Caribbean Cruise - Day 5 - Georgetown, Grand Cayman

Our 5:45 alarm goes off. I wake up to it and can hear wind outside through our balcony door. I feel the ship rocking for the first time since boarding. Megan tells me that she's been awake for the last hour, anxious that we have to go snorkeling in an obvious storm going on outside. I tell her that it'll be okay, that they do it all the time. I don't tell her that I'm anxious about it too. I have to stay strong if she's going out on this $150 excursion we've paid for. 

We set the alarm this early because we have to meet in the theater at 6:45 to get on the tender boat that will take us to the Cayman Island for our excursion. We apply the most sunscreen we've applied all week. Lotion with spray on top. It might be cloudy, but we're not going to burn! We stop at he 24 hour cafe on the way to the theater to grab some pastry goods for breakfast, and make our way to the theater. 

Inside the theater are all of the people going on the same excursion we are. They talk to each other about their trepidation. We sit in theater seats and wait , each taking Dramamine to stave off any seasickness that may come. Nothing happens for 30 minutes. Finally at 7:15 the captain makes a ship-wide announcement that the Grand Cayman authorities have deemed the weather too bad for anyone to tender to the island. All excursions will be automatically refunded, but no one will see Grand Cayman today. 

We go to the buffet for a real breakfast. I stick with deep fried tater tots and potatoes. You can't mess up deep fried things. Mistakenly I take some eggs and an English muffin too. The scrambled eggs are cold and dry again. The muffin? Hard and stale. I leave it on my plate with a bite attempted. We go the pool deck to check out the weather up there. 

The ship is even rockier here on the 11th deck. Water is sloshing and splashing out of the pools with each tilt. People throughout the ship are holding walls and rails so they don't fall off-balance. We sit in the hot tub for a bit while we discuss our day that will be spent onboard. We decide to go back to our room before anything. 

Back in the room Megan falls asleep pretty quickly. I take my Kindle out to find a secluded place on the ship to read. I find a comfy chair in a bar and read for about 30 minutes. I'm getting drowsy. We did wake up at 5:45. I go back to the buffet to refill my fat belly before going to the room. Since I already had savory stuff, I go with sweet this time. French toast, waffle and chocolate chip pancakes. It was delicious. 

Back in the room, with Megan sawing logs next to me in bed, I read about a page before sleep overcomes me. We wake up around lunch time and go to the main dining room. We're sat with a couple from Houston, Texas. We never got their names, but later named them Kimberly and Steve ourselves. They have five kids between the two of them (at home, not onboard), and Kimberly had been a surrogate for another. Steve looks like a balding Danny McBride. 

Danny McBride
(or Steve's brother?)

We go back to the room and make dinner reservations for the steak restaurant onboard, Chops. We're tired again and and each take a nap. It's uncharacteristic for me to sleep this much. I'm tired a lot of the time, but rarely sleep other than at night. We wake up and get ready for the theater production, Now & Forever. The show features popular broadway songs and dancing. It has decent production value, and is a fun show. 

Orchestra pit in sunken stage

We go to dinner at Chops from the theater. We're 20 minutes early for our reservation, but they seat us right away. Here it's a $35 cover charge each and we can order what, and how much, we want of everything except the steak. One steak per cover charge. We each get appetizers and sides with our steaks. The food is above average. Better than the all-inclusive food, but Sabor last night was better. Around dessert a couple is sat at the table next to us. It's Kimberly and Steve! 

Two desserts, because why not?

We go to a Finish That Song Lyric game show at 21:45. They ask for contestants to run up on stage. I'm the second one up there, out of about 15. They play the first part of a song, and if you know it, you step up to the mic. I realize that they usually stop it right before the part that everyone knows. I advance on Nancy Sinatra's These Boots Are Made For Walkin'. I don't know that song, but I know that part, and that's all I needed to know. 

The best picture Megan snapped of me playing

I take third place, and hit the prize-mother-load. Keychain, pen, highlighter, luggage tags, and a bronze medal (not actually bronze). Being a writer, I love pens. I prefer to write on a keyboard, and try to avoid writing by hand when possible, but appreciate a good pen. This pen is middle of the road at best, but I won it. 2nd and 1st place each got the same prizes, with different color medals. 

Actual retail value: 0.47

We find out tomorrow morning at breakfast that Dramamine makes you sleepy. That's explains a lot. Our room attendant would make up our room twice a day. He must've stopped by while we were sleeping during the day. When we left to go out for the night he was right outside our door and simply asked "who is seasick?" He thought we've must've been since we were in all day. It was just the pills we took at 6:45 that knocked us out. 

A rather uneventful day, but interesting to see how they handle it when they can't make it into a scheduled port.

Up next: Day 6 - Cozumel, Mexico