Half Moon Cay

April 12

I had set the alarm for 9 but in the middle of the night I turned it off as I had decided I needed to catch up on some sleep.  Awoke at ten and watched the morning show, unpacked a few more things and got ready for the day.

Half Moon Cay is Holland America's private island in the Bahamas.  It is quite pretty and the water is an amazing blue.  I enjoyed the water (which was just a little cool when you got in) for some time and if I had had a float I might still be out there.  I am trying to be extra careful of the sun so I only stayed in the sun for a few minutes before heading to the barbecue.

After lunch I headed back to the ship and arrived around 2pm.  My cabin stewards, Slam and Arbie, were still working on my cabin so I waited for them to finish up out in the hall.

Once I had changed I went in search of a soda.  A number of the bars were closed, I expect because so many of the crew were working on the island.  I finally found an open one and got a ginger ale.  It was the worst I had ever tasted and ended up leaving most of it.

At three o'clock I went to a craft class on making an origami box.  Having craft classes is another plus for HAL.  After finishing the box the three ladies I was seated with and I sat and talked for awhile.

It was then time to head for my first Windows 8 class.  My laptop died in December and of course the new one had Windows 8.  Four months later the system is still a major mystery to me  so I will take the free courses onboard and maybe, just maybe, my new computer and I can become better acquainted when I get home.  Techspert Philip is going to be my new best friend by the end of the cruise!

After class it was ice cream time.  Another plus (or maybe it should be two) for HAL is that they have at least four different flavors of ice cream in the Lido and they have waffle cones.  To make it even better they have meringue cookies!

Sat in the Lido and read while I had my ice cream and then worked on my blog.  Then dressed for dinner and went to "Club Trivia".  Played with four others and we had 11 out of 15.  Here are three we missed.
Q. What is a "spoonerism"?
Q. What country did the Romans call "Lusitania"?
Q. What color is yak's milk?

On my way to dinner I met up with some Cruise Critic friends and we talked for a few minutes (one couple has had power and water issues in their cabin).  Still only five at the dinner table.  I had pot roast and blueberry/mango crisp.  Met some more CC friends after dinner and chatted.

Skipped the show so I can update the blog, upload my pictures, and finish unpacking the last few items from my suitcase.

Trivia answers - mixing up letters in words in a phrase in speech (such as "shoving leopard" instead of "loving shepherd"),  Portugal, pink.

Smooth sailing until next time!