Rainy Start

Today I am up at 7:30am and Heather joins me this time. We are actually up on deck by 7:45 and it appears as though more people have already caught on to saving deck chairs as more were taken then the previous morning. So we couldn’t be in the middle so we had to sort of decide which side was better based on the wind and such. Still, we found a good place in the back once again, this time a little more starboard.

I noticed Kaitlyn texted and said she was up already but very hung over so she went up to get something in her stomach. We decided to sit with her for a bit, I grabbed a little breakfast, kind of watch as she took small bites and attempted to eat. Eventually she went back to her room to lay down again so Heather and I went to our deck chairs.

This morning started off a little cool and we were concerned because on the Hubub yesterday it said that today could be cooler and rainy however when we woke up the Hubub said it would be rather warm today. There were some rain showers around in the morning and only once did it come down enough that we had to take cover for a few minutes. A few people stayed out, one lady just put the towel over her head and stayed there.

The clouds started to break more as the morning went along and a time or two it looked like we were about to get soaked again but with good navigation, we pretty much avoided the rain the rest of the day. Today we sailed between Cuba and Haiti but obviously still enough room to maneuver around the weather.

As you can see however, it started to improve and turned out to be a very warm day.

And even though on occasion we may have still had some passing showers, you can see Leighton with his shirt off so it still got plenty warm

Chris and I decided to wear our DADD shirts today. Always get plenty of compliments with these.

In fact, there was one guy from the start of the cruise that we said must have been interning to be a cruise director. He would say hi to everyone and started talking to Sophie and Kate. Well it got to be that every time he would see them two he would stop to talk to them. One time we overheard him asking if they were old enough to drink.

So we are in the back and we see him turn the corner to go up the steps to deck 11 but he pauses cause he sees Sophie and Kate and walks back down to talk to them. So Chris and I took the opportunity to pose with our shirts.

He was oblivious to it but I so wish he would have read our shirts. He was a good kid though. We would see him throughout the cruise just talking to different people.

Today, people and kids kind of came and went through the morning and into the afternoon. For lunch Sophie and I went to Blue Iguana Cantina. I had a burrito and I told Sophie if she just wanted tacos to go to the other side as there were no people there. I don’t think people understood they could go there if they just wanted tacos. So she did and we went back to our chairs.

The moms went to Serenity to try the salad place. They said it was not good and felt like it was the same quality as what you saw on the buffet line so they never returned. They also said Serenity felt a little snooty, which is weird cause anyone can be there as long as you are 18.

That back area is nice with food. You kind of have an area to keep your drinks safe and a little shelf back there to set your food on. Both the burritos and tacos were good. I stayed 0n the chairs for a while but in the mean time, Kaitlyn and Ally decided to go sit on deck 5 as it would be quieter with their hang overs and not quite as bright. Kaitlyn did say later that was a good idea and a nice quiet place to sit.

Afternoon Activities

After a while kids were getting restless so Chris and I would take the 2s to do the ropes course while the wives sat in the chairs. When we got there, they told us no tank tops, you had to have sleeves. Well apparently Ella did not pack anything with sleeves so we opted to do the bikes instead.

Here, Heather just happened to look and get a picture of me on the bike.

We got back before Chris and Leighton were even on the ropes so I was able to get a couple of pictures of them.

I noticed on the bikes it was a little windy and as I watched them, I really realized how windy it was and was surprised they even let people on it. They did limit it at this point to adults only and then a little bit after that shut it down completely.

I believe the 3s were in the club at this time having fun with all their new friends they made.

After the ropes, we played a game of cornhole. This would ignite some competition between the 2s that would go on through the remainder of the cruise practically.

The moms gave up the deck chairs and joined us because it was just getting too hot.

We did see Ally and Kaitlyn at this point and they told us about the “mustache guys” from last night that followed them everywhere. At one point in the night, Ally or Kaitlyn lost their card to their room so they were heading to guest services to take care of it. They said they would go with them. They followed them around like puppies but they did say if they followed to their room, fists may have had to fly.

After our game of cornhole, which I think the 2s won eventually, with it being so warm, Ella and I took the rest to the front of the ship to cool off.

As you can maybe see from the hair it was really wind up there. We would lean into the wind like it was a blizzard or hurricane. Eventually, I would do this to see how far I could lean…

With the gusts, it was a little trickier than I thought to keep the lean going.

We kept going up the decks and checking out the various levels at the front of the ship. Here we were below the bridge (or quarterdeck)…

Then another deck, we were above the bridge and could see off the wings and look towards the back.

With it being windy, of course there were some pretty good waves. At times we would feel a quick ‘thud’ and the waves on the side would go slashing upwards.

Another video showing how windy it was up there as we cut through the waves.

Evening Plans

We actually got a bit of a nap in before we went off to eat. We did decided to eat earlier again so we wouldn’t be the last one in the dining area. This helped again with the wait as it didn’t take as long as that first night to get a table. The first couple of nights we sat in the upstairs portion so we assumed that’s where the bigger tables were and where we would be again. Nope, this night we got sent down to the bottom area.

We would go see the show “America Rocks” and sat in the lower portion but off to the side a ways.

Now, at this point Leighton and the 3s couldn’t get into comedy shows or the club after a certain time, but American Rocks was a kind of raunchy with their dancing and given what happened the night before with the strip tease, we couldn’t quite figure out why some things were allowed but others were not.

The nightlife tonight was really lacking and sleepiness was really starting to kick in with us so after the show we took in a couple of acts in the atrium.

There was a country duo later on that were quite good. We always wanted to catch them again but never did the remainder of the cruise.

The 1s went to the club again and the others just ventured around the ship. While tomorrow was our first port day, even though we didn’t get there until 1pm and had time to sleep in, we still decided to head in for the night. Mind you, it was already 12:30 am but that can be early when you are cruising.

Day 4….Aruba!

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