When they had finished, Nancy said, “Now let’s check out the ship. We still have about an hour before we have to be on deck 3 for the safety drill. Let’s start with the sundeck and work our way down.”
They took the elevator to the sundeck, which was the next deck up. As soon as the doors opened, Bess saw the pool. “Our bathing suits are going to look great when we’re lying out next to that pool.”
“I’m going to be in the pool most of the time,” George said. “I can’t stop my training, even on this cruise, or I’ll never make the swim team.”
“Oh, George, give me a break!” Bess said. “There’s no way you won’t make the swim team.”
From the pool area the girls headed to the fore-deck, where the Palm Garden Café was located.
“Hey—it’s just like Adam told us,” Bess said. “They have tables of food set up everywhere.”
“Just looking at all that food is making me hungry,” George said.
Nancy and Bess agreed.
They each helped themselves to a plate of fruit and cheese.
“I like this Great Lakes touch—I mean the fruit from Michigan and the cheese from Wisconsin,” Nancy said, pointing to signs in front of each food item that indicated its origin. “It’s fitting.”
While they ate their snacks, they finished looking around the rest of the sundeck.
“I’m certainly not disappointed with what I’ve seen so far,” Bess said. “I’m sure I’ll be spending a lot of time on this deck.”
They took the elevator down to their deck and walked along the corridor toward the stern of the ship. As they passed the library Bess said, “I certainly won’t be spending much time in there.”
“It’s a great place to write letters and postcards,” Nancy said.
“Now, here’s what Bess is interested in,” George teased as they neared a large circular room that was the ship’s boutique. “Clothes!”
They went inside and made a complete circle of the store.
“Well, this stuff is nice, but I’m glad I bought my things in River Heights,” Bess said.
“Yeah—I’d agree,” Nancy said.
“What’s on deck 4, Nancy?” George asked.
Nancy consulted a wall map. “A large lounge and the dance floor.”
“I’m going to spend my days by the pool and my nights on the dance floor,” Bess said, her mind clearly somewhere far away.
“I wonder if the pool stays open all night,” George said. “I love midnight swims.”
“We’ll ask Adam,” Nancy said. “Hey, here he comes.”
Adam crossed over to where the girls were standing. “How’s the tour going?” he asked.
“Wonderful,” Nancy said. “We’re really impressed with the ship.”
“It’s just two years old,” Adam said. “It was custom built in Germany.”
“How late is the pool open, Adam?” George said. “I’m in training for our school’s swim team.”
“Until midnight with a lifeguard,” Adam said. “From midnight on, legally you’re on your own.”
Suddenly, a loud foghorn sounded.
Bess jumped. “What in the world is that?” she cried.
“I think that means it’s time for us to return to deck 3 for a safety drill,” Nancy said.
“That’s it exactly,” Adam said. “I’m your instructor, so I’ll go down with you.”
When they reached deck 3, they found a bunch of passengers who had gathered at the edge of the railings.
Adam introduced himself, then he issued everyone life jackets and demonstrated how to put them on.
“If there’s a problem when we’re on the water, this is where everyone will gather. This is where your life jackets will always be,” Adam told his group. “When you hear that same foghorn you heard a few minutes ago, you’re to come here immediately. Don’t go to your cabins to get anything. It’s important that you remember that.”
As Adam continued speaking Nancy thought he was doing a good job of explaining the procedures. He certainly seemed to be well qualified.
When the drill was over, Adam helped the passengers put their life jackets away. After that was done, everyone rushed to the railing to watch the ship pull away from shore.
Several people threw out streamers, but most people just watched the skyline of the city of Chicago get smaller and smaller.
“We need to go back to our suite and get ready for dinner,” Nancy said. “This is our chance to show off our evening gowns.”
As they headed for the elevators Bess said, “Look! There’s Amber! Should we go say hello?”
