Boston to Port Canaveral

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Boston to Port Canaveral 

My trip from Sacramento to Boston was fairly uneventful. I had a flight to Washington Dulles which then connected to Boston. 

I had been feeling a little under the weather so my hotel time overnight was not the most restful. I boarded the Veendam pretty early in the day and spent the afternoon unpacking and acquainting myself with the layout of the ship. I also did my best to rest. 

I had signed up for fixed dining at a table for six. The first night I ate alone until my dessert came at which point an older gentleman was seated at my table. He was very late and a bit of an annoyance. I made nice conversation with him through my dessert but then excused myself. I just didn't want to sit there while he ate three courses worth of dinner to catch up to me. 

The next night was a formal night and I sat there again all alone. Not my idea of a fun dinner. Jack, the man from the night before was a complete no-show. The dining room manager came by and we discussed my options. I decided to switch to open dining which will allow me to go to the dining room whenever I want, time-wise, and I can be seated with other people who are entering at the same time. There are some downsides to this eating arrangement but the upside for me will be that I will

Have companions to converse with at dinner. 

Before our stop at Port

Canaveral we had two days at sea. Day 1 I was feeling yucky and the seas were rough which just added to my overall malaise. I opted to lay low and try to rest. 

Day 2 was a whole new ballgame. I awoke feeling much better physically. Today was also the day I was to scatter my Dad's ashes at sea. I had arranged with the ship a few months ago to do this and when I checked in when I boarded the guest services were ready to make the time and day arrangements for me. I asked to do it early in the cruise when we were off the East Coast as my Dad had sailed these waters a lot during his years in the Navy. 

So, at 10:00 AM I met up with the assistant and he took me to a private aft deck area where I could scatter the ashes. I have to say it was sweet and sad and also a little funny because some of his ashes landed on the stern hull and stuck there! I decided that my Dad wanted to keep sailing along with me for a bit!

The ship presented me with a beautiful certificate detailing the Burial at Sea with my Dad's name , dates of birth and death and the exact coordinates of the scattering of his ashes. I was very moved by this. 

The rest of the day passed quietly. I listened to a lecture about early explorers and conquistadors to the Americas, read my book, walked the decks a bit and just generally tried to take it easy. 

I went to dinner tonight for open seating and had the good fortune to be seated at s table for 8. One of my table mates was the lecturer from earlier in the day. Another one is the Bridge (think card came) instructor. Everyone was friendly and we had a lost delightful dinner. 

After dinner I went to the show. It was a mentalist and he was excellent and very funny. He's actually the guy that they loosely based the TV show The Mentalist on so go figure.