Last evening Anne Marie attended part of the Variety Showtime Entertainment, which included the Acappella Group along with World Champion Magician Murray. She stayed to hear the Acappella Group perform and enjoyed their show. Anne Marie sat with Mary and Stan and had an enjoyable talk with them.
We also took time to reflect on the Islands we have visited over the past few days and on the people who live on them. For the locals it is a different way of life that many of us are used to living in the continental United States. While the locals lack some of the amenities that so many of us take for granted, they have so much to be proud of. They have the natural beauty that can be found on each of these islands along with a close bond that comes from living in a place with a relatively small population.
We also wanted to note that on this segment of the World Cruise there are many more passengers from other countries with I believe adds to our overall enjoyment. Several passengers from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand joined the ship joined the ship during the second segment of the World Cruise and some will stay on the ship for one or multiple segments. We always enjoy meeting passengers from other areas of the world, as there is so much we learn in terms of their respective values and their culture along with their opinions about major worldwide issues.
We now get to enjoy two consecutive sea days as we cruise towards Apia, Western Samoa. We enjoyed another great nights sleep last evening. There is just something about being rocked to sleep. We awoke early this morning to start the day off with our daily workout in the Fitness Center. Keith got up to the Fitness Center at around 5:10 AM and was the first one there and Anne Marie arrived a few minutes before 5:30 AM. Some of the other regulars were there such as John and Mary. While Keith worked out on the elliptical machine he talked with Mary who was on her usual spot on the treadmill and it was great to catch up with on all that she and Stan did over the past several days. There is a sense of community all over the ship, including the Fitness Center. When we begin our day in the Fitness Center it could be analogous to going to the local diner in a small town to enjoy a cup of coffee and to catch up with ones neighbors.
After our workout we went up to the Lido Café for breakfast. It was still early when we arrive so there were not many passengers eating breakfast. We enjoyed another great breakfast as we spoke with some passengers who were sitting at a table next to us while taking in the beauty of the ocean. One other passenger joined us about fifteen minutes before we left.
Later in the morning we attended a presentation given by World Affairs Expert Scott Ritter titled “Target Iran.” Scott Ritter is a former UN Chief Weapons Inspector and author of Target Iran. He served as Chief Weapons Inspector for the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq. His presentation was quite informative and he also took questions from the audience for about twenty minutes. He is scheduled to give two more presentations during this voyage.
Since today was a sea day there were lots of activities offered throughout the day from various lectures, to team trivia, to fitness classes, to various levels of bridge classes and bridge play, to paddle and table tennis, to Spanish classes, to computer classes, to a golf clinic, to bingo, to a couple of different movies.
After the presentation we ate lunch in the main dining room but there was also an Asia Café Luncheon Buffet that many of our fellow passengers attended.
We had hoped to walk on the Promenade Deck in the afternoon but it was windy and there was some rain. Later n the afternoon, Anne Marie picked up a complimentary needlepoint kit that is given out on each voyage. She has been working on the first one she received on the first segment of the World Cruise.
This evening marked the first of three formal nights for this segment of the World Cruise. We always enjoy the formal nights, as it is so nice to see most passengers dressed in their formal attire. The evening began with the Captain’s Welcome Reception. We sat with two lovely couples and also spoke with several other passengers at the reception.
We enjoyed another wonderful dinner in the main dining room. On the first formal night of each sailing live lobster from Maine is usually served but tonight we enjoyed live Lobster from Australia. We had the Australian Lobster on one of the segments of last years World Cruise and greatly enjoyed the lobster. The same was true this evening. The dining room was quite busy since this was the first of the formal nights.
This evening we turn the clocks back one hour as we cruise into another new time zone.
Keith & Anne Marie
