First day with no time
change, but we’re still a little sluggish. The kids haven’t adjusted to the
timing in either the morning or the night. We head off to breakfast and note
that barf bags have been made available near all staircases, which is not a
great sign. The water was like glass the day before, and while it’s a little bit
choppier today, no one comes near to yarfing. After breakfast, it’s another
brief kids’ club, this time because we spring them early so we can go see Mary
Poppins Returns. The ship has a small theatre that seats maybe eighty people.
Even though the movie is playing six times today, we just barely get seats –
three between the five of us right in the front row. But it’s fine. The movie
is really good. Enough nods to the original without being slavish to it. (One
of my favourite parts is a short run of notes from the “Tuppence a Bag” song
played at just the right time.) The girls really love it. Teddy and I both get a
little nauseated from the rocking of the ship, coupled with a few rollercoaster
turns of the camera, but in the end he really likes it too. Afterward, he
reminds me of his last movie theatre experience, Moana, where his hand had
locked up because he was tensely clutching a mini box of smarties for the last
half of the movie. Mary Poppins Returns: 100% less tension-induced paralysis.
Not a super eventful
day so maybe I’ll catalogue some of the perks of our cruise level. Fortunately
for us, our Celebrity credits port over to the Royal Caribbean rewards program.
Here, we’re at the Diamond Level (beyond this is Diamond Plus and Pinnacle). At
Diamond, you get a few nice things. There’s the free drinks lounge open for
happy hour (happy hour is between 4:30 and 8:00, btw). Because there are so
many Diamond cruisers on this trip, they’ve also two free happy hour drinks loaded
onto our cards to be redeemed anywhere on the ship each night, in the instance
that you can’t get into the lounge. If you’re a big drinker, you could be the
Mayor of Shitfaced City. Once upon a time, I would have been wearing that mayoral
sash nightly, but these days I just redeem a few virgin bloody marys. But hey:
free is free. Beyond happy hour, there’s also a full day Diamond Club lounge
where you can get access to fancy coffee, and peace and quiet. Again, in the
instance that the lounge is rammed, they’ve also loaded a free specialty coffee
coupon that can be redeemed at the café once a day. Diamond fancy pants people
can also escape the buffet at breakfast and eat at the main dining room (while we’ve
availed ourselves of the other perks on a daily basis, the dining room
breakfast is a little header to manage).
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