Just another day in Paradise....: On this cruise...if you snooze, you lose

It never ceases to amaze me how time truly does fly when you are having fun. I stepped on board the Eclipse at approximately 1pm on Wednesday, and here it is the crack of dawn on Friday, and it's almost time to say goodbye to my little home away from home. I came on this mini-cruise for a number of reasons, the least of which was to connect with some of my fellow Cruise Critic members, although we had made advance plans to share a few meals together.

Never did I expect to actually run into one of the ladies I had met on the CC boards, less than 10 minutes after boarding. I'd dropped my suitcase in the cabin, glanced briefly at the daily schedule, and made a beeline for the I-Lounge to get my IPad hooked up to the ship's wi-fi. Of course, important things first...I needed to keep the lines of communication open to my honey back home. Although I have traveled alone on several other occasions, Roger and I are rarely apart for more than a few days...and, if you will recall, this was only my third time on a cruise ship without him. I had absolutely no idea how it would feel to be on board by myself, and I gotta tell you, I instantly felt the obvious void of him not being there beside me.

It is very difficult to put into words....how much I enjoy sharing my love of travel with the man I have been married to, all of my adult life. Some of the thrill I usually experience when initially boarding a ship, was lost on me...to say the least, it was exactly the bittersweet feeling I had previously predicted. However, I'd approached this cruise opportunity with both eyes wide open, and it was time to shake off this slightly eerie feeling, and embrace the temporary solo traveler status I'd willingly assumed, for the next 2 days. In the back of my mind, and what actually kept me moving forward, was the comforting thought that he was never far from me and we could still communicate by phone, if necessary for at least a few hours before we set sail. Also, we had plans to stay in touch by email, so the feeling of being on my own, quickly disappeared, and I set out to find the next important item on my agenda, the food. There is nothing more soothing to this wandering soul, than some tasty tidbits...and it was the perfect elixir to help me over my initial misgivings about how much fun I would or would not have, without my lifetime travel companion.

You've heard of messages written in sand..well here's my love note to my hubby carved into the ice-topped bar in the Martini Lounge...I was a bit bored while waiting for the bartender to HURRY UP with my chocolate martini...silly me....I've always been such a doodler!

Off I went to find the buffet, and after a quick meal, it was time to reacquaint myself with what was only my second time on board an S-class Celebrity ship. In 2008, we'd been on a similar 2-night introductory mini cruise, so finding my way around these somewhat familiar surroundings, was simply a matter of recalling the last time I had been on Solstice, this ship's almost identical "sister."

I had plans to meet a group on my fellow CC members at 5pm, and although it was quite simple to locate the aft bar and introduce myself to the folks whom I'd corresponded with online for the last 30 days, we never did experience the exact sail away we all expected. We later learned that a very large group of passengers were delayed from reaching Eclipse, and the ship did not pull out of Miami until 7pm, well after dark and when we had all gone back to our cabins to change for dinner and the show.

These ladies that I would be sharing my dinner with for the next few days, were not only entertaining, but we found we had quite a bit in common and had no difficulty talking late into the evening. All of us were beyond exhausted by the end of our first day, as we said our goodnights and parted ways until the following morning.

There were a few things I had planned to do Thursday, but I was very lazy, and didn't get the early start I had in mind when I first woke up. After posting my blog, I went in search of breakfast. First stop of the day, the Sky Lounge to investigate the Captain's Club Elite spread....yummy. Lots of my old favorites, although the venue had changed from the usual Michael's Club, I was more than willing to "suffer" through my morning breakfast while enjoying the panoramic view of the ocean. Now if I could just find a comfy spot outside to spend the rest of my morning, all would be well in my world.

So much to choose from....so little room in my tummy :(

Captain's club breakfast....oh how I missed all of this...it had only been 48 days since I last enjoyed this morning treat....ummmm, think there may be an addiction issue here???