Browsing the onboard shops

Sunday 9^th December

Getting to the dance class was a bit of a rush, as I was collared by someone at breakfast who wanted to talk something over with me. It ended up being 5 minutes on topic and 40 minutes meandering around her life story, the sort of conversation that leaves me with a concentration headache from trying to follow what she’s trying to get at. I’m still unclear what she wanted of me; I only hope she doesn’t use my silence as corroboration in any complaint she intends to make!

Dance today was cha-cha. We reviewed our basic steps, New York and Allemagne, and then learnt a series of lock steps. Once again, the steps were easy but changing from side to side with our partners was a bit more difficult. We were shown how to move our bodies as we practised alone. I managed to dance it with two of the Hosts. Ron’s reaction was to later compliment me on the way I was moving my body (and actually getting him into the right position thereby) whereas Woody told me: You don’t move your body; I move it for you! (I might have been more impressed by that statement if he’d actually been moving the way Nadiya and Volodomyr were showing us! Oops, Diane; forget that you want to dance properly and remember that your role is one of subservience and you must do as the man does, even when he’s wrong!)

I wandered along to the shops to see if they had anything interesting out for sale and to my amusement found they had the very brooch that I was wearing that day. On my last cruise (different line: Riviera on the Oceania line) I had been given $500 onboard spend, so bought a gold-plated rose brooch to use up the last $170. Back home I’d checked it out online and discovered that it was a vintage brooch, dating back to the 60s, by one of the three top costume jewellery people of that day (Trifari). Further research found the same brooch in an online shop for $17! If you buy it from someone who’s selling off Mum’s old jewellery, you can get it cheaply. If you buy it from the ship then you are paying the cost of the brooch plus the commission for the person who bought it for Susan Caplan (vintage jewellery seller) plus the commission for Harding Bros (who manage the onboard shops) plus commission for the ship – and the price escalates. Interestingly, the same brooch on Queen Victoria was only $122. I had felt that Riviera charged far more than other ships. (The girl in the shop was very concerned when she heard how much I’d paid, and seeing I still had the box with the price on it, and Queen Victoria’s shops were run by Harding Bros too, she insisted on phoning her manager to see if she could price match and return that $47 to me. She couldn’t. I assured her I was not upset as I had not expected it, and besides, the brooch had been bought with onboard spend.) I tried on a lovely Christian Dior vintage necklace for $400. When I get home I’ll be looking for that on www.etsy.com, which had the cheapest price on my brooch. (Terrible photo in the bathroom, but look at the brooch.)

During the Intermediate dance class we learnt a routine which challenged us all (locks, twist turn, fan, allemagne). I thought I had mastered it until I had to dance it with someone else. He didn’t have a clue about leading me so I just danced my parts and hoped he’d get out of the way when I had to move forward. It sort of worked by the end of the class!

Trevor and Jenny had booked a private lesson with Nadiya and Volodomyr. I went down to video the last part of their lesson for them and it inspired me to book my own lesson for Monday afternoon. What I want is to dance with someone who can move around the floor and can help me follow his steps. I have become tired of the politics involved with the Gentlemen Hosts. My conversation this morning was with a married woman who is upset because she has been assured at the Purser’s Desk that the Hosts are allowed to dance with married women (if their own husbands don’t dance), but the Hosts tell her they are not allowed to dance with her. However, we see them dancing with other married women whose husbands only come occasionally. What’s fair about that? While Ron and Rob seem to be dancing fairly with those on ‘the list’, it’s obvious that Woody (the best dancer) is playing favorites. He’ll dance with the gorgeous Chris six times, but only twice with others. I am definitely not a favorite. I’ve begun to feel that he thinks he is doing me a favor by dancing with me. I don’t think I want to be condescended to any further, so I decided to refuse him tonight. I’ll treat myself to a dance lesson with Volodomyr instead. He’s taken a turn with me in most of his dance classes while the Hosts have ignored me, so I think I’ll enjoy a 30-minute lesson with him (a treat seeing I didn’t get my tours in Egypt). I don’t think I have the stamina for a 60-minute lesson though.

I didn’t feel like rushing tonight, so I relaxed in my room, had dinner in the Lido and just filled in time until the dancing. Tonight was the Masquerade Ball. It was great to see the variety of masks. I must confess to enjoying refusing Woody twice when he asked me to dance. I enjoyed dancing with Ron and Rob, who showed every sign of enjoying their dances with me. It makes a difference!

Nadia and Volodomyr put on another stunning display.