It was nice once again to get that hour back on the clock last night. It seems to give a boost to everyone's energy the following day, including the staff. And for that reason, most Pinnacle Grill people were awake early to be at breakfast. The service there is top notch all of the time.
We kept busy most of the morning with Samoa's photos and report. While listening to the news on TV, we realized that it was not pixelating or cutting in and out. My gosh, is it possible someone was able to fix the problem? We are almost afraid to say this because it will be jinxed. Our best guess is that some parts may have been picked up while we were in American Samoa, although we will never hear anyone admit it.
Captain Smit came on the speakers at noon, and declared it was a beautiful day at sea. He was correct. The waters were smooth as silk as the ship sailed a slow pace at 11 knots. The temperature was 79 degrees and the humidity was noticeably lower. Now that is an improvement. He added that we have 225 nautical miles to reach Suva, Fiji tomorrow at about 7am. The ship will be docked by 8am. Tomorrow's weather should be sunny and cloudy with a few possible showers. Then he said there was one bird circling the ship all day, and that's all he knew.
Walking the promenade deck this morning, we noticed that about every single teak lounge had a customer. It appears that many folks will camp on this deck for most of the day. It would make sense that if you had an inside room, this would be the place to be to get fresh air and a comfortable lounge out of the hot sun. We noticed there was a knitter's meet-up in the Queen's Room. Usually we only see this activity on a grand cruise. Now that we know this, we did spot several ladies with their knitting or crocheting projects on the promenade deck. It can be a very relaxing hobby for sure.
Lunch for us was in the Lido again, but we noticed that the supply of lettuce was limited. There was no romaine by itself, and no mixed greens or spinach. They had a container of chopped iceberg with very chopped frisee lettuce. There may have been some shredded cabbage as well to help extend the salad fixings. We are not that picky, except when it comes to the bitter red stuff that they put in the mixed greens sometimes. They have also run out of pepitas or pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and bacon bits. We understand that some big deliveries will be coming to the ship when we are in Suva for two days. Perfect timing.
At 3:40pm, the Captain announced that we were passing in between several small islands that belong to Fiji. Before we spotted the first island, there was a string of reefs where the waves were breaking. Very dangerous waters, we sure hope there is a local pilot onboard. On our side of the ship, we saw about three islands of various sizes. Going out on deck six forward, we saw a bunch of islands on the starboard side. We don't recall seeing these outer islands last year, since we must have come from a different direction. Besides American Samoa, we also visited Apia, Samoa and may have come from a different direction. There did not appear to be any civilization on these islands, but we do know that many resorts and hotel chains have properties on this remote islands. Some are accessible by boat and some by plane.
The sun was due to set sometime around 6pm, so we went for another walk with hopes of seeing another good one. The sun did go down, but mostly behind those dark clouds. It never really developed into a spectacular sunset.
There was a special Seafood Boil in the Lido tonight. We think that ran $35. They served Northwest-style clam chowder, Dungeness crab, Alaskan salmon, clams, mussels, shrimp, and a triple berry crisp. Just about everything one of us cannot eat. So you will never see us attending one of these events.
We had some different items for dinner tonight. One was a tataki salad, which was not a salad as such, but three slices of rare tenderloin with three little romaine leaves. Caesar salad was the same as always, but the dressing may have been different. Gosh, now they are running out of dressings again. We both ordered the duck entrée, and were happy we did. It was glazed with a sweet and sour sauce and served with fried egg noodles with sliced carrots and shaved leeks. Moist and tender, the duck was delicious. We ended the meal with servings of rocky road and mint chip ice creams. For a change, we were done before 9pm.
Entertainment in the World Stage was the guitar guru, Greg Rodman. He promised a special show, perhaps different from his first performance.
Tomorrow, we will be in the first Fijian port of Suva.
Bill & Mary Ann
