DAY 7 and 8: At sea
We left Venice at 12pm on the 7th day and were at sea the rest of the day and the following day as the ship made its way to Valetta, Malta. We took the opportunity to explore more of the ship and experience some of the day time activities onboard that we had missed while in port. We lounged around in our room until lunchtime because there weren’t any activities scheduled until the afternoon. We had lunch on the Lido deck, which is the casual restaurant on the ship that is always open. The Lido provided a cafeteria style dining experience that featured different stations such as the deli, the bistro, Asian cuisine, and several others. The Lido, like the Vista Dining room offered spectacular ocean views.
After lunch we decided to catch a screening of Blades of Glory with Will Farrell. It was very funny and the staff even offered us popcorn to enhance our movie watching experience. When the movie ended we went up to the Vista Dining room for “Royal Dutch High Tea,” a mini meal of tea, crumpets, finger sandwiches, and sweets. We ended up eating way too much on those 2 days at sea. It’s hard to resist all that delicious food when it’s so convenient and of course, free.
After tea, we went up to the internet café to check our email and find something to do. There were plenty of activities, there was a casino onboard and there were always parties hosted by D.J.s but neither of us is big on drinking or dancing and we try to gamble only in moderation. We did gamble a little though; we won $50 at the black jack table.
In the explorations café there is a full library of books to choose from which one can check out and return at the end of the ship. I picked one out and began reading it to pass the time until dinner. I sat in the crow’s nest where the view of the ocean is magnificent. Looking down through the window at the ocean moving by, it felt like I was flying.
That evening’s entertainment was a powerhouse performance by international recording artist Kristine W. and her dancers. The performers put on a great show and I highly recommend Kristine’s act if your ever in Las Vegas with an evening to kill.
Later that night was the masquerade party. The masks and costumes were even more elaborate than they had been at the Gods and Goddesses party. My fiancé and I donned our newly acquired masks and admired the ingenuity of our fellow passengers. There wasn’t a contest for best mask that evening but there was plenty of dancing and music and a special exotic performance by some very attractive male dancers. One man in particular had everyone on the ship drooling except perhaps for the lesbians and my fiancé. I, on the other hand, was quite content to sit on the sidelines and gawk at the sheer masculine perfection of the men on stage.
The next day we were still at sea. The first thing we did was to go to a presentation of some future itineraries that are being offered by RSVP. They all sounded great. The first one is a 7 day cruise of Alaska from September 7-14, 2007 on Holland America’s Amsterdam. The next 3 are the Exotic Caribbean (2/23/08 to 3/1/08) aboard Holland America’s Zuiderdam, Barbados Bliss (3/1/08 to 3/8/08) aboard The Royal Clipper (a much smaller vessel than the other 2), and finally Tahitian Treasure (11/27/08 to 12/7/08) aboard Star Clippers’ Star Flyer (another small ship.) If you’re interested in any of these vacations you can visit rsvpvactions.com to book your reservations.
After the presentation we were given a tour of some of the different types of staterooms the ship had to offer. All of the rooms were very nice, including the inside rooms, but the nicest rooms by far were the verandah rooms and suites. The suites offer a lot more space to move around in than the regular rooms but all of the rooms are quite comfortable.
We went to High Tea again after the tour and then we were off to afternoon bingo with “Sister Helen.” Sister Helen was a man in drag impersonating a nun, a character that brought to mind images of Dana Carvey playing The Church Lady on Saturday Night Live. Sister Helen made afternoon bingo worth losing all the money we put into the game. She was at times prudish and at other times completely raunchy, a contrast that was riotously funny.
That evening Mark Alan Smith, another man in drag, did his singing impersonation of some of the greatest divas of our time, including Barbara Streisand, Bette Midler, Tina Turner, Cher, and many more. I was struck by the incredible range of his voice. It takes a great talent to be able to sing in all those different keys and I was thrilled to get to see him in action.
Continue to read more RSVP Mediterranean Odyssey Day Nine: Valetta, Malta
