New Year's Eve at Sea

On board the ship people dressed formally for dinner New Year's Eve. As we were leaving the stateroom, Frank complimented me. Sort of. He said, "You know, for 65, you don't look very matronly..."  Granted I was wearing a very loose fitting knit dress chosen mainly because it packed well but ... matronly? Of all the adjectives he could have picked he chose that one! And he overstated my age by five years!

We went to the ship's theater production, Motor City, a tribute to music of the 60's, 70's and 80's. It had a cast of eight singer/dancers but enlisted more cast from the audience. Our group were VIP's (we were in line early) and so John and Janet got to dance and gyrate up on stage while the rest of our party got to watch from front row seats. It was a lively, very colorful, energetic production less than about an hour or so in length. It was not as awesome as a Reno or Vegas show but it was fun, especially being part of it.

Afterwards we walked the Promenade Deck 9 stopping at various lounges, attractions and shows. The Piano Lounge had a big circular bar formed liked the black and white keys of a piano keyboard that looked as if it were made of fondant. The Violin Lounge had columns with scrolls on them just like the neck of a violin and also featured a large glass display case of beautiful violins and violin like instruments of all shaped and sizes. We went to an adults only comedy show in the Candlelight Lounge. It opened by the comedian taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r- to set up, getting his coffee, adding milk and sugar, positioning and repositioning his stool. When the majority of the audience was restless (probably a good five minutes after Frank and I were) he innocently looks up and says, "What, do you start work as soon as you walk in the door?" It was a part of the act but I did not think it was that funny. In retrospect, maybe it was because that is the only part of the act I remember. There were photo sets with different backdrops scattered along the promenade and Frank and I posed for photos at some of some. Here is one. I liked the red chandelier.

The photographer posed us. It looks like I like Frank. After 38 years of marriage I still do!

When at sea the time of sunset depends on where you are. But for the transition from 2013 to 2014, as long as you are in the same time zone, midnight is midnight.  We had two choices for welcoming in the New Year. We could go outside on the pool deck where there was some sort of clock count down or we could remain indoors in the atrium and welcome the new year with a balloon drop. We elected the atrium. It had a great vantage point from the higher decks where we could watch all the dancing and celebrating below and we could look up and see all the glowing lights on the glass dome above. The cacophony at midnight was a lot of fun as people jumped around and danced, couples and strangers hugged, balloons fell and popped, streamers floated about, and everyone jostled everyone else. The sound of music, laughter, cheers, and clapping was everywhere. How Happy!

The Grand Atrium stretches from Empress Deck 7 up to Sports Deck 12,
and is topped by a glass dome at Sun Deck 14. Yes, I just noticed. There is no Deck 13.

Looking up you see the glass dome of the Grand Atrium.
Outside, up on SunDeck 14, a jogging track circumvents this dome.

Being on a cruise ship is certainly a more festive and fun way to ring in the new year. Had we been back in Livermore we would have been in bed probably before 11:00 pm. We still did go to bed soon after the merriment. Tomorrow's port of call was Ensenada. I had never been to Mexico nor ever used my passport. The shore excursion would be another first for me on this trip.