So that’s it? That’s the great adventure of Captain Jack Sparrow? You sat on a beach for three days drinking rum?
Welcome to the Caribbean luv..
At LAST!
It’s difficult to really say how amazing it feels to be out of the crossing, even though the crossing went well. The switch to 7 day cruising feels like a breath of fresh air; the entire attitude of the ship has relaxed at least for the most part. Almost the only thing that our supervisor had to say at the start-of-cruise entertainment meeting was,
I got nothing except this: WE SURVIVED!!!! We survived without code red! And without anyone throwing anyone else overboard! GO US!!!
For me? This is the start of the wind down of my contract, I’m only here three more weeks (I’m still trying not to think about it), and this is a smooth run. People come to the Caribbean to do pretty much two things: drink and suntan. They might check out two books at the beginning of the cruise and other than that my office becomes a home for the crickets.
And the difference in the attitude of the crowd shows in places that none of us really called.
Like my poor dear mid-ship lounge.
For months now it’s been pretty much only me (and Alasse if she’s here) making any noise for the party band. Not that they aren’t well received, they were – the crowds were just quiet. It’s always felt like my boys are playing for an empty room, and Lark has had her job cut out for her because getting people up onto the dance floor was like pulling teeth. It was very obvious who the ‘ringers’ were because it would only be us uttering a sound. I mean, it was quiet enough a few nights ago that the band was dancing with us – this is not always a good sign! (Though it was a lot of fun for us!)
So last night, after we all smiled and waved our way through the introductory show, I trotted down to the mid-ship lounge, grabbed my normal seat, ordered my virgin cosmo and waited for what we all figured would be a customary evening.
And then the band walked on stage.
And the room ERUPTED.
Cat-calls, trill-yells, wolf-whistles…I haven’t heard a mid-ship crowd like this on a late-night set in forever. On stage the band just breaks into insane grins and I hear Amras call out,
Now THAT is the energy we’re LOOKIN’ for!
There were people on the dancefloor for the first song and they stayed on the dancefloor until midnight when the set ended. The fact that the set went till midnight (it usually wraps at 11:30 because there’s nobody there but us) – is a first for this run. At the end of the set I walked up to the edge of the dancefloor grinned at my brother, shrugged one shoulder and said
Welcome to the Caribbean eh?
Hells yes…
And seriously, it’s about time…