Rough seas

The ship is noticeably rocking as we prepare to go to dinner. It’s not at all violent, more of a gentle swaying, and not so much as to knock you off your feet. But it is constant, over and over and over, and that can cause problems.

Benjamin is feeling the effects.

We don’t have any chewable Dramamine handy, but we find a suitable dose in pill form for him to take. Unfortunately, Benjamin has never taken a pill before. Given his marginally queasy state and the stress of swallowing a pill for the first time, it takes a bit of trying for him to get it down, but he eventually does.

I hope we’ve given it to him in time.

Off we go to Parrot Cay. The midship elevators take us to Deck 3, and we walk down the port-side hallway past the Promenade Lounge where we waited for our table at lunch. Our table, number 55, is right in the middle of the restaurant. Waiting to greet us as soon as we are seated are our server and assistant server, Sutas from Thailand, and Nino from the Philippines.

We’ve been curious about our servers – we spend so much time with them on the ship, since they rotate from restaurant to restaurant with us, that they can really add a lot of magic to a cruise. The boys absolutely adored Nick, our goofy and endearing Croatian server in 2003; okay, we all adored him. He was sweet and wonderful and fun, and easily was the favorite part of our cruise. Sunil & Sara, our 2005 team, on the other hand, gave great service, but were just not as personable or fun. Granted, Nick set the bar high – any future server will have a hard time living up to his standard.

Already Sutas and Nino seem to be an improvement over our last cruise. They are warm, friendly, and funny as we introduce ourselves to them.

Benjamin is still looking a little queasy, but says he’s okay for now. The ship is still rocking noticeably, and even I am starting to feel the effects. We forge ahead with ordering from the Parrot Cay menu. I order my favorite appetizer at this place, the Baked Crab Martinique, a delicious cheesy crab concoction, as well as a bowl of the Cream of Sweet Onion Soup.

Bob tells Sutas that for dessert later, he might pass on the fancier items and just have a Mickey bar. Sutas gives him a mischievous double take and laughingly says, “Can I see a photo i.d.? That’s for kids!” He tells Bob not to worry, he’ll take care of him.

Nino brings our sodas, and Sutas delivers some warm banana bread and sesame rolls. It may have only been a few hours since lunch, but they still taste fantastic. Then the appetizers arrive, and I dig into the Crab Martinique. Yummm! It is very, very good.

Sutas is just starting to deliver our soups and salads when Benjamin signals that he thinks he’s going to be sick.