Day was the first full day at sea after having scenic cruising around Fanning Island yesterday. We forgot a few facts concerning this atoll which we thought we'd save until today. Back in 2001 to 2007, the cruise line NCL had bult a facility on this island. Their ships doing the Hawaii itinerary needed a foreign port to stop to satisfy the Jones Act. So this worked well coming to Fanning Island for the day. It may have been set up similar to HAL's Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. We are not sure what happened, but at one point, NCL ceased coming here. Their facility went to ruins in a short time and has never been remodeled. We read that HAL has a few humanitarian visits here with their itineraries enroute to Polynesia. That is the reason for the donations that the ship brings over in the way of staples , food, and supplies. There may be a few other smaller cruise ships that will come here, but they are few and far in between. By the way, we all received a refund of $23.62 for port charges on our shipboard accounts.
During his noon talk, Captain Smit mentioned that we had indeed passed the magic spot of the Equator and the International Dateline at about 7am this morning. He chose not to sound the ship's whistle. But later in the afternoon, we all received two more Journeys booklets with the stamps of our Golden Crossing. This is much better than the large certificates we got. Now they can be collected in the small booklet along with the itineraries of each cruise we do.
The temperature was 79 degrees with a 12 to 14 knot wind, mostly following. The swell was 1.7 meters or 6 plus feet. It should remain the same for tomorrow. The Captain added that there was another chance to see the comet again 45 minutes after sunset. He suggested it was best seen with a camera if there were no clouds. Venus would be visible as well as an almost full moon called Super moon. This will be the largest full moon of the year. We did see a nice sunset, followed by the moon's appearance. At 7:30pm, we went out to see if we could spot the comet, and we did.
We happened to have a chance meeting with Glenn, the hotel manager, and discussed a special dinner that is coming up soon, as well as the President's Club amenities were overdue. Later in the day our two week President's Club gifts arrived with more Coke Zeros and two bottles of a nice sparkling wine. And then, a flower arrangement came before dinnertime.
King Neptune paid a visit today at 2pm at the View Pool. It was so crowded back there, we did even attempt to go. Besides it was our lunch time and the Lido was not crowded. The ceremony lasted exactly ½ hour with Kainoa as the King. He did not seem really thrilled about it. At least he did not have to "kiss the fish". By the time the ceremony ended, the Lido filled with folks on their second lunch we assume. Ice cream cones seemed to be the most ordered treats.
Has anyone ever heard of a "tiki game"? This is something the cruise director talks about on sea days. Small tikis are hidden around the ship and each one contains a letter. Then there is a word that is created with these letters. The clue for today was a word for something that hurts your finger. We guessed a thorn or a pin prick. This sounds like a different type of scavenger hunt, where the guests get to know each other by joining in the search.
Our biggest treat of the day was a sudden sighting of hundreds of dolphins. We have been on the lookout for them, but never expected to see them this far out at sea. Being in the right place at the right time helped too. And that was on our veranda. There were some gentle whitecaps all day, but these splashes did not look like that. Even though they started jumping in front of the ship, they were soon alongside, then way in the back. Hopefully the camera caught some of them in the act before they were too far way. Looking forward towards the navigation deck, we saw some officers searching the area with their binoculars. They are always the first to spot them, but since dinner had begun, they did not announce it.
On a serious note, we noticed that it seems like every day since we arrived to the Hawaiian Islands, there has been a medical announcement somewhere on the ship. Yesterday, it was someone up the hall from us, and today something happened in the casino. We sure hope none of these are serious. There is a medical center on every ship, but there is only so much that they can do. The next port is American Samoa, so there is expert help there for sure.
Dinnertime had some of our favorites. Starters were crispy spring rolls, although our waiter forgot one of them. A Caesar salad and a bowl of the chicken noodle soup were enough. Mains were a chicken fajita meal and one meatballs and spaghetti. Sarif brought extra cheese and extra sauce as he knows how much I like the Italian dish. A savory rice pudding and one serving of rocky road ice cream completed our meal. We informed our waiters that we will be in the Pinnacle Grill tomorrow for a special dinner. But more about that tomorrow.
The World Stage hosted Katie Clark, a virtuoso variety pianist, not to be confused with Cat on the Keys who plays in the Ocean Bar.
Two more days at sea, and we will be in Samoa.
Bill & Mary Ann
