Two sea days makes for very little in the way of photographs and probably, an even more boring read than usual for you all. We had our post Dubai Seafarers meet, ably conducted by Sandie. What did work well was asking who was going on upcoming cruises such as next year’s World Cruise and also the Circle Pacific cruise. A fair number present are doing one or the other so the group of known faces continues to expand. Dave wrote these up on a flip chart, which no doubt he’ll drag out again after Southampton and New York, to add even more names.
Afternoon trivia, we scored a stunning 18/20 – but the smart ones scored 20! Ho hum. At least we now know which airline was the first to serve inflight meals!
The dining room menu didn’t really appeal as it was repeat of the lamb shanks and it was a debacle last time, so we opted for the buffet instead. The carvery was a splendid smoked roast ‘Maoori’ pork loin. Not sure if they meant Maori, but the roast was topped with roast banana. A vegetable curry and I think a beef curry, plus deep fried prawns, a good soup and dessert plus the extensive cheese options, all went down very well.
On to the Vista for ‘Liar’s Club’, which wasn’t as good as some past ‘clubs. We stayed on for half pint (4ft 10”) British comedienne and singer, Jo Little. Good voice, but most of the verbal stuff was far from new to anyone who gets computer funnies circulated, so she didn’t really make us laugh. Sorry Jo, just 7/10.
TUESDAY June 16th
A light breakfast – genuinely light this time – no pastry, but come lunch time, after a focaccia bread plus pork pate and pickled veg, the lure of the daily special was strong. As the long queue had subsided when I wandered through again, sampling a couple bits from the Australian Pie Buffet wasn’t easy to resist.
Cruise long Trivia was another tough one and the later afternoon trivia, both John and I thought the California Gold Rush started in 1849 – probably as it was on the TV the day before, but apparently, the correct answer according to the (US) host, was 1848. Ho hum. So much for the 49’ers…
A deck walk then swim/soak before the pre-dinner show. This was James Long in the theatre this time, and thank to Paula waving a $10 note, then handing it to me, I was summoned on stage… Our now soggy, $10 note was subsequently retrieved from inside an orange. A good show though and slightly better than show number 1.
One again, I think the dinner menu was a repeat and for the second time in about 5 days, pork chop. (Pork must have been on special when the buyers were doing their shopping.)
No late show so we wandered down to the Vista lounge for dance practice. The new instructors are a Californian based Japanese couple, Dr Herman Suryoutomo and his wife, Monica. Thank goodness, they have abolished the progressive dances and make sure the whole lesson is on the feature dance. They were playing recorded music and apart from a tango, that no-one else wanted to dance, so they did a demo, the floor had several couples out there. We were the last to leave and happy to chat to them. They seemed keen on getting feedback and were more than prepared to listen – which augurs well, as they are on all the way back to Sydney.
They weren’t aware that there would be a big changeover in Southampton, with lots of ‘new’ faces - but they are now.
CRUISERS
As we may have mentioned before, we chop in our mini-bar and exchange it for 2 coffee cards – face value about $70. There is some confusion raging now as to swapping it for wine. Obviously, the true cost of two coffee cards for the company is about $3, given coffee is only about 10c a cup, so whereas we were under the impression that the minibar could be exchanged for 2 bottles of wine, it may now only be one bottle – much to the disappointment of June!
At face value, this is what is in the mini bar
· 2 x Courvoisier(50ml bottles) @ $7.50 = $15
· 2 each of Beefeater Gin, Skyy Vodka, Dewars Whisky @ $7.00 = $42
· 2 x VB Bitter @ $5.50 = $11
· 2 each of Tonic water, Sprite and Coke (12oz) @ $2.55 = $15.30
· 2 x bottle water (0.5 litre) @ $3.00 = $6.00
· 2 x Perrier (11oz) @ $3.35 = $6.50
By my rough reckoning, about $95.80. Probably about treble what you’d pay for some items in the local supermarkets, liquor stores etc.
Obviously, you can swap the spirits around to suit.
Princess Patter - Tomorrow
Previously, I listed sample morning and afternoon programme, so this is a sample evening programme, at sea, tomorrow, June 17th.
· Evening piano melodies with Krzysztof
· Showtime – Comedy with Ivor Richards (show #2)
· The Mezel Trio ‘Go to the movies’. (Very popular Hungarian trio.)
· Reggae Hits Evening with party band ‘Fusion’.
· MUTS (Movie Under the Stars – out on deck) Concert – Il Divo Live at the Greek
· Showtime – Singer Philip Browne (show #2)
· MUTS - Pavarotti
· Pianist Derek Floyd on the baby grand
· Rock ‘n’ Roll hour in the nightclub (with Mr Quiet…)
· “Would I Lie to You?” gameshow
· Texas Hold’em $1/$2 No limit cash game (Casino.)
· Stargazing with astronomer Lesa Moore – open deck
· Late night movie ”The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Vista lounge
· Happy Hour – buy 1 get 1 free (10pm to 11pm)
· Late night dance party (nightclub)
· Dance the night away with the Sun Down duo
· Casino – slots and Texas Hold’em open all night.
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