At Sea

Tritones Duo

            On Friday, 21 Sep 2012, we shared a table at breakfast with another friendly Australian couple, Ellie and Rolf, from the Brisbane area.  We had planned to attend a Tai Chi class after breakfast, but we were unable to find the class.  A little later, we had a very light lunch (probably the only time); however, by dinner, we were very hungry.  We danced to disco ballroom music before dinner; then we finally met the other three couples at our assigned table:  Toby (a woman) and Sue, Terry (Toby’s brother) and Mattie, all from Reno, Nevada; and Doris and Tom, from Pennsylvania near Gettysburg.  After dinner, we danced to the music of the Tritones Duo in the Wheelhouse Bar for about 45 minutes.

            We slept late on Saturday, and then we shared our breakfast table with a couple from Toronto, Canada, Jeanine and Robert.  By coincidence, Jeanine just happened to be the Tai Chi instructor, so after breakfast, we followed them to the deck where class was held.  Tai Chi was a new experience for us – not very strenuous, but very relaxing.  (On Cruise Critics, Jeanine had offered to lead a Tai Chi group, and by the third day, quite a few people were taking advantage of her offer.)  Afterwards, we attended the Cruise Critics “Meet and Greet,” where we were welcomed aboard by the ship’s Captain and senior officers; afterward, we joined the group for lunch in the dining room.  Saturday night was formal dinner night, so we dressed in our tuxedo and evening gown, respectively.  Before dinner, we danced a little, but since the Tritones Duo was on break after dinner, we decided to head back to our cabin for an early night.  We also set our clocks back an hour for the second time since leaving San Francisco.

            On Sunday, 23 Sep 2012, as we started to our Tai Chi class, we happened to meet a couple, David & Janice, who had shared our dinner table for 30 days on our transatlantic cruise last December and January.  They had decided on this cruise at the last moment.  After Tai Chi, we sat and visited with our Australian friends, Gail and Jim, for a while.  Sally checked out a book from the ship library; even though we have Internet access, of course we can’t spend as much time on it as at home.  In the evening, we danced in the Wheelhouse Bar again, before and after dinner.

Cha-Cha Dance Class



In Wheelhouse Bar

            On Monday morning, we wondered why we have been sleeping so much and so well.  Is it possibly caused by the gentle rocking of our bed at night?  Even though by this morning the clock read four hours earlier than at home, we had been asleep soon after 10:00 PM the past two nights.  At breakfast, we shared our table with an Asian couple (originally from Hong Kong, now living in the L.A. area), Chip and Grace.  Then was Tai Chi class, and then we attended our first dance class.  Cha-Cha was taught this time, and we were glad that we went because we learned a new step.  At lunch, we sat with a couple, Roland & Debra, originally from Chile, but now living in Vancouver, Canada.  We discussed subjects ranging from our experiences in Chile in January to the U.S. political scene.  We danced in the Wheelhouse, again, before and after dinner, practicing our new Cha-Cha dance step.  Afterward, we went for a short swim in a small, round, heated swim pool that we had all to ourselves, followed by a lovely soak in a hot tub.  Only Doris and Tom showed up for dinner tonight, which gave us the opportunity to get to know them a little better.  We will be meeting in the Princess Theater by 7:20 A.M. for our Honolulu shore excursion, so there won’t be any late night TV tonight!  (But we also turn back our clock for the third time!)