Day 11 on the Equinox: Retracing some of my steps
Nov 06 '09
The Bottom Line Exploring the ship's entertainment system from the privacy of my room.
And now we are again crossing the Mediterranean, and heading for Naples. I finally had a good night's sleep, despite having a bad attack of sciatica when I got into bed. Nothing is more painful than when that hits, it's like someone sliding a hot, sharp knife into my hip, and it was all that I could do to keep from screaming. Happily once the rest of the meds kicked in, I was asleep. Thank god.
Today has been a quiet one. I went down to partake of the morning's buffet in the main dining room, and it was pretty spectacular. Just about anything you could think of, from typical breakfast fare (but alas, not a pancake in sight) to roast meats of all sorts, side dishes, baked goods, and finally, a dessert array that beggars description, with two chocolate fountains -- white and regular milk, and well, it was rather overwhelming. I stayed with just breakfast selections, as I have a very nice dinner planned at the Silk Harvest restaurant tonight, and I want to enjoy it. At least this time there has been an improvement in behaviour from my fellow guests this time -- the first time that they had the buffet, most of the Americans just stampeded in as though they hadn't seen food in about a month or two. This time, much more civilized and well-behaved. Then it was off to the Grand Bazaar down on Deck 5, with various items mostly from Israel and Turkey, with just a few things from Greece. But I did get a few odds and ends, and so the shopping is done, unless I get into Naples, and see something that I really do want.
Then it was back up to my stateroom and out on the veranda to watch the world go gliding past. There is something wonderful about having privacy and the ability to go and interact with people if I want to. I have met so many interesting people on this cruise, all of them well-educated, intelligent and with some intriguing viewpoints on the world around us. It's quite a change from what I usually do that it has lifted my spirits immensely and cheered me up to no end.
The other thing that I have noticed is that Americans -- and thankfully not all of them -- tend to run right over the top of me or just ignore me once they see the cane. Other nationalities, however, tend to stop and ask if I need help, or offer me a seat on a bus or just help. I find it a rather sad commentary, but I think a lot of it has to do with that people just don't bother to learn any manners or social skills, and it just is appalling to watch.
Some of you may have noticed that I haven't mentioned a lot about children on this cruise. Some ships tend to be crawling with them, usually roaming in noisy packs of preteens or sulking 'I'm-so-bored' teens. But the ones that I've seen have been remarkably quiet and well-mannered, except for two little German monsters (termed the German Vermin by myself and other passengers) whose parents have just simply turned them loose and they tend to be found in the lifts, or stuffing themselves on the sweets side of the buffet. They do have a segregated area for non-adults on the ship, where they have special programs for the children, and they tend not to be seen or heard. A blessing as far as I am concerned ? I don't mind well behaved children in small doses, but I've gotten to the age where I appreciate quiet. Yes, I know, it's not 'correct' that I'm not a fan of children, I just don?t want them underfoot. Specifically, under my feet.
Tonight's treat was finding a copy of the film Nicholas and Alexandra in the on-demand selections on the telly. I had seen it years ago, but had never quite managed to see it in its entirety from beginning to end. And so I had my introduction to the ship's on-demand system -- a listing of both free and pay-per-view movies. What was nice was that not just the selection was very extensive, but also that you could pause the program or film, and then return to it later, as it would be kept in the system for 48 hours. In addition to films, there were programmes about the Equinox, both in how she was run, but also on the building of the craft, and a whole host of featurettes about the various ports and what excursions you could take, and of course, the shopping opportunities there were available. Along with all that, you could access various shopping, room service, and other goodies to be brought to you -- all at a price, of course. I have to say that the only disappointment that I had with the ship's services was the quality of the room service -- it was generally of poor standard, and virtually inedible. Another nice feature was that I could check my shipboard account at any time, and keep track of any charges, a rather important detail as every transaction was done through the Seapass card, and not in cash. And if all of that didn't or couldn't amuse you, there was a music-on-demand section as well, in addition to a selection of various television programming -- very interesting to see how the American news was viewed through an European eye!
It was a good day just to kick back and chill out, and after all, isn't that what a vacation is about in the first place?
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Member: Rebecca Huston
Location: On the banks of the Hudson River
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Quot libros quam breve tempus!
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