This is a sea day.  We are going to the ice show (Freeze Frame) and the production show (Once upon a Time). I think the girls are also stopping by the art auction mostly to cage a free glass of bubbly.

Tomorrow is a tender port so the boarding process should be less painful in some ways than the last boarding in San Juan. And no, it is not just an army person spending time on ships. It is more like my expectations of educated adults especially when the signs leaving the ship clearly state that you are going to need photo ID along with your ship’s card to get back on.

I want to put a 3 meter high billboard next to the ships gangways on the pier to spell out for the morons the basics of life.

By the time there has been a port visit or three, getting back on the ship should not bring any surprises. Certainly it should be obvious that if you checked yourself out with your ships’ card you will need it to be electronically logged back in. Since the sign in front of the security desk clearly states that they need to see “you” and to remove hats and sunglasses I am astonished at how many people (english speaking now even) walk up to the check in with hats and glasses firmly in place. They then proceed to either look blankly at the security person who politely but firmly asks them to remove said items or, and much worse in my opinion than the cumulative delays caused by ignorance and inconsiderateness, start to argue with the ships’s personnel.

Once we are clear of that discussion comes the scanner belt and the metal detector. Now, none of this has changed one whit from when they first boarded the ship. So why should it be any surprise that they need to empty their pockets?

Hello? if your camera and phone are metal it should come as no surprise that you have to take them out of your pockets. It would really help if you managed to do this on one or two passed through the machine.

Now, if you are in your 90s with a good half of your joints replaced with stainless steel I could understand but someone in their 40s or 50s and able to pay for a cruise should be able to follow simple directions.

And we will not discuss at all the people who have to send a family member back to their room since they failed to bring along any ID (other than credit cards) and can’t understand why the US Customs and Immigrations personnel are not willing to let them back onto the pier.

But that is just my opinion.