As you might expect, today was another lovely day at sea. The weather has definitely heated up, and although the forecast said 73 degrees, it was more like 80 degrees. The humidity level is creeping up as well, which is good for the skin if nothing else. But not so much for the hair and cameras.
People are still talking about yesterday's stop at Pitcairn Island. And from the guests we see wearing brand new Pitcairn t-shirts, we can assume that the islander's sales were good. Passing by the Shops on board, we noticed that they are still trying to sell the rest of the Easter Island t's. If they discounted them, then they would move. However, if they did that, all of the previous purchases would have to be adjusted. We did not know that, until last year, when a tableful of HAL t-shirts were on sale towards the end of the world cruise. We discovered that all you needed to do was bring your receipt, and the difference was credited to your shipboard account. More times than not, these sales happen after the world cruise is over, when we are on the Panama Canal re-positioning voyage. Many years ago, we found bargains too good to pass up at 75% off of the world cruise items.
It was too nice outside not to go to the Seaview Pool. Now maybe it has gotten too warm there, since few people were using the lounges or the pool. Actually, the water temperature in the pool was cool. Sometimes, they fill it with warm water, and it's like swimming in a bathtub. The colder the better, we say. Our sunscreen has been working well, since we stayed out for a few hours without burning. Out of the blue, a lone frigate flew over the ship, which we thought was odd. But when the Captain came on with his PM talk, he mentioned that we were close to one atoll belonging to French Polynesia. Perhaps less than 30 miles away. We are more than likely getting close to the Tuamotu Archipelago, which is part of French Polynesia. One more day at sea tomorrow, and we will be sailing into Tahiti.
We went to lunch in the Lido a bit later today around 3pm. Being that the arts and crafts class is in full swing on one side, we always get our salad and sandwich, and go to the opposite side, where a small number of diners are eating quietly. It never fails……as soon as we sit down, out comes the vacuum. Just our luck that the worker begins at our end, getting the crumbs off of the carpets and chairs, and especially, under our feet. Normally, this is done around 2:30pm, so that's why we went later. Maybe that is why folks are using the Canaletto area, which has probably been vacuumed first. Perhaps we will try that tomorrow. Either that, or we will have room service.
Later in the day, we sat in our favorite chairs across from the Ocean Bar. At least the band was back, and so were the dancers. With tonight being gala, the screen was up for photos. The photo manager, Meaghan, came to set up the stair lighting, so we asked her about her visit to Pitcairn yesterday. She said that they were able to see the tiny school, where three kids were in attendance, as well as one of their homes. She was surprised to see a nice spacious house that had only two people living in it. In their brief time they had there, they saw the rest of the buildings before they had to head back. She was honored to have had the chance to do this. Also lucky for her to be able to climb up that hanging ladder on the ship as well.
Around 6pm, we went to deck three for an afternoon walk. But today, they were scrubbing the decks with disinfectant, and most of the doors were closed off. So we went up to deck nine instead, only to find we had gone under a sudden shower. The decks and the pool roof was full of puddled water. Actually, the Captain did mention the possibility of rain showers tomorrow. Looking all around us, we could see isolated showers here and there. Sometimes they are able to navigate around them during the daytime hours. But in the evening, it is nice for the ship to get a "free" cleaning.
This evening was another gala dinner with the theme, Joie de Vivre Dinner. Slightly tilted to the French cuisine, it was a chance for the cooks to do some South Seas cuisine. One of the appetizers was frog legs, which was reported to be excellent. Only one of us was game to try it. Slices of cheese and tomatoes was good enough for the other one of us. The fresh catch of the day was marlin from Pitcairn Island. By the way, we had a host at our table of six, since Barb was at a birthday dinner. He was Terry, the head of security. We met him last year, when he joined Barb and us for dinner on one gala night. He did let us know that the islanders did have fresh tuna and marlin for the ship, because he helped take the delivery off of the longboat. We were certain that the fresh catch was from our freezers, but this time, we were wrong. And it was good. One of us had the fish, and the other had the veal, which was also delicious.
The show this evening was Atlantic Crossing, a song and dance performance by the singers and dancers, of course. Earlier we went to the beginning of the show at 7:30pm. It has been rumored that this will be the last world cruise to have this kind of entertainment. Don't know whether this is true or not, but it would not be a surprise. Many of the other HAL ships have other types of entertainment that we do not have here. We expect that to change when this ship goes into dry dock in May.
And the clocks went back one more hour tonight. Some people think this is great, but it really is messing with the sleeping patterns for many.
Bill & Mary Ann
Friday, February 21, 2020
Report #106 Day at Sea February 20, 2020 Thursday Partly sunny & 73 degrees
