Day 42--day at sea

this is the last day of segment two on our 56 day cruise..we arrive in San Diego tomorrow morning... still 'kewl'out 59* but at least the sun was shining thruout the day...stayed out on the Navigation Deck-aft while Pat played some pool games at the Lido pool inside..  her team won Pool-volleyball.. her trivia- team was the overall Afternoon Team Trivia winners... after dinner we spent some time in the casino...then it was up to the Crows Nest to listen to some oldies music with DJ Greg... we went to the 930pm show in the showroom featuring Dale Kristien and Elio Pace with encore performances... while most onboard are packing and getting ready to depart  we'll begin the last part of our cruise tomorrow--- 14 days back thru the Canal

Day 41--day at sea

brrrrrrrrrrr......is all I can say... worst weather of the cruise so far... after a non- sunrise the clouds moved in and it never got above 61* with 25 knot winds all day long.. NOT a day to sit outside...  another formal nite in the dining room --lobster tails.. then it was off to the showroom for an encore performance by the cast's singers and dancers.. a nice show...  up to the Crows Nest for the final Mega Trivia with DJ Greg before he leaves the ship in S-D ...  we didn't win but we had fun... 

Day 40--day at sea

definitely on the 'kewler' side this early morning under partly cloudy skies... 72* and stayed like that all day long out on the Navigation deck-aft.. when the sun stayed out it was nice...  tonite in the dining room we we invited to dinner with Katie the Excursions Shore Manager who we knew from previous cruises... also joining us were friends Frank and Linda.. Al..and Ruth..after dinner it was up to the Crows Nest for Trivia.. then on to the late show featuring Dale Kristien a super talent who has performed the female lead in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway with over 1700 performances.. we have seen her show in the past on both this ship and on the Maasdam...she is fantastic.. a great show.. a last minute Name That Tune Trivia in the Piano Bar at 10pm...

Day 39--day at sea

well we're back in the Equatorial convergence zone with high winds and cloudy skies.. temps a bit cooler but still in the high 70's most of the day... invited to another cocktail partyafter dinner in the Crows Nest followed by Name That Tune Trivia... after that we all headed down to the late show in the showroom with two comedians sharing the spotlight--Kevin Jordan and Barnaby for encore acts... we settled in for the Indonesian Crew Show at 1030pm that was as usual fantastic.. the Indonesian staff put on a great show..

Day 38--day at sea King Neptune ceremony

as we passed by the Equator late last nite King Neptune came onboard.. a traditional pollywog induction for newbie crew members commenced at 10am on this sunny 82* day in the court of King Neptune... a lot of fun had by all as the newbies got 'tortured' and slimed before jumping into the Seaview Pool....  Barnaby was in the  showroom tonite.. he was funny as ever having seen him a couple of times before.. up to the Crows Nest for 'clean joke nite' ..lots of funny stuff... 

Day 37--day at sea

another beautiful day at sea with sunny skies and 85* temps.. a Mariner's luncheon mid-day followed by a formal nite dinner once again in the dining room.. in the showroom was a rock group that did the Beach Boy's songs... only comment I'll make--- they need 'help' and should have stayed with doing Beatles songs from a previous show which I was lucky enuff to pass up...afterwards it was up to the Crow's Nest for Mega Trivia in which we crushed the competition with a stunning playoff win... I stepped out onto the Navigation Deck under the stars and checked my GPS as we crossed the Equator at 1101 PM ... tomorrow morning is the celebration for the Equator crossing

Day 36--Nuku Hiva

we arrived at this small secluded island at 8am.. no tour today as we decided to walk and take in the sights of this small town of Talihae after a tender ride over.. neat little place... and pretty too... a short day ashore as the shipped sailed at 2pm for the 2800 miles trek to San Diego..  we were invited to the Mariner's reception at 4pm before dinner...  afterwards we went up to the Crows Nest for trivia--name that tune.. as Frankie D and I decided to have our own team--the Stud Muffins... our regular nite time trivia team had more than six players so we volunteered to bow out...

Day 35--day at sea

another gorgeous day at sea as we head on to our last port.. the small island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas the very northernmost islands in Polynesia..  86* and sunny all day long out on the Navigation Deck-aft at the Seaview pool.. tonite is a formal nite for dinner .. we were invited to the Hotel Director Jessica Schumann's  table for dinner with pre-dinner cocktails in the Ocean Bar.. her husband--Thomas Schumann-- also was at the table ..he  happens to be the Executive Chef onboard....a fantastic 'land and surf' dinner higlighted by a special Creme Brulee dessert ...   after dinner we went up to the Crows Nest for some 50's music..the ship's satellite internet started to act up again onboard getting slower and slower with intermittent outages.. out here at sea it's just the way it is...INTERNET HAS BEEN DOWN for the past TWO days

Day 34--Rangiroa

what an entrance by the Statendam to Rangiroa to this the  largest atoll in the Society Islands of French Polynesia...a narrow channel-inlet that the ship navigated thru made for a spectacular very early sunrise entrance crossing into the large lagoon where the ship anchored for tendering...  the lagoon is so large one cannot see the other side of the atoll..  we got off about 815am into the marina.. we walked around for a while then decided to take a short 5 minute water taxi ride over to a public beach where the sun was out all day hitting 86*... we stayed there until about noon then water taxied back where we had a small lunch outdoors watching the local kids diving and jumping into the water.... kids are kids and no matter where they are they do the same things.. either in this part of the world or in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn... fun stuff..  Pat went to the show tonite.. a Beatles tribute... I avoid the Beatles like the plague... then it was up to the Crows Nest for Name that Tune song trivia with DJ Greg followed by some Four Seasons music...