TV on. The mother and daughter sighed and laid back down hoping that it wouldn’t take long for the friend to nod off. Fortunately, it took less than 5 minutes and the friend was asleep. The daughter reached over, slid the remote from the friends hand and turned off the incessant noise. The mother turned off the light and all was blissfully quiet, cool, and serene…and then the snoring started.
Next blog: In Freeport, getting naked in public, having an aneurism, and a Foodie’s paradise…next time on AS THE BOAT FLOATS.
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