Cruising

August 23rd. Cruising with my kids is a ball. We took a cab from our hotel, went through security and boarded the ship all in about an hour. Leorit and I had a balcony room with Bo across the hall in a man cave. (The ship would not let us book a suite. Long story.)

We enjoyed the gym (at least Bo and Leorit did), the walking/jogging tracks, the pools (I had my flippers and goggles; yay for laps!), all of the free restaurants including the buffet and the fine dining, the shows (a little cheesy, but I liked them), the Second City workshop, the “Dancing with the Stars” contest and “The Newlywed Game.” One night we pulled out the fold-away couch in our room, Bo stayed and we had a slumber party. Every day before dinner I met with some wonderful friends. (That’s Liz and Andy in the photograph. John slept through picture day.)

Our first day (Monday) was a sea day. Tuesday we took a cab into Valletta, Malta and walked around in the shops for a little while; Wednesday and Thursday were excursions (see separate posts); Friday Leorit and I rode the shuttle bus into town. We found frozen yogurt and picked up some souvenirs in Livorno, Italy while Bo hung around the pool and some of the other passengers went into Florence and Pisa.

Our last full day (Saturday), Leorit and I took the tender (actually the ship’s life boat – see pictures re-loading onto the ship) into Cannes, France. I was loving the water and had a nice conversation with Edna from San Diego. Edna was taking a 40th birthday trip with a friend that she’d known since childhood. When Edna went back to her towel she told her friend that she met someone who is from Long Beach and working in Kuwait. Her friend pops up, “Bonnie!!!” Edna’s friend is the same Liz who I knew from the ship. Spent an hour or so swimming, playing and floating in the Mediterranean. Heaven!

Cruising - Highly recommended.