At Sea

Monday, 19 Dec 2011 – We hope that some of our family and friends are following our blog.  Very few have replied to us, which makes us wonder if we are sending it into a vacuum.  (For those who didn’t already have our email address, it’s in our Christmas letter that we sent out before our cruise.)  Anyway, we would love to hear from you, too!

Yes, we know that ‘tis less than a week before Christmas and all through the ship (not quite) are Christmas decorations.  The weather is not “Christmassy;” on our deck the air is very warm and humid, even in the early morning.  We brought too many items to keep us warm when we see the penguins, and not enough cool shirts & shorts.  Some of our fellow passengers run around mainly in their bathing suits – but we don’t!  One would think that ocean breezes on a ship would be cool, but not at this latitude.

At about 11:00 A.M. our ship crossed the equator.  A “Crossing the Line” ceremony is always performed on board ships when crossing the equator the first time during a voyage.  Usually all members of a ship’s company who have not previously crossed the “Line” are initiated at the ceremony.  One person dressed as King Neptune, some other characters, and numerous nymphs all parade around the ship; court is held; and awards are bestowed on distinguished veterans.  This morning, people who knew what to expect already had the best places for viewing the ceremony.  However, Jesse took some photos by extending his long arm above the heads of others while Sally sat in the back in the shade.  A woman sitting next to Sally said that U.S. Navy ships have always held a ceremony when crossing the equator, which seems surprising; she said that, invariably, someone would be crossing the Line for the first time on a specific ship, and so the ceremony would be repeated for their benefit.

Later we attended the group dance lesson again, this time working on the Waltz.  We learned a different Waltz step somewhat similar to the crossover; we had seen others do the step but didn’t know how to do it until now.  After dinner, we danced again to the Buenos Aires Quartet.  After that (at 8:45 P.M.), we swam in the covered swimming pool, which sloshed a great deal back and forth, making it feel a little like swimming in the ocean.  It was raining outdoors at the time, which might have created the extra “sloshing.”  We were the only ones in that pool at that time, and very few people even walked around it on their way to the buffet restaurant.  We finished out the evening sitting in the hot tub by the pool.