6-6-14

6-6-14

 The ship                                                                                                    Buddy boarding the ship.

The next morning we all got up then checked on Mark and Betty’s luggage.  The airline said they would deliver it to the ship.  So Frederick got us a cab to the ship.  Roger and I went through the priority boarding and were escorted straight to the Cagney Restaurant, reserved for VIP guests.  Shortly thereafter a lovely woman was seated beside us.  We started up a conversation and soon became good friends.  She had one of the staff move our tables together so we could hear each other more easily.  Her name is Rose Zelman and she is from Manhattan, New York.  We can only guess at her age, but she must be at least 90.  Yet her mind is as sharp as a tack and she has the most marvelous sense of humor.  She had us laughing constantly.

Her husband never enjoyed cruising.  So when he died 13 years ago, she decided she started to cruise regularly.  This is her 20^th cruise, so she is well known by most of the staff who have been employed for awhile.  She has a personal relationship with Omar,  the concierge, having met him 10 years ago.  She also knows the ship’s captain.  Before we left the restaurant, she asked us to join her at the show that evening. 

We found the way to our room and were sooooo pleased.  It is wonderful!!  It is almost as big as our bedroom at home.  Besides a king-sized bed with a mirrored back wall.  There is a seating area with a loveseat, a glass coffee table with a centerpiece containing real flowers.  There is a table and four chairs, with a bowl of fruit in the center.  We had a large flat screen TV, with a small desk below the tv.  There is a glass cabinet with crystal stemware and water glasses, ceramic cups and saucers and a large Kureg-type machine with coffee and tea packets.  The bathroom is almost standard size and has a full sized bathtub, A decorative sliding glass door separated the toilet from the sink and tub area.  We have lots of drawers and a full clothes closet with mirrored doors, complete with thick white robes and slippers.   Our balcony wraps around the side.  Though it is narrow, it has two large padded recliners facing each other.

Shortly after we arrived, our butler brought us a plate of horduves.  He introduce himself as Johnathan.

After we settled in we met Rose in the balcony of the Stardust Theater, where she introduced us to Omar.  He left Rose in our company, while we watched the show.  It consisted of singing and dancing by the ship’s talented performers, as well as a duo of balancing artists and a juggling talent named John Nations. 

We had mentioned to rose that this trip was in celebration of Rogers’s birthday and she insisted that we join her for dinner tomorrow evening, in the French restaurant, La bistro, where she would bring a bottle of wine.  When we told her about traveling with our friends, she immediately invited them to join us, as well.  But, true to her delightful nature, she said, “but they have to pay the $20 for their own meal, I’m just paying for your meals.”

After the performance, Omar returned to escort Rose to her room and she asked him to make the reservations for our dinner, tomorrow evening.  She also said she would be doing a tour tomorrow, in Rostock.  We told her we would be going into town on our own.  Then we parted for the evening.  What a terrific time we had meeting Rose.   

BUDDY's ROOM