Day at Sea!

Today was an eventful sea day as it was our first full day at sea. The majority of the day was spent soaking up the sun and splashing in the water. The girls were relaxing in the sun while us boys had a blast exploring what the ship had to offer. Our highlight of the day was dancing to various genres of music at the silent disco event. Brayden and I were able to get a good workout in. I was able to swim in the pool today, which was very well needed. I have been looking forward to swimming on the cruise for a long time since it has been so cold in Indiana. There were lots of good NFL football playoff games on today that were fun to watch. Emi and I were able to explore the ship even more today and appreciate its wonderful features.

In the evening, we all joined for dinner at 5 pm. Tonight was dress your best theme so you know I had to impress. The menu was very delicious, consisting of: escargots, baked French onion soup, crispy buttermilk calamari, herb-crusted salmon, chicken, steak, beef bourguignon, curried lamb, seafood linguine, apple cobbler, and créme brúlée to name a few. I really enjoy the time we spend together as a group at the evening dinners to discuss our different experiences from the day. We have really gotten to know each other well over the duration of this trip.

As a group, we started working on our search for nations scavenger hunt today. The objective of this assignment is to gather as many worker’s signatures from other countries as possible. We were able to get a good start on the scavenger hunt by collecting signatures from Croatia, Indonesia, and Mauritius. Luka from Croatia serves in the main dining room on the ship. He is a waiter and takes care of guest’s needs at dinner. Dandi from Indonesia is our cabin steward and takes really good care of our rooms for us. We are very grateful for his hospitality and generosity. Lastly, Fabio from Mauritius is an in-transit monitor for the ship. He helps track the ship’s current location and ensures that it is traveling in the right path. This position is crucial to make sure us guests arrive safely at the right location on time.

A very cute towel made by Dandi; he's the best! :)

I learned that the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas cruise ship we are sailing on is home to 794 crew members from 57 countries worldwide. This is amazing to know that cruise ships like this one provides so many people from all around the world jobs. It is also very interesting that some jobs hold a strong correlation with a nationality. For example, people from India or the Philippines are very good cooks on the cruise ship. To end the day off right, we were able to enjoy some good pizza and relax by watching football before going to bed. In conclusion, it was a very much needed day of relaxation to prepare for a long and exciting tour of the Mayan Ruins tomorrow. I am so glad we got to enjoy the ship and get a head start on our scavenger hunt assignment.

-Andrew Spomar