Crossing the Pacific...Sea Day 2 of 5

 Thursday, February 1, 2024

The room darkening drapes in our cabin do a good job...too good. We woke up about 7:45 which was later than I had wished. Bob left right away to see if anyone was playing pickleball but it was roped off due to wind and rough seas. That meant he was back in time to join me for breakfast. I assumed the lido buffet would be packed by the time we got there but that wasn't the case. I guess everyone else was sleeping later too.

During the night I was awake several times and could tell the ship was rocking quite a bit. This continued all day long. Between the swells and my bum knee it wasn't fun trying to get around on the ship.

After pickleball was a "no go", Bob went to see about playing ping pong while I headed to the Coffee Chat with Kristen, the cruise director. The session was held in the Rolling Stone Rock Room and coffee and pastries were available. Kristen's guest was Pastry Chef Vinoji who gave out fact, figures and stories about what is involved in keeping the ship supplied with desserts and bread. What I could understand was interesting but the chef's heavy Indian accent made much of what he said hard to follow. Bob showed up part way through the chat...no one was around to play ping pong.

Pastry Chef Vinoji

While I was waiting for the coffee chat to begin, I signed up for internet for the rest of the cruise. Each day the price drops a little but with $550 of onboard credit that is "use it or lose it" I figured there was no point in waiting. As soon as I hit the "buy" button my texts and emails downloaded immediately! I was even able to send a Marco Polo (video chat) to our kids and show them the big waves outside the window. Being so close to the water level on Deck 2 where we were made the waves look all the more impressive!

This was a screen shot from the previous day. I think I paid $299.99 for the Surf Plan
and even though it said it doesn't include video calling, I was able to use FaceTime with no problems.

A presentation on "how to tie a sarong" was my next stop and Bob decided to go back and hopefully find some Ping-Pong partners. The Hawaiian Ambassadors on the cruise are two sisters who do a nice job. They showed several different ways to wear a sarong...both for males and females.

I had planned to move on to a presentation on "the art of flower arranging" but by that point I decided getting off my feet and icing my knee was a a better choice. Besides, I had attended the same presentation on our last cruise and I doubt there would have been much different.

I went back to the cabin and filled a ziplock bag with ice and propped up my leg and stayed that way until Bob returned for lunch.

Normally towel animals show up at night but since we were only having our cabin serviced once a day this guy was waiting on the bed when I returned to our room in the morning.

We had received an invitation to the Mariner's lunch in the main dining room at 11:30 which we attended. The captain welcomed everyone and announced that out of 2600 passengers, 2000 were three star and above. Because of the large number, they had scheduled the special lunch on three different days to accommodate everyone. It was a nice lunch. Bob and I both ordered the rockfish.

Poached Lobster

Seared Rockfish

Chocolate Trio

And because Bob just couldn't stand to miss out on his Asian food for one day,
 we went right from the Main Dining Room to the buffet!

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the cabin while Bob headed back to pickleball. My time was spent on the balcony listening to my audiobook. With the sun shining it was comfortable but a little on the cooler side. I appreciated the lap blanket supplied with our cabin. I showered and was dressed for dinner (first dressy night!) by the time Bob got back a little after 4 pm. 

It was so nice to just show up at the dining room and know our table was there waiting on us. The adjacent table for two was vacant again.

Filet & Shrimp

Blueberry Cheesecake

The rest of the evening consisted of listening to Clara and James in Billboard Onboard at 6:45, a Beatles tribute with Jesse Kazemek at 8:00 on the main stage and back to Billboard Onboard for the last set at 9:15. Most people rave about the bands in the other venues, but to us they are just too loud.

Weird lighting in Billboard Onboard.

Jesse Kazemek

And speaking of TOO LOUD. The BB Kings band was once again rocking our cabin until 11 pm. At least the clocks got turned back an hour tonight so technically it was only 10 pm. (Just trying to think positive...)