Today has been one of those days when I realise just how lucky I am to be Captain Greybeard. At sea on board Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas, under a warming sun, I have been able to relax on my cabin balcony to finish a small amount of work, but mainly I have concentrated on doing very little.
As the ship heads towards Venice, the only cloud on the horizon is the thought that in a few hours time I will have to pack my suitcase and tomorrow morning I will be flying home.
I let my more energetic fellow-passengers take part in the pre-breakfast stretch session by the pool – I was enjoying a lie-in after last night’s dinner in the ship’s new Izumi Asian restaurant, which I followed up by winning the princely sum of $30 in the casino.
This morning’s line-dancing class, the towel animal folding demonstration and the napkin artistry session also passed by without my participation, though I have to admit taking a sneak peek at the World’s Sexiest Man contest.
Tonight there’s another Aerial Vignette to look forward to as the aerialists perform in the Centrum, following the Crew Parade of Nations. Variety showtime in the 42nd Street Theatre stars Daniel Hochsteiner, the world speed-juggling champion, and later it’s the adult karaoke superstar finals in the Top Hat Lounge.
Perhaps I should give the pub quiz in the Schooner Bar a miss tonight – yesterday’s victory in the ’80s music special brought our team’s score to three wins in the week, and we each have three Royal Caribbean pens to show for our prowess.
Apart from the fun and games on Splendour, the other highlight of the day has been Cunard’s confirmation of the story I broke last Sunday about President George H.W. Bush’s Transatlantic crossing with his family on board Queen Mary 2.
If they had half as much fun during their week at sea as I have had on mine, I’m sure they’ll be back soon.
About the Author: John Honeywell
John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.
Greetings Captain Greybeard! It has been good to read that you’ve had a good time on board the Splendour of the Seas, a favourite ship of mine. We will be back on board this October, when we look forward to seeing her fully refurbished. My only worry is the loss of some/most of the Viking Crown Lounge, which, I believe, is now home to two of the new restaurants. I hope that there is still space to sit at leisure in the remaining VCL to take in the wonderful views from so high up. With reference to your recent Pub Quiz successes – when we were recently on RCI Brilliance, we were lucky enough to win a quiz in the Schooner Bar on 1960s music. And our prize? Pens? No no! We are now the proud owners of two RCI caps, which makes a change from keyrings for us – we are yet to win a pen!