Sea Day #4

Sunday, March 20

During the night I woke up and it felt like the seas were getting rougher. This made sense because in our discussion with the captain last night he had mentioned we would be going through another cold front that would stir up the water. I probably would have been OK, but I got up and took a meclazine pill just to be safe. I had left the balcony door closed during the night to make the cabin quieter, but I missed having the fresh air.

Around 5:30 am I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. (The clocks had gotten turned back an hour one last time before we went to bed.) I went to sit on the balcony and looked for the beach towels to cover the damp, salty chair. I finally discovered that Bob had grabbed them during the night and was using them as extra blankets on his side of the bed! Instead, I dismantled the towel animal from the previous night and used that instead.

Bob got up pretty early and we went to walk on Deck 6. Part of the forward track was still roped off so we walked as far as we could and turned around. We did several back and forth laps and then I went up to the buffet to get some coffee and a muffin while Bob continued to walk. I took my coffee to the very back of the ship and sat outdoors to eat. The air was definitely starting to get a little bit warmer as we made our way south.

I went back to the cabin to shower. Sitting on the desk was a plate of chocolate dipped pineapple and a note saying "compliments of the hotel director!" A few days later a cheese tray with dried fruit and crackers was delivered and on the last day of the cruise a plate of cookies! Kent and Laurel never received anything so I assumed my "importance" was from attending the Cruise Critic meeting on the first day.

The four of us went to the buffet to have our "real" breakfast and then Bob, Kent and Laurel went to their cardio dance class. I headed to the Mardis Gras Lounge for the morning craft class...making a travel journal. When I arrived, there was a note on the door saying the class had been moved to the Napa Wine Bar.

There were very few seats...and no tables...at the wine bar for what I knew was going to be a large crowd. I just picked up the project and left. I had my camera with me, so I roamed around through the ship taking a few photos.

Shops.

Atrium

Guest Services

John Adams Coffee Bar (next to atrium)

Seating area near Skyline Restaurant

Shuffles Card Room

Mardis Gras Lounge

Today was the day that our new friends, Al & Lucy, had planned a Palm Sunday Service. There was a larger service held in the theater at noon, but we went ahead with our plans and about twenty-five of us met in the new chapel at 2:30. The service was a nice rememberance of the events leading up to the crucifiction and Christ's ressurection.

Bingo was held at various times during our days at sea but it always seemed to conflict with other activities we wanted to attend. After our chapel service was over, we noticed that bingo was just starting and we went. Unlike other cruises, no gambling is allowed on the Pride of America so bingo was free. (There is no casino on the ship either!) Several games were played and the "grand prize" was tickets to the luau in Kauai. Sorry to say we had no winners in our little group.

I have no notes to remind me of what we did for dinner so most likely we ate at the buffet. It was about this point in the cruise that we discovered the "crepe station" next to the desserts in the evening. The gal making the crepes...her nickname was Cookie...had perfected the art of crepe making. Many toppings were available. One popular choice was bananas soaked in coconut milk combined with Nutella...and topped with a huge dollop of whipped cream. My favorite was strawberries with slivered almonds. Since getting home, Bob made me a "crepe making tool" and I have been practicing. I have a long way to go to achieve Cookie's expertise...but I will have fun trying!

At 8:00 we attended "Close Up Magic with Matt Marcy" in the Mardis Gras lounge. A video camera was recording his tricks close-up and projected onto a big screen. Even seeing the tricks at close range, I was still unable to figure out how they were accomplished!

The main show in the theater was a musical production called "Rock & Roll Never Forgets." Once again we were amazed with the talent of the performers. Compared to our last cruise on Carnival, the shows on the Pride of America were far superior!!

Being the party animals that we are (ha!) we went back to the Mardis Gras lounge for a little line dancing at the Boot Scootin' Hootennany before calling it a night. No turning back the clocks tonight to give us an extra hour of sleep unfortunately!

The laid back sea days are over and the busy port days start tomorrow. I must say that having the time to enjoy the ship and take part in so many activities was a fun way to start our cruise.

Sea Day #3

Saturday, March 19

Two days at sea completed...two more to go. Must mean we are in the middle of the Pacific...about half way to Hawaii!

Pitching, heaving, rolling, swaying...all terms I found online to describe ship movements. I think we experienced all of these during the night! :) Again, the faint light peaking through the edge of the curtain must have woke me and as I slowly became conscious I was amazed at how loud the sound of the waves were in the room. (I had left the balcony door open a crack during the night to get fresh air.)

To get to the balcony, I had to carefully squeeze past the end of the bed. The bed was just inches from the wall and with Bob's feet hanging over the end, I had to be careful not to bump into him and wake him. When I pulled back the curtain to look outside I realized that the balcony door had slid open ALL of the way during the night...no wonder the sound of the waves was so loud!

I sat outside listening to the sounds of the ocean and watched the sun until it was up a distance into the sky...and then...I went back to bed!

I got up a second time around 7:15 and by the time I had showered and dressed, Bob was coming to life. Breakfast was in the Aloha Cafe.

The morning activities didn't have anything that interested us so Bob and I walked around the promenade deck. Three laps = one mile, but due to construction the forward part of the track was blocked off. We would walk as far as we could one direction and then turn around and walk until we hit the closure in the other direction. I don't think I quite got in a mile before I went back to the cabin and left Bob walking by himself.

I spent some time updating my journal in the room. When Bob came back from his walk he stayed just long enough to meet up with Kent so the two of them could go to the gym. I enjoyed having a quieter morning with no place I needed to be. It gave me a chance to do my nails and also spend some time visiting with Laurel in her cabin.

At noon, all four of us went to the theater for the Lauhala Ribbon Weave Lei Class. We were given two very long pieces of ribbon and Kaulana, the Hawaiian Ambassador, taught us how to weave the ribbon into a lei. He jokingly said it would be the "hardest easy thing we ever had to do"...and that pretty well summed up the process. It took some concentration and effort to get started, but then it wasn't so bad. Bob's face shows the frustration he was feeling at the beginning...

Lunch followed the lei class and then Bob, Kent and I attended "Magic 101" with Matt Marcy, the magician from the previous night. (Laurel went back to the cabin to rest. Too much late night dancing!) Matt Marcy answered audience questions about his career and magic in general and then taught us all two different magic tricks. (Spoiler alert...one card trick involved gluing two cards together back to back!) The guys went straight from there to the daily origami class to make a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (a fish.) After that Bob and I took our turn for a nap while Kent and Laurel attended the swing dance class.

Besides using the Freestyle Daily to keep track of activities, I had downloaded the Norwegian iConcierge app for my iPad. The app allowed me to get on the ship wi-fi, and access NCL information such as the daily schedule, restaurant information, shore excursions, and my personal account information. For a one time fee of $7.95 the messenger feature of the app made it possible to text others on the ship who also had the app. I did not want to carry my phone or iPad with me around the ship so did not use the messenger. The interactive TV in the cabin also allowed access to pretty much the same information.

Sea Day #2

Friday, March 18

I woke up and realized there was a little bit of light coming in around the curtain. Although the sun was not up yet, by gaining an extra hour last night, my body thought it was time to get out of bed. My brain thought otherwise but I stumbled over and peaked outside. The chairs outside were damp and covered with salt so I grabbed one of the beach towels to sit on and quietly went outside.

I loved sitting out there watching the sun come up and hearing the waves...so peaceful. The sky was overcast, but there were enough breaks in the clouds to allow some of the morning rays to peek through.

After showering and getting dressed, Bob and I put a sticky note on Kent & Laurel's door saying we were going to breakfast at the buffet. We never did make it to the main dining room for breakfast during the cruise...we just didn't want to sacrifice the amount of time that it would have taken. The breakfast offerings at the Aloha Cafe were almost identical from day to day, but the offerings were so numerous that it didn't matter. Pretty much any type of breakfast food you could think of was there. Bob also discovered one section with Asian-type foods, including "congee"...a sort of rice porridge.

There were no trays in the buffet so getting a plate of food and a separate bowl for fruit meant making a second trip back to get something to drink. Silverware was wrapped in cloth napkins and available on the tables. Being a coffee drinker, I thought the coffee from the dispensers was perfectly OK. There were also machines that brewed espresso.

Just as we sat down, Kent and Laurel showed up. We tended to always sit in the same general area at the buffet so it made it easier to find each other.

As they did yesterday, the other three went to the cardio dance class at the pool.

It was too early to go to the morning's craft class so I wandered around the ship checking out what areas were still under construction. The area around the adult-only Oasis pool on Deck 12 had opened up but only one stairway leading up there was available...the other was still roped off. With the chilly temps...and rough seas...we never once got into a pool or hot tub during our four sea days. Once we reached Hawaii there was just no time! That morning in particular, the pool looked like a wave pool at a Disney water park!

At 10:00 I went to the Mardis Gras Lounge for the craft activity...making a tropical photo frame. There was already a large group there and when I sat down in one of the few available chairs I realized I was sitting by the same lady I had sat with the previous day when we had made the lanyards! I only stayed long enough to pick up the craft kit and make sure I knew how to assemble it.

I didn't stick around to finish the frame because I wanted to go down one level to the Hollywood Theater for the senior officer Q & A session. There was a question concerning fresh water production on the ship, but the questions that seemed to be on most every one's mind were...

1.  Why is the ship rolling so much more than other ships? Stabilizers are being used but each ship just handles differently...AND we are going through some very rough seas.

2. Will we make it to Hawaii on time? Yes.

Once again I left early...I was trying to make it to too many activities!! I got to the top of the stairs in the theater and had two surprises...1. Bob was standing there waiting for me AND 2. I tripped just as the ship lurched. I sprawled out flat. (Only injuries were to my pride.)

Bob went with me to meet up with a Cruise Critic group in the atrium who were doing a cabin crawl. Several people (with different cabin categories) had offered to do "open house" so we could check out their cabins.

We started with two adjoining obstructed ocean view cabins which were of particular interest to me. These were the exact cabins that we had booked when we initially planned to sail on the POA last November. The windows were blocked by the smaller rescue boat hanging from the side of the ship. (Other obstructed view cabins would have been behind the larger lifeboats.) Even with the obstruction there was a bit of a view so these might be a cheaper alternative to the unobstructed cabins.

Cabin #7556

A non-obstructed ocean view cabin with the floor to ceiling window.

We also got a chance to visit two Owner's Suites...

Fancy espresso/coffee maker.

...and also the even larger Deluxe Owners Suite. They were very nice and all newly refurbished, but I would rather cruise more often in a small cabin than pay what these categories cost. (I felt like a stalker taking these photos!)

A little blurry. The bathroom in the Deluxe Owner's Suite had a jetted tub and two sinks and was about the size of our entire cabin!

Their own personal hot tub!

 

Office area.

The latter cabins were on an upper deck (Deck 12 I think) and in the forward part of the ship where the ship's movement was much more noticeable. Normally Bob doesn't have problems with motion sickness, but he had been dealing with vertigo recently and he started to feel nauseous. He left to go back to our cabin while I stayed with the group.

When the cabin tour was over, Bob and I went to lunch alone...Kent & Laurel were at the "Fun with Poi Balls" activity. Two very large charcoal grills had been set up by the pool and they were cooking ribs, chicken, burgers and hot dogs. There was also a small table set up with a few salads. We went through the line for the BBQ, but then carried our food inside to eat where it was warmer.

Following a quick nap, we joined up with Kent & Laurel and the four of us attended the kukui nut lei class in the theater. HUNDREDS were in attendance and there was some confusion trying to get the supplies handed out. Making the leis was not difficult and I thought they turned out nice...I even wore mine a couple of times during the cruise.The Hawaiian Ambassador, Kaulana, taught the class and also spoke about the history of the kukui nut and told of its medicinal uses.

Laurel and I took some time to browse the gift shops afterward, looking for the kukui nut oil that had been mentioned in the lei class. (Laurel eventually purchased some at a cheaper price at an ABC Store in Waikiki.) The guys went to the second origami class...this time they made frogs.

Some of the evening activities listed in the Daily Freestyle sounded like fun so we opted to have an earlier dinner at the Cadillac Diner...one of the complimentary restaurants...so we could make it to the early show in the Hollywood Theater. (The main entertainment was performed twice each night in the Hollywood Theater...at 7 pm and 9 pm.) We delayed dessert until later in the evening. (The diner is open 24/7.)

The entertainment for the night was the "Magic & Comedy of Matt Marcy." Magicians are not my favorite type of entertainment, but I had to admit the guy was pretty good. There was enough time after the magic show that we could go back to the Cadillac Diner to have dessert...and still get to the Mardis Gras lounge for the rest of our evening's activities. Bob and Laurel were excited to order warm apple pie...but it didn't live up to their expectations. Kent ordered brownie cheesecake that was OK...and I ordered pound cake with strawberries which I thought was great and the best choice on the menu!

At 9:00 the "Battle of the Sexes" competition was held. Mostly silliness, but still fun. Bob and Kent both volunteered to be on the guys' team. In the end the females won with a slightly unfair advantage. Both teams had to get as many people as possible from the audience and make a human chain connected by articles of clothing. Many of the women were wearing scarves which helped our line stretch over half way through the ship!

The "Shoe Game". 

Up next was the Celebrity Dance-Off. Bob, Kent & Laurel all signed up (names were picked out of a hat) and all three were chosen! (Being in the limelight is NOT my cup of tea!) Bob's dancing ability is poor...and Kent's is even worse but the competition was based mostly on "entertainment quality"...and Bob can hold his own in that category! Out of six couples, Laurel made it the furthest...to the final two...but then was eliminated. The competition was taped and shown repeatedly on TV for the rest of the cruise and they all became celebrities on the ship!

Laurel and James...aka PeeWee Herman!

Bob's partner, Michelle, was wearing a shark costume!

It was after midnight by the time we were back in the cabin but the clocks got turned back once again before we went to bed. Twenty-five hour days aren't so bad!

Sea Day #1

Thursday, March 17

I had been looking forward to the multiple days at sea as the Pride of America crossed the Pacific. I imagined sleeping late, coffee on the balcony and lazy days reading by the pool. The others were more concerned that there would be nothing to do and they would become bored. Well...we were all wrong.

The Freestyle Daily that had been delivered to our cabin the previous night had scores of activities listed. It appeared that our major problem was going to be trying to find time to participate in all that we wanted to do! I hadn't been sure what to expect since normally the Pride of America cruises have NO sea days, but the crew did a great job of filling the days.

The four of us went to breakfast in the buffet and then Kent, Laurel and Bob attended the cardio dance class by the pool with assistant cruise director, Jasper. My choice was the arts & crafts class in the Mardis Gras lounge to make a beaded lanyard. The class was scheduled to start at 10 am. I arrived early and it was a good thing I did. I was able to find a seat up front with a table (which made working with the beads much easier.)

Since the craft classes are usually held on a day when the ship is in port and most passengers are gone, I think they were caught off guard by the huge crowd that showed up. The staff kept busy running for more and more supplies, but eventually everyone had what they needed to complete the project. I was quite proud of the lanyard that I made and it was something I used through out the cruise to keep track of my cabin card.

From the craft class I went directly to Jefferson's Bistro where our Cruise Critic meet & greet was held. The turnout was good and Malu, the cruise director, and some other officers were in attendance.

Most of the questions directed at them were concerning how NCL was going to handle the compensation for our missed cruise day and expenses for the night in San Francisco. At that point we had been told we would receive:

• Refund of one day of the cruise fare and service charges (tips)
• Reimbursement for the extra hotel night in San Francisco
• $300 in airline change fees for affected guests
• 25% of the amount paid for this cruise towards a future cruise (by the end of the cruise this had been increased to 50%)
• The chance to cancel without penalty

While I was at the meeting, K, L & B were going to the "Walk a Mile" activity. With so much construction still taking place on the walking track, the leader opted to do a ship tour instead as a way to get in some walking. Bob and Kent eventually ended up in the gym for a real workout.

I suggested that we go to the Skyline dining room for lunch to avoid the inevitable crowds at the buffet. Unfortunately the service was incredibly slow and took much longer than I had anticipated. Once again...since the regular route has the ship in port every day, serving lunch to a large group in the dining room was something out of the ordinary.

To be seated quicker, we agreed to share a table with other people and ended up with a nice, older couple from Michigan (Al & Lucy) sitting with the four of us. They were both retired teachers which gave us something in common. When Al offered to pray before our meal we discovered we also shared our faith as well. He told us that he was trying to plan a service on the ship for Palm Sunday and we agreed to stay in touch and hopefully take part.

Following a nap in our cabin, Bob, Kent & I went to a class on origami at the John Adams coffee bar near the atrium. We learned how to fold paper into the shape of a turtle! Laurel went to a lecture on the history of Hawaii that Malu, the cruise director gave in the theater.

Immediately after the paper folding, there was a Wacky Putt-Putt Challenge...also in the atrium. Each contestant had to do the same three silly puts. There was no prize, but if you competed you got an activity card. For each competitive activity that you did during the cruise you would get an additional signature and qualify for a prize at the end. If there had been a prize, Kent would have won with his two holes in one!

The Pride of America has a multitude of different dining options, but most required an additional fee. There were two main dining rooms that were complimentary and that was fine with us. On nights we wanted faster service we went to the buffet.

The two dining rooms had the same menu, but the Liberty Dining Room had a dress code whereas the Skyline Dining Room was more casual. Since no one felt like dressing for dinner, we went to the Skyline. Most of the other passengers must have had the same thoughts and there was a long line waiting for tables. The hostess just suggested we go up the flight of stairs to the Liberty and eat there instead because there was no wait. Bob's fluorescent green t-shirt certainly didn't fit the dress code guidelines, but hey...at least he was dressed appropriately for St. Patrick's Day!

Service once again was VERY slow. It was over an hour and a half before we got our main course and twenty minutes after finishing our meal the dirty plates had still not been cleared. We finally told the waitress we would skip dessert because it was getting late and we wanted to get to the Not So Newlywed Game. She apologized over and over for the wait and said they were implementing all new menus and things were a mess in the kitchen. The waitress offered to get us some dessert quickly if we would stay, but we decided to leave and find some dessert later.

We watched about half of the game show in the Mardis Gras lounge and then left to find seats in the theater to see the musical production "Lights, Camera, Action." The show was excellent and we were very impressed with the talented singers and dancers.

From 9 pm to 11 pm, the Aloha Cafe (buffet) serves "late night snacks" and we were able to get our dessert that we had missed at dinner. By 10:45 pm we were back in our cabin and ready to call it a night. Before going to bed, the clocks were turned back an hour...a practice that would continue for the next couple of nights. By the time we reached Hawaii our clocks would be on the correct time zone...and hopefully our bodies too!