That of course belongs to another century, and today's cruise ships cater for a far greater cross section of society, and we no longer have to seek ways to pass the hours on board. A dedicated team of young people from all over the world are on hand to encourage the reticent passenger to participate in a game of Throw the Pingpong Ball in a Glass of Water, Bingo, Guess the Movie from the Soundtrack or Have a Bucket of Water Thrown Over You. Our initial misgivings at such indecorous behaviour were soon thrown to the wind - although the level of our participation was mainly as observers, we were as keen as the rest to try our luck at Bingo. It didn't take long to realise that the whole point of these cruises is to be young at heart and just have some good old-fashioned fun.
Young and old mingled on the dance floor, and towards the end of one evening (around 1a.m. for me) the music slowed and an elderly gentleman (90) and his wife (an exceptionally elegant and beautiful probably 75-year-old) took to the dance floor with such skill and obvious compatibility that everyone was enthralled and didn't attempt to join them. When their dance was over, they were given an ovation, graciously acknowledged with a curtsey, as they left the floor. It was heartwarming to see the respect accorded by the youngsters who had been dominating the floor to head-banging beats all night.
In the meantime, the corkscrew motion of the boat continued, and lurching to the left and lurching to the right (known as the MSC foxtrot) ensured continued hilarity for those affected. Most of the young girls had 9-inch heels and didn't lurch once - this only reinforced our feelings of inadequacy on the ocean wave, but didn't lessen the laughter!
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