1-22-15 Thursday (Cruise – Day 5 – At Sea)

It’s another lazy day at sea.  We got to bed late the night before and didn’t get up today until 11am.  We decided on lunch at Johnny Rockets.  They charge a $6 per person upcharge to eat there but you can order what you want.  We enjoyed our meal and then wandered the ship a little bit.  We actually walked the sports deck.  There’s a rock climbing wall, mini-golf course, basketball court, ping-pong tables, etc.  We did not partake. 

We signed up for the Park West art auction.  So many times we don’t go to these things because we’re not really into art.  We thought, what the hell and attended.  It went on 1.5 – 2 hours and it entertained us.   We even marked a couple of pieces we were interested in but it was out of our very low low low price range.  The auctioneer was very entertaining.  He made it fun.  Who would have thought?

It was time for a nap.  Zzzzzzzzzzz.  We woke up, showered again and were dressed in our usual pants outfits for dinner.  We were seated with an older couple from Ohio and a woman and her neighbor from Baltimore.   Jim had his escargot again and I had a mushroom pastry tart.  For Dinner, we both had the prime rib again.  Jim also had lobster and I too ordered an additional entrée of tortellini.  Once again, delish.  It was time to order dessert.  I told Jim what I wanted, got up to use the restroom and returned to the table.  The server brought FOUR desserts and put them in front of me.  I was confused and the table was laughing at me.  Earlier in the conversation we all bitched about the lameness of the desserts at the buffet and then we talked about the difficulty of deciding on one in the main dining room.  Based on that conversation, Jill evilly suggested to Jim that he order all of the desserts, which he did.  It was funny.  We knew we liked Jill and Valerie for a reason.  We had such a great conversation with Jill and Valerie that once the older couple left we still remained for long after. 

Above: Four desserts.  Baked Alaska, white chocolate mousse, Espresso soaked chocolate truffle, and Grand Marnier soufflé with vanilla sauce .  Jim helped me with them.

Above: Jill and Valerie.

We bid farewell, and went onto tonight’s show, “Invitation to Dance” which was choreographed by Luis Van Amstell of “Dancing with the Stars”.   Jim and I enjoyed the dancing and singing.  It was good.  But we were bored.  We watched it all the way through though.

Meanwhile, back at the room:

Above: I’m not sure what it was.  I called it Jar Jar Binks. 

Next event was a scavenger hunt in Studio B which is the ice skating rink.  They cover the rink for events such as this one.  We spotted Jill and Valerie and took the 2 seats next to them.  This was so much fun that I wished we would have attended more of the goofy games and contests the ship offered.  I was glad we saw that Newlywed-ish game the other day.  Anyway, this scavenger hunt had the theater divided into 12 teams.  Each team had 4 captains.  This was adult themed so kids were not recommended and while there was no profanity, nudity could happen.  The MC (cruise director) would do things like “first team to bring up 2 shoe laces wins.”  The other teams were awarded partial points depending on the order they came up.  So the nudity?  Well, show a thong.  A unique tattoo place.  Twins (which made woman come up and flash their boobs).  It was all so fun and we were all involved.  As a matter of fact, one challenge which we won was to get as many of our teams 2 feet to touch a towel.  We tied with another team at 32.  In the end, our team took home the gold!

Above: Jill, Valerie, Jim and me.

Above: This round was sending a someone from each time who can do something strange.  It ranged from someone able to stick their fist in their mouth to rolling their belly to doing a head stand.  All humorous.

Above: There was a lot of team cheering.  Points were assigned for wildness!

Above: Jim on the floor with his feet on the towel meanwhile I, (below) was standing above him.  Yep, 32 feet on a bath towel.

Above: Each team had to bring up 2 pairs of men’s shorts/pants.

Above: The finale.  Each team had to dress a male in specific women’s clothing such as bra, shoes, lipstick and then accessorize for the win.  Then stage 2 of the challenge was them parading with the others around the floor.  The final stage was an individual strut around.  It was hilarious.

There’s more!  We went to the Chamber (night club) for a silent dance party.  That’s where they give everyone a set of headphones with 2 different channels for 2 different types of music.  So when you walk in you only hear people talking and others are on the dance floor moving to music.  It seemed so weird.  Jim and I got a set to wear around our neck so we could hear the music a little but still be able to chat.  Jill and Valerie joined us.  We closed the place down at 3am.  I was drunk.  We had so much fun.

OK, now we’re done…