October 09, 2024

Day 3 Sea Day

The first task of the morning is to check on Milton. The findings are not good. Probably a category 4 or 5 when it hits land, probably just south of Tampa and it will head east across the center of the state.  Being hundreds of miles wide, our homes in central Florida will not escape.

Service and breakfast in Chops continues to be good.

The top tier event shares that we have 75 Pinnacle, 247 diamond plus and 386 diamonds on board. Still too many Pinnacles for me to have access to the coastal kitchen. The captain does a good job of explaining the differences in ship size of the newer ships. Well spoken, he lives in the Villages just north of me.

At noon we enjoy "Cheers with an Officer". Essentially a good lunch with a thank you from the hotel director and some of his staff. The filet of tenderloin and free flowing wine was good.

The weather remains mixed - cloudy, partly sunny, with some periods of rain. I don't know the passenger count, but it is substantial with many kids. The elevators are often crowded.

Tonight we forego formal night as we have reservations in the Solarium Bistro, a venue billed as offering more healthy dining options. Self serve buffet but with reserved tables. Probably I would rate a step up from the regular buffet just because it is not crowded, but not as good as the main dining room.

We all are staying away from any of the speciality restaurants based on very poor previous experiences.

After dinner a short stop at the schooner bar before the production show "Voices". Seating is scarce at the Schooner, Adrienne winds up sitting on the window sill. 

Voices is not one of the better production shows, and the theater is 25% empty.

I repair a corrupted file for the train club, a 2 minute task. I am surprised this is the first time it has happened.

The latest update has Milton possibly taking a path slightly south of the original prediction. If so that will be better news for me.

Royal has added the weather channel to the TV lineup so passengers can stay abreast of the latest storm conditions. Many passengers live in the direct path of the storm and have legitimate concerns as to what they will face when they return home next week. My personsl biggest concern is my neighbor's trees. He has neglected them and never had them trimmed or thinned. If his tree falls on my house, my problem. Florida law.

Many of us have cars parked at Port Canaveral. How safe they are from the coming storm surge is an unknown. We will know Sunday.

Tomorrow we will dock in Falmouth, Jamaica. A safe distance south of Milton.


Day 2 Coco Cay

The weather is rainy and windy. The sun in non- existant, well it is really there but we just can't see it.

The aqua show was ultimately cancelled last night. It will be rescheduled later in the week, again, weather permitting.

It is beginning to look like central Florida will be in the direct path of hurricane Milton. Despite the rainy weather this is a better place to be, how did I know a year ago?

Alyssa and Adrienne had an excellent dive. Some of the others enjoy the beach. Brian took the zip line. Lynn and I stayed dry on the ship. Surprisingly I would guess that 75% of the passengers went ashore despite the wind and rain. Thanks!

It is a very quiet day. A few hours in the solarium and a well deserved afternoon nap.

Despite the large numbers of guests, the crown lounge has not been crowded. A good place to type.

We have a different table for 11 in the main dining room. Italian night. Lasagna seems to be the most popular choice.

We head to "The Attic" for the comedy show. Our reservations are for an hour and a half later, but being Pinnacle gets us to the front of the standby line, and good seats. The comedians are average.

After the show it is time for sleep.

Tomorrow will be a sea day.