Three days at sea

Monday, March 11, 2019
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

It’s getting hot and humid! Every day it becomes just a bit more “sticky.” Good thing I’m monsoon-season tested!

Where am I?

SO, WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

Well, the most significant thing that has happened in these three days at sea is that I’ve moved. I’ve relocated. I’ve upgraded!

Early in the trip, I posted photos of my room, Stateroom 1960. Here’s what I posted.

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I mentioned in my earlier posts that I was not very happy with my room, but that I had chosen a window room (rather than a balcony room) to save some money. Each day I grew a little more disappointed that I hadn’t just spent the money on something that would leave me with happier memories.

Then, two sisters on my trivia team (Molly and a-woman-has-no-name) informed our team that they had upgraded from a Verandah room to a suite, and that their Verandah room was possibly available. Possibly, because this cruise is sold not just as an entire voyage but also in segments. It would be possible that somebody had already purchased their room and would be joining the ship at a future port.

I decided to check in with customer service and let them know I was interested in taking stateroom 6209 if it was available. It took them a couple of days to confirm that it was, indeed, available. After a quick tour of the room, I told them I would be very happy to take it!

Well, as of this writing, I’m in my new room. I’m no longer just above water level. I’m now two decks below the Lido. I’m on deck 6, if you will, and they call it the Verandah deck.

Examine the photo in the gallery above captioned “A very dirty window.” That is what I would wake up to and look through each morning. Trying to take a photo through that glass was ridiculous. Now, compare that photo with my first outside view after moving to my new location:

I think you’d agree that there’s quite an impressive difference. Now, let me give you a very brief tour of my new room.

The bathroom in the new stateroom is about the same as the old room with a couple of key exceptions. The first one (pictured) is that I now have a Jacuzzi tub, which I plan to enjoy with some bath salts. Not pictured is the upgraded shower and faucet hardware.

As you enter the door and walk past the bathroom, you come into the bedroom.

The bed itself is the same as in the last stateroom, however I now have a seemingly infinite supply of pillows. There are also more mirrors in this room and I’m still training myself where not to look.

Next room is an area I’ll call “the study.”

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This area is bigger than the “study” area in the old stateroom. It has a better TV and a better connection to the entertainment provided by the ship. Not actually pictured in the above photos is the mini-fridge! I now have a place to keep multiple bottles of wine and bubbly cold.

You can also see the door to the balcony which just may be the most important room of all!

On the balcony there are two deck chairs with ottomans (ottomen?) Also included but not pictured is a small cocktail table where I can set my cold beer! I really must say that it is so nice to sit on that balcony and watch the ocean go by. I feel much more in touch with the world I’m sailing through. I expect to see more marine life now, including dolphins, turtles, and flying fish. If I was lucky enough to see a whale I think I’d be in need of emergency laundry service.

Moving from one stateroom to another was a bit of a pain. Anything on a hanger was easy to hang on a bellboy’s cart. But, everything else had to be packed up in my suitcases for transport. Once I got to the new room, I then had to unpack everything. Which…

…is something I haven’t finished doing yet. So, if you’l excuse me…

What’s coming up?

Tomorrow we’ll pull into Darwin, Australia. It is supposed to be the hottest and most humid day of the voyage so far, therefore I’ve planed a tour in an open air bus. Oh, yes. I’m so smart.

P. S.

My photos are missing some of the details of the room, and I’ve tried to describe those details in text. If you’d like to see a video tour of the room, just let me know in the “Reply” section of this post.