When I first started cruising, I suffered from FOMO, Fear of Missing Out.  There was so much to do, I didn’t know where to start, but I wanted to get my money’s worth.   Now I’ve relaxed a bit, I’m choosier with my options and leave myself smore down time.  Holland America has changed too.  “The thing” to do at night used to be attending the main stage shows.  I like some of them but, really, I think Holland’s booker is retired from the Ed Sullivan and Brahams followed by puppets dancing a polka.  There were jugglers, piano players, boy bands and girl groups.  Mainstage is kind of like that.  But Holland has evolved its evening entertainment.  The Ocean Bar band used to be for ballroom dancing.  In the remodel of Westerdam there is not even a dance floor and the combo “Third Street West” plays jazz, which I enjoy. 

Dancing is happening at the Rolling Stone Lounge, with rock and pop music.  Piano Bar has been replaced by Billboard on Board, dueling pianos playing the hits.  (I miss Piano Bar) and the two piece violin and piano have added a cello and do much more than high just class Mittle Europa café music.  The other night they had music composed by Amy Beach and Mark Sommer. Although I love Mittle Europa cafes I like being challenged as well.

I find myself no longer in fear missing out on the mainstage performance and am spending more time in the music venues, which run from about 4:15 to late. (Well, remember, at our age 9 is the new midnight.)  I especially like the jazz and classical.  There is more musical variety in the evening than there was a decade ago.  There is still the masquerade ball, but now it is to rock ‘n roll and not ballroom.

One of the reasons we chose THIS cruise at THIS time is to practice ROMO, relief on missing out. We left on Sept 1 and get home on October 24.  That will give me 10 days before the general election to catch up on anything I need to catch up on.  Ten days is enough for me to be an informed good citizen.

My inbox is full of email asking me to contribute, take this poll, add my name.  Nope.  When I see headers reading “It Trump wins it will be your fault” or from Don Jr.  “My father has noticed that you are not yet on the contribution list.”   Delete, delete, delete.  I deleted 268 political messages from my spam filter today.

Before I left, I voted in the primary, early voted for the October 1 municipal election and made whatever campaign contributions (if any) I thought were appropriate. They all have too much money.  Having done my duty, I am basking in ROMO.

I’m not the only one.   Both commercial news talk and NPR stations have plummeting ratings.  The venerable all News WCBS-AM called it quits two months before the general election. Unheard of!  In a normal election their ratings would be sky high.  But I get it.  In the morning I do not check the news and I don’t pick up the printed news briefs available each morning.

I feared Holland America would sponsor a debate night, with  TV in a lounge, selling special drinks, Blue Hawaiian, Blue Laboon and Bluebirds for Democrats; Raspberry Martinis, Strawberry Daiquiris, and Bloody Marys for Republicans.  They do this sort of thing for other major sporting events.  When I lived abroad expat bars had debate watch parties (at 3 AM in one case in Tirana) and election night vigils, in which they not only sold drinks but candidate buttons.  Holland America wisely turned down this chance to turn a buck.

I did not watch the debate on my in-room TV although others did.  I could hear it through the doors walking down the halls.  Instead, I enjoyed Jazz in the Ocean Bar and stood on deck, as we sailed out of Dutch Harbor and along Unalaska Island into the Bering Sea end ended up the night with some Strauss waltzes and a tango in the classical venue.

The next day I got a lot of weird and inexplicable Facebook memes about eating cats.  It must have been a strange debate, but I don’t know.  ROMO.

While others watched the debate, I watched this!

Good Choice, I think.