Splendour of the Seas Day 2

Day Two - February 23

Begins with Brenna padding to the side of our bed, two whole steps, and patting my arm to rouse me so she can whisper, “Mommy, the sky is so pretty.” I pull myself out of bed and realize that at 6:20 a.m. the sun is rising on a very overcast cloud-filled sky. We are still moving fast, and watching the water rush past me makes me dizzy, for truly I have no sense of the forward motion while on the ship unaware of the horizon. Only the gentle swaying side to side, and mechanical rumble.

Together, wrapped in the blanket, Brenna and I watch the sky change colors. For a moment, I think that the clouds are so low and ruffled…like an ocean above us… bumpy…murky,…cotton ribbon of gray…that it seems so close I could lift my hand and trawl my fingers in the spray above, rather than below.

I take the girls for breakfast in the main dining room, Bryan joins us briefly. After breakfast, he goes back to bed, and I take the girls to their first Kids Club. I spend the rest of the morning browsing the Centrum shops with Mom and bought a gold chain for Cameron to hold her baptism cross for First Communion. Later I join Lisa upstairs in the Crown Viking Lounge, which is empty except for a break-out session for some group of (mainly) women discussing environmentally green building materials. Lisa & I sit on the floor while Laurie sleeps on a blanket.

At noon, I pick up the kids and wake Bryan and we go into the Solarium for pizza. It's still too cold to really enjoy ourselves outside (mental note: if cruising in Feb, bring long pants and a jacket!) and the wind is really strong - the ship is full steam ahead, with a wind on the top decks that viciously wants to blow you off. The girls want to swim. Ah, no.

After lunch, I definitely need a nap, so I secretly tell Brenna we're going to watch television, and I secretly tell Cameron she & Daddy will get dessert. Then we go our separate ways. Brenna falls asleep in about 2 minutes, with me right beside her. Cameron goes back to Kids Club to play Survivor.

Awaken at 3:30 p.m. and realize foremost that we have slowed down… the horizon outside has slowed considerably. The water is now glassy blue. Brenna is awakens, puts on her flip-flops, asks me to wrap her in the blanket and she is firmly, quietly, seated on the balcony chair, in her own meditations of the Gulf.

Formal dinner begins with photographs of each family and of all 14 of us. My favorite though is this one that someone snapped when I took the girls to the restrooms.

This was the best meal of all four nights. Lobster bisque, linguine with mushrooms and white truffle sauce (rich, smoky, delicious), and a light, lemony Grand Marnier souffle.

After dinner we gather on couches on deck 4 talking about our plans for tomorrow's docking in Cozumel. Mom & Dad offer to stay aboard the ship with the babies, while the rest of us purchase tickets for Playa Mia. After these discussions, the ladies all head to the evening show "Dancin' in the Movies." The Splendour of the Seas singers & dancers sing and dance to well-known songs from movies. It started with Footloose, moved into Beach Movies (Frankie & Annette) , got rowdy with a little Dirty Dancing, swung into the 70's with Saturday Night Fever, and shook the house ...ah ship... with the Blues Brothers. Mom, Lisa & I were quite literally dancing in our seats, be-boppin' and singing along.

I brought the girls back to the room, where Bryan was already asleep. I stepped out briefly with Lisa & Brian, Leah & David, who went up to the Viking Crown Lounge again, but I wasn't in the mood to sit and drink, so went back to the room for bed.

Tomorrow would be our best day.