Sea Day - Our Only One!

Friday was a Sea Day on our cruise... although it was our only one, it was really nice to have it at the beginning of the cruise. The kids (and we) were so excited to explore the ship it was great to have a full day to do so before we had to convince them of the merits of guided tours.

Kate and I started the day early (whose idea was it to take the non-sleeper on a vacation to a land that only has 5 hours of darkness?) and were thrilled to find the breakfast buffet opened at 4am. We actually had company at the buffet, as many of the travelers were jet-lagged and on all kinds of sleep schedules. We had a great breakfast and wandered around the ship until Jay and Jack woke several hours later.

Jay and I took turns working out, while the other explored the ship with the kids. We also had the opportunity to cheer on Jay during the Ping Pong tournament, where he was (sadly) eliminated during the first round by a Ping Pong pro named Vincent from Hong Kong. :(

While Jay was working out, the kids and I went pottery painting... surprisingly, the area was empty - and so we had the entire place to ourselves. The kids loved working with all the colors.

Afterwards, we all had lunch together - and then the kids were off to the Kids Club for arts and crafts activities. While they were there, Jay did some work - and I had a chance to get a massage at the spa... heaven.

That night was Formal Night onboard, so we got all fancy and headed into the Dining Room. There, we met our waiters for the cruise - who would turn out to be completely responsible for our weight gain onboard. They spoiled us with special appetizers, pizza, pasta and snacks throughout our meal... constantly sneaking in additional courses when we weren't looking.

After dinner, we went dancing for a bit - and then the kids got to watch the Champagne Waterfall and the introduction of the officers. During that point, we got to see the Commodore, who I had worked with during my days at Princess. He came over to say hello - and Jack was immediately swept away in "Captain Mania" that would follow us for the rest of the cruise. It was a fun evening - and we all climbed into bed exhausted.