The Carnival Luminosa portion of the ATW-1 begins with 5 days at sea. This means we spent a lot of time eating and playing slots in the casino these first 2 days on board. And meeting our fellow cruisers. At breakfast on Day 3 we met Tony, from Cincinatti.
At breakfast we noticed the very cool watermelon sculpture. Someone on board is really skilled with watermelons.
We played some cards before lunch and Marlene won 2 games of knock rummy to my 1. We had lunch in the buffet, then spent some time – and money – in the casino. I lost $125 (down $175). I can’t afford those kinds of losses on a 22-night cruise – I would be spending more in the casino than the rest of the ATW combined.
After dinner we went to the show, which was “magic and comedy” by Glen Foster. Pretty good.
On Day 4 we had breakfast alone (just Marlene and me), then played some knock rummy. I won 2 games to none for Marlene. That really annoyed her.
We were invited to an exclusive luncheon for Diamond-level passengers – the highest status available on Carnival. Marlene achieved Diamond status on this cruise. I am still a lowly Platinum guest. But they let me attend as Marlene’s “plus one.” The meal was disappointing – the toughest filet mignon ever – but the drinks were free. We met Dwight and Terry from Huntington Beach CA and John and Sandy from St Louis MO.
The officers were introduced at the luncheon.
Marlene won a few bucks at the casino but I continued to lose. But only a little – $25 (down $200).
Dinner was an “elegant night” and Marlene dressed to the nine. I guess I looked pretty good in my Italian sports coat too. I had prime rib and it was very good.
We skipped the show in favor of dancing. The 9-piece dance band on this cruise – “Beauty and the Beat” – is very good, as we hoped they would be (gotta have a good dance band on a long cruise). The lead singers – Phat Matt and Zoe – are both very good vocalists. I think we will be spending a lot of time dancing.
Which is good because the more time we spend dancing the less time we will spend in the casino.
The weather these first 2 days has been chillier than I expected – highs around 70. And the seas on Day 4 were pretty rough – like 6-foot swells. But not terrible. Better weather ahead.