2016-07-07

【Aiden in English】

        Today starts the final stretch of our journey. The cruise on the Regal Princess is over, but no worries. Our trip will continue to go across English Islets with Kirkwall on the Caribbean Princess. I've mentioned before that this ship was made in 2006, which, seemingly new, is quite old. While mom usually is planning and organized person, the transformation from one boat to the next is very different. 

        Being different is not always a good thing. The newest ship of the Princess fleet features a great variety of modern tech. From each room's smart TVs to the automatic doors at each exit, or the fashionable buttons on the elevators, you can't help noticing the terrible conditions the Caribbean seems to be in. Walking along the cabin corridors, the lighting was considerably dimmer. Not to sound like a kid, but the halls resembled the scary hotel horror movies, and the bobbing ship wasn't helping. 

        The second notable change would be the quality of the rooms. Probably the most major difference comes in the bathroom, but I won't talk about the features of a toilet seat. Going outside of private areas, the buffet also has a large change. In the Regal Princess, eating at the buffet allowed a huge selection, but the downside was the annoying, oily combined smell of literally every major food style in the world stuffed into a single room. Indian curry mixed with the smell of fried meat is quite an unsettling idea. This Caribbean has half the size, and still contains the same smell. And finally, the worst change of all comes in the worst spot where the basketball court is located on the ship. 

        On the Regal Princess, I never went to the teen's club. Not that it wasn't fun, but some events ... weren't really fun. It is so bland to have a fixed schedule with events that must occur, containing annoying consequences to uncooperative kids. It awfully feels like school, where petty things such as "no bragging" and "no potty-language" and "no budging" and "no trash-talking" and "ladies first" and "listen" and "one person talking at a time" and "no stating that you are better even though everyone knows that you are" actually matter. I'm sure most of you understand the feeling of having to do things with your "friends". 

        Bonds are more often formed on the court and competition, where people share a common goal of reaching the top. Plus, no one needs to know who's better than who since it can be easily proved. Back to my point, the court on the Caribbean has shrunk immensely. The Regal Princess has a near half-court sized area for basketball, and this ship has a quarter-court sized area. The floor is also a dull reddish-brown, cracked from the years of wear. The Regal has a nice, water-repellent surface, non-slippery gripping. 

        The balls still have a slightly sticky feel on the Caribbean as well, but that is all thrown out the window. These balls have a white dust coat, having nearly no grip, making any backspin or quick pull-up extremely difficult to perform. Movement is strictly limited in the sense of how a crossover can break yours and your opponent's ankles. With these conditions, most big men get an advantage. Then again, the small court means short shots, which means easy jump shots. 

        I guess that's how this cruise is going to be. I'll have to see the silver lining in every event to make it more exciting. The small court lets shots fall in more often. The buffet, however small, makes us eat less. And the bathroom... well, I'm still not going to talk about that.

【红霞译文】

        今天打响了我们暑期旅游下半部分第一枪，前一个“帝王·公主号”已完成使命，但不必担心， 后一个“加勒比海·公主号”马上带我们乘风破浪穿越英伦三岛直奔奥克尼群岛柯克沃尔。正如以前曾经说过，“加勒比海号”建造于2006年，表面上看起来挺新，实际上却很旧。通常妈妈主管出游企划，这回竟信手拈来两艘年头相去甚远的游轮。

        看来独到个色并非都是好事，最近下水的“帝王号”公主游轮拥有装备精良高新现代科技，不但每个房间配置智能电视，而且进出大门全用自动控制，就连电梯里的按钮也安得花里胡哨。相形之下，“加勒比海号” 简直老掉了牙，楼道灯光昏暗低迷，咱绝非以孩子口吻发牢骚，其主厅宛如恐怖电影里阴森可怕的旅馆，船身甲板也推波助澜上下忽悠。

        另一个明显区别就是房间质量，主要表现在浴室陈设，但这里我暂且不谈马桶座位功用问题。走出私人住所，自助餐同样有很大不同。“帝王号”饭菜品种繁多，不过世事均有正反两面，各国料理竞相出炉，甜咸苦酸鲜五味再浓也抵不过油腻味刺鼻，印度咖喱饭弥散着油炸肉香的芬芳，让人真不知道该吃什么风味是好。“加勒比海号”面积仅有“帝王号”一半大小，而气味有过之而无不及。末了我不得不指出，最糟糕的地方非篮球场所在的船尾莫属。

        在刚刚过去的“帝王号”上，我从未参加青少年俱乐部，倒不是说活动中心无聊透顶，但有些项目……确实没啥意思，问题的关键在于活动时间呆板，遇到不屑合作的伙伴更招人心烦，感觉好像又回到了学校，跟“哥们”“不吹牛”“不使用下流语言”“不做小动作”“不讲脏话”“女士优先”“听话”“别人说话不能插嘴”“即使你有能耐也不能表现出来”等规矩在这里同样适用。我相信多数人感同身受。

        这么一来，我跟同伴接触最多的地方不是球场就是赛场，彼此纯粹为了共同目标走到一起，没人需要了解你的经历背景，只有实战才是检验球技水平的试金石。继续上面我所谈及的话题，“加勒比海号”球场小得可怜，如果说前者篮球场有实际场地一半那么大，那么后者充其量仅有四分之一而已。“加勒比海号”红褐色地板实在不敢恭维，经年使用早已磨损得裂纹斑斑；“帝王号”质地讲究，再加上表面防水，走在上面丝毫没有打滑的感觉。

        “加勒比海号”球面比较粘手，这点瑕疵均倒算不上什么，不过球外表覆盖了白花花的灰尘，想要用手抓球、做后旋球、快速上拉投篮比登天还难，转动移位也极受限制，交叉跑跳快速过人不仅会让自己脚踝受伤，而且还殃及队友。在这种情况下，个子高的球员占尽了便宜。与此同时，由于空间狭小，我们只能采用短距离投篮，跳投已不成问题。

        我想既然“加勒比海号”游轮条件有限，本人只能自得其乐：球场虽小但投篮命中率高；自助餐花样不多，正好大家吃得也少；而对于浴室……哦，我没必要小题大做。