Well, the longest run at sea is about to end. By 1pm, we were only 202 nautical miles from the Marquesas. Captain Mercer said he has been putting the pedal to the metal to get us close to the bay in Nuku Hiva as early as 4:30am tomorrow. Clearing customs and immigrations may take over an hour, since there are some folks that will need to present themselves to the locals before this ship will be cleared. The good news is that we are scheduled to stay until 6pm, which is much later than our usual departure around 3pm.
Barbara H is up to her talks in the Cook Islands and Niue. Once we begin having several ports in a row, these talks will stop until we have more days at sea.
America’s Test Kitchen continued today with meatless Monday meals. Once all of the five star guests have gone to their complimentary class with a free apron, we believe the rest of these demos will be open to everyone onboard.
We’re happy to report that we got the second delivery of President’s Club gifts of beverages and or flowers. We ordered vitamin water bottles and a flower arrangement. The water arrived today, while the flowers will come January 23rd. Eddy, the florist, has to wait until he gets the fresh delivery in Papeete. It sure is a nice perk.
There was a South Pacific deck sale, where the shops bring out their specials to the Lido pool area to sell. It is always very popular with the shoppers onboard. Then at 2pm, fellow guests became models, showing the Joseph Ribkoff clothing selections. One of us bought a silk jacket on the last Eurodam cruise, and we’re happy to report, they are not selling the same one here. Would be funny (or not) if 10 or more of us end up at a gala dinner all dressed the same. This designer uses colorful bold prints, which caught our eye.
We’re happy to report that bingo was back in the Queen’s Lounge at 4pm. Even though the casino hosts many tournaments, we have noticed that the gambling is at a minimum. At least during the day, it is slow. Late at night? We’re never out and about to find out.
Bet most of you know what geocaching is? Our hosts, Wendy and Steve, are experts at it, with having found 9,000 geocaches in 70 countries. They are having a presentation for the members of our travel group this coming Saturday, where they will explain what it is, how it is done, where you can do it, and who actually does it. Knowing them, they may add some new members to their team. It is an alternate activity if you have done organized tours too many times to count.
Speaking of our travel group, they hosted their first cocktail party tonight. The early one at 4:30pm was the biggest crowd of 120 guests. Our group would be smaller with 100 folks, plus staff members who float around to all the smaller groups. They always have the best canapes and our choice of beverages. During the course of this grand voyage, there will be a total of four parties.
All but one of us was present at dinner. We enjoyed the cordon bleu and meatloaf way better than last night’s meager designer meal. Bet if we had that meal in a fine restaurant, it would have been a small fortune. Barb agreed, as we still laugh about the tiny bits of food on over-sized plates. She said the good red wine made up for the lack of food.
Brenda, our tablemate, had saved hats for the five of us missing at last night’s Moulin Rouge themed dinner. Bright red or black, they look like cabaret hats. Pretty nice of her to think of all of us.
We had two young fellows join us for dessert, as they were at the table across from us. The ladies at our table have been trying to catch their attention for the last two weeks, so tonight they took a chance and introduced themselves. We all figured they were too young to be retired, and we had guessed they might be segment folks. Turns out we were right. They’re from Zurich, and will be debarking in Auckland. Always interesting to meet new people from distant countries. The true test will be if they dare come back to the adjacent table tomorrow.
The show this evening was “Variations” an opera, pop, rock, and musical theater performed by the singers and dancers. Usually they are always doing their show on gala nights, but that has not been the case so far.
The good night card on the bed had a good saying: Traveling…..it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. Yep, we are guilty of that.
Tomorrow – terra firma.
Bill & Mary Ann
