Day 8, Thursday, May 26, At Sea, Formal

The first of 2 days at sea was blessed with rather nice weather. When I
first went up to deck 10 their seemed to be quite a brisk wind on my
back walking towards the stern, but surprisingly it the wind was not bad
on the return towards the bow. The overall wind is about the same as it
was headed south but it is now a tailwind. During the walk there was a
pleasant if not spectacular sunrise and there was a respite from the
heat we had further South. I spent the rest of the morning on internet,
reading, and generally catching up on things. In his noon address
Captain Gus reported we are exceeding the progress needed for our on
time arrival.

I had lunch today in the My Fair Lady Dining Room I was seated at a
large table with a wide variety of people, including a young Air Force
couple, and had an excellent Chicken Caesar Salad. In mid-afternoon we
had an event called "Captain's Corner". The Captain, Hotel Manager, and
Chief Engineer assembled on the Orpheum Theater for a Question and
Answer session, with Cruise Director Carly Boileau mostly taking a mike
to the questioners but also fielding a few queries. The session lasted
just over an hour with all sorts of questions. Captain Gus said this is
his first appointment as master and he is 7 weeks into a 10-week
contract. Carly reported being anchored off Maui with most guests ashore
and a sudden Tsunami warning. She was assigned to go ashore and herd the
guests to a Walmart on high ground while the ship moved to a safe
location, although the warning was lifted before the plan became necessary.

It was our second Formal night of the cruise. Many of the guests seemed
to be dressed well below the guidelines, although the general level of
attire was rather nice. The evening show was The Unexpected Boys vocal
quartet producing a show based on the music of the Four Seasons.

Today's parting shot comes from the Captain's Corner discussion. The
Enchantment is in the only class of ships capable of passing under the
bridges leading to Baltimore. Although these cruises sell very well, it
is unclear what will happen when the Enchantment, Carnival Pride, and
their sister ships are retired. Other ports like Montreal are facing
similar restrictions. When these ships are retired in a few years there
are no clear replacements. If the trend towards bigger and taller ships
continues, tomorrow's cruising grounds may become much more restricted.

Roy