Saturday 7/2/2015 Day 33 Sea Days X 5 until Samoa

It takes a day or two to become accustomed to the hour the clocks go back, and today we feel normal again, waking at 6:45 to sunrise coming dazzlingly into the left side of our balcony window. So we must be going in the right direction. Breakfast done, just about to go deck walking.

There will be some more bobbling around in hot water today. At the Aquarius pool there’s music playing all day. Yesterday we listened (and I was compelled to sing along) to Rumours, the whole album. I wondered whether Mick Fleetwood lives in Hawaii? There was a restaurant called Fleetwood’s yesterday with a logo looking like the figure on the Rumours album cover.  Can’t really Google on here but maybe if you’re reading this and can find out for it would be lovely to know.

Dancing is at 11 today and oh heck, it’s the Quickstep……  Hope to have a better experience this time.  My problems are that my feet don’t move quickly enough, my memory struggles and there are a lot of steps in a short space of time.  Thankfully Khachik and I don’t get dance rage.  When we are people watching (in other words when we watch because we have failed!) we are aware of that dance rage between some couples, some storm off, some shout, some just give “the look” – so we seem to have come a long way, as every error just makes us laugh these days.   

Today’s art is at 2:30 and Easa has promised that we will be painting two monkeys “acting the goat” 

Will report on both tomorrow.

We have been invited to a coffee morning with the Captain tomorrow at 10:30. This is for the 500 or so of us going right round. We already feel special, and lucky, and grateful, and surprised to wake up to find its really happening every day, but the ship’s company keep adding to that special feeling by arranging these different events for us.

So bye for now. Back for sea day 2 towards Samoa tomorrow. x

Monday 2 February 2015 – Sea Day 2 to Hawaii

There have now been several sightings of pods of dolphins playing in the wake of the ship, this never fails to make us smile.  I missed one of these yesterday but Khachik was there and said they were really close and obviously performing! Water temperature is coming up again, and the air is warming up again now 19C, bright sun.  The moon is looking stunning too. My Moon app says 1 day and 4 hours to full. Time for a lovely rest.

I forgot to say something on Saturday about our tour guide in San Francisco.  I can just about remember her name  - Barbara!   She said there were a lot of songs about San Francisco (I left my heart in SF, SF nights, Dock of the Bay, If you’re going to SF) and she promised to sing us those songs. Born and brought up in SF, in love with her city, full of enthusiasm and knowledge, but she said her husband refused to let her sing in the car.  She saved the reason why until we were returning to the ship in the coach, now we know why her husband wasn’t too keen. Flat and tuneless unfortunately, but on the plus side everyone joined in,  it was a relief to know our own voices weren’t too bad.

Remember yesterday I said that sometime on this cruise we just might try dancing without Jeffrey the dance teacher calling out the steps – we are really self-conscious and forgetful, but nevertheless we tried a proper dance in the Retreat last night without any assistance. We had a go at the Rhythm Foxtrot, Jive, Waltz and cha-cha-cha! What can I say! We felt brave, and it was a jolly good effort ;) I think it’s like anything else, there’s a way of getting by when you make a mistake without drawing too much attention, stay close, maintain great posture, don’t fall apart, and sway gently until you’re ready to count yourselves back in.

In San Francisco around 900 people left the ship to fly home or journey on another way, and 900 joined the ship, 500 from Australia travelling homeward, many fly cruisers from the UK and a good few from USA. All very interesting.  Did I say this is a ship for adults only, no children? We both notice that  only when we leave the ship for the ports we see whole families again, little ones running around and playing, babies in slings, babies feeding, little ones in prams. 

The average age of the cruise looks to have fallen a bit since SF, I think this must be because people flying long distance might be younger and more mobile (on the whole), whereas if you join the ship in Southampton and return to Southampton the trip is much more accessible for people with varying disabilities and frailties.

Back tomorrow. Bye for now.