Oscar Night onboard Insignia

 “And the Oscar goes to…”

            Well, BEFORE the grand slap, BEFORE the gawkings on the red carpet, BEFORE we imagined the yards and yards of fabrics gathered to look like a dress, there was the before-the-Oscars-hype.

            Who would win best actor?  Which movie would get best picture award?  Who would wear the most outlandish and probably the most expensive gown?  Did we see any of the movies?  Do we really care?

            On our ship, we learned a couple weeks in advance that the company had spent lots of money ($40,000?) in order for their fleets to carry the broadcast.  Live.  Ballots were available for any who wished to win some onboard credit if lucky enough to out-guess everyone else.  Online research was encouraged.  Ballots were due in the reception area an hour before the comedic trio opened the show.

            Jerry had packed his tails, I had a gown that hadn’t yet been worn.  And darn it, if we went to the work of packing these things, we were gonna find ways to wear them.  So, I circulated among some new friends, suggesting that there were some who were “dressing” for dinner and then for the show that was to be in our large lounge on a large screen.  We filled two tables, enjoyed attention from talented waitstaff, and paraded into the lounge that was decorated with its own red carpet, ushers in tuxes and white gloves, balloons, and special treats like Jurassic-sized chocolate-covered strawberries, salted or sweetened popcorn, and other munchies.

            We were sailing in the Atlantic and were probably 3 hours behind all of you.  Also, as we were traversing toward the east, we were losing an hour on the clocks for the previous two nights and also for that Sunday night.  Yup, you guessed it.  We had headed for our beds just before the excitement for the night.  I’m glad.  I wouldn’t have wanted to be a first-hand witness.

            We hope you had as much fun that night as we did.