A Typical Day on the Destiny

The typical day on the Destiny revolves around eating. For Pati and Beebee, that means attendance in the full-service dining room for breakfast (8 - 10 am), lunch (12 noon - 2 pm) and dinner (8:15 - 10 pm). They began the trip by showing up on time for meals, but the meals took the full 2 hours. So they started coming later, thinking the meals would end "on time" as it were, requiring less total time. The result of this experiment is that meals require 2 hours no matter when you show up. But no one seems to mind, and there is time for interesting and educational conversation with others at the table. (Getting some extra zzzz after last night's time change, Pati and Beebee tried the Lido deck buffet this morning for a faster meal. It was a cool temperature place, both physically and socially. The atmosphere there is downbeat.)

 

The next time constraint is the shows that seem interesting. For Pati and Beebee, these have been the evening show in the largest theater ("Showtime") at 7 - 8 pm, the specialty show du jour in one of the larger theaters (magician, comic, juggler, hypnotist, etc.) at 10:30 - 11 pm, and information sessions by the cruise director (various times). Today's information session is Spanish lessons, requested by some passengers after we sailed; Italian lessons will be on another day.

 

In the open times during daylight, the hot tubs and the gym (or track outdoors) are favorite spots for 30 - 60 minutes at a time.

 

Then there is a small amount of daily time for blogging, reading the mail, checking the weather at home, etc. (it's a small amount of time, because internet time is expensive. However, the internet access and response time is the best we have encountered on any cruise ship.)

 

Next to time spent in the dining room, the most time is spent in reading books. Beebee has finished 2 books and is 37% through the same book Pati just finished, a huge book, with 849 pages. Pati has begun a Harry Bosch thriller.

 

Twice now, Beebee has used the launderette down the hall. This morning one of the three washing machines is out of order, and there is demand for the others. A very nice Canadian (from 4 hours north of Montana) gave Beebee a soap packet because he didn't want to lug them home again. That saved her 4 quarters that would have been spent for a small box of laundry detergent.

 

The remaining time is spent wandering the ship. The two fun shops (clothing, jewelry, watches, cigarettes, and alcohol) are identical except in size (much smaller) to the same shops on other Carnival ships. Unfortunately, the clothing offered for sale is geared to warmer locations, and seems inappropriate for the middle of the Atlantic or for Destiny's European stops. Beebee suspects that Malaga (the first stop) will sell a lot of warm clothing before the ship departs!

 

Time update: Local time = EST + 3

Distance traveled at 10:16 am ship's time: 2295 nm

Sea depth 9880 ft.

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