Day 12 ~ Ice is Nice!

We are definitely in equatorial waters. The temperature and humidity are almost matching. It’s a day to wear cotton and stay hydrated.

And to watch an ice sculptor at work.

Sherwin, an artist from the Philippines, demonstrated his skill with wedge-shaped blades on this block of ice. It’s a special type of ice, water laced with a bit of ammonia, and frozen from the inside out to maintain its clarity. Princess buys these specialized blocks of ice from a company in Colombia, of all places, for $300.00 a pop.  

Here’s the before picture:

Sherwin has been sculpting for Princess for quite a while, but before that, he underwent two years of training in his homeland. He also had to be a licensed ice carver before he’d be allowed to bring his tools on a plane. (After TSA even made me remove my see-through plastic cannula and run it through the metal detector, I can’t imagine what they’d do with these wickedly sharp blades.)

As he worked, the gathered onlookers called out what figure they thought he was freeing from the ice. I guessed Minnesota because his first rough cuts resembled an outline of the state. Others guessed a lion, a bear, a butterfly, mosquito, and an angel.

As you can see, it turned out to be an eagle. The finished work was whisked back to the freezer to be saved for decoration for the upcoming Sunday brunch. I expect to see lots of vegetable and fruit carving then as well. We’ve heard from more experienced cruisers that it’s pretty spectacular.

This morning I attended a lecture on Polynesian art, which despite being quite old seems very modern. I suspect Picasso borrowed heavily from them. Our trivia team was humbled today, but we’ll try again. Our choir is working hard to be ready for our first concert which will be before we reach New Zealand and the Book Club is starting a new book—The Orphan’s Tale.  Every morning I wake with a renewed sense of wonder and gratitude that we’re actually here on this little gem of a ship.

We’re loving our lazy days at sea. 

P.S. I put on a scopolamine patch when we left Hawaii on Sunday and took it off on Thursday.  So far…so good. Granted, the seas have been slight, but I may just have found my sea legs after all! 

June 1st Update: I've struggled with whether or not to share this remembrance on the blog, but it might help someone else deal with the issue, so I'm going to plow ahead. 

In the first picture above, there's a lady in the background in a black T-shirt. Let's call her "Ivanta Beleftalone." On the second night of the cruise, she and her amiable husband joined Table 60 back when we had four empty places. They didn't return the next night. That's okay. Sometimes, people like to  try other dining venues. But then they were absent the next night too. And the next...

We passed them on the ship--the Pacific Princess is a small ship after all--and told them we missed them. They mumbled something and  had to be someplace immediately.

I would totally understand if they were able to move to the first seating in the Main Dining Room. The thought crossed our minds once or twice. The entire evening schedule is geared toward those early diners and we're not late night  folks. But we didn't want to hurt David and Shirley's feelings by leaving them.

We've been pretty lucky with our tablemates on all the cruises we've been on. I always figure I can get along with anyone. All you have to do is ask them about themselves and most people will think you're a brilliant conversationalist. 

It didn't seem to work with Ivanta and  her hubby. Honestly, I don't know how anyone at our table offended them. 

Or maybe it wasn't us. Maybe Table 60 (an 8 top in the center of the room) was simply too noisy. Perhaps they met some folks with whom they had a lot in common and decided to move to their table. Maybe they managed to get moved to a table near a window with a killer view. Perhaps they decided they wanted to be seated at a table for two, so they could spend the cruise connecting with only each other every evening.

We'll  never know. They never told us. 

Now comes the hopefully helpful part of this update. If you find yourself in the unenviable situation of needing to change your traditional dining arrangements, take a moment to stop by the table and let the others know what you're doing. If you can, make it your fault. If we'd decided we had to switch to first seating because I was falling asleep during the shows (I did...on several occasions!), we'd have explained that.

The last thing I want to do is make someone feel their company had been weighed in the balance and found wanting. 

However, it turned out for the best. By the time we reached Sydney, we were glad we had those four empty seats. They were just waiting for Vicki & Craig, and Kathi & Vaughan--folks who, with their infectious joy and quick wit, turned Table 60 into "The Party Table!"