Day 10 ~ A Day of Missed Opportunities

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. 
~ John Steinbeck

Actually the missed opportunities started last night. Remember I told you we hoped to participate in something excitingly astronomical?  A full lunar eclipse was supposed to happen between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. The ship was going to turn off the lights on the forward top deck (Deck 11) and set out lounges for those who wanted to go up and wait for it.

We decided to sleep comfortably in our cabin and then make our way up when the time came. The DH’s phone alarm went off at 12:45 a.m. and he stepped out onto the balcony to see if we were on the right side of the ship to view the celestial event from there. 

Unfortunately, no side would be the right side. The sky was completely overcast and it was raining buckets.  

The DH didn’t bother to wake me. He knew that even if we wanted to brave the rain on the off chance that the clouds would part in time, I can’t take Herkimer (my portable oxygen concentrator) into a downpour. It might short out and that is trouble I don’t want to deal with out here in the middle of the Pacific. 

As it turned out, the heavens did open up just as the moon was totally covered and those hardy souls who stayed up till 3 were treated to a dazzling display of the Milky Way and even a few shooting stars.

But when we woke at 5, we did have a splendid view from our balcony of the full moon spilling light across a calm ocean.

As I was drinking my morning coffee and reading the daily Princess Patter for the schedule of activities, I saw that the Book Club was meeting at 3:00 PM to discuss Little Fires Everywhere and then turn the book in. Yikes! I had thought we had until the day before we reach Sydney to read it, so I dived head first into the book, only coming up for Trivia (our team won again!!!), choir practice, and meals... 

We even skipped the Merengue dance lessons I’d wanted to take. During the Captain’s Cocktail Party last night, the DH & I found a quiet corner on the dance floor and were able to do a basic waltz (always careful to stay within the 7 foot arc of my cannula!). I thought the Merengue might be another dance we could do since it involves 8 steps one way and then 8 steps back. Very simple, but it gives me a chance to dance with the DH and that makes me so happy I could cry.

But instead, I pressed on, reading the book, which is quite nuanced and engaging. Since I’m a writer, I often find it hard to turn off my inner editor and end up questioning choices other authors make. I had no trouble with Little Fires Everywhere. It was so well written it made me forget that I’m a writer too. However, I still hadn’t finished it when 3 o’clock rolled around.

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. Everyone else thought we had until Sydney, too. So we all agreed to finish to the book and reconvene somewhere in the Tasman Sea.  

Tonight after supper, there’s another stargazing session on the upper deck. There won’t be an eclipse, of course, but our familiar northern stars are beginning to slip away from us and new ones are rising on the southern horizon. We’ll try again. But the way this day has gone tells me not to expect things to go to plan. And maybe that’s okay.

In fact, the DH confesses that he likes days with less planned activities. Sometimes, just being is better than doing. 

May 29th Update: Since we didn't take many pictures on sea days, I thought I'd share a couple more from Hawaii. The first is a pilot boat maneuvering alongside to pick up the pilot once we're out of the harbor.  In some cases, this is fair distance from the land because there are underwater reefs and shoals, local shipping lanes and fishing boats schedules to avoid. No matter who the pilot is, the Princess bridge crew is ultimately responsible and won't let anyone get crazy with speed or turns.

Watching the pilot leap from the moving cruise ship onto the deck of this small vessel was always exciting. I guess use is everything and eventually the pilot gets accustomed to making that "big step," but I found myself wondering how he/she felt the first time they had to do it! 

The first of many sail-aways. Not many were at night. Aloha, Hawaii! I hope to see you again...

Day 9 ~ Southward Ho! or Downton Abbey Afloat

C—Big, blue wobbly thing that mermaids live in. ~ from the episode of Black Adder in which they attempt to create a dictionary

I know it seems as if I skipped a day, but because I was still writing about our experiences on Hawaii, I labeled the previous post Day 7.5 instead of 8.

Today, on the 9^th Day of our voyage, we find ourselves bounding over the deeps heading for American Samoa, which we won’t reach for several days. We are enjoying slight seas and sunny skies. The high today is in the low 80’s with a fair breeze to keep it from being oppressive—sort of perfect, IMO.

This is when the ship itself becomes a destination, so allow me to give you a quick tour of the Pacific Princess. We’ll take it from the top…

Reynald, Pierre, my DH (Dear Husband), me, Mary & her hubby Brian in the Pacific Princess after a win of total domination at TRIVIA. The matching shades are our prize!

Deck 10—Here you’ll find the jogging track (or in my case, the walking track), which the DH and I made use of after breakfast today. After hitting 10,550 steps in Honolulu, I hope to do it again. But the PP is a petite little lady. Just walking from one activity to another won’t get me there. Hence the time on the track. Also on Deck 10, you’ll find the Pacific Lounge (where we play Trivia & have choir practice) and the premium restaurants to the rear of the ship—Sabatini’s and Sterling Steak House. We find the food in the Club Restaurant so good, it makes no sense to pay extra for those other venues. 

Next to the specialty dining is this jewel of library. Elegant and serene, it wouldn’t be out of place in Downton Abbey, would it?

Deck 9—The pool and two hot tubs are located mid-ship. (Yes, that is the DH lounging in the hot tub!) Going aft, you’ll find the BBQ grill and the Panorama Buffet (which I’ve mentioned in a previous post). If you go forward, you’ll see the Internet Café, the Card Room and the Lotus Spa. Generally speaking, you go aft to find food, forward for entertainment.

Decks 8, 7, & 6—All passenger cabins with no public areas.

Deck 5—From the stern, you start with the Club Restaurant & Bar. The lobby is located in the center of the ship. There’s quite a lovely atrium. Like the beautifully appointed library, it’s all rich dark wood and elegant railings. The shops, which I haven’t visited yet, surround the atrium. Still going forward, you have to go through the small casino. Unlike every other ship we’ve cruised on, there is NO SMOKING in the casino! In fact, there are very few smoking areas on the entire ship. This is a huge relief to me because with my lung issues, the last thing I need is second-hand smoke. Most of the evening shows are in the Cabaret Lounge located far forward.

Deck 4—A deck with passenger cabins and only one public area—the medical center. I hope we don’t have reason to visit this part of the ship, but I’m glad to know it’s there. Last night at oh:dark-thirty, I was wakened by the ship’s bell sounding. A crewmember came over the ship-wide broadcast system summoning an emergency medical team to a passenger cabin. I hope all was well, but with a voyage of this duration and considering the demographic of those who can take the time for a world cruise, it is expected that a few passengers will…, shall we say, disembark before the rest.

We’ve made a number of new friends on the ship, like our excellent Trivia partners. Then there are some folks I met online through Cruise Critic, a travel site which features a big message board so that future passengers can connect with their fellows in a Roll Call thread. A few days ago, Marilyn (who flew all the way from Israel to join us in LA) organized a Cruise Critic luncheon. It was a spectacular four course affair, starting with a Mediterranean Vegetable Terrine (the same one I posted few days ago!), a delicious sea food pasta dish which I mistook as the main course, followed by a perfectly done steak so tender you could cut it with a butter knife. Desert was this fabulous Napoleon cake, with layers of pastry so flaky and light they were only kept from floating away by the mini-chocolate chips in the sweet ganache.

I think the PP must have lost its pastry chef in Sydney because the Napoleons were never as fabulous as this one we enjoyed during the first segment!

This beautiful luncheon was overseen by Oscar, our Maitre d’ extraordinaire. He marshals his company of servers like a general organizing a campaign. With boundless energy and unflappable good humor, he’s truly a force of nature.

Another event organized by members of the Cruise Critic Roll Call was the Cabin Crawl. About 30 of us tromped about the ship, visiting different types of staterooms—inside with no window, ocean view, balcony (like we have), the larger mini-suite, and a truly elegant and spacious Owner’s Suite. As I always do when I tour someone else’s home, I came back to Stateroom 7009 feeling grateful for the floating home we have. It suits us perfectly.    

Tonight is another formal night and we’ve been invited to the Captain's Cocktail Party before we go to supper. The DH will wear his tux and I’ll be decked out in my purple gown.  Because we are in the late seating for supper, our stage show won’t begin until 9:45pm. We are usually the early-to-bed-early-to-rise sort, so this schedule is stretching us. But the DH points out that we get to set our clocks back another hour tonight, so the show will really be starting at 8:45 pm.

And after that, we hope to enjoy something really special, astronomically speaking, but I won’t know for certain until it happens. More about that tomorrow…

PS. More about that alarm in the night. I learned what happened from Betty, the lady who sits beside me in choir. Her husband is a pastor and they were called to the cabin at about 5:00AM. A gentleman did die. He was a member of the 60+ voice strong Harmony Choir, but we had not yet met him or his wife. However, our director David says our concert for this segment will be dedicated to his memory.

I feel so sad for his family, but at the same time, his passing is a reminder to me to greet each day with thankfulness and to treat everyone around me with kindness. A little verse from a beloved book from my childhood comes to mind.

We’re here so short a time before we go to unknown ends.
We may not meet in other worlds. Let’s hurry and be friends!
~ The Cheerful Cherub by Rebecca McCann

Wishing you fair seas and sunny skies…

May 22, 2018 update: I suspect other passengers died during the voyage, but this is the only one that was widely acknowledged on board. He and his wife had done the world cruise on Princess several times and she was, in fact, under contract as the arts and crafts instructor. So she remained on the ship for the entire world cruise. 

This next bit falls under the category of laundry room gossip, but it was rumored that her husband had wished to be cremated, but American Samoa either didn't allow it or didn't have the facilities to offer the service. We never heard what arrangements were finally made.  

But it does bring up an important issue. It's very important that you express your final wishes to your traveling companion, or better yet, do it in writing. We didn't bring our power of attorney papers or our living wills with us, but we will if we do another world cruise. Taking away those awful final decisions from your loved ones is the last kind thing you can do. 

Day 7.5 ~ Honolulu Wrap-up

Cover the earth before it covers you! ~ Sammi Baker, our cruise director

I feel as if I need another post to capture all the things I experienced on Oahu yesterday, so please bear with me. First of all, there’s the air of Hawaii. It’s redolent with the sweetness of flowers and green growing things. If I half close my eyes, it almost takes me back to the Garden that was once humanity’s home. That glorious scent wraps itself around you from the moment you set foot on the island.

The air is also filled with birdsong—cooing, warbling, calling. Even bustling Honolulu is alive with their singing.

But even in paradise, a little practicality has to rear its head. After our morning wanderings, we caught the Walmart shuttle so we could pick up a few necessities—distilled water for my bi-pap machine, extra laundry pods and Spray-n-Wash to treat stains (our little stain stick wasn’t quite up to the job!). While we were there, I made friends with a friendly little dog who reminded me of my Charlie (a fuzzy little fellow of indeterminate heritage but great heart.) The little dog’s owner encouraged it to “Say hi to auntie.”

Auntie and Uncle are used as terms of endearment and respect for older people on the island. After I got over the shock of realizing she thought I was old, I found the custom charming.  

The Pacific Princess had to pick up a few things in Honolulu, too. Crate after crate of food stuffs were onloaded and the ship was refueled with enough diesel to take us to American Samoa, which we won’t reach until Saturday.  

Before supper, a local hula school boarded the Pacific Princess and gave a cultural dance show for us. The youngest member of the troop was only six, but all the girls had been dancing the hula since they were three years old. They moved together in stylized grace. Wonderful!

The DH couldn’t resist snapping a picture of the lights of Oahu as we sailed away. I never say goodbye to Hawaii. I will always hope to visit it at least one more time…

May 22, 2018 update ~ Just had to add a short video of the darling little girls from the hula school who entertained us so charmingly. Enjoy!

Day 7 ~ Honolulu

"Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace." ~ Paul Theroux

We’ve been blessed to visit the 50^th state a number of times. Once when we were quite young (early 20s) I tagged along on the DH’s business trip.  Then shortly after 911, we cruised around the islands on the now defunct American Hawaiian line to celebrate our 25^th anniversary.  In 2013, we flew to Honolulu with our daughters and my parents for a week long island hopping cruise on Norwegian. Then finally in 2016, Hawaii was the first stop on our Holland American South Pacific voyage.

Over the years we’ve done a number of touristy things on Oahu. We’ve wept at Pearl Harbor and been amazed and informed at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We’ve had colorful tropical fish swim between our knees at Haunuma Bay and I learned to surf at Waikiki. We’ve visited macadamia plantations and the queen’s summer palace. Yet each time we come back, the island welcomes us afresh.

Diamond Head as we sailed in

We didn’t book an excursion for this port. Instead, we decided to hook up Herkimer Two (the portable oxygen concentrator that rides in a backpack on the DH’s broad shoulders) and go for a stroll. It was a delight to walk without the ground rising and falling under us! Here are a few things we saw along the way:

This umbrella shaped beauty is called a Monkey Pod Tree. It came to the islands from the Yucatan peninsula about 120 years ago. The thing about a volcanic island is that nothing is indigenous. Everything, down to the first blade of grass, has to come from somewhere else originally.

Even Hawaii has winter and the locals tell us there aren’t many flowers blooming now. My Midwestern color-starved eyes beg to differ.

You’ll never find a banyan tree back home.

This collection of crooked-limbed plumeria look as if they leaped from the pages of a Dr. Seuss book. In their season, they are covered with blossoms.

In our previous visits, we’ve never stopped to see the King Kamehameha statue. (By the way, that’s pronounced “Kah-may-ah-may-ah,” not the way I said it on our first trip here: “King Kam-ee-ham-ee-hay”). He was the first chieftain to unite all the Hawaiian Islands under one rule: his. The society had a rigid list of things that were “kapu” (forbidden) and only one punishment for an infraction. Death.

The building behind Kamehameha and my very own Big Kahuna houses the Hawaiian Supreme Court. You may also recognize it as the supposed headquarters for TV’s Hawaii 5-O. 

Across the street is the Iolani Palace, the royal residence of the last Hawaiian king. Unfortunately, it was not open for tours because today is Sunday.

On the way back to the ship we passed a graveyard which featured a partial pyramid of volcanic rock. We’d seen structures like this on other islands and were told they were built by the Menehune (a quasi-mythical tribe of little people, Hawaiian leprechauns, if you will). However, this mound of stone covers a mass grave. A granite marker explains the situation:

In memory of our beloved unknown friends of yesteryears found in unmarked graves during the excavation of Queen Street.  These 102 beloved souls are committed to Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, and their remains tenderly laid to rest in peace in this place.

“The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God and no torment will ever touch them.”
~ Wisdom of Solomon

I was very moved. Even though the dead were unknown, they were considered beloved. It was very much in the “spirit of aloha” and the sense of “ohana” (family) that permeates the islands. Everyone’s life is connected to their brothers and sisters whether they know them or not. Which brings me to one photo I didn’t take…

Along with the beautiful plants and stately historical buildings, we saw a number of homeless people. I was particularly saddened by the sight of one older person sleeping on the sidewalk, curled up in the fetal position. Homelessness is a problem with no easy answer. The urban churches we attended when we lived in Seattle and Boston had totally different ways of addressing the situation, but neither were completely successful. I’m sure there are similar ministries here as well as state run shelters and programs. It’s a difficult issue.

No, I didn’t take a photo of the person asleep on the concrete, but the image will stay with me long after we leave the island...

Because I don’t want to end on a melancholy note, here’s a bit of public art we encountered on our walk. It’s called Passages and signifies Hawaii’s transition into the future.

P.S. This evening, a group of local hula dancers will board for a show at 5:30 pm, and after supper we plan to see to the movie Dunkirk.

P.P.S. My pedometer measured over 8000 steps by the time we made it back to the ship for lunch. By the end of the day, I’ll have clocked my first ever 10K step day! Not bad for someone on supplemental O2.    

May 22, 2018 update: Today is our 42nd anniversary. 42 is a very auspicious  number. Remember, it's the answer to "life, the universe and everything." (For the uninitiated, this is a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an extremely silly movie and book you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy. But if you're in the mood for total nonsense, it's great!)

Another thing I will always remember May 22nd for is that one year ago on this date, we booked this world cruise. It was the start of our great adventure, and while it seemed as if the 200+ days would never pass before it was time to board, the Pacific Princess, in hindsight, I'm glad we had that long to plan, dream and prepare.

Now for more Oahu pictures!

I mention the chorus of birdsong we enjoyed but failed to talk about the real contribution birds made to the islands. Long before humans showed up, birds had discovered the Hawaiian chain and while in the beginning, the may not have found any food, they did leave excrement, which carried the seeds of the first plants to grow here.

The bird above wasn't perched on a rock. He was pecking along the exposed roots of this tree. I can only assume the topsoil must be pretty thin here, but life finds a way.

Which is what the residents of the Big Island have to remind themselves right now. Kilauea is erupting violently, destroying homes and spewing poisonous gasses. But it's also flowing into the sea and creating new land (albeit land that will take a long time to weather sufficiently to support life.) In the big picture, volcanic eruptions actually make our planet more habitable by helping to keep it warm enough to retain its atmosphere. But in the nearer view, well, we've seen Pompeii and if I were on the Big Island, I'd be looking for a way off it two weeks ago. 

Day 6 ~ Approaching Honolulu

For the born traveler, traveling is a besetting vice. Like other vices, it is imperious, demanding its victim’s time, money, energy and the sacrifice of comfort.
~ Aldous Huxley

Clearly, Mr. Huxley never traveled aboard the Pacific Princess. We are completely comfortable and stress free. It’s as though the cares of our land life have faded into the background and we face each day with the incredible luxury of doing anything or nothing with an equal lack of guilt.

We woke early again, about 5:00 AM. Even though with our late seating for supper we’re staying up later than usual to see the shows, we’re still waking up as if we have two little dogs that need to be let out. We gain an hour every other day or so as we travel westward, so maybe we’re getting more sleep than I think.

The Club Restaurant serves a lovely breakfast, but the pace is pretty leisurely and we wanted a quicker meal today. So for the first time since we boarded, we went to the Panorama Buffet on deck 9. I had a made-to-order mushroom & cheese omelet and fresh fruit at our table on the fantail. The temperature was perfect, and even though the sky was overcast, the views of the ocean were so restful. When the sun did break through, the light shafting through the clouds created not a rainbow, but a dancing collection of prismatic colors. Then I took off my sunglasses and the colors disappeared. It made me realize that even though we may not be able to perceive them, but there are wonders around us all the time.

The reason we needed a quick breakfast was that we decided today was laundry day and we wanted to be first through the door when the launderette was unlocked at 8:00 AM. We were able to snag three machines at once for our whites, darks & delicates. We brought a stain stick, bleach pen and laundry detergent pods from home. (I was concerned the pods might burst during our flight, so I double bagged them…and packed them in the DH’s suitcase!) For those of you who like details, there are 8 washers and 8 dryers in the launderette on Deck 7. Tokens cost $3.00 each so doing our laundry cost us $15.00 (I didn’t dry the delicates. They’re hanging over the bathroom door in our stateroom.)

We could have sent our things out to be done in the ship’s laundry, but I shudder to think what it would have cost. Princess charges by the item. According to the schedule of charges, it’s $1.25 for a single pair of undies. Yikes, right?

You hear horror stories about laundry wars on cruise ships and general misbehavior with regards to other peoples’ things, and true to form, we had a little excitement in the laundry. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of it. 

One of the other passengers put Dawn dish washing soap in her load. The machine filled with suds and began spilling out as if we were in an I Love Lucy episode. Fortunately, the Pacific Princess crew was quick to clean it up and no one took a tumble on the slick wet spot.

The only other things scheduled for our day are:

·         11:00am Trivia

·         11:45am Choir

·         12:30pm Cruise Critic Luncheon—This is our chance to visit with the folks I’ve been communicating with on a message board since we booked this trip last May. It’s nice to put faces to names.

·         4:00pm Honolulu destination talk (This will be played on the TV in our cabin, so we can be lounging while we decide if there’s something we want to do other than the Hop-on Hop-off Trolley we’d planned on for tomorrow.)

·         7:30pm Supper

·         9:30pm Production Show with the Princess dance troop

My sister-in-law Karen asked to see how her baby brother looks all dressed up, so I’m ending this post with a photo of the DH in his tux. Eat your heart out, James Bond!

PS. For those of you who saw the photo of what I was eating for lunch yesterday and made a guess as to what sort of dish it was, here’s the answer: Grilled Mediterranean Vegetable Terrine with Taragon and Chive Cream Sauce. It was delish! 

PPS. I'm a Great Auntie again! My niece Mariah gave birth to Gracie today. We're sorry to have missed being in town when she made her appearance, but are thrilled that we'll be able to watch this little angel grow up!

May 9, 2018  update: A word about the Belinda King Dancers and singers who did 12 different production shows for us on the world  cruise. This was not your average group of talented young people. The  dancers were several orders of magnitude better than any I've ever seen on shipboard. Each one of them deserve a regular spot in any ballet company. Their synchronicity was amazing. Even when the ship was rocking, they stayed together step-for-step! 

The Belinda King Dancers with their passenger partners for Dancing With The Cast! (The DH is 7th from the left!)

They also served as Trivia hosts and went on excursions to help shepherd passengers along. This group of three guys/three girls were such good sports, so friendly and helpful. We felt we got to know them as well as be entertained by them. And because we had three different cruise directors, these lively kids provided some much needed continuity!

And speaking of kids...

Our darling great-niece Gracie. We missed her first 3 months because she was born while we were en route to Hawaii, but we'll be around for the rest of her growing up!

A final word about laundry: The DH has put his foot down. We won't book another world cruise unless we can get free laundry service! We're about 23 days from qualifying for Elite status on Princess, which would get us free laundry. A few other lines include laundry in the fare. One way or  another, if I want another grand nautical adventure, I'll have to be sure it doesn't include tokens, stain sticks or packing laundry pods in the DH's luggage!  

Day 5 ~ A Star is Born

Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God. ~ Vonnegut

I no longer have to fret about making a spectacle of myself on board. I accomplished that quite handily last night at the show. We were treated to another evening with the superb violinist, David Klinkenberg. Toward the end of his program, he asked how many people in the audience played an instrument.

I should have suspected a trap right then, but lots of hands were raised. What was the worst that could happen?

Then he asked who could play something on the piano. I started lessons when I was eight years old and played all through high school and college. My hand stayed up. And it was evidently the only one, because he asked me to come up and play something—anything—on the shiny grand piano, while he improvised a duet with me.

I haven’t touched a keyboard to do more than pound out notes to learn parts for choir in years. But with fear and trembling, I walked to the piano and wondered what on earth I’d do without a sheet of music in front of me. The only thing that came to mind was…Silent Night.

After a few bars, David joined in with soaring tones.  I was intensely grateful and hoped he masked the worst of my fumbling. I lost the melody at one point and began simply rolling through the chord progressions. Fortunately, the violin had the melody more than covered. Then I found the tune again toward end and was even able to toss in a modulation from the key of C to A flat and back again. (Oh! And in honor of my mom, the Queen of Plinkies, I added a little four note run up to high C at the last.)

I was blessed with an extremely uncritical audience. To reward my gullibility, David gave me a free CD of his music. So I guess that’s a fair trade for a few moments of terror.

Today, I tried hula again, but found it harder now that the class was dancing faster. I had trouble maintaining good O2 sats even with Herkimer. But, as the teacher says, hula can be danced even while sitting down. I kept up with the hand motions just fine.

Our Trivia team placed second again with 17 correct answers out of 20. We really enjoy the others in the group and have fun with it.

The Harmony Choir continues to grow in size each day. We worked on “Any Dream will Do” from Webber’s JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAM COAT.

This afternoon, we attended a lecture on new research into the culture of primitive hunter/gatherer societies. The theories advanced were intriguing. I’m completely willing to believe they were much more advanced than we give them credit for. People have been coming into this world with the same wants, needs, potential for creative thinking and good or evil behavior since the Garden.  But I’m less sanguine about a secret code about the superiority of the hunter/gatherer culture supposedly buried in the world’s earliest known writings. 

May 9, 2018 update: Especially since those writings were produced by the people who first developed agriculture, which allowed them to abandon the hunter/gatherer lifestyle, and have leisure to invent niceties like writing, mathematics and the wheel. I sensed a highly romanticized "noble savage" view of hunter/gathers in this lecture. It wouldn't be the first time someone has tried to prop up the primitive by claiming heretofore undiscovered positive aspects.

Of course, the fact that I married an Iowa farm boy may mean I'm biased in favor of agriculture! 

I rediscovered the spa and spent some time on the treadmill. Because of the motion of the ocean, I tricked my pedometer into believing I'd climbed 18 flights of stairs.

The meals are always a big draw on any cruise. When I  travel, I try to get out of my comfort zone and try things I either can’t get or wouldn’t make at home. For 50 points, can you guess what kind of dish this is?

I’ll  post the answer tomorrow.

PS. Today is Australia Day. According to some of the Aussie's on board it's a great celebration in their homeland to commemorate the coming of Europeans to Oceania. 

However, like Columbus Day in the US, it's become somewhat controversial because the Aboriginal peoples don't feel like celebrating the end of their Dream Time.



May 9, 2018 Update: One of the many things that impressed me about Princess was the way they respond to their passengers with special needs. There were a few deaf passengers on the first leg of our journey (from LA to Sydney) and Princess provided a couple of deaf interpreters to sign the content of lectures, entertainment and accompany the deaf passengers on excursions. The young woman in the picture below is one of those interpreters.

At the first show, our cruise director asked the rest of us to reserve an area to the left of the stage for the party with deaf passengers, so they'd be able to see both the performance and the interpreter. 

Day 4~Just your Average Sea Day

The journey, not the arrival, matters. ~ T.S. Eliot

 

A journey by ship is the definition of adventure. You’re never sure exactly what may happen, but the getting there truly is half the fun.

A lot of people have asked me what on earth we find to do on the ship between ports. The truth is, there are so many options for activities, we could run ourselves ragged trying to do them all. Each evening the Princess Patter arrives in the mail bin outside our stateroom with the details of events for the next day. But we could easily just check our phones.

Princess has a handy little app that lets us sign in without using any precious wifi minutes. We can check the schedule of events, and choose the ones we want to be moved into our cruise personalizer. That way, we always know where we need to be. Also, in case the DH and I become separated, we can send messages to each other through this app without having to switch our phones off airplane mode. (Note to future cruisers: ALWAYS switch your phone to airplane mode before you leave port. Otherwise you might get an extremely nasty surprise in your next cell phone bill. Our friend Vicki ended up with a $700 bill because her phone and tablet were "talking" to each other even when they were turned off and stored in her room safe!)

Here’s what my average sea day is shaping up like so far:

1.   6:30 am—Wake to the soft rap of room service delivering our morning coffee.

2.    @ 7:30 am—Make our way down to the Club Restaurant for breakfast and pleasant conversation with our new tablemates. We have assigned seating for the evening meal, but breakfast and lunch are good times to meet new people.

3.    9:15 am—Enrichment lecture on Hawaiian culture

4.    10:15 am—Hula lessons. Yes, I took the class. As long as I stay within 7 feet of Herkimer, I can sway with the best of them.

5.    11:00 am—Trivia. On the first sea day we were invited to join a trivia team. Getting to know Mary & Brian, Reynald & Pierre has been a delight. Of course, the fact that we’re doing pretty well helps too.  We won the first day and finished 2^nd the other two.

6.    11:45 am—Harmony Choir. This group has grown to 63 singers—10% of the passengers on board! When it comes time to perform, we may have to put the audience on the stage and arrange ourselves around the theater!

7.   

12:30 pm—Lunch in the Club Restaurant. We could easily go up to  Panorama Buffet, but I enjoy the more formal Club. I’m enough of a princess to enjoy being waited upon. And the fact that dining in the restaurant leads to better portion control than a buffet is also a win. Of course, if I veer off course with decadent desserts like this chocolate marquise, I might as well hit the buffet line.

8.   

1:45 pm—Return to the cabin to rest, check email, write this blog and read. I joined the book club yesterday so I need to finish Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng before we reach Aukland. I’m also reading a manuscript by my dear friend Darcy Carson as well as making a final pass through my second book in the House of Lovell series called Lord Bredon and the Bachelor’s Bible (written under my Mia Marlowe pen name). It’s due to my editor shortly after we return home.

You may have noticed there’s no lounging by the pool time on my schedule. That’s because the highs have been in the low 60s and the sky has been overcast for much of the journey so far.

9.   

 @ 6:ish pm—Begin to dress for dinner. This is usually not a big deal. I normally just put on some make up, change my top to one that’s a bit fancier, and I’m good to go. But last night was our first formal night. That meant the DH had to wrestle with his bow tie. (The tie won the first round, but he muscled it into submission with only half an hour of trial and error.) I had to put my hair up (which also required several attempts) and don my long black gown (which will be making more appearances with different jackets throughout the cruise.)

On the subject of tuxes…everyone said Princess formal nights were more laid back than other lines, but last night we lost count of how many men we saw tricked out in full on James Bond attire. I’m glad we invested in a tux for the DH. He looked terrific! In addition to tuxes, a number of gentlemen opted for classic white dinner jackets.

10. 7:30 pm—Dinner in the Club Restaurant. We had hoped to be in the first seating which is at 5:15pm, closer to our usual time at home, but lots of folks who have more days with Princess than we, also wanted to be in first seating. This is definitely a case where seniority counts. However, we’re really enjoying our table mates, Shirley and Dave. And Rajesh and Kadek, our servers, are very attentive.

11. 9:30 pm—Show in the Pacific Lounge. Tonight we’ll be treated to an encore performance from David Klinkenberg and his violin.

After that, as our cruise director Sammi says, we stay up till 2 or 3…minutes after 11! Then we settle into the ultimate water bed and let the Pacific rock us to sleep…

More soon!

PS.  Oh, oh! I want to wish my dear sister Cindy a VERY happy birthday! Love you, kid!

May 9, 2018 Update: After a while, we started to gravitate to the Panorama Buffet for breakfast and lunch instead of the Club Dining Room. Not only could I get my omelet made with more than ham, cheese & mushrooms (the only choices on the Club menu), I could watch while Anthony, my favorite omelet chef, flipped it in the pan. Plus, even if we got a window seat in the Club, the view was no match for the fantail!

After much experimentation, I finally settled on bacon, jalapenos, onions, mushrooms and cheese as my favorite omelet!

Breakfast here was quicker than in the dining room, in case we needed to be at a 9 o'clock lecture or to be ready to go for an early excursion.

Then there was another consideration that made the buffet a good choice for us. It solved a problem unique to me. Since I was diagnosed with NSIP in 2010, I've developed an extreme sensitivity to chemical smells, specifically the ones common in perfumes, after-shaves, hair spray, body powders and lotions. Sometimes the people we were seated with in the dining room were wearing personal care products that triggered a reaction. I'd be reduced to a coughing fit. I hate that I'm this way. I really miss wearing my own favorite perfume, but I just can't tolerate it anymore.

If we ate in the buffet, we could choose who we sat with and I could quietly avoid the heavy aftershave/perfume/powder/hairspray wearers.  No feelings hurt. No coughing fit. Problem solved.