At Sea

              On Monday, 15 Oct 2012, we slept very late, until about 11:00 AM.  Sally had been awake for a while earlier but then went back to sleep, so that we barely made it to the Horizon Court before they closed the breakfast line.  We ate breakfast with Gail and Jim, and talked for quite a while.  Then we returned to our cabin, where Sally did a little hand-washing and we watched the movie “Touchback” on TV.  This made us late for our final Cruisecritics meeting.  During this cruise, we didn’t reap any benefits from the Cruisecritics meetings; however, the website beforehand allowed us to meet Gail and Jim from Australia before even we even boarded the ship in San Francisco; and also enabled us to enjoy Tai Chi classes.  (Thank you, Jeanine!)  Roy made it to dinner tonight, but it was apparent that he was still suffering badly from his cold.  Terry and Mattie had eaten earlier and were not there tonight.  After dinner, we danced only 30 minutes or so at the Wheelhouse Bar.

Formal Dinner

            On Tuesday, Sally slept very late, until about 11:30 AM.  She had been awake again for a little while earlier, but then went back to sleep.  Jesse woke around 9:00 and watched “Breaking Dawn, Part I” on TV.  Since we had missed the 11:30 breakfast deadline (and missed a meal for the first time on this cruise!), we joined Gale and Jim for lunch.  Burt and Jane, whom we had met previously, were also at our table.  Sam, a retired college president from the San Francisco Bay area, stopped by and entertained us for a little while, mostly describing his overnight adventures in Akaroa.  Apparently, not all of the stranded passengers were given five-star hotel accommodations, as we were.  Later, we dressed for our final formal-night dinner.  While our full table enjoyed a scrumptious lobster dinner, we also took photos and traded e-mail addresses.  After dinner, we stopped by the Wheelhouse Bar for dancing.  We sat with Inge and Thomas tonight and danced until 10:45 PM, the latest we’ve danced during this cruise!  Jennine had also joined us for a little while and Jesse danced twice with her.  We turned our clocks back by one hour tonight, giving us an extra hour of sleep.

Full Dinner Table (Final Night)

            On Wednesday, we woke up around 8:30 to a rainy day.  We missed seeing the New Zealand fiords either because of lost time at Akaroa or because of rougher water while crossing the “Ditch” (as Gale and Jim call it, between New Zealand and Australia).  The ship captain announced that, because of rougher water in the southern part of this sea, we were heading northward where it wouldn’t be quite as rough.  However, it has still been rough much of the time, and yesterday some people were taking pills or wearing patches to avoid sea sickness.  Today it was just as bad while trying to do Tai Chi.  Swimming pools were closed, people were advised not to go out on the deck, and a musical production scheduled for evening was cancelled.  In dance class, we learned a new Tango step and picked up a few pointers; hopefully, we won’t totally forget them by the time we arrive back home.  By 1:00 PM, we were back in our cabin, watching the Presidential debate (town meeting format, with the audience asking questions), while also packing.  We had a full table at dinner and enjoyed the “Baked Alaska” procession and took a group photo.  Afterwards, we visited the Wheelhouse Bar for the last time and danced until 9:00 PM.  Toby, Sue, John, and Roy joined us, but did not dance, though Toby danced once with the two of us (three-person dance).  Hardly anyone else was in the bar, and no one else danced.  Although Inge and Thomas stopped by to say goodbye, they didn’t dance because she was not feeling great.  Tonight we will set our clocks back again.  (We’ve lost track of how many times we have done this, not to mention crossing the International Date Line!)   We didn’t see Jim or Gail all day, but maybe we’ll run into them tomorrow morning.  Everyone must vacate their cabins by 8:30 AM, and we are scheduled to disembark in Sydney at 9:30 AM.  Goodbye, beautiful Sea Princess!