Thursday Night

Sail away from Skagway was at 4:30 on Thursday night. I was pretty tired that night and needed to take a shower, straighten my hair and get completely ready, so I choose to take a little nap instead of going out for the sail away. I think we both laid down for a little while and then I jumped in the shower. I was pretty excited to wear my blue dress that night. Right after we booked the cruise I started doing some shopping for a few things I needed. One of those things was a dress (or dresses). Finding dresses that fit have always been a struggle for me, I am not proportioned right and they never fit me correctly. So one day I went into Ann Taylor Loft and literally tried on every dress in the store. I was shocked to discover the one that actually fit and looked good – it was a style I would have never even tried. Unfortunately the dress was not dressy enough for a formal night, but it was on clearance, so for $12.97 I could afford to buy it for one of the other nights. Thursday was the big night to wear it. Of course Thursday was also the night we barely took any pictures and I don’t have one of me in it.

After getting ready we headed down to dinner. This night was a bit different from the other nights when it came to the time of the shows, the early one started at 7:00 and the late one was at 8:45, this was because the crew talent show was at 10:30. Shan and I were both very excited to see the talent show – it is always a high light on the cruise. So our plan was to go to the 8:45 show and then save our seats for the later show.

When we got to the dining room we were seating more in the middle of the room at a table for 6 people. There was an older couple there when we got there and then a women who was cruising solo was seated just after us. The women was from Portland and her husband had decided they were going to move to Hawaii – he was already there getting things settled and she was back in Portland getting the house ready to sell – she was not too excited about moving to Hawaii and quite stressed out, so this cruise was her treat to herself for dealing with it all. She was the most entertaining lady – we heard all about her life – her really old cat, her son who had many issues, her grandchild who was adopted by another family in a really open adoption, her husband – our dinner that night was so interesting!! I almost didn’t want to leave. But we had other things to do that night.

Shannon and I have always been big fans of production shows – we both love musicals and plays, watching people dance – it is just our thing. To this point both of the shows had been good. The lead female singer was Becky. She was a total diva, seamed much older then she was, and a really good singer. The show on Thursday was Words and Music and it was the Broadway themed show. Being huge Broadway fans we were really excited for this show. As we went to the theater and sat waiting for the show to begin we talked about what shows might be included. We didn’t really think there would be anything from Mamma Mia, Moving Out, or any of the really recent show, but we were thinking along the Andrew Lloyd Webber lines. We were way off – the show featured Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein… stuff that was so old and just not what we thought of when we were thinking Broadway. I can’t say the show was bad, it was just not our taste and I was actually bored. After the show Shannon and I just stayed in our seats for the Crew Talent Show as the crowds all left. We both had to go to the bathroom, but I went first. As I was walking back over to our seats is when it finally happened!!

JJ was walking up from the stage area and came over to talk to us. He asked us if we had enjoyed the show – which we both totally lied and said yes, if we were staying for the crew talent show, if we were having a good time this week. We chatted for a few minutes and then he was off. I was so excited, I had finally talked to JJ – my cruise goal was complete and I was so happy.

Shannon then ran to the bathroom and while she was gone an announcement came that everyone needed to leave the theater. So I got up and left and met her in the hall. A few minutes later we were allowed back in and we sat back down. The theater started getting filled up and some of the crew handed out balloons. They had everyone hang unto the balloons until a certain point when said to blow them up and start to toss them around. The entire theater came alive with people throwing and hitting balloons all around. It was a riot. I am convinced I was the target of a group of older men who were excited to see me get up to catch or throw a balloon. Here are some pictures of the balloon party.
JJ then came up on stage to start the show and said “We spend millions of dollars each year on entertainment and all it takes is a bag of balloons.” I laughed, it was so true, it was the most excited the crowd was the whole trip. Then the crew talent show began. The first crew member was a bar tender who sang “Sex Bomb” He totally hammed it up and you could tell he totally loved being up there. Then the cruise director staff (minus JJ) did a little skit in a doctor’s office. Then another crew member came out dressed as a man on one side and a women on the other – “he” sang a duet with himself. During the show they showed some video clips of the crew performing in their quarters and some of it was pretty funny. Then Meg, the host of Princess Pop Star sang and did a great job. The show ended with the cruise classic of “If I were not upon the Sea.” It was as funny as usual. Shan and I both really enjoyed the Crew Talent Show.

After the show we left the theater and as I was walking down the stairs I caught JJ watching me. I smiled. It must have been the cute dress. After we left the theater we went up to get some dessert from the food court and then decided not to go to Skywalker, since we were both tired, but to go to bed. Tomorrow was our day at sea and we were both excited for a more relaxing day. . I went to bed pretty happy – it had been such a great day!!