The Caribbean seldom fails to deliver on great weather. Sure once in awhile she kicks up a hurricane that had its birth closer to Africa, but not this week.
The seas remain quite tolerable. I doubt the captain has even elected to deploy the ship's stabilizers. An action usually taken when the roll exceeds +/- 1 degree. The skies are more sunny than cloudy, and temperatures are in the low 80's most of the day.
The coastal kitchen is getting a little busier at night. 150 guests then 160. If required I suspect the Coastal Kitchen is capable of serving 300 per night. The Maitre D is leaving in just over two weeks to move to the Utopia. Not his choice by any means. He and his family had summer vacation plans, but Royal took those away, giving him little choice but to return to work on his next contract after less than a month of vacation.
The pools have been packed. Putting towels and other objects on chairs to reserve them for later in the day has always been a problem. Occasionally the staff will clamp down on the practice by sweeping the deck chairs of towels with no people. Not so much so this week.
To give an example of how extreme the practice is, I was sitting in a deck chair early in the morning. The group of 12 chairs had one occupant - me. A woman came along and dropped something on 8 of the chairs and then continued on! I wanted to gather up the stuff and turn it in at the towel station, but didn't, and doubt that Royal did either.
We are headed roughly North West towards Coco Cay at about 18 knots. The captains corner is well attended, and surprisingly there were no stupid questions. The captain did share that all refueling for the Odyssey has been taking place in Florida. Years ago it was common to refuel in southern ports when fuel was less expensive there.
During her regular trips around the Caribbean she only refuels to 3/4 of maximum. Next week she will be fully fueled for the transatlantic voyage.
The headliner shows and production shows have been excellent despite have seen many of them before. The musicians are a mixed bag. Unfortunately the location seems to have a big effect on how they sound. The piano player in the schooner bar, well is not so good. Kelly Goodrich doesn't need to be concerned about the competition.
Tomorrow we will share Coco Cay with Freedom of the Seas. Our last stop before Port Everglades where we will reprovision and take on many new passengers. Nearly all of the 50 Pinnacle cruisers are staying on for the transatlantic like me.