It’s now Sunday and day 6 onboard. Pamela is now aching and groaning and suffering from what Mark has dubbed “FitStepsitis”. Later on we will discover if she goes again today or not. It is is definitely a no from Mark.
We have now reached the repetitive stage with tonight’s theatre show being Shona White again (from day1) though she will be performing a different set of songs. Most acts will do 2 different shows so the ones we have seen already will resurface and then they will disembark in a few days time when they will get replaced with new acts.
Passengers are falling into a routine and faces are becoming familiar (especially if they are not wearing masks). We need to try better at remembering names though as quiz couple, cruise virgins and Welsh lady is not gonna go down well. Though, are we still “oh you’re that couple”???
Pam is much more relaxed and thoroughly enjoying herself - especially when nattering with people during craft making sessions. Mark is more frustrated by the rougher seas leading to closed decks and therefore all the inside activities being over crowded. The seas are still rough though temperatures are nearly 20c but we cannot get the benefit yet. It has also been raining a lot today and we are up to force 9 winds so the roughest yet but things aren’t being thrown around - though a belt we have hanging up in the room has been swinging like a grandfather clock pendulum all day.
The Captain made an announcement and the general message is that he is aware of the issues onboard and to please be kind to the staff. The issues are basically the wearing of masks - which most seem to think are pointless now - there is a bigger increase of people avoiding wearing them. He is now stressing that masks must be worn everywhere inside in public areas and having a drink beside you in a bar is not sufficient to not wear a mask. This is probably not going to go down well especially as it is not COVID related protocols but gastro type ones - no doubt we will discover feelings at meal times. The other big issue is the buffet not being self service which is causing long queues around drinks with much frustration because there are obviously better ways of doing things though of course everyone has a different opinion on what is a better way. Staff are working hard but management are not helping them with their rules so you can only feel sorry for them. Haven’t seen anyone be abusive to the crew but the Captain seems to indicate it has happened.
Back to the ship. Today’s room of the ship is the Retreat. It is in the centre of deck 10 so 9 decks above the Atrium we mentioned previously. This is a stupid name because on many cruise line ships (including some in P&O and her sister companies) there is a Retreat area which comes at an extra cost and they include special loungers, whirlpools and other lovely spa based benefits etc… On Arcadia the Retreat is NOT that but just another room area where the name has no relevance so just causes confusion. A simple renaming would resolve this but it has not happened so the spa people will just have to keep continuing to tell passengers that they cannot book the retreat as the retreat is not what they think it is and explain what they can have instead.
Meanwhile, the main reason we are covering the actual Retreat venue now is that it is the source of Ferris pain. It is where dance lessons and FitSteps take place. As you can see it is fairly big but when 80 people turn up, there is going to be a squash and it becomes hot and stuffy.
Again, once the decks are opened, it will probably be better with doors being open but for now it is not the case. The sessions are fun to participate in but it is the after effects that are the issue! Mark will try out the Gym instead but again, up until now, it has always been too full.
The summary of our day is very short. Pam went crafting again and made a floating necklace, whilst chatting away happily to fellow crafters (whilst masked of course). Mark attended a lecture on vikings landing in the americas before Columbus and co. The rest of the time, up until dinner (which was again a gala one) was spent eating, reading or watching downloads. Update from Pam. No FitSteps today😆.
At dinner the ship was lurching a lot. We were on a table for 6 with others we hadn’t met before. On the way to being seated the ship lurched and Mark almost joined a table for 2 - the look on the lady’s face as Mark headed towards her was a picture. Definitely not the starter she was expecting! For those interested, Pam had Guinea Fowl for main and baked Alaska for dessert whilst Mark had Lemon Sole followed by the brownie.
During dinner we had a lightning show on the Starboard bow which was strangely not unsettling but rather spectacular.
After dinner we saw Shona White again and her songs were excellent once more - we do like musical numbers though the lighting rigs up in the gods were swaying a lot which was quite off putting.
We finished the evening with a quiz with a lovely retired couple who had done the trip a couple of times before so received some good tips on what to expect later.
No-one is really commenting on the Captain’s earlier message - British keep your heads down and opinions to yourself in public mentality😀.
Final news… the weather is meant to break overnight and poolside music and an evening outdoor BBQ is being planned.
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