Norwegian EPIC In A Studio - St Thomas

What a day! So much to tell and so little time...
Let's see. We docked in St Thomas. I went ashore for about a minute and a half. Got totally pissed at a shopkeeper; but it's okay, cuz I pissed him off, back. I was hoping to find some white pants for the White Hot Party. Went into a dozen places and came up empty. Then I finally found a nice pair of white linen slacks. Hugo Boss. $165! Now, look...when you are buying a suit, maybe names matter.  And most of what you are paying for is the design, but we're talking about 4 strips of linen sewn together, with a zipper in front. I can't believe Hugo Boss' Indonesian children get paid any more, or do any better work than Walmart's Indonesian children, so, you know...give me a break. Anyway, I happen to know those pants are available at Macy's, 3 miles from my house, for $120. And at the Outlet Mall, 30 miles away, for probably $80. So, I asked the guy how much he *really* wanted for them. He looked offended and told me the price was the price. I'm like, "are being serious right now, cuz that's twice what I would pay back home". He disagreed, and suggested I go back home to buy a pair. In retrospect, good advice, but not at all helpful in the here and now. So I walked out with a "have a nice day" (you know, the one everyone recognizes as "eff you" over my shoulder, and headed home.

Back on board just in time for Trivia, in which I stomped the crap out of two hapless ladies from Minnesota, I felt a little better.
Lunch today was at O'Sheehans. Again, an interesting dish, badly named. They claimed it was Irish Stew. It was carrot soup. A big bowl of carrot chunks with some nice tender beef and ONE piece of potato hiding at the bottom. All in a very thin broth. Now, maybe I have slipped into some alternate universe where the Irish Carrot Famine nearly depopulated the Emerald Isle, and some artist created a famous painting called "The Carrot Eaters"...but I don't think so. I think, sadly, no one at Norwegian has ever been to Ireland, or had stew of any sort. Sorry but STEW is not SOUP. It is thick and hearty to keep Irish farmers and fishermen full and warm on blustery days. But, like I said it was pretty good, and I probably would have ordered Carrot Soup, had that been the daily special. So, not really complaining...just wondering if the new test kitchen in Miami needs a new Director of Naming Stuff. If so, I might send in a resume.
Afer lunch I bopped around enjoying the sun shine and lack of people on board. Cruise ships really are way more fun when everyone else runs off. Played on the waterslides a bit and what not and what have you. Got dressed and came back up to the pool deck for a smoke and a club soda. Ran into a friend who told me she was headed to Bingo, and realized I had not bingoed all week. So I did. Unfortunately.
By the way, and appropos of nothing, on my wanderings, I finally found a place I can plug in, sit down, and smoke. My writing has suffered this week because the battery on my netbook is shot, and I have to be plugged in. But the only places to plug in are non-smoking areas, so I have to keep getting up and taking a break and losing my train of thought (fortunately that's a short train). But I am currently sitting in the Humidor, plugged in, lit up AND having coffee in a comfy chair, so, maybe I can get this all done in one session.
So, back to the regularly scheduled programming. AFter Bingo I got dressed for dinner, and headed to the Living Room. Tonite Jeff Hobson, Comedian/Magician was doing a live, close up magic show just for the Studio guests. Another nice little perk. Now, I have seen Jeff a few times, and he is good, but big stage magic is not something that really fascinates me. Close up magic, I do like. Because it's not all about the props...you really have to be good at the sleight of hand and misdirection. I like Jeff mostly for his comedy. But he was really good in the Living Room, both funny and some great little tricks.
After the show I downstairs to figure out my dinner plans. There were several friends waiting for the Latitudes cocktail party, so I was talking to them when Richard Janicki, the Hotel Director came over. Now, honestly, I've been a little disappointed this week. He has passed by me a few times with a fairly curt nod and little else. But apparently he got the memo...He told me that he was going to comp me and a guest in the alternative dining room of my choice AND allow me to dine in the EPIC CLUB. Which is really all I want from life right now. I got to go up there on my previous EPIC cruise, and it really is a beautiful room, with excellent food and better service. So...I finally made the VIP list cut this trip, I guess.
He also explained how they are no longer allowed, on this ship, to let non-suite guests used the Epic club for breakfast and lunch, and I understand. It's a basic capacity problem. On the Jewel and Dawn class ships, where they use Cagneys, it is a pretty big dining room and a fairly small number of suites, so there is plenty of room to slip people in. On the EPIC, the dining room is smaller, and there are way more suites and villas. So...cool.   Richard Janicki is officially my New Best Friend.
Anyway, after the Latitudes party I went over to the Sushi bar to join some friends for dinner. It was good, again. After dinner, it was the 80's Party out on deck at Spice/H2o. Couldn't miss that! So I threw on the blue leopard shirt and headed over...where I was accosted by 3 kids from New Jersey, Andy, Justin and something, who first decided I looked like Billy Joel, and then went with Jack Nicholson (although Andy kept saying Jack Nicklaus, and I have to tell you, I do not look ANYTHING like him). They even wanted to get pictures with me. It was kind of fun, for a while...but only for a while. I finally left the star-struck Jersey Boys and found some friends, danced a little (I do a mean Footloose thang), and mostly just enjoyed the music. As I was sitting there, getting into some Bon Jovi, Richard came over to me, again, and told me
there was a balcony available, if I wanted to move up!
So, yeah...now it's the full court press. Apparently some people missed their Miami flight, and then again managed to not catch up to the ship in St Thomas, so their room is empty. While I appreciated the offer, my first response was that I liked my Studio. And I was in it for a reason...to write about it, and be able to tell clients about it first hand...but on talking to him a little further, I decided 5 nights in the Studio is enough to tell the story, and a balcony would be lovely for the last couple days of the cruise. So, as soon as I finish up
here, I'm going to pack and slide up to the balcony cabin! While I have enjoyed the Studio, and would totally recommend it to solo travelers because of the price and the little perks of the Living Room, a view of the ocean on this last sea day will be nice.



So, thats it for today!



Domo Aregato for reading along!