A final day at sea. We had breakfast in the buffet and lunch at La Strada Grill – a small BBQ place outside on Deck 5. Pretty good jerk chicken and pulled pork.

We happened across the “World Works Here” show in the theater. This was basically a celebration of the diversity of the crew – over 50 countries are represented in the 1,400 crew members. It featured some songs by the very talented entertainment staff.

I read for a couple of hours, then we had dinner in the buffet. After dinner we visited the casino one last time. And I lost another $95 – down $195 for the cruise. Not bad, really, for a 7-night cruise, but disappointing after being ahead for 5 days. Marlene lost a bundle.

We danced to the Venezia Rockband – a terrific band. Arguably better than the Luminosa Rockband that made our transpacific cruise so pleasant. After dancing we had a late night snack and had a nice chat with another young couple who stopped by to compliment us for being “so full of life.”

In bed before 2am.

I like Roatan. It is a pretty, laid-back island with some nice beaches. But we had no interest in an excursion of any kind, so we, after the usual breakfast, got off the ship and wandered about the cruise port area a bit. We shopped but bought nothing.

We reboarded in time for lunch then did a bit of trivia. But I didn’t like the game so went off to blog a bit. Marlene napped.

After dinner we visited the casino, as usual. I won $30 (up $160 for the cruise). Marlene continued to lose.

I mentioned that Marlene was up all night, playing slots. I should also mention that while I was in the casino I consumed 2 Funship Specials and 2 Long Island Ice Teas – all VERY strong. I didn’t feel all that tipsy when I went to bed at 3am but I was pretty hung over in the morning. And all day, for that matter. I had coffee for breakfast. Neither of us felt very eager for the afternoon party for Platinum and Diamond passengers (we are both Platinum with Carnival), so we skipped it. Marlene napped. I read.

We spent some time in the casino in the afternoon. I broke even. We went back after dinner (which we took in the buffet) and I had some luck. I won $130. Up $130 for the cruise. Marlene continued to lose.

The White Party was held that evening. But despite packing white clothes for me for the first time ever, neither of us felt like going. Another big event that we skipped.

A good day for skipping events.

We went to bed early.

The day started, as it usually does, with breakfast. Then some trivia where I teamed up with 4 other passengers for General Knowledge, then Big Bang Theory. We did well – 17 and 14 correct, out of 20 – but did not win.

Marlene went to Guest Services at the start of the trivia to put some money on her account and had not returned an hour later. I went in search of her and found her on the phone – a Guest Services phone – talking to Barclay Bank, the bank that provides her Carnival credit card. When she first tried to use the card at the start of the cruise she found that it was blocked. She was on the phone trying to resolve this problem.

Let me see if I can explain this in a way that doesn’t sound totally idiotic… Hmmmm… Nope, it sounds totally idiotic. The problem, you see, is that the bank, seeing that she was using a Carnival card when on a Carnival cruise, decided that it must be fraudulent and blocked the card. To use a Carnival card on a Carnival cruise you must notify the bank that you are leaving the country. Is there any Carnival cruise that doesn’t leave the country? None that I know of. So the agent was asking all sorts of idiotic questions like “what country are you in now?” The idea that a cruise ship might be on the ocean and not in port seemed to be incomprehensible.

The card was finally unblocked after 30 minutes on the phone and talking to a supervisor. But I asked Marlene to please cancel the card. It is more trouble than it is worth.

Marlene told me about a ring she had seen that she loved. She doesn’t need more jewelry but it is not often that she gushes over a piece like she did over this one, so I got it. Valentine’s Day is coming.

I intended to get a slice of pizza for lunch but decided to try the Pepperoni Pizza Burger at Guy’s Burgers. A nice grilled hamburger patty, a pepperoni sauce and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Pretty good but MESSY. I had sauce running down my arm as I ate it.

Before dinner we were treated to a brief Italian operetta piece by masqueraded singers. Very nice voices and beautiful garb.

Dinner was elegant and Marlene looked lovely. I got to wear my new blue suit for the first time. We looked… adorable. My entree was filet mignon and short ribs. Marlene had a shrimp dish. Very good.

The show was Epic Rock and it was a very good production. The cast has some very good voices and the production was very professional.

We went to the casino after the show and stayed WAY too long. I finally went to bed around 3am (down $50, even for the cruise) but Marlene continue to play until nearly 8am. She has more stamina than I do.