Saturday  4/11/09

We took this day as a rest and relax day. We had our lunch and then headed out to take in some of the boat activities. We went to Win, Cruise or Draw. Kim was a member of one team and she had to draw Pearl Harbor, she only had to draw a portion of the Arizona Memorial and it was guessed correctly. Her team, of course, won. The next stop was to take in Karaoke Power Hour. It’s always fun to listen to folks who really can sing and those who can’t. It was a quick dash to Lazy Day Trivia, we made it and managed to get about 11 out of 20 right, not bad! Of course, it was high tea time, and we must have our tea!! Back to the cabin, everyone got changed for dinner – a challenge all the time. When the clock struck midnight, we headed back to the room. The beds were turned down, and the bunk bed was down from the ceiling, so we were all set. A quick goodnight ended up in giggles. The ship is really tossing and rolling around a lot. We have seen so many folks that have been injured on the ship, a broken foot by a lady who mis-stepped, a crush injury to one of the officer’s foot by a lifeboat that was being lowered for Coast Guard inspection, a woman who has cracked ribs and bruises after tripping over the bedding her husband had kicked to the floor and the usual bruises from the railings as the ship moves suddenly in one direction. Lucky for us the only issue we have is that Kathy is still cold, we can not get her warm. We should have brought an electric blanket for her!!

Sunday  4/12/09

Happy Easter to everyone! We had a great day at sea, checking out the various boutiques, seeing the various displays that the chefs had put together. There must be about 30 giant eggs that are made of cake, that have been decorated. Some look like chickens, others look like birdhouses, some are rabbits, and others are covered in flowers. They are all very intricate and pretty. The pastry chefs had a display of various small desserts (mostly chocolate) that could be classified as artwork. We had our lunch and then split up. Kathy maintained a perimeter security at the cabin (in other words, she read and napped), Kim, Marlene and Bonnie went to the trivia gathering (sample question – which city is positioned the most north, Moscow or Copenhagen). We managed to get 10 out of 20 questions right, we are just a bit smarter. Did you pick Moscow? Then you’re right! We had to stop in for high tea, and then headed to Dicey Wooden Horse Racing in the Vista Lounge at the back of the ship. Kim was the only one who won, but we had a good time yelling for our horse to win!  We stopped in to watch the ballroom rehearsal, these are the folks who have been at the dance lessons offered, and the best six couples were doing a “play off” for the best of the best later on in the evening. The rehearsal was fun to watch. It was tine to get to the cabin to change for dinner. There were many folks dressed up, including one sighting of a kilt!! After a photo or two to prove that we can clean up pretty nice, we went to dinner. It’s always amazing the amount of food they can produce and deliver with limited resources. After our entertaining dinner (we have a waitress who purrs when she comes to the side of the table, we think it’s because the older folks are a bit jumpy and this is like a warning that she has arrived), we made our last stop at the casino as they were closing it down to move it while in dry dock (when we return, the ship is scheduled for maintenance for 3 weeks prior to starting the summer cruises to Alaska) and they are trying to get ahead of schedule. The rumor is that it will be moved to the 15^th floor at the back of the ship. We started towards the bow of the ship to watch the magic show. It’s entertaining to walk down the hall while the ship is bouncing around; you meet the nicest people when you literally run into them.  With the amount of wave action, this must have been a real challenge for both the magician and the assistant. The show was pretty good, and it was played to a full house. Lots of activities were going on this night; Kim took in the Ballroom Finals, as well as the Princess Pop Star (karaoke finals). The end of the day has gone by fast, and so has the cruise. We have two more full days and then we’ll be back in San Pedro disembarking. We have created some new and wonderful memories that will make us smile when we think back, and we have had some great giggle events too! For all of you who are holding down the fort for us, we appreciate you all, in fact we toast each and every one of you every night – our bar bill is outrageous!! Hugs to all!

Monday  4/13/09 7pm (1 hour earlier than PDT)

Speed: 20.6 kts, Temp: 57 degrees, Humidity 86.1%

30 degrees 18’ N 122 degrees 33’ W

Sailed 4592.1 nautical miles from LA

Sailed 1962.1 miles from Lahaina, Maui

290.7 nautical miles to Ensenade, Mexico

Seas: 4.0 – 7.5ft moderate, wind: Force 9 Strong Gale

Sea temp 73.4 degrees

Today we were greeted by snores. Everyone was snoring so much, that Kathy was woken up; she got up and went to an early breakfast. She was joined by a 92 year old woman who has been married 70 years. Kathy came back to the cabin and was our alarm clock. We managed to get to lunch without tipping over; today this seems to be a real challenge. We had a nice afternoon of playing cards, seems that lady luck is standing behind Kim and Kathy. Kim left us to attend the Navigation at Sea lecture and she came back even smarter than when she had left. She brought the answer to one of the trivia questions with her. What is the two word phrase for the lowest temperature? The answer is absolute zero. We made it to a new type of trivia, musical movie theme trivia. Kathy rocked on this one, and we did pretty well, the rest of us didn’t contribute much, but we had fun. We made it to the regular trivia, but had to wait while the junior talent contest wrapped up. The questions they come up with are amazing, what man made invention was the first to break the sound barrier? We got some right, more wrong than right, but again, it’s a good time. Did you guess the whip? Yep, the whip was the first invention to break the sound barrier, we guessed a jet engine. We grabbed a table along the walk way after trivia and played a couple rounds of hearts and then introduced spades to Kathy. The ship is really rocking and the wind has picked up. Watching folks try and walk is becoming a show in itself.  Note: We are at force 9 winds, one notch down from hurricane force. Kathy just rolled her eyes. We are really rocking and when we open the door to outside and the “front” door of the cabin, anything that isn’t nailed down starts to blow! You can hear the wind as it makes it way through the ship. We should have a real challenge at dinner; try not to have anything spill. Do they make seatbelts for cruise ships’ beds??