A well seasoned approach to travel and food

Sea Daze – Cruising The Panama Canal

March 13, 15-16, 2019

Every morning we checked the elevator to determine the day of the week. Not sure what I was doing on Sundays and Mondays, but I don’t have photos.

It would be cool if Joan and I had done some inspirational and full of fancy things on our days at sea, but we pretty much fell into a routine:

  • Wake up (always a good thing and better than the alternative)
  • Breakfast (with a cornucopia of offerings – Joan tried something new every day)
  • Camp out in front row seats for cooking demo one hour in advance – read/write while staving off interlopers
  • Cooking demonstration (America’s Test Kitchen onboard host Dawn was a hoot)
  • Sun/Read/Write (usually out by the Seaview pool, aft deck)
  • Lunch (in the Lido Market – we often tried the Asian options for a bit of flair)
  • Camp out in seats again for the cooking demo (same situation as above)
  • Second cooking demonstration (America’s Test Kitchen)
  • Sun/Swim/Read/Write/People Watch – out by the Seaview pool (people watching was so good)
  • Dinner (usually in the Lido Market, once or twice in The Dining Room – we aren’t much for dressing up)
  • Wander around a bit – we’ve checked out the shops, listened in on the Lincoln Center Stage and just people watched in the casino (I spent $20 in the casino in Steven’s honor)
  • Show in the Mainstage Theater
  • Check in on the different music venues for a bit or take in one of the trivia games
  • Read/Write in the stateroom
  • Sleep

.. and then repeat.

Don’t get me wrong, there were lots of other activities on the ship, but we narrowed them down to the ones that really interested us. 

Both of us enjoyed America’s Test Kitchen demos, but getting a good seat could have been turned into a competitive sport.  We started out going a 1/2 hour before and barely got a corner spot in the back.  That’s why we started going an hour early to beat the crowds.  Front row seats were a prime commodity.  And don’t get me started on the battle to get recipe cards – some of the Cruisers had very sharp elbows. 

We also took a towel folding class – we wanted to learn to make the towel monkey we came back to the other night.  Don’t be getting any ideas that you’ll have fancy towel animals on your bed if you come to visit us in Texas.

My idea of sunning on the Seaview deck.

Joan’s idea of sunning on the Seaview deck.

What sunning on the Seaview deck looked like when the wind started to blow.

This is what the Seaview pool deck looked like when the temperature dipped down to the high 70’s.

And still, this guy wore his speedo…

They’ve done away with the midnight chocolate buffet and substituted it with a 9:45 p.m. chocolate walk along music row one night during the cruise.  I’m not sure this crowd would stay up until midnight, even for chocolate. 

We stayed up one night long enough to listen to the band in BB King’s – some of the Cruisers can boogie.

And every night a new towel animal greeted us as we walked back into the stateroom.

Our time on the high seas has come to an end.  Our disembarkation time tomorrow morning in San Diego is relatively early.  We’re getting a ride back to Los Angeles and then I will head back to Dallas on Monday.  We’ve had a great time and never once thought about harming each other.  We are even considering taking another cruise together – maybe Alaska… maybe fall foliage in the northeast… maybe…