Fri.Nov. 4th At Sea
By Jain
It's our first sea day! Looking out from our balcony we can see the coast of Crete. The waters are calm and again it is bright and sunny day. I actually like sea days. On sea days there is no place you have to rush off to, nothing you have to do, and no excuse not to go to the gym. After our breakfast we complete the mandatory immigration inspection for Israel. According to Israeli immigration law all guests must go through a face to face documentation inspection prior to arriving in Haifa (which won't be until the day after tomorrow). Our face to face interview lasted 30 seconds.
What we appreciate being in a suite even more than our butler that delivers coffee in the morning, is that we don't have to wait in lines. We breezed through immigration line in 5 minutes in comparison to hundreds of people we saw for hours winding various floors and staircases.
After our 30 second immigration interview we both go to the gym. BTW. Granny was at her treadmill "bee bopping" away, so now I know she is alive and not in the freezer with the frozen shrimp. I did 4 miles on the treadmill, trying to make up for the bacon I had this morning, Jay did a bit more exercise too, trying to make up for the steak and eggs he had for breakfast. I am sure Granny did 20 miles and completed 6 advanced crossword puzzles.
After exercising it is time to shop. Cruise ships shopping galleries have changed in the last twenty years. The stores have limited goods for sale, and you are lucky if you can find an aspirin. What you will always find plenty of is jewelry, watches, perfumes, liquor and cameras. BUT on sea days they bring out the stash of junk, purses, tee shirts that didn't sell on the last 4 cruises, and mark them down. Piled high on counters you feel like you are in a K Mart blue light special sale and the competition is fierce.
Jay has been looking for a new camera so we go shopping. He actually left his camera at the tour desk yesterday and after returning to the ship we went to lost and found to retrieve it. They had it. The nice lady at the desk said "I have to ask you some questions to make sure it is yours." "What can you tell me about the camera to assure me it is yours?" Jay said, "Well the camera strap is well worn and only holding on by some threads, and it is a Panasonic Lumix. She then asked, "Can you show me some pictures of you on your camera maybe of your wife, or you two together? Jay said, "No, I downloaded them this morning, nothing is in the memory." She seemed very reluctant at this point and raised an eyebrow, perplexed at what to ask next. Then she asked "What color is your camera?". Jay replied "It is black." Bingo.. that was the magic answer and with that we got our camera back. I sure hope I don't lose my passport on board this ship. The likeness of me and my photo of 8 years ago is surely to be in question. We did buy a new camera today and seriously thinking of losing the old one on purpose, so maybe somebody that is lucky enough the answer that question about what color will a really good old camera.
In the afternoon we attended the "What to do in Limassol" lecture. We love our Concierge who basically can't tell a lie, when asked if there is a lot to do in Limassol, Cyprus, he says, "Well, there is a great Natural Sponge Museum." In other words there is not much to see or do unless you want to drive for 2 hours where there is a quaint little town of Paphos in a beautiful seaside setting. I guess we will save our energy for the next port Haifa.
Tonite is formal night. About ¼ ship passengers are dressed to nines ½ are dressed for a come as you go party and we are somewhere in between. We skip the photos with the Captain and go to our favorite bar, Gatsby's, for a glass of champagne. Two women are playing the Violin and Cello. It is nice. When we go to Versailles restaurant for dinner, it is so crowded we get seated with a Marley and Catherine from Canada. Both are Indian and originally from Mumbai. It doesn't take us long to learn they are very religious, and somewhat experts on Israel. I find the conversation fascinating especially after my two glasses of wine. We didn't make it the Starlight show Graffiti Classics featuring a bunch of gypsies romping around to classical folk music. The show was supposed to be wickedly funny and exhilarating. Judging by those coming out of the show I think It might have been just wicked.
It's our first sea day! Looking out from our balcony we can see the coast of Crete. The waters are calm and again it is bright and sunny day. I actually like sea days. On sea days there is no place you have to rush off to, nothing you have to do, and no excuse not to go to the gym. After our breakfast we complete the mandatory immigration inspection for Israel. According to Israeli immigration law all guests must go through a face to face documentation inspection prior to arriving in Haifa (which won't be until the day after tomorrow). Our face to face interview lasted 30 seconds.
What we appreciate being in a suite even more than our butler that delivers coffee in the morning, is that we don't have to wait in lines. We breezed through immigration line in 5 minutes in comparison to hundreds of people we saw for hours winding various floors and staircases.
After our 30 second immigration interview we both go to the gym. BTW. Granny was at her treadmill "bee bopping" away, so now I know she is alive and not in the freezer with the frozen shrimp. I did 4 miles on the treadmill, trying to make up for the bacon I had this morning, Jay did a bit more exercise too, trying to make up for the steak and eggs he had for breakfast. I am sure Granny did 20 miles and completed 6 advanced crossword puzzles.
After exercising it is time to shop. Cruise ships shopping galleries have changed in the last twenty years. The stores have limited goods for sale, and you are lucky if you can find an aspirin. What you will always find plenty of is jewelry, watches, perfumes, liquor and cameras. BUT on sea days they bring out the stash of junk, purses, tee shirts that didn't sell on the last 4 cruises, and mark them down. Piled high on counters you feel like you are in a K Mart blue light special sale and the competition is fierce.
Jay has been looking for a new camera so we go shopping. He actually left his camera at the tour desk yesterday and after returning to the ship we went to lost and found to retrieve it. They had it. The nice lady at the desk said "I have to ask you some questions to make sure it is yours." "What can you tell me about the camera to assure me it is yours?" Jay said, "Well the camera strap is well worn and only holding on by some threads, and it is a Panasonic Lumix. She then asked, "Can you show me some pictures of you on your camera maybe of your wife, or you two together? Jay said, "No, I downloaded them this morning, nothing is in the memory." She seemed very reluctant at this point and raised an eyebrow, perplexed at what to ask next. Then she asked "What color is your camera?". Jay replied "It is black." Bingo.. that was the magic answer and with that we got our camera back. I sure hope I don't lose my passport on board this ship. The likeness of me and my photo of 8 years ago is surely to be in question. We did buy a new camera today and seriously thinking of losing the old one on purpose, so maybe somebody that is lucky enough the answer that question about what color will a really good old camera.
In the afternoon we attended the "What to do in Limassol" lecture. We love our Concierge who basically can't tell a lie, when asked if there is a lot to do in Limassol, Cyprus, he says, "Well, there is a great Natural Sponge Museum." In other words there is not much to see or do unless you want to drive for 2 hours where there is a quaint little town of Paphos in a beautiful seaside setting. I guess we will save our energy for the next port Haifa.
Tonite is formal night. About ¼ ship passengers are dressed to nines ½ are dressed for a come as you go party and we are somewhere in between. We skip the photos with the Captain and go to our favorite bar, Gatsby's, for a glass of champagne. Two women are playing the Violin and Cello. It is nice. When we go to Versailles restaurant for dinner, it is so crowded we get seated with a Marley and Catherine from Canada. Both are Indian and originally from Mumbai. It doesn't take us long to learn they are very religious, and somewhat experts on Israel. I find the conversation fascinating especially after my two glasses of wine. We didn't make it the Starlight show Graffiti Classics featuring a bunch of gypsies romping around to classical folk music. The show was supposed to be wickedly funny and exhilarating. Judging by those coming out of the show I think It might have been just wicked.
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