I woke up early. only to fall asleep again. By the time I was fully awake, it was lunch time. This is typical for me when I'm on a cruise - such as going out in my female presentation.
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This was the slow boat to Charleston, and yet, it was already warm enough outside for some people to take a dip in the hot tubs on the Lido Deck. I figured that I was going to get at least one or two days use out of my swimsuit this trip - and planned accordingly for it.
When I got back to my room, I noticed that my TV wasn't displaying my account status. (I like knowing what charges are being applied to my account in real time.) So I went down to the main desk and asked for help. Too bad this may have caused a minor headache for my room steward, as the person at the desk had English as a second language and could not pick up the nuance in how I was describing the problem. Eventually, I caught up with the steward, and he found out that the problem was with the remote control and not with the upstream software. (I'll be sure to give him a good review when I participate in the after-cruise survey.)
As became my routine, I decided to eat in the Grand Pacific (main) dining room. It was strange to see this many staff members waiting to direct guests to available tables. When I had the opportunity to talk with the woman in charge of the dining room, I found out that the room has been this way since the Gem started sailing earlier this year. This ship has been operating below 50% capacity for weeks, and there is no sign that things will change anytime soon.
I finally had the chance to do my nails. No, the polishing wasn't so great. But it did get me through the week with minimal touch-ups. If I had thought about it and had the time before the cruise, I'd have gotten a mani-pedi. Yet, it's nice to have nails on which I could leave painted for a while.
As would be expected, I forgot something at home - my jewelry. So I used the few items I brought with me when I went to the photographers on later nights....
