Vacation Day Two - At Sea

On my trip down to Cozumel, the sea state was "millpond" (sea-state 1, or ripples) and the sun was hot. I forgot my sunscreen, but even after buying the SPF 45 in the ship's store, I burn too easily to lay out, so I found a quiet spot in the shade.

The big event of the day was the Captain's Reception and "Formal Night." I wore a sports coat and open-collar dress shirt, and landed square in the middle of the pack for men's attire. I was amused at the number of sunburnt ladies wearing finery, and not at all disappointed at the number of ladies in rather skimpy finery.

The big Captain's Reception wasn't much, other than free drinks (you pay for them otherwise). The main stage of the big show lounge was opened for dancing for a few songs, then the Captain and department heads came out and were introduced. The principle deck and engineering officers were all Italian, and Carnival has a snazzy dress uniform, with royal blue coat, white shirt and gold tie.

After the reception, I ran into the First Mate (or, technically, the "Staff Captain") and the Chief Engineer as they were getting refreshed at the bar. We had a brief discussion of rank insignia, which I reproduce here for uniform geeks and Jackie Powers to use in her SF romance:

1 gold stripe = 3rd Mate
2 gold stripes = 2nd Mate
3 gold stripes (top stripe looped) = 1st Mate / Staff Captain
3 gold stripes plus one larger stripe = Master of Vessel or Chief Engineer.

The Chief Engineer was the same rank as the Master, although his stripes were trimmed in red and, in place of fouled anchors as lapel pins, they wear propellers.

Casino report = down $25 for the night, $40 for the cruise