July 2nd

We crawled out of bed around 9:30 a.m.; more for breakfast than really wanting to get out of bed. Chris and I got dressed and went up to the Horizon Court, the 24-hour buffet on the ship. I didn’t like the selection at the buffet and would have been happier eating room service, especially since it was free with our room. Chris on the other hand doesn’t care much for room service food, not that he was happy with the buffet selections either.

After we ate we decided to walk around the ship and see what was going on. We walked by the Vista Lounge and they were setting up for bingo. A game was starting in 30 minutes so we called Angela’s room to see if they wanted to play. While we waited for everyone to make their way down to the game, we wandered through the bar where the cruise holds their art auctions. There were several pieces around the bar we checked out. Some were the same as ones we had seen on other cruises and others were just ugly. One of the artists was there talking with some people about his artwork. None of the artwork really interested me. The only piece we saw that was kind of cool was a framed photo of the rat pack from the movie ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ with a plaque that had copies of their autographs.

We returned to the Vista Lounge to play bingo with our group, except for Brad who was at the gym. We had a great corner with a wrap around couch near the door. It was a good location because it had a place on the floor where Kirsten could play and the couches were more comfortable than the chairs in the theater. Playtime for Kirsten was a little tricky. She wanted someone to be playing with her, so not everyone could completely focus on the game.

Bingo is five games on the cruise. Angela won the $200 game, but she was one of three winners so she did not get the whole amount. After his workout, Brad joined us for some games, so he took over Tina’s cards and she played with Kirsten. With no more winners in our group, we used our proximity to the door, quickly got out of the crowded theater and headed over to the casino to play roulette for a while. I managed to not lose any money during my time at the table before heading back to our room. Chris and I relaxed in our room, writing in our journals and then I read the book I brought. Tina and Brad stopped by to pick up our passports so they could make photocopies for the Russian customs. They returned later and said that they had also checked on our trips for the next day. They were concerned that the boating company would not have a life vest for Kirsten. It was a good thing they checked because the tour was actually something she wouldn’t be able to go on. So Angela and Brian had to do something different while we went on the boat trip.

At 3:30 p.m. we all meet up again for afternoon tea, along with what appeared to be half the ship. We had a good afternoon tea experience on our last cruise, but this experience wasn’t the same. Rather than the fun three tiered trays for the table, there were trays being passed around by the waiters. With six adults and a baby at a table it was far from a calm, leisurely event. To start with the food was slow coming to our table. Then, when it did, the waiters only brought the sandwiches by one time, the tea showed up maybe twice, we had to flag down the scones and request the clotted cream.

We headed back to our room via the casino bar for a Very Berry Martini and then to relax in the room until dinner. The first dinner evening was a formal dress night so groups could have their souvenir photos taken. There had been much discussion as to where we would have our group photos taken. The Tina always really looks forward to the family photo, a good background was very important. On the first cruise we had the fake Titanic background, this time we selected an area with fake flowers and no paper background. The photographer didn’t want the group to have our photo taken there becuase the flowers would not fit in the frame. We told him we didn’t want the flowers anyway, not to worry about all of us fitting with the flowers too.

After group and couple photos we foudn our way to the dinning room to eat. To speed the process along Angela had asked our waiter, Angel, the night before to bring a hot dog as soon as we sat down for Kirsten. As soon as we were done, Chris and I headed back to the room to change out of our formal wear and Chris took another nap before going back to the casino. Again, the casino was empty -- only about twenty people were there, so we decided to check out the rest of the ship, including the library and game room. We watched other people get their photos taken and before finding ourselves back in the casino. By that point, Tina and Brad had made their way to the casino after watching the show that evening. Another $20 went quickly in the slot machines, so I tried the roulette table again. I lost most of my starting money, but when I got half of it back I decided to call it a night. Chris stayed up to write in his journal for a while, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open.