A Woman In A Mask – Venice, Italy – [08/08/2013]

For me? Venice will always be a woman in a mask

When one is on an itinerary that features a three day overnight in Venice, it seems only natural that you should have something at least vaguely resembling a masquerade. Especially since this is a 12 day run, which means it meets the length requirement for holding a ball. Normally that would be a black and white gala, but since the ship needs to stay in keeping with the theme, we hold a Venetian Ball instead.

While this isn’t a Grand Ball of the standard I’m afraid to say I’ve become used to (thank heavens we didn’t have to clamber on chairs and scatter fanci-fetti this time around), it is a ball none-the-less, and it is a masked ball.

It’s a very freeing concept to attend a masked ball on a ship where nearly everyone still finds you something of a stranger. I know my direct team, I know my supervisors, but few others. And the guests have not been here long enough to get to know any of us if we change our appearance slightly. Since the mask required me to wear my contacts, I was already minus one of my main indentifying features for most of them, and since I also had my hair done up in an absolute mess of ringlets, it was difficult to place me unless you were a team member.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the ball was a fairy tale, but it was lovely, and a lot of people had bought masks ashore so there was a good turnout for the mask contest. Sometimes it’s nice to do something a bit more relaxed. As I’ve taken to do doing since the new crew liquor policy came into place (which dictates that crew are only allowed to drink wine or beer as far as alcohol is concerned,  and I drink neither), I ordered a virgin cosmo (pretty glass, grapefruit juice, no alcohol, but since vodka doesn’t really have much flavor it basically tastes the same as a regular cosmo) – and you should have seen the look on everyone’s face when I walked by with a cocktail glass..

What is THAT?

Chill, it’s a booze-free version…

Oh…

Somehow I don’t think even masked I’d get away with breaking the rules THAT badly!

Unlike the previous balls I’ve been used to, the venetian ball was short, which was a good thing because we were all inexplicably exhausted. Plus, it was a formal night, and in keeping with the theme I had dug my gold corset out of the bottom of my closet, so by just after ten my ribs were sobbing for release.