John and Diane's Amazing Adventure - Part III

[lovesandiego]

What a wonderful review of your day. I can almost see the penguins and the iceburgs. Thanks so much for taking the time to post,

[NMLady]

Thank you for such excellent descriptions of each of your ports and your tours. What memories you'll have.

 

I have a question: I know that the full voyage world cruise includes having FedEx pick up your luggage ahead of time to take to the ship. If I remember correctly it's two bags per person, no size limit?, no weight limit?

 

My question is: how do you get that luggage home again. Is the return also included? If not, I'd think the airline costs for oversize, overweight luggage could easily add a significant amount to your budget. Around $500 total??

[Johnny B]

January 31 – Day 26

At Sea in Antarctica

 

Having been awakened by unwelcome light streaming in the window at 3 AM, I peeked out the window at about 6:00 to see what the ocean looked like. My eyes flew open and, without thinking, I said, “Oh, my goodness!” as I saw glacier-covered mountains not 200 yards from the ship. It was absolutely glorious.

 

When we went to the gym shortly thereafter, we could not have found a more spectacular place to exercise. We were surrounded on all sides by Antarctic beauty.

 

We’ve been near Anvers Island and Paradise Cove this morning, and it’s so beautiful. The skies are blue, the temperature is 0 degrees Celsius, and there’s almost no wind. In this neighborhood, this is perfect summer weather! The bow is open and really crowded with people and their cameras. We are simply surrounded by pristine, snow and glacier-covered mountains that take our breath away. I thought, having seen this area two years ago that I’d be blasé about what we saw here, but it’s just the opposite; we are simply transfixed by the scenery and can’t take our eyes off it. In fact, our window sill is about 15 inches wide, so John has put a pillow in it and made a window seat out of it to see more easily.

 

The water looks like someone has simply thrown in thousands of pieces of shredded styrofoam of various sizes, but it’s actually mini icebergs breaking up into small pieces of ice. While we were out on the bow, everyone jumped at a sound like a cannon going off; it was one of the huge glaciers on the shore “calving”, or breaking off and creating an iceberg which slips into the Sound. We had seen this once before in Glacier Bay, Alaska, but it’s so dramatic and exciting to watch (and hear),

 

Since we’re almost at the bottom of the planet and it’s nearly mid-summer here, the sunrise and sunset are at incredible times. Sunset tonight will be just before 10:30, but it won’t be dark until after midnight, and then it will really just be like twilight. Sunrise is about 3:00 AM, so if those curtains aren’t tightly closed, you’d better be able to sleep in bright light.

 

This afternoon’s cruising took us past Paradise Station, a Chilean outpost that’s home to several buildings and a penguin colony of massive proportions. The interesting thing about locating penguin colonies is that all you have to do is watch for pink snow. Penguins eat krill which I guess are reddish, so their pink guano covers huge areas of snow. Gross, huh?

 

All day we’ve been sailing between these beautiful glacier-covered mountains, but later in the day the sunshine gave way to overcast and then fog. Right now, the fog horn is sounding regularly,

 

Tonight is a formal night called “Ice Blue Winter Formal.” Dinner will be followed at 10:00 by the Ice Blue Winter Ball in the Queen’s Lounge. I’ve got to dig out the blue dress with the sparklies which I have to keep in a zip-lock bag to keep the sparklies from sparkling all over the rest of my clothes. It’s funny, but after a formal night, most of the chairs in the dining room and in the Queen’s Lounge just sparkle up a storm. The evening should be fun.

[ger_77]

I'm loving the descriptions you are providing; thank you for taking so much time to provide them for us.

 

Re: sparkles on your blue dress - I like to think of them as "fairy dust" while DH thinks they're just a pain to get off his tux. I found that duct tape works better than the tape-based lint rollers to remove my fairy dust from his tuxedo.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[eyekos]

Hi John and Diane,

 

I am enjoying reading your posts. We did the Antarctic Cruise with HAL a couple years back and your descriptions are bringing back wonderful memories!

 

We are scheduled to join your ship in Sydney as we are doing the Sydney to Mumbai part of the cruise. We are very excited and can't wait.

 

I have a quick question for you. I was thinking of bringing some local currency with me for buying souvenirs, food, etc., in the local markets. I am curious, since you've already been to a lot of these ports in the past, if you would recommend this for Australia, Indonesia, Honk Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India??

 

Thanks

Alexandra

[Aussie Gal]

If you are going to the markets in Australia and the other countries you mention I would definitely bring some local currency. Australia and Hong Kong definitely only take their own currency. Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand may accept U.S. dollars. I think India prefers their own currency and I am not sure about Sri Lanka.

 

If we went to a market in the U.S. I know that the sellers would not accept Aussie dollars so that is the same here only in reverse.

 

It doesn't hurt to carry a small amount of each currency or else once on board the ship, often a table is set up near the Purser's Office when you visit a port and you can exchange U.S. dollars into the currency of the country you are visiting.

 

Jennie

[eyekos]

Thanks so much Jennie!

Alexandra

[Johnny B]

February 1 – Day 27

At Sea in Antarctica

 

I thought it couldn’t get any lighter around here, but I was wrong. Last night, the ball began at 10:00 (with music my parents and their generation would have loved) and it was still full daylight. When we had to leave the ball or fall asleep, we headed up to the Crow’s Nest and the expanse of windows showed that it was still daylight. The sun finally decided to go down at about 10:45, but even when we closed the curtains in our room at midnight, it still looked like twilight.

 

The interesting thing we noticed yesterday afternoon and throughout dinner was that we were not moving, but just sitting in one place. Apparently because of the icebergs, it’s safer to stay in one place overnight, although it hardly got dark at all.

 

This morning a group of young scientists from Palmer Station boarded the ship about 5:45 and gave a presentation, followed by a question and answer session, at 9:00. A short time ago, we saw them head off in their Zodiac, back to the station. They’re mostly young and I suspect mostly graduate students working on PhD’s. They come down here for six months or a year of research, and although I can’t imagine living here, they consider it a great adventure.

 

Our schedule is to cruise the Wilhelm Archipelago today and Cape Horn tomorrow, before calling at Ushuaia on Saturday. However, the captain just came over the PA system and told us that a sizable storm is coming about midnight tonight and that he’s going to have to make speed today because he’ll have to slow down for the storm. So, instead of a leisurely cruise of Cape Horn, we’ll be making tracks (so to speak) toward some shelter at Ushuaia. Cape Horn has always been a tricky area for mariners, back to Magellan, and it’s living up to its reputation with us. We are expecting 50 knot winds and 20 foot seas, and we’ve been told to put away anything breakable and prepare for a bumpy ride.

 

It’s interesting the subtle additions made when rough weather is expected. White bags are hung by each set of elevators and saltines and green apples are on counters throughout the ship. Before my cruising experience, I didn’t know that green apples would help dispel seasickness, but I do now. John and I are pretty lucky in that we don’t get seasick (knock on wood), and we actually think it’s fun to have the ship rocking and rolling.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens.

[Pete Jackson]

It's a neat trade for the scientists at Palmer station. They come aboard the ship to give talks and return with a bounty of nice fresh produce from the ship.

 

Hope your return passage through Drake isn't too rough!

[Johnny B]

February 2nd-day 28

At Sea off Cape Horn.

 

Gale force winds from 45-50 mph and seas from 20-30 feet are our current sea conditions. White barf bags are placed strategically throughout the ship, and seasick medication is available at the front desk. The Captain announced late yesterday that we would be having some very rough weather as we sailed from Antarctica towards Cape Horn, and he was spot on. The rough seas are supposed to abate in about three hours as we round the horn on our way to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern most city in the world, and a part of Tierra del Fuego. For many passengers, solid ground can’t come soon enough.

 

Now it’s a couple of hours later and the seas have calmed, since we’re in the Beagle Channel, protected by the land masses on either side. The outside decks have been “off limits” for the last 16 hours or so because of the rough seas and high winds, but now they’re available again, much to the delight of the walkers.

 

Over the years there have been many threads on CC dealing with dress code, smoking, and rude/uncivil passenger behavior, and I (John) thought I’d make a few comments about what I’ve observed in the past three weeks. (Diane wants the day off from writing.) Not wanting to start any arguments here, I’ll just comment on a few areas which have been frequently discussed on this board. Yes, jeans have been sighted in the La Fontaine dining room at dinner, but I’m not sure if any have been sighted on a formal night. A few evenings ago, a gentleman was told he could not enter for dinner wearing a tee-shirt. A young woman was wearing her bikini top and a towel wrapped around her waist while getting food in the Lido one day while a rather large man came strolling through without a shirt on, and bath robes are seen, but mainly by the pools. Again these are just a few observations.

 

While in the waters of Antarctica smoking was totally banned in all outdoor areas which meant the two indoor designated smoking areas were even more smoke filled. Many refused to set one foot inside the Crow’s Nest! There has been some general confusion and ambiguity about whether one could smoke in his/her stateroom. When one of our table mates repeatedly smelled smoke from an adjacent cabin, she was told that only on world cruises was smoking allowed in cabins, but would not be allowed on future world cruises. We shall see!

 

And, finally a few comments on rude behavior: just like everywhere, there are some people who talk during the shows, give demands instead of requests, and have apparently never learned to say please or thank you. We have even witnessed near blows (well verbally) fighting for seats for trivia and evening shows. On the other hand, the vast majority of our fellow passengers do NOT behave that way, and are truly considerate of not only fellow passengers but of the wonderful crew that pampers us so well.

 

I’ve come to the conclusion that life on this ship is almost like life in high school. There are the seniors (no pun intended) who have traveled on dozens of world cruises and have their own little cliques and will, on occasion, let a newby join in. At the other extreme are passengers who book a segment and are like the transfer or new students who are often welcomed but more likely ignored because many have their little groups already formed. And then there is every group in between the extremes. Some take part in every activity while others prefer to sit and read. Perhaps this observation seems simplistic, but after teaching high school for 30 years, I see lots of parallels.

 

Shipboard life includes the good, the bad and the ugly, just like small-town USA. Oops, sorry Canadians. People are people, wherever they are.

[Aussie Gal]

John,

 

That was so well put and is more or less true of every cruise we have been on except for the Dress Code which I think has become more lax over the past year. We will probably notice a big difference next month when we are back on board a ship once again.

 

Thanks for letting us know that a World Cruise has no different behaviour from passengers than when on a normal cruise.

 

People are people wherever they are and it does take all sorts to make up this world.

 

Jennie

[Johnny B]

In answer to the question about luggage, yes, they do transport it both ways. They collect all luggage the night before arrival in Ft. Lauderdale, and in 2010 they actually let us add a few extra bags for a fairly inexpensive price.

 

Regarding currency, we usually use our ATM to take money "out of the wall," because the rates for exchanging money are so high, at home, on the ship, and at banks around the world. We always have a few US dollars in case they take them, but try to use local currency except in places where they actually prefer US dollars. In fact, 4 years ago in Siem Reap Cambodia, we used our ATM card and out came US dollars! Strange but true.

[Johnny B]

February 3, 2012 – Day 29

Ushuaia, Argentina

 

Ushuaia is an incredibly interesting place with several claims to fame. It is the southernmost city in the world, and it is the city from which 90% of Antarctic expeditions depart. In addition, it looks a great deal like a Swiss village. It is surrounded by mountains, and most of the downtown construction is cute little wooden gabled buildings. The only problem with the Swiss comparison, of course, is that everyone is speaking Spanish.

 

Because it was too rough to circumnavigate Cape Horn, we arrived at Ushuaia and docked at about 3:00 this morning. That’s what we were told anyway; we didn’t get up to check it out. I guess it was possible to disembark anytime after about 5:00, but again, we’ll take their word for it. John and I stuck to our usual morning routine with the gym followed by breakfast followed by showers, and then headed down the gangplank to the shop-filled dock and town at about 8:45.

 

Downtown begins at the harbor and climbs up the hills. The sidewalks up the hills are really more like stairways, but we walked up them anyway. There are lots of gift shops (surprise, surprise!), but our first stop was at a glass-fronted café for cappuccinos. They cost more than Starbucks, but they came with a plate of little cookies and a small glass of sparkling water as a “chaser.” It was well worth it.

 

We wandered in and out of shops and found the largest internet café/camera shop in the city. It was $3.00 per hour, compared to $15.00 per hour on the ship, so we settled in to look up all kinds of things, including a replacement for the long-distance lens that John dropped (in his backpack) and seems to have broken. We were able to get up to date on local (San Luis Obispo) news and even check sports scores at Righetti High School where John taught for many years.

 

The most popular tee-shirts and sweatshirts had some combination of the name of the city and “Fin del Mundo,” or “End of the World,” referring to its southernmost city status. They had some really nice model sailing ships of yesteryear, but we only bought one that was attached to a magnet for our refrigerator.

 

As I sit here writing, the captain has just come on and told us that there will be a change in itinerary due to what he called a “massive” storm in the Pacific off Punta Arenas, where we are to call tomorrow. Instead of it just being a morning to early evening port, we will now stay there overnight, hoping that the 40-foot seas caused by the storm lessen and allow us to begin sailing out into the Pacific.

 

What this makes us fear is that we may have to skip Easter Island, the high point of this entire cruise for John. We certainly hope not, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

[Pete Jackson]

You'll love Punta Arenas (sandy point) since it's stuck in a time warp. Ushuaia has taken most of its Antarctic business away over the years. By all means, visit the Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn) hotel and have some of their wonderful seafood (Centollas is the southern King Crab - don't miss it!) and dobles (double) Pisco Sours.

[bcnvcanada]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post reports. We are enjoying your journey. THANKS also for sharing your thoughts about behavior onboards a world cruise. It was most enlighting. We second Pete Jackson idea or the king crab legs and piso sours.

[Aussie Gal]

If you miss Easter Island, then join the Club. We booked the Farewell to the Royal Princess itinerary for last April/May for a couple of reasons and one was to visit Easter Island. Unfortunately, we were not able to get off the ship even though the water around the ship was dead calm. According to our Captain, it was too rough where the tenders need to land. We nearly had a mutiny as we all had been to the lounge, received our stickers for our tours and were ready to disembark on to the tenders when the Captain came over the loud speaker and told us we were not going! It was the biggest disappointment of all times.

I do hope you get to the Island. I know that the Captain of last year's World Cruise made a wonderful effort to get his passengers on to the island by going to a different area. I wish our Captain had tried a little harder!

 

Jennie

[Johnny B]

February 4, 2012 – Day 30

Punta Arenas – Day 1

 

There was some question this morning about whether we would even be able to board the tender, let alone make it to shore. After about 20 minutes of rocking and bucking, and making people move from one side to the other because of water washing in, we made it to shore. There, the only challenges we met were wind and rain, but it was well worth it.

 

As we walked from the tender port to town, we found a really, really nice grocery story, so we just had to walk around in it. We really enjoy grocery stores in foreign cities, and this one was incredibly well-stocked, better than any we’ve seen in quite a while. The Chilean wines were a whole lot cheaper than they are in California, but we resisted – for today. By the time we took the return tender this afternoon, we were accompanied by a lot of people with full bags from the same store.

 

Punta Arenas is a lovely little town, organized around a leafy square where there is a market each day. After wandering around it for a while, we managed to find the same “Café Net” which provided us cappucinos and online service two years ago. We actually managed to stay online for TWO hours, which cost us the princely sum of $2.50. On board, it would have cost $30.00 – a bit of a difference. In fact, had we taken our laptop or Ipad with us, the internet would have been free (as long as we bought beverages)

 

We managed to read and answer all of our current email as well as find a hotel for our exchange “daughters” when they join us in Barcelona for a couple of days. Then we began dealing with our Thailand overland tour, which will take place beginning March 12. We had a lovely itinerary chosen with a Thai company, but they cannot provide a secure payment site to our satisfaction. Therefore, we found a couple of recommended companies in our Frommer book, and we received an excellent response from one of them, a Swiss company which operates out of Bangkok. I think we should have a great trip, to which we’re really looking forward,, never having been to Thailand before.

 

After finally getting our fill of the internet, we found that it was almost 2:00, so lunch was in order. We wandered up and down streets looking into restaurants and reading menus until we decided we really just wanted something simple. We ended up at a Greek-Italian restaurant having pizza and shawrma, drinking Chilean beer while listening to songs like “The Shuffle” and “We Are Family.” over the PA system. It was a very satisfactory lunch.

 

It was time to head back to the ship, since we knew we’d have another day in port tomorrow. The wind was strong enough during our walk back to the tender port that sometimes we couldn’t even go forward, but we eventually got there. The ride back to the ship was much smoother than the one coming over this morning, and it was 4:00 and teatime when we boarded.

 

A little later, I was walking near the front desk, when a man in uniform bending over his I-Pad looked up, said “Hello” and I realized it was the captain. He explained that the senior officers’ quarters on Deck 7 weren’t getting any internet reception, so he came down to Deck 4. We talked a little about the weather conditions, and he said that there would be a 9:00 AM conference call with HAL headquarters in Seattle tomorrow, during which a decision will be made as to our itinerary. When I asked him if people were asking frequent questions about Easter Island, he said that not only was “everybody” asking, but that he had received six letters from passengers expressing their strong opinions about the subject. Poor guy.

 

We’ve been subject to stories about what’s going to happen from almost everyone. Some say we’re going to Easter Island, some say “no way,” some say the storm is moving north, while others insist that we’ll have to stay here yet another day. Our friend Greg jokingly says that we’ll just sail around the Hawaiian Islands until April 28 and call it good. Like John said, it’s just like high school and the rumors abound.

 

This evening should be pretty low key. I think all of our tablemates will be at dinner, even though some of our other friends are going into town for dinner, and even to spend the night. We’ll be happy with a quiet dinner and an early night.

[Aussie Gal]

Diane and John,

 

Did enjoy reading about your day in Punta Arenas. I can remember the lovely Park with lots of stalls for selling crafts and souvenirs.

 

Are you doing a trip to see the penguins tomorrow? We went down to see the Magellanic penguins at the Otway Peninsula when we were there back in 2006. It was very windy down there and I cannot imagine how bad it would be with all the wind you are having as we had left a very calm day in Punta Arenas.

 

Jennie

[Waihekean]

Hello Diana & John, still getting "educated" :D about your trip. Learning a lot and appreciating you taking time to post this wonderful review.

 

Hope you make it to Easter Island, fingers crossed........

[NMLady]

In answer to the question about luggage, yes, they do transport it both ways. They collect all luggage the night before arrival in Ft. Lauderdale, and in 2010 they actually let us add a few extra bags for a fairly inexpensive price.

 

Regarding currency, we usually use our ATM to take money "out of the wall," because the rates for exchanging money are so high, at home, on the ship, and at banks around the world. We always have a few US dollars in case they take them, but try to use local currency except in places where they actually prefer US dollars. In fact, 4 years ago in Siem Reap Cambodia, we used our ATM card and out came US dollars! Strange but true.

 

Thank you for the reply to my luggage question. That is an excellent perk.

We've used Luggage Direct for 'normal' cruise and really liked not having to schlep luggage on the way home but with its 2 bag limit that wouldn't work for round the world luggage so I'm glad to know that besides forwarding to the ship, they also 'forward' to your home. Fantastic.

 

How do you manage finding an ATM iif you've signed up for a tour?

We've had that problem in the past so we always try to get some of the local currency from our bank before we leave home, even though the exchange rate isn't the best.

[chees]

We were on the Veendam a few years ago and went to Magdalena Island for a tour. It was extremely windy, so windy that we could not walk up to the lighthouse on the island. When we arrived back in Punta Arenas there were areas of town where we were not allowed to cross the streets, as the wind was too strong. When we got on the ship, we found that the wind was so strong, and blowing directly against the length of the ship from the dock side, that they were running the thrusters to keep us against the dock AND had chartered a tugboat (to the tune of $5K per hour) to push against the ship on the seaward side to hold her against the dock. This kept her from ripping loose from her moorings and drifting away from the dock. The tug stayed pushing on her for several hours until the wind died down enough that the ship was out of danger. Ka-ching!

 

When we were in the Chilean fjords we had hurricane force winds, but not a rough sea. We hit the rough seas when we left the shelter of the fjords on our way north in the Pacific--20'+ seas, but ironically no wind. We like it and like to feel 'shippy' but there were many unhappy people onboard.

 

All this after a very smooth trip south and back north through the Drake Passage. We had no rough seas in Antarctica, but experienced fog, sun, and a day of snow--very fun since much of the crew had never seen snow and were making snowballs and snow angels on the top deck. It was fun to share their enthusiasm (and I only fell once on deck). :)

 

Tina

[Johnny B]

February 5 – Day 31

Punta Arenas – Day 2

 

Well, we’ve made up our minds about one thing: we’ve seen enough of Patagonia for awhile. Yes, it is beautiful, and yes it has wo2/nderful penguins and some glaciers and spectacular snow-clad mountains, but man, it is cold! Yesterday we nearly got blown back to the tender to return to the ship, and today we nearly froze our tushes off and got drenched by rain and hail during our further exploration of the city.

 

It was Sunday, so the internet café was closed, and it seemed that the only things open were the Cathedral (funny, that – on a Sunday, too), and the Croatian Club. Who knew? We walked and walked and tried to ignore the rain and cold, and then we finally found La Luna, a warm little restaurant for lunch where we had scallops (for John) and shellfish soup for me, after a starter of Pisco Sours.

 

After an hour and a half of watching the sun from inside the restaurant, as soon as we exited, it began to rain – heavily. We headed to the supermarket near the tender port and stocked up on necessities: white wine, chocolate, cookies, and lime-flavored tortilla chips. The lines there were horrendous, caused by a combination of too many cruise passengers, people trying to pay partially in pesos and partially in dollars, and people using their credit cards to pay for as few as two items. We managed to spend all of our remaining pesos there before we headed back to the ship.

 

When we returned, we found out that there had been the BEST news: we’re going to go to Easter Island (weather permitting). Our itinerary has been changed to skip the “drive-by” of Pitcairn Island, arrive at Tahiti one day late, and then skip our port in New Caledonia, arriving in Sydney right on time. Speaking of skipping, John nearly skipped up to the Lido for sailaway, he was so pleased to know that Easter Island had not been cancelled.

 

Since the Costa disaster, there has been a great deal of discussion about the quality of our officers and particularly our captain. Everything we’ve heard is incredibly supportive; we all know that OUR captain would stay on the ship!

 

Tonight is the Super Bowl, with pregame festivities beginning at 8:30, and the kickoff at 9:17 (or whatever funny little time they choose), and it has become tonight’s entertainment in the Queen’s Lounge. Because it’s our friend Barbie’s birthday, we’re joining her at her table, but I think as soon as we’ve sung “Happy Birthday,” we’ll all be off to root for our team. Since our beloved 49ers were robbed by the Giants, we’ll be rooting for New England, although we’re not nearly as enthusiastic as we would have been if San Francisco had been playing. The dining room menu even includes a chili dog as a main course tonight.

 

We’re now headed out into the Pacific, and captain Mercer has told us that, beginning about 4:00 AM, we’re going to be rocking and rolling. It was suggested that anything breakable be put away before we go to bed so that it doesn’t end up halfway across the room in several pieces. The 40 mph winds and high seas should continue for about 24 hours after they begin, but then we should settle down into smooth South Pacific waters. Can’t wait for warm weather!

[itravelalot]

Hi, I am so glad I stumbled upon your writing again. I remember reading all about your first WC and feeling like I was there with you...

 

Thank you for sharing with us. I have stayed up way too late reading up to the last post. I hope you don't get bounced around too much tonight and enjoy Easter Island....

[Johnny B]

February 6 – Day 32

At Sea en route to Easter Island

 

If we thought things were rocking and rolling before, we really found out what that meant about 4:00 this morning when drawers began opening, things began sliding, and the room rose and dipped in a wild dance. When I got up this morning I found a walkie-talkie in my tennis shoe, which answered the question of what I heard sliding across the desk.

 

In fact, the weather was so choppy yesterday that the tenders bounced around in the water between the ship and the port. When one of the later tenders came up to the ship, people stood up, ready to disembark, but one older lady decided to stay seated for safety until everyone else was off, so she could then get a little help. Just then, the tender banged against the ship and she was knocked sideways off her seat, flying through the air. She landed on her side, breaking her hip and her leg. She was quickly returned to dry land and a hospital in Punta Arenas where she is now being treated. As soon as she is stabilized, her HAL insurance will provide her with a nurse and transportation back to her home. We certainly wish her well.

 

The evening began with a birthday dinner for our good friend Barbie at her table. There were 12 of us at the table; all the better for teasing, joking and laughing. As soon as birthday cake was consumed, we headed for the Queen’s Lounge, where virtually every seat was taken watching the Super Bowl. They were serving every unhealthy football food available, including chili dogs, pizza, roast beef sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, popcorn, chips, guacamole – and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some of them.

 

Every time there would have been a great commercial, we only saw the ESPN commercials for their sports coverage, so Brett, our assistant cruise director, had sports trivia and other contests during the intervals. It was great fun and one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time – except that New England didn’t win. The game and accompanying festivities drew to a close about midnight, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

 

Today it’s been quiet around the ship with the cute little white bags hung outside each elevator area. There seems to be a smaller number of people around, probably due to the rough weather. According to the captain, the high seas should last until the early hours of tomorrow morning and then settle down. What I’m really excited about is the idea that we’re nearing warmer weather, when instead of jeans and long-sleeved sweaters, I’ll be able to wear shorts and sleeveless tops.

 

The interesting thing about our change in itinerary is that we now will have only three ports in three weeks: Easter Island, Tahiti, and Pago Pago, before arriving in Sydney on February 26. Actually it’s one day short of three weeks, since we lose a whole day when we cross the International Date Line.

 

We just had notice that, because of the roughness of the ocean, the trio that was going to perform cannot (it’s tough to be on stage when you’re not sure where the stage is going to be at any given moment) and will be replaced by the movie Tower Heist. I guess we’ll have to wait until after dinner to decide what we want to do.

[ger_77]

What an unfortunate way for the lady to end her cruise - hopefully she'll be comfortable and will maybe get another chance to do the remainder of the cruise another time.

 

It sounds like you've had some really wild seas - I think I'd be sticking pretty close to the cabin, or using meclizine, the bracelets, and ginger all together!

 

Smooth Sailing (I hope!) ! :) :) :)

Gerry