This day started out like any other day at sea – breakfast, then lose some money in the casino and lose a couple of games of knock rummy. But it was notable in being probably the only day that we will have the cabin cleaned on this 2-week cruise. Marlene does not like to have daily cabin cleanings. Nor every-other-day cabin cleanings. On previous long cruises we compromised at one cleaning every 5 days. This time she balked at that, so we went a full week without the cabin attendant cleaning anything. This annoyed the heck out of him. He actually phoned us at 8:30am when we were still in bed and chided me for not letting him do his job. I assured him that we would take down the “do not disturb” sign and vacate the cabin at some point so he could give it a thorough cleaning but that wasn’t good enough. He wanted us to vacate NOW.
His expected tip just took a hit.
After breakfast and the obligatory losses in the casino and at cards, we actually got into the hot tub to soak for a bit. Then things got interesting.
First, Marlene cajoled me into signing up for the mixologist contest – an amateur bartender contest in which 4 passengers judge alcoholic beverage inventions, the winner winning… nothing. I planned to try a concoction with white rum, blackberry brandy, Triple Sec and orange juice. But only four people were given a chance to complete. One was Marlene who made “Marlene’s Mess” from tequila, Curacao liqueur, raspberry brandy, peach schnapps, pineapple juice and orange juice. I thought it would be very strong but it was actually fruity and refreshing. I guess the judges thought so too because she WON. So “Marlene’s Mess” will be available at all the bars on the Conquest for the rest of the cruise.
Then we ventured into the casino again and I put $20 into a Dragon Link slot machine. After about 10 spins I hit a bonus in which the dragon threw 3 additional “money balls” into the grid. One of the balls was a “Mega” ball which, much to my shock, paid over $970. So I went from being way down to being slightly up after 8 days of cruising.
My negative view of the casino instantaneously improved.
We continued to play and, of course, I lost some of that. But I ended the day just about even for the cruise.
That’s a relief!
Dinner had a French and Spanish theme. The French onion soup was outstanding.
The evening show was “Love and Marriage” which is always a hoot. This time the newlywed couple (on their honeymoon) were embarrassed, in front of both sets of parents and all of their fellow passengers by admitting that they had had sex in the cabana in the Serenity Lounge on board the ship. They will have to endure a full week on board with everyone asking if they had been to the Serenity Lounge lately.