Report # 13 Sailing Towards Nuku Hiva January 12, 2016 Tuesday Partly cloudy, rain & 81 degrees

Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 4:54:33 AM
Subject: FW: Report # 13   Sailing Towards Nuku Hiva   January 12, 2016   Tuesday   Partly cloudy, rain & 81 degrees

Report # 13    Sailing Towards Nuku Hiva   January 12, 2016   Tuesday   Partly cloudy, rain & 81 degrees

The Amsterdam has now begun the eight day journey to Nuku Hiva in French Polynesia.  This should be the longest stretch at sea we will have on this voyage, even longer than trans-Atlantic.  No doubt there will be some special activities happening during that time.  As we will be crossing the Equator soon, it would seem likely that we would have the Equator Ceremony.  But there is no mention of it on the itinerary that ends in Sydney, so perhaps it will happen later on in the cruise.

A Polynesian Location Team launched their program that will take place while we are sailing in French Polynesia.  Familiar to us because they have been on every South Pacific cruise we have done, this is the first time we have seen them on the world cruise.  This group will be teaching Polynesian dance, crafts, and perhaps ukulele playing.  It should be a fun activity for the guests.

How do you prepare and serve 12,000 meals a day?  Well, if you took the kitchen tour today, you could find out.  A behind the scenes look at this operation gave a quick glimpse of the planning and work that goes into the massive job of feeding 1100 or so passengers and even more crew.  Sure have a new appreciation of the kitchen crew after this tour.

Today we'll concentrate on the fitness classes that are offered during sea days.  They start at an ungodly hour of the morning 7am with morning stretch and fab abs.  That must be a reminder not to overeat at dinnertime, we would assume.  Sit and be fit is conducted by show host Jodie, who happens to be the wife of the Cruise Director, Gene.  She continues later in the day with aqua aerobics, and we can say that it is sure working for her.  Of course, did we mention she is at least 30 or more years younger than most of us?  Makes a difference.

Then there are qi jong, and tai chi classes with tai chi master, Cathy.  She has been on the grand voyage for many years now, and it very popular.  Some activities such as indoor cycling, body sculpt boot camp, and core conditioning pilates have a fee applied to participate.

Fitness seminars held today included burn fat fast, relieving back pain, and total body conditioning.  At least there are options like these to help the folks burn some extra calories from the wonderful meals served all day long.

As you might expect, the weather has gotten warmer and much more humid.  After breakfast, we took our daily morning walk, and noticed a huge difference going from the dining room to the lower promenade deck.  It's like entering a steam room outside.  The sun was mostly out, but as the day advanced, the clouds got thicker and darker.  No doubt in our minds that rain was on the way sometime today.

So before it did rain, we hustled to the aft pool, and took advantage of the sun while it lasted.  The larger-than-usual group of sunbathers back there have established their territories, so to speak.  The atmosphere is more like a shorter cruise, where the folks try to do everything and be everywhere before the trip ends.  Perhaps it is true, because many of these people may be on segments as opposed to the entire trip.  Anyway, we have our little group at the very back railing, where the breeze blows most of the time.

Shortly after 3pm, the rain began.  Good time for lunch anyway.  The Captain had mentioned during his PM talk that rain would start by tonight, and probably continue through tomorrow.  Pretty common since it rains a whole lot around the Equator.  

We relaxed on deck five at the Ocean Bar at 5pm, listening to the music of the Neptunes.  They seem to be better and more upbeat from the group that played here last year.  The dancers seemed to like their music because the dance floor was crowded.  There are several dance hosts on this cruise, and plenty of ladies to keep them on their toes, so to speak. 

Dinnertime was fun as usual.  One new entrée was on the menu……a BBQ pork chop.  Although it was tasty, it could have been cooked better.  Don't think pork is supposed to be on the pink side.  One of us got served a chop that was more than pink, so it was safer not to eat it all.  Our waiter said he would bring something in its place, but we said no.  Now we know if pork is on the menu again (and it will be), we'll order it well done.

The entertainer this evening was a fellow named Kermit Apio, the winner of the Great Comedy Festival, and a frequent guest on Comedy Central and National Public Radio.  The fact that there is another hour back on the clocks tonight, may help fill the lounge with customers.  We missed the show last night, which was the Huber Marionettes.  Just saw him on the last cruise in the fall, so we did not attend.

Bill & Mary Ann  

Gifts we got last night

Two Moleskine journals

Cloudy day

Cloudy sunset

Sun going down at 5:47pm

Bill enjoying the sunset

End of the day

The rain had stopped

The air was clean and fresh