Cruising on the high seas during
Thanksgiving isn't much different from the landlubber version, as we discovered today aboard the
Norwegian Cruise Line ship Epic. We enjoyed a full turkey dinner at the retro-cool Manhattan Room restaurant (think Don Draper in “Mad Men” circa 1960, complete with live music and a small dance floor), all three
NFL games on the wall-sized video screens in the Atrium Lounge and the outdoor Spice H20 and a smallish amount of family squabbling.
This is our last full day at sea, and we tried to cram in as much as possible: A basketball tournament at the outdoor sports court; scaling the outdoor rock-climbing wall; a few spins down the water slide in the largest aqua park at sea; a game of family Pictionary; sitting in on an art auction that featured works by Picasso and Rembrandt; more visits to the ice cream machine; and the obligatory visit to the Pulse fitness center.
Somehow, we also managed to find time to catch the Howl at the Moon show at the Headliners club. Howl at the Moon is billed as the world's greatest rock 'n' roll dueling piano show. I'm not sure what the competition is like, since this is the only rock 'n' roll dueling piano show I've ever attended. But I do know that these guys are good. The piano players had an encyclopedic musical repertoire, and accommodated song requests with ease. Of course, not all song requests are created equal – requests that were accompanied by a $5 bill or $10 bill got played a lot sooner than those that were unescorted by a president.
Shocking, I know.
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In a ship full of superlatives, the Epic outclasses all other seagoing behemoths with the largest spa and fitness facility on water. The Mandara Spa and the adjoining Pulse fitness center gobble up more than 31,000 square feet. That's dedication, as anybody who has ever stepped on cruise ship knows that space on board is the ultimate luxury.
Mandara Spa offers goodies like:
> 24 treatments rooms, including six with balconies.
> 4 “massage villas” – two for couples, and two for singles. You can even get mother-daughter massages, and father-son massages.
> Steam rooms.
> A variety of scrubs, massages and detoxifying treatments.
> Ice cream-themed manicures and pedicures for children.
> A top-notch beauty salon, where you can get waxed, trimmed, plucked and perfected. Or maybe you'd like to try the 24-Karat Gold Facial?
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If you mixed the late comedian Paul Lynde with the late Liberace and the late Houdini, you'd get a very-much-alive-and-very-funny Jeff Hobson.
Hobson had an entire theater laughing within 60 seconds of opening his mouth, and it's no exaggeration to say he kept the audience spellbound with his unique mix of comedy and magic.
A longtime hit in
Las Vegas, Hobson has also appeared on HBO, Showtime and
NBC's “World's Greatest Magic.” He minces and tiptoes his way through his show, using audience participation, good-natured put-downs and terrific sleight-of-hand to create a laughing “wow” effect (it really is a great trick to keep people laughing while you're performing a masterful illusion, trust me).
And although it may not sound all that spectacular if you can't see it in person, it's truly amazing to hear an audience collectively say “Ohhhhhhh ...” at the big finale, when Hobson reveals that he has stolen a half-dozen watches from unsuspecting men in the crowd.
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Richard, our cabin steward, outdid himself tonight. We came back to our cabins to find towels twisted and shaped into a monkey and a bird – and they were hanging from the drapes.