fh_trips | The Crown Princess - Monday [Ship/Princess Cays, Bahamas]

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spring break 2009: crown princess cruise

The Crown Princess - Monday [Ship/Princess Cays, Bahamas]

Early in the morning, the cruise director came over the loudspeaker announcing the port of the day and some on-boat activities of interest. Those paying attention would learn that from 9am until 5pm, the Crown Princess would be docked in the lovely Princess Cays, Bahamas where guests were welcome to participate in glass-bottom boat, snorkeling, or beach excursions for a portion of the day. Adults were encouraged toward the Sanctuary on the Sun Deck for a more private way to relax away from the teens.

[OOC: The Princess Bridge Cam is fantastic. Cabins Post | Star Deck | Sun Deck | Promenade Deck | Cays Cruise | Snorkeling | Beach]

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Merlin took the bottle, looking from it to her questioningly. "Like a salve?"

"Yeah!" Dinah opened it up, and squeezed some of the titanium-white, total UV-light blocking stuff onto her palms, then rubbed it into her arms. "Aren't you hot in all those clothes? Or is the water cool enough to keep you from feeling it?" She rubbed some onto her feet, then moved up to her calves.

"A bit," He admitted, taking the scarf off at least. And then, after a moment of hesitation, his shirt.

Blinding white there. Blinding.

"That'll keep from burning?"

"Yes, although," Dinah gave him a torn look, because oh my god. Pale. "Maybe just stay out for only a couple hours today? And you'll have to put more on, after this wears off." She bit her lip, then decisively said, "I'll do your back, though. Turn around."

And she could just tell Francine to get here sooner, tomorrow, because this wasn't like Edward, and Merlin would roast if she didn't.

Turning obediently, Merlin just grinned. "Even in the summer, this sort of sun isn't common. Is it like this all the time?"

Dinah carefully smeared lotion over his shoulders and back, the back of his neck, and then more on his ears. Because you just know they'd get fried.

"Yup! We're closer to the middle of the world. It's even hotter in the summer, though. And they get hurricanes in fall. But wow, it's tempting to think of living here all the time."

Merlin ducked at the touch to his ears, shaking his head and looking back playfully.

There was a lot in that sentence that didn't quite make sense, but he was just going with it. "It's so... bright."

Dinah flicked an earlobe, then grinned at him. "Well, we can't all live near the North Pole with all the clouds and ice, can we? We're at nearly the same latitude as Egypt, I think." She grinned. "Does it never get this hot in summer, in Albion?" She settled down on her towel again, chugging from her water bottle, then offering it to Merlin.

"Not like this. In the heat, all you can hope for is a strong breeze to cool you. The castle cane be stifling," He said, taking the water gratefully. "Not to mention the smell."

"Ewww," Dinah said, wrinkling her nose. "Thank god for the kind of stuff in our castle where that doesn't happen any more. Plus the plumbing." She blinked. "You guys have to deal with outhouses, don't you? Double ewww."

Merlin just laughed at that. "It's not that bad."

Dinah shivered dramatically. "But in winter? When it's the middle of the night? Argh. Yay progress." She grinned and flipped her sunglasses back down, digging her toes into the sand with delight. "And vacaaaation. How is sharing a room with Arthur?"

"He's gotten into a better mood than when we first came aboard," Merlin replied, testing the sun screen by squeezing a bit into his hand and smelling it.

Odd.

"Kicking my ass this morning in front of onlookers probably helped," Dinah grumbled, then poked his shoulder. "It's aloe vera. It's from a plant. With zinc and titanium and other stuff to keep you safe and non-cancerous. I promise. It's not even girly!"

"Herbal?" Merlin confirmed, rubbing it onto his arms.

"Mostly. I think there's stuff that imitates plants in there too. Aloe's a desert plant. The zinc's, um, it's a metal. To block the sunlight." Dinah perched her chin on her hand, watching him. "Didn't your Gaius ever have anything like this around? Even if it never got this hot?"

"There was something to deal with what happens after someone burns," Merlin replied. "But I don't quite know the correct combinations for them."

"We've got that too, calamine lotion. Since sometimes even this isn't enough." Dinah started burying her feet in the sand, then pushed some at Merlin's toes, just for fun. "Are the beaches in England, 'scuse me, Albion, like this? Or are they rocks?"

"The only one I'd been to was near Gedref and it was rocky. And a bit cold, really," Merlin replied, making a face.

"Much better here," Dinah said cheerfully, dumping more sand on his feet. "I never saw the ocean before last year, when I moved to New Gotham. And that's all docks and aqueducts and sea wall, mostly. Plus some little islands like Arkham and Blackwell. Not that anyone goes there for fun."

"Why not?"

Dinah blinked, reminded again that it wasn't just Merlin, but everyone who hadn't heard of those places. Weiiird. "One's got an insane asylum on it, and the other one is a maximum-security prison."

"Oh." Well, that was... "A very good reason to avoid it, I'd say."

"Yup." Dinah gave him a rueful look. "They're more like your rocky shores, anyway. No one escapes from Blackgate very often. Arkham's.... different. Crazy, crazy." She paused. "I shouldn't say insane asylum, maybe. But mental hospitals are where people go to get better. No one in Arkham is ever getting better."

Wow. Depressing thoughts on a gorgeous day. "So where do you go for holidays and vacation in Albion?"

"To the larger villages. Or the capitol for festivals and feasts," Merlin replied, offering the lotion back. "Beltane was always fun in Ealdor."

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