Finally….day number 8 and the last day at sea. Not that it hasn't been relaxing, maybe a little too much, but we are all ready for some terra firma (ground that does not move under your feet). The weather seemed to warm up today with a noticeable uptick in the humidity. We did expect this as we have sailed far enough south to experience this balmy weather. It remained mostly cloudy, but we did get some good showers during the afternoon. One thing about rain is that it did cool the air off briefly.
Thinking we may have missed it in the daily newsletter, the talk on Guam and Saipan finally happened at 1pm today. Kimberly covered everything we needed to know about both ports in the Marianas, much of which the majority of folks on this cruise would never see and do. Things like climbing a mountain or exploring a cave with a 4 mile hike dealing with heat and humidity off of the charts. Luckily, there is only one highlights tour offered in Guam, and it doesn't cover anything strenuous.
There will be a shuttle tomorrow from the pier to a resort area about 40 minutes away. At least we had some names of streets and hotels to do some internet searches this afternoon. We have only been to Guam once, but it has been a while ago. It does not appear that we will be dropped off where we were back then.
Colorful animals of the sea was the subject of the lecture today. At that time of day, we are always outside looking for those animals or birds and fish. We only spotted one bird and dozens of fish.
There was another special event at 3pm in the Lido Market with "For Cake's Sake". The bakers onboard whipped up another display of sweets and treats for the guests to indulge with every bite. Around 2pm, one of us was collecting some Dive-In cuisine for lunch, and did notice that the Lido pool area was full of people waiting for the cake walk to begin. Usually you can count the people in here on two hands. Not today as every poolside table was occupied.
This was a good time to do some business at the front desk. We have learned that there will be some money exchange onboard. Specifically, we are able to purchase Japanese yen, Singapore dollars, and Euro. It may be a bit more expensive to do this on the ship, but it will save a lot of time searching for this service while in the specific ports. And one last thing……we had an issue with a tank top that had gotten ink stains on it, not by us, but in the laundry itself. Permanent ink that did not come out. Prior to that, two tiny holes had punctured the lower front of this top, which was fixed by one of us. The front desk girl took photos of the top and the laundry slip, and even came to our room to have me put a price on it and sign their form. She handled this professionally and promised to inform us of a credit. It is still usable if it is tucked inside, so we don't expect much of a refund.
With all of the clouds, there was no sunset. It just got dark. And before we knew it, dinner time had arrived. Starters were Caesar salads, and a beef empanada with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. Mains were KFC or crispy breaded buttermilk chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. One of us forgot to say gravy on the side, and the potatoes were drowned with it. And it tasted different, like it had a seasoning we could not identify in it. Perhaps cardamom? Oh well, not eating the potatoes left room for the panna cotta dessert and a dish of slice bananas.
Pianist Judy Carmichael was the excellent entertainer this evening. Her theme was swing time with songs from Gershwin, Cole Porter and Peggy Lee to name a few. Our buddy Greg mentioned that she performs in Sydney (his hometown) and is quite popular there. We can see why.
Bill & Mary Ann
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