Just Cruisin’ Along!

Our cabin aboard!

Our ship's restaurant - ooh la la!

Cheers to the high life (while it lasts!)

Tori and I at dinner

Our formal dinner

Day 72: Saturday, October 10, 2009

The whole of the morning and early afternoon was spent in leaving Tuscany and heading for a port outside Rome for… the thirteen day cruise we were going to take around the Mediterranean! I have never been on a cruise in my life, and so I was terribly excited! We pulled up in our taxi, and there before us, was the largest ship that I have ever seen! It is a brand new cruiser belonging to Celebrity Cruises, and it is called the Equinox. The ship is 16 stories tall and it is absolutely gorgeous inside! Tori and I ran as fast as we could to the cabin which we would share. We both fell in love with it immediately, and after unpacking my things, it was time to go exploring!

I went from floor to floor, but still couldn’t take it all in! The sheer size of this ship is overwhelming. There are fountains, an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, a basketball court, countless bars, restaurants, shops, theaters, and, HELLO!, a casino! I made plans to revisit that as soon as I could! After dinner, I grabbed Dannie from out of her room and made her join me on the uppermost deck for the Sail-away Party. There was a live band paying everything you can imagine – Elivis, the Beatles, swing, rockabilly, Big Band, and salsa! The fountains were lit, people were singing along in the pool and four hot tubs, and several couples were dancing in front of the band. Finally, I couldn’t take sitting down for another second. Almost everyone on this cruise is pretty old, and if they could dance unashamedly, then so could I! There was nothing to lose! I jumped up at the next salsa song and danced by myself. But then… other ladies, whose husbands refused to put so much as a toe on the dance floor joined me in my solo display. Immediate bonding was shared by the throng of us!

After the party, I was exhausted! I headed to my room around 8:30 and was completely asleep by 9:00! Pathetic, I know, but all these days of endless travel have worn me down to the nub. Early to bed meant early to rise, and I didn’t dare risk missing a minute of my new adventure on the high seas!