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Saturday 31 January 2015

The Cruise


After 12 weeks of abstinence, whilst training for and completing a triathlon, the prospect of an all-inclusive cruise seemed like the perfect getaway.
It became apparent early on that we were rather an anomaly on board. We sauntered through the ship with a permanent Margarita in hand, met with puzzled gazes from our fellow cruisers, who wondered what on earth two twenty-five year old girls were doing spending their hard earned cash in the company of elderly married couples.

Of course our cabin was on deck one, which we aptly nicknamed 'The Leonardo DiCaprio Deck’ - if only to add a touch of glamour to our box room with no window - hardly the setting for a romantic weeklong getaway with the wife.

As with most budget cruise ships the on-board entertainment was second to none, including cabaret duo, 2Intense, an a eight-strong cast performing their adaptation of Les Mis’ and not forgetting the cruise lines’ answer to The Beatles, Top Men. When beckoned over to the staff table by Lead Singer, Reggie, we could hardly turn down the opportunity to fraternise with the most eligible bachelors on board. A hefty compliment, considering the average on-board age was 73.

It got to 2am and clearly cabin fever had set in as we declined a polite invitation from Top Men to join them in the bunk-bedded cabin they shared together…

The following morning we couldn’t help but notice the Kitchen staff grinning at us rather ostentatiously, whilst we helped ourselves to the breakfast buffet. It became apparent that we were becoming the talk of the boat, confirmed later that night in ‘Liberties Bar and Lounge,’ when Reggie dedicated his rendition of Bruno Mars - Just the way you are to us. From that moment, our reputation preceded us, there was nothing we could do but sit back, relax and enjoy the now-extra large measures that were being served to us at the bar.

At the end of the night as we walked back to our humble abode, contemplating that this might be the most attention we’d ever received during a one-week period, we glanced toward the lobby, heard the on-board photographer remark that we were the 'shiniest people on the ship' and it almost felt as if we'd reached celebrity status. 

NM