Crossing the Pacific...Day 5 of 5

 Sunday, February 4, 2024

Due to turning the clocks back an hour the night before I was awake by 5:45 am. I made myself stay in bed until I knew Bob was starting to stir. 

Bob was nice enough to go down to the Dutch Cafe and bring me back an Americano coffee and then he took off for the sports court to play pickleball. I got myself ready for the day and went to breakfast at the buffet. I switched it up and ordered eggs over easy but was disappointed when the whites were undercooked and less than appetizing. I think my usual poached eggs are a better option. The poached eggs start with trays of ramekins with partially cooked eggs that are then plunged into the pot of simmering water to finish cooking. Much faster than starting with raw eggs. I also had a small bowl of Greek yogurt with some berries and granola.

After breakfast I did a little hand laundry in the bathroom. The job was challenging because the sink stopper was not functioning correctly and the water was draining out almost as fast as I was trying to fill it. I got the job done though. I used my beach towel clips to secure the clothing to one of the balcony chairs to dry. At some point I planned to send out a bag of laundry with larger items to be washed.

Bob caught this rainbow while playing pickleball.

Bob returned to the cabin with a bowl of oatmeal and two caramel rolls and he sat with me on the balcony while he ate. When he finished, we went together to the cooking demonstration in the main theater. The head chef prepared swordfish with mango-avocado salsa. I wondered how well we would be able to see the process in such a large venue, but TV cameras caught the closeup shots and projected the view onto the large video screens behind the stage. The same swordfish dish that the chef prepared was also on the dinner menu.

Close up views on the large video screens.

Bob and I returned to our room and sat on the balcony until the sun became too intense. Normally I would be gloating knowing that our family back in Minnesota was miserable in the cold and snow...but that wasn't the case. Our son sent a video of him and his boys tapping the maple trees in their yard to collect sap to make maple syrup. It was hard to imagine the sap was running in early February! Within six hours they had collected five gallons of sap from just a few trees.

It was "Dutch Day" at the lido buffet and I filled a small plate. I wasn't even sure what I ate, the only thing I recognized was the fish. Bob, of course, went to the Asian station. Now that the temperatures are getting warmer we ate outdoors by the aft pool. Bob knew I still had my piece of key lime pie from the last night's dinner at the Pinnacle Grill so he grabbed some key lime pie from the dessert station at the buffet to take back to the room so he could have his own late snack. My Pinnacle Grill slice of pie was definitely the better looking!

Back at our room Bob started watching the older movie "Hoosiers" which he has seen more times than he can count. I usually complain when he wants to re-watch movies, but this is one I do enjoy. The setting could easily be mistaken for the small town in Illinois where I grew up, especially since everyone in my hometown lives and breathes high school basketball. My little town has even won the state championship multiple times, beating out the big city Chicago schools back in the 1940's. (Which is exactly the story line in "Hoosiers"!)

But...getting comfortable in bed to watch a movie...right after lunch...well I was soon asleep. I vaguely remember Bob leaving the room, but I was in no hurry to get up. That meant that the "Tech for Travelers" presentation on useful travel apps that I had planned to attend went on without me.

I FaceTimed with my son in Minnesota just to catch up on what they were doing. This is the first time I have purchased an internet package and have been impressed at how well it works. Thank you Star Link! Quite a few years ago we had Wi-Fi included on a Norwegian cruise and I remember how frustrating it was to use.

The first evening set at Billboard Onboard was at 4:30 so we were able to catch most of it before going to dinner. We are both loving our table for two right by the window. Five nights into the cruise and the table for two adjacent to ours has remained unused.

I think we had one of the best table locations in the dining room!

Our humorous assistant waiter, Husni.

Both of us ordered a salad and the carrot soup (which was excellent!) as our appetizers. For the main course, Bob ordered the swordfish and it looked just like the one the chef prepared at the cooking demonstration we attended. I had the parmesan crusted veal which was very good. Knowing that I would be having key lime pie later, I ordered a cheese platter for dessert. It was good, but I left feeling like I still wanted something sweet. Bob ordered ice cream but it was such a small bowl that he insisted we go straight from the main dining room to the buffet so he could get more ice cream! I resisted the temptation to get anything else to eat. 

Swordfish

Veal

Cheese platter

Jesse and Colleen Kazemek (that performed the Beatles tribute a few days ago) were scheduled again for the main stage. This time they were performing songs from the 1950's and 60's. Since we weren't wowed by the first show I thought it might be fun to instead watch the movie being shown by the pool...Mama Mia.

It was too early to go straight from dinner to the movie so we went back to the room and I puttered around getting things ready for our first port stop tomorrow...the island of Kauai. Since I wasn't exactly sure just what we would do or where we would go, it was hard to think about what we might need.

As the time for the movie approached, I realized I would rather just stay in the room. By then Bob had already started another movie and he was fine with the plan to not go out. After nearly a week at sea with 2600 people, it was nice to just stay in. 

This is what would have been available from the NY Pizza & Deli during the movie!