It's sea day number six, with two more sea days to go before reaching Guam. But who's counting? According to Captain Frank we still have over 1100 nautical miles to reach our next destination. All through the night, the seas acted up to rock one to sleep or knock one out of the bed, depending on what deck you lived on. This morning we woke up to very cloudy skies and many white caps in the deep swells. These conditions may be with us all of the way to Guam we understand.
After breakfast, we had a job to do. Yesterday we received Saipan customs and declaration forms to fill out, as well as a yellow fever verification letter. The customs form was fairly easy to fill out with the help of detailed instructions. The yellow fever info was required for the change in the upcoming ports. The good news is that if we have had at least one vaccination with documented proof, then we are good. If for some reason you were advised never to get it, you would need a letter from a certified doctor to confirm that fact. And something new to us was that if you are over 60 years old, you are not required to be vaccinated again. Anyway, these forms had to be turned in this morning on each passenger deck, just like the passport collection and distribution. Once the forms were scanned for accuracy, they were collected. Easy.
It remained warm and partly sunny the rest of the morning, so we went to the Seaview Pool for some sun time. A lone sea gull flew overhead, and actually landed on the back deck. It hopped around until it found some fresh water that had overflowed from the pool. Then it made its way under the tables, obviously looking for food. Kind of freaked some folks out, so the waiters shooed it away. Shortly, it flew away and did not come back while we were there. The boobies are still with the ship, appearing on the starboard side all day. We read that they are capable of staying out at sea for months at a time.
We paid a visit to the shore excursion desk on deck 10 to inquire about the new excursions that are available to us to choose one for free. It comes with the room we booked. Nothing is printed anymore, so we were advised to go on the Navigator app (on the computer) and read each tour. We have a choice of tours in Zanzibar, Cape Town, Namibia, or The Gambia. If you choose not to book anything, we will lose that perk. Use it, or lose it.
Time for lunch at 2pm, we dined on Dive-In burgers and a hot dog. We noticed that shawarma was being served in the Lido at lunchtime. Once again, we have never seen lunchtime in the Lido Market so crowded. They must be doing something right, because we heard that the dining room lunch has not been that great. So far we have not tried it and probably won't since we have a hearty breakfast at 8am.
There was no good sunset tonight due to the heavy cloud cover. It simply got dark an hour earlier than yesterday. Then it was dinnertime. The appetizer section won over the entrees this evening. Beginning with a crispy prawn spring roll, we added lion head meatballs but were not sure what they consisted of. Asking Alfred our waiter, he went to find out and came back saying it was pork. We shared mains of Katsu pork (like Weiner schnitzel ) and every day lasagna. It was a good combination. Dessert were thin slices of carrot cake. Presty, the maître d' was working the tables tonight and came to us with questions. He wanted our opinion how the food at dinner was comparing to last year's world cruise. We began to compare when his phone kept going off, so we expect to continue this conversation another time.
The Grand Voyage singers put on a show called Pop-Opera titled Dream. No dancing due to the motion of the ocean.
Finally, we are done with the hour back almost every night. At least until we head for Japan…….
Bill & Mary Ann
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