Day 12 - BA5 takes the lead
Dinner at Savor tonight…
7/3/22. Sunday. Day 4 on cruise
A snafu has occurred. The excursion originally booked for today, 7/3/22, was Athens and the Acropolis. The excursion for Delos: Birthplace of Artemis & Apollo [Mykonos] was booked for 7/4/22. Yesterday, we learned that these excursions were switched, with Delos happening on 7/3/22 and Athens happening on 7/4/22. Something to do with the Mykonos port being crowded on account of the American 7/4/22 holiday. Didn’t they plan for this in advance?
So now, our scheduled excursion for today, 7/3/22, is Mykonos…EXCEPT all of this is a moot point because this morning the Captain’s crew informed us passengers, over the loudspeaker, that Mykonos is CANCELED. The ship can’t pull into harbor because it’s too windy. As a result, we’re at sea and sailing straight to Athens. A revised itinerary of the day’s activities is slipped under our door but there is nothing I’m interested in.
Okay, so I’ll be poolside today.
By 11:00, L. is still down for the count and, for once, I’d like to actually eat at the Garden Buffet. It’s already closed, but is scheduled to open at 11:30. At 12:00, I leave the cabin and have breakfast/lunch, primarily protein: scrambled eggs and sausage and a Mimosa. My selection is…fair, but there are other items throughout the buffet that look amazing…I’m just not much of a breakfast eater. At this point in the cruise, Mom has resorted to ordering room service for breakfast most days. Great idea - why didn’t I think of that?
Return to the cabin and I change into my bikini and a black coverup, then head to the pool. I walk the perimeter and EVERY SEAT IS TAKEN!! Vultures!!! Do they lie in wait with their towels? My God, the pool opens at 7:00 am.!! What time do these people get up? It is windy as hell as I walk the entire length of the pool. I can rock a bikini, but I’m in a “black” coverup when everyone else seems to have chosen white for the occasion. I look like a witch and I think everyone is staring although, truth be told, nobody gives a shit about me.
I go back to the cabin, dejected. No sunbathing today.
L.’s awake and it is at this time I confess to L. that I’m starting to feel depressed from news withdrawal. Although we upgraded to the ships WiFi package, I have not been able to download/access a single updated podcast and this cruise line only features old movies on the cabin TVs…except that’s not entirely true. Since we’ve arrived on cruise, I’ve wondered how S&M and my Mom were able to stay so informed - they discuss the current events of the day, every day - but I chalked it up to their phones…??? No! In fact, everyone has cable TV in their cabins except L. and I and L. doesn’t particularly care. For four days, I haven’t had access to ANY TV because of some sort of glitch, but it’s actually been longer that I’ve had no contact with the outside world because our vacation started on 6/27/22.
I call Maintenance and explain the issue. A few minutes later, an employee arrives, pushes a button on the back of the TV, and leaves. The TV works now.
I change and L. and I try the Japanese restaurant again - Teppanyaki - but it’s closed, of course, so we go up to the spa and lay on the heated stone beds. There is a mini-pool with a huge waterfall feature in the middle of the spa, and we sit poolside and dangle our feet in the water. After, we convene in the “salt room” for awhile…this is a small confined space and other people are sitting on the benches, too, ostensibly breathing in the salt crystals and god knows what else. BA5 anyone? I can’t take it, so I leave and return to the stone bed. I’m reading With Teeth.
5:00 - 6:30 - L. and I are hungry so we decide to try Pincho, a tapas bar. This is NOT one of the three complimentary restaurants where we’re entitled to dine, but I don’t particularly care…I have no problem paying extra at the end of the cruise for fine cuisine.
By this time, the wind has subsided and we sit outside, partially shielded by the overhang. The food is wonderful! I don’t want to eat too much because we’re dining as a family tonight. We return to our cabin.
6:30 - 7:00 - I watch news for the first time since we’ve been on cruise. At home, I don’t have cable TV and get my current events from podcasts - I haven’t seen a news anchor in a long time. On cruise, it’s either Fox or CNN and the CNN guests look bizarre! The female anchors look okay, but many of the female commentators are old, NO make-up, dowdy, going grey with no attempt to color their hair…some have bad teeth or significant gaps…the men look just as bad. No credibility. I can barely hear the news because the visual is like watching a train wreck. When I discuss this later with Mom, she says, “Oh, I know just who you’re talking about. That’s what they look like these days.”
7:30-9:00 - S&M materialize from somewhere and we head to Savor. Mom writes me a check for the WiFi package and my brother, watching my Mom write a check out to me, demands to know what it is when it’s none of his business: “What’s this?” he says and examines the check. “$150?”, he says, forcing me to explain that Mom is unable to communicate with THEM [S&M] due to their phones [they refused to purchase the international package for their own phones and are currently hoarding the last of their 250 free minutes], whereas L. and I do HAVE the international package - we just need stronger WiFi. Mom paid for the upgrade and now Mom, L., and I can text each other on cruise, also without fear of a massive monetary penalty later. S. looks irritated, like he’s about to ask Mom for his own check, “in the spirit of fairness” but I remind him that Mom just bought him a linen shirt yesterday and he seems appeased. This is ridiculous.
9:00-10::30 - After dinner, L. and I have a drink at The Pour House and talk. There is nothing going on today, entertainment-wise, so we head back to the cabin.
10:30-12:00 - Nighttime routine and I read With Teeth. Bed.