Cruising Through The Alphabet-A Is For Altered States
In our real world, Alan and I don’t drink much alcohol. Usually we’ll have a glass of wine at Christmas and a Mimosa on New Year’s Eve. We might indulge in the odd wine cooler or a glass of wine with friends. On average, we probably have 8-10 drinks of alcohol, per year. Take us on a cruise though and we become different people, usually enjoying at least one drink a day, sometimes a lot more! Maybe it is the freedom from driving, kids and work that we feel. But I think there is more to it than that. What is it about this change of environment that makes us alter our behavior so radically?
Well for one, alcohol is readily available. How about a nice romantic drink on your balcony? Upon entering your room, you might find the refrigerator stocked with a mini bar. Room service will also deliver. Every restaurant, lounge, poolside and coffee shop will offer some form of alcohol. It is available 24 hours per day. Ships can sport upwards of twenty, uniquely themed bars and lounges. Many of these are specialized such as the wine bars, martini bars, whiskey bars and even Japanese bars that serve Saki. Lounging around the pools, can in itself feel like a trip around the world, with exotic drink creations, some of them towering over a foot high, being offered! Where else are you going to find so many opportunities for trying something for the first time?
Architects have designed the lounges and bars to incorporate the newest technology. There are sensory bars offering a variety of pleasing smells which drift through the air. Holograms projected on black canvas might mimic the inside of an aquarium. All this is meant to relax the mind, while you rest upon one of the curtain draped mattresses, filled with pillows. One might also find exotic adventures experienced by only the lucky few. For example, there are only 14 ice bars in the world, most of them in the far away Scandinavian regions. Imagine a hot day, floating in the middle of the Caribbean or Mediterranean on your cruise ship. When you are ready to cool off, just don a fake fur robe, hat and gloves, before entering the frozen room. Here, everything from the walls, to the tables, stools and glasses are made out of ice! Alan and I have even cruised on one line, that offered a Cirque de Sole’ type show, with acrobatics being performed on the tables and railings of the bar itself, no easy feat upon moving seas! Maybe it is this high-caliber entertainment that makes us seek out some of these spaces. Take time to appreciate the effort put into helping you part with your hard-earned dollars and enjoy the show while you do. Suddenly that drink doesn’t feel so expensive!
Wherever you go, entertainment also abounds in these spaces. Whether a deck party, music or sports is your thing, there is something for everyone. There are always plenty of sophisticated spaces when we want to act like grown ups. Lounges and bars also offer broadway style entertainment, comedy shows, karaoke, quiz nights, lectures and a variety of musicians. Rest, rejuvenate, laugh and learn. Oh, and go ahead and have that glass of wine or that foot tall high drink, tomorrow is a brand new adventure and soon enough you will return to your other life!