G eventually came back to collect me, and, since I had missed breakfast in the Club Restaurant (it is open 7:30am to 9:30am on sea days), we went up to the Panorama Buffet, where I had just fruit and spinach and a grilled tomato, because I knew I'd be having a full lunch in the Club Restaurant in just a couple of hours. It continues to be fun that we see the same waitstaff over and over, as there aren't that many of them on this ship. I suspect that, within another cruise or two, we will know them all by name, as many of them know us by name already.
Love it!
It was wonderful on the covered terrace behind the buffet this morning, and we saw a few flying fish jumping up out of the ship's wake. But, other than that, we've seen nothing en route to Nuku Hiva or so far on our return, and that kind of surprises me. I really had thought that we'd see multiple uninhabited islands or at least islets on these days at sea, but we have not. Perhaps we're missing them, as we don't spend all day every sea day looking at the sea, and, even if we did, we'd most likely be looking off just one side of the ship, not both. And perhaps we are passing them after dark, and we have about 12 nighttime hours out of every day, so that's entirely possible. But the lack of islands has been different than I'd expected. I mean, how many days have we spent while cruising in the Caribbean with Cuba or Hispaniola off the port or starboard side of the ship for an entire day at a time? And, after leaving port in the Eastern Caribbean, we'd frequently see the lights of the various islands we were passing even after dark. It's very different down here. So ships, no islands, no jet contrails overhead...it's like our transatlantic and transpacific cruises in that respect.
So, moving on from that observation (that I've been meaning to mention for a couple of days)...
I plugged in to an audio book and moved out to Deck 10 to walk before it got too hot (too late!). There were plenty of non-hogged chairs available about 11am, which was very nice, but it was really too hot to spend extensive time in the sun. Most passengers had pulled loungers into the shaded areas by the Grill, but not on the other side, which is where the ping pong tables are located. We have a handful of kids on board, and we walk by the two ping pong tables dodging errant ping pong balls (it's quite comical). Every so often when I walk by I take a paddle and tap the canvas awnings stretched over that area, and ping pong balls caught up there come raining down. (I'm tall enough that I consider it my personal responsibility to do that). ;-)
It didn't take long for the heat to force me inside, and I met up with G in the Pacific Lounge on Deck 10 forward. There we sat, surrounded by the wide expanse of glass, searching the horizon for any sight of the aforementioned missing islands, and we stayed there until trivia started and the intense vibes from those participants coupled with the bounciness of the ship in that location motivated me to move down to Deck 4 in the atrium by the Passenger Services Desk. And I sat there for a few minutes, reading, until remote control car races started and those same "ping pong boys" had obviously been waiting for that, and were driving poor cruise staffer/dancer Warren absolutely nuts trying to keep them herded into the atrium and away from the stairways and elevator lobby. As someone who works with kids, I understand the futility of that "herding kittens" feeling and extended my sympathies to Warren.
I should mention here that these little ships lack the structured children's programs of the larger ships, so the dancers really have to do triple duty as entertainers, cruise staffers and children's program staff, and deserve medals for all they do. And I don't mean to imply there are a lot of kids on this cruise; there are probably just a handful of them, but a few of them are boys in the 8-12 age group so they just appear to be simultaneously everywhere all the time. You know, they're normal kids.
We were in the Club Restaurant for lunch as soon as it opened at noon, and were seated at a table where we enjoyed wonderful conversation for nearly two hours. One tablemate had taken an expedition cruise to Antarctica and I was very happy to hear what he had to say about that trip (he couldn't recommend it highly enough). Unfortunately, G had gotten chilled by the cool temps in the dining room, and had eventually left us to sit in a lounger on the warm Promenade Deck, which does not bode well for him accompanying me on an Antarctica cruise in the future.
After joining him for a short time on the Promenade Deck (plenty of chairs available!), we returned to the Club Restaurant at 3pm for this cruise's wine tasting. We had given our souvenir Princess shot glasses to the drummer on the pier yesterday in Nuku Hiva, and he seemed thrilled, so we have to now decide whether to add to his collection or share these new shot glasses with another local resident. One thing is for certain: we cannot take these sorts of things home on the plane. No room or weight!
A lounger on the Promenade might have felt nice after the wine tasting, but we instead rested in the cabin for a short time before we needed to get dressed for the second formal night of this cruise. We caught another bit of the movie Mutiny on the Bounty with Clark Gable on TV. We'll never see it from start to finish in one session, but, by the time we go home, will have seen parts of it as often as17 times as it loops all day long on one day of every cruise.
It's a good time to talk about formal outfits. G has one, his tuxedo, of course, and though he is in the minority in wearing it, he has never been alone. I brought one dress and one silk kimono I wear with my 'every night' black slacks and I can also wear the jacket from the dress with a black tank and the slacks so somehow, by bringing just one dress/jacket and a silk kimono, I have three different formal outfits. Works for me, and it's so simple.
There was no Elite Lounge tonight, but we entered the Club Restaurant as soon as it opened at 6pm for a wonderful dinner of escargot, Beef Wellington and mandarin sorbet for dessert. We couldn't dilly dally, as the Captains Circle party was taking place at 7:30pm in the Cabaret Lounge, and, once again this cruise, we're the most travelled passengers! We asked port lecturer Douglas Pearson and his sister Margo, who has been visiting him from England but who is returning home after this cruise, to join us, and were honored they agreed. Captain Fabrezio Maresca is proving to be a character, and I can see that we will really enjoy cruising with him until he leaves on December 8th.
Afterwards, we watched the production show Cinematastic for the second time, but you know we seldom tire of that sort of entertainment. There are several things going on later this evening, including a champagne waterfall (I'm telling you, this experience is just like the big ships but better!), but tomorrow is Rangiroa, and the opportunity to see dolphins again as we approach Tiputa Pass early in the morning is too appealing. It is 10:30pm and we are settled in for the night.
I will not add any photos of our sea day: instead, I'm rationing my internet minutes to stay in touch with Mom and add photos from our island visits to those blog posts. So far this cruise, my frugality is working...with just three days remaining in this cruise, I have over 90 minutes of Internet left plus free wifi (with the price of a beer) in Raiatea. Go me!