Curacao and sea day

February 19, 2013: Curacao
I pretty much had the morning off, so I slept in after 8, did my hours and went to the Lido for a leisurely breakfast. I was about halfway done eating when the little girl (the 3-year-old) and her mom (they’re family on board by the way, they’ve been on since December) got to breakfast. The little girl saw me and waved, then got her mom to put their plates at a table near mine (I was at a two-person table) so I could talk to her. She’s such a cute kid. I ended up moving tables to sit with them; one of the fitness trainers joined us as well. It was a fun breakfast! I finished eating and the little girl came to sit in my lap as I talked to her mom and the trainer. The little girl loves to repeat after her mom sometimes when she says things a bit dramatically and we tried my rings on all of her fingers to see if any would fit. Rory (the trainer) and I were both getting off after breakfast so we agreed to meet at the gangway so we wouldn’t have to explore Curacao alone.

I talked to Charlotte while I got ready; she told me there wasn’t a whole lot to do right in town, but she told me some of the highlights like the floating bridge. Rory and I got off the ship, picked a direction and started walking. There wasn’t much of anything right off the ship, but we crossed on the floating bridge and found a few markets and a whole shopping area which we walked around for a while, making lots of circles and going over various bridges in the area. Tired of walking for the moment, we found a place with internet and were antisocial for a while as we checked emails and all that. Then, we walked around some more, at an old fort that has been transformed into a mall and restaurant with a great view of the water. I was hungry so we went back to the ship and parted ways so I could get lunch. After lunch, I just hung out in the room reading. I managed to finish the book Charlotte lent me (called “The Night Circus”, it’s really good. Did I mention that I finished JK Rowling’s book the other day?) and took a nap before going up to dinner. My room key had somehow gotten deactivated, so I went to the crew office after dinner to get that fixed since I had plenty of time before I had to be in the Loft.

It was a quiet night. One girl came at first and we talked for a few minutes, then both read until two more people showed up (one being the girl who’s mom had complained to the front office). I got them talking about stuff, and another girl came. It was slightly awkward at first, but when the girl with the complaining mom and the boy she’d brought alone left, the other two girls relaxed and started chatting easily with one another! Since it was movie night, we looked through the DVDs we had and decided to watch one of the three we’d not heard of before: “It’s kind of a funny story.” Interesting movie. Not sure if I’d watch it ever again, but it was interesting to see once.

The family down the hall only called down once and I popped my head out to tell them sorry, but I had teens to entertain. They came by after ice cream, then again when their mom picked them up but it seems like they didn’t miss having me around too much. It wasn’t long after the movie ended that the teens left and I started cleaning up to go. Jacob came by to see how things went and to give me the schedule for tomorrow. Late morning, I don’t start until 10 since it’s a sea day.

February 20, 2013: Sea Day
It was a lazy morning. I got ready and had a long breakfast, not really worrying about being up to the Loft on time, although I did get there before 10. Basically I read all morning. None of the teens showed up so I got comfortable in a chair and read until people came by looking for the library.

I went down to lunch and sat there for about 2 hours. Lots of people came and went while I was there, so I got to know some of the crew a little bit better: some of each of the HAL Cats (vista class ships, there are two instead of having a Neptunes band), and some of the girls who work in the spa.

The afternoon went by very slowly. I read the whole time, occasionally helping passengers as they searched for the library. I finished one of the shorter books and decided to play card games. Two of the teens did come up, the rich girl and the boy she’d met (the girl is the one with the mom who complained). They stayed for about 10 minutes before they left. I did get her talking at least so that seems to be an improvement. I stayed until 5, went back down to the room and talked to Charlotte until dinnertime. We went up together and joined some other crew members. We didn’t stay long since everyone else left so we came back to the room and talked some more. She had to be at work an hour before I did, so I ended up watching the end of Pitch Perfect and the beginning of another movie while waiting.

One of the teens did come up at least. It was Casino night, so card games were all that were on the agenda. We went over what we could play, then I ended up teaching him Rummy. We played Spit and Speed and Garbage by the time his mom and grandmother came to get him (he’s technically not a teen, but only a few months off, and the closest age to him in the kids room is 3 years difference, we let him come to the Loft. After he left though, I was alone, so I drew some, read, listened to music and colored until it was time for me to take over for after-hours.