Day 4 - Samana - and a new tip

Day 4

Dec 5

Samana is a very small place. We stayed on the ship. Tender trip would have been 30 minutes, then another 20 cab ride into town, according to our dinner-mates.

I was up at 7:30 – no particular reason, just awake! Took my computer down to Lido for coffee and croissants. Had a very pleasant time posting yesterday's blog, checking e-mail and chatting with a couple from Jamaica/Canada. Coincidentally, they have a daughter living in Santa Fe. It is such a small world!

No pictures today, because it was really a lazy day. Went back to the cabin after eating and Internet time and took a quick snooze. Poor cabin steward hardly got a look at our room today, we were so snuggled up. Left Scotty in the room and headed out to browse the ship. Stopped in the Crow's Nest to read some, then down to the Lido for some sushi for lunch. Scotty found me there. She fixed herself up with some asian food and we sat and chatted for a while. Just luxuriating in the peace and watching the sea.

Back downstairs to the cabin … Deni hadn't made it by to make it up yet, so we put him off yet again and took another nap. I awoke after about 2 hours and decided to go sit somewhere beautiful and knit. Found a nice quiet place in the seating area of the ocean bar. Scotty and I browsed the jewelry and gift shop … seemed to be smaller than the last HAL cruise we took, but we are much for shopping anyway. Nick and Mark at the Ocean Bar took good care of us and I got a fair amount of knitting done.

Headed to dinner and ran into Ann and Bill, whom we had eaten with at lunch on the first day. It is amazing that, on a ship with 1800 people, you can run into the same folks over and over. So we shared a table with them for dinner. I had proscuitto salad, cheddar/bacon soup, and flank steak with polenta. All very yummy. Ended the meal with a date bread covered in zabaglione. Also yummy.

Then we parted ways. Scotty went to listen to the chamber string quartet and I headed for the casino again. Walked away with $69 more than I put in, so I consider it a good night.

Just came in from our verandah. I could have slept in the deck chair … ocean sound, rocking ship, sea air … lovely!

For those of you who have been reading along, I promised the answer to the trivia question … who wrote “Twinkle, twinkle little star”. And the answer is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!

Again, thanks to Budget Travel Magazine for tip # 6

6. Don't assume you can save a spot at the pool with your towel. Cruise lines give you one pool towel at the start of the cruise. If you don't have it (or a cleaned trade-in) at the end, you'll get charged. If you let it out of your sight, you run the risk of losing it or having it stolen by a fellow cruiser.

Not so in my experience. Although Scotty and I aren't ones to lay about by the pool, my daughters are. I have never had the experience where the cruise line only gives you one towel. HAL has towels poolside and hands them out freely. Of course, it is rude to save a seat with your towel and then not use it. Chair hogs are the worst on cruises!! Don't be one!