Homeward-bound, all day at sea again today. Another couple of hours with Nadia this morning have left Paul and me in pain because the buns and abs workout was pretty rough for us. Ah well, more gluttony guilt mitigation.

Quite a nice day up on deck for the most part, and I spent several hours reading since there's not all that much going on. Shelley got a massage. Tom attended an art auction and competed for Mr. Sexy Legs. Brenda got a hand work-over, and Jamie underwent a facial treatment. A day of pampering all around.

Shelley and Paul and Brenda and I had an air hockey tournament in the evening. We played pretty rough -- the puck flew off the table a half-dozen times or more, causing passers-by to duck for cover on their way to the slot machines.

We found out that there will be a shore excursion to the Everglades tomorrow for those coming back aboard the ship, or just wanting something to do before flying home, so we signed up for that. Our flight isn't until 6:30 pm and the ship will dock before sunrise, leaving a whole lotta time to kill for us.

One of the most interesting things about the cruise is the staff. The waiters, cabin attendees, bar tenders, receptionists, etc., all hail from far-flung locations like the Philippines, Malaysia, India, South Africa, Central America, Eastern Europe, etc.

Aside from one Canadian, I don't recall seeing any staff member from North America. I don't know whether this diversity is a matter of company policy, cheap labor, or what. All spoke English well enough to deal with passengers, and I must say that they always showed a positive, service-oriented attitude.



Shelley signed up for a deck massage in the morning and took it lying down.



Here's the ship's swimming pool; it was closed during some of the trip out because the ship rolled and pitched enough to send the pool water all across the deck.



Looking back whence we sailed.



Tom didn't win the Mr. Sexy Legs show, but he did win Mr. Hairy Legs as a consolation.