From the Navigator (this appears on page 1 of today's Princess Patter): During the day, Pacific Princess will continue to follow her northerly course through the Pacific Ocean bound for Hilo. In the afternoon we will pass between Flint and Vostok Islands, part of the Phoenix Island group of the Republic of Kiribati. The nation is composed of 32 atolls dispersed over 1.35 million square miles(!) straddling the equator and bordering the International Dateline at its westernmost point.
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6a-10a: The Wake Show with Cruise Director David and Deputy Cruise Director Mike on Channel 21
6a-6p: Gavin MacLeod, a Biography on Channel 30
9:30a: Ping pong competition
9:30a-10:30a: Lei-making and Hawaiian crafts with Leialoha from Elua
10a-2p: Magnum PI- Jororo Kill on Channel 21
10a: Enrichment lecture with Douglas Pearson- Island life and culture
10a: Morning dance workout with John
10:15a: Singles and solo traveler get together
10:45a: Ukulele lesson sign up (limited to 20 passengers each session because there are only 20 ukuleles on board)
11a: Arts and crafts- box making
11a: Welcome to Princess cruises presentation with Captains Circle host Tiffanie
11:15a: Morning trivia challenge
11:30a-1:30p: British-style pub lunch
11:30a-1:30p: Café de Paris buffet in the Panorama Buffet
11:35a- AFC playoff game- Baltimore Ravens v. New England Patriots in the Casino Lounge
1:15p: Ukulele class for those who signed up this morning
1:15p- Goofy golf putting
2p: Bar Wars, Battle of the Sexes by the pool
2p-9p: Afternoon TV movie, Paniolo O Hawaii- Cowboys of the Far West on Channel 21
2p: Bridge players get together (unhosted)
2:15p: Hula Kahiki, learn the ancient form of the hula with Leialoha of Elua
2:30p: Enrichment Lecturer Leslie Bakke- Schemes, scams and flimflams
3p: NFC playoff game- Carolina Panthers v. Seattle Seahawks
3p: Champagne ring toss
3p: Grapevine wine tasting
3:15p: Beginners ballroom dance class- the merengue
3:30p: Afternoon Movie- Begin Again in the Cabaret Lounge
3:30p-4:30p: Afternoon tea is served
4p: Afternoon trivia challenge
5p: LGBT get together
5p-7:30p: Ballroom blitz- unhosted ballroom dance date in the Pacific Lounge
6p onwards: Hawaii's last queen on Channel 30
7p: Musical showtime with soprano Jennifer Fair in the Cabaret Lounge
7:15p-8:15p: Jere Ring- a singular sensation in the Casino Lounge
7:30p-8:30p: 2 Cool- Rock this Lounge! in the Pacific Lounge
8:30p: Musical showtime with soprano Jennifer Fair in the Cabaret Lounge
9p-9:45p: Be Cool dance night in the Pacific Lounge
9p-10p: Hawaiian music with Elua in the Casino Lounge
9p till late: In stateroom movie- Chef on Channel 21
9:45p: 70s Saturday Night disco party in the Pacific Lounge
10:15p till late: Chico and Dawn in the Casino Lounge
11p-1:30a: Party On with DJ Yu in the Pacific Lounge
And how did I spend my day?
I was awake way too early for someone who didn't get to sleep until after midnight. Shortly after 5am, the predawn light made its way in through our porthole. I knew that would be the case on these five northbound days to Hawaii, but that's ok; sunset will be on our dinner table side of the ship, which is a nice payback. I watched the sunrise at 5:30am through our window but stayed in bed reading until 7am. In the process of showering, I woke G and we went to breakfast in the Club Restaurant. They will be busy in there this cruise. These passengers want to be served, and, with long days at sea, have plenty of time for breakfasts and lunches in the dining room.
By the way, I asked headwaiter Mehei about why there was no lunch in the Club Restaurant on embarkation day in Papeete. Because this is a longer cruise with five times as many sea days as on the cruises in French Polynesia, six containers of food and supplies were loaded on the Pacific Princess - two containers were loaded on the 10-night French Polynesian cruises- and waitstaff was pressed into duty helping to load and put away the food.
Following breakfast we took a walk on Deck 10. Though the day was bright and sunny, a brief light rain shower passed over and moved on. I went to Leiahola's craft class at 9:30a but didn't see anything that was suitable for a person of my meager talent (some of the items required crochet skills to be completed). I was really looking for a bracelet project (reader Fern wrote to tell me about the sorts of projects that might be offered) but didn't find one today. Instead I returned to the cabin and gave myself a pedicure using my last set of Sally Hansen nail strips. I have hope that this last set will be good until I get home (home!!!) in 23 days, especially with fewer sandy beaches to bury my tootsies in. Afterwards, I plugged in earbuds and returned to Deck 10 to walk again until the first football game started at 11:30a. Between plays, I typed the activities portion of this post. Listening to an audiobook while I walk / typing a blog post while watching football...always multitasking!
An interesting note: TV programming has been largely re-done for this cruise, with one channel- The Comedy Channel- that used to feature a few Love Boat reruns in addition to Downton Abbeys and two and a Half Mens and How I Met Your Mothers, etc. now offering solely Love Boat reruns. Is this specific just to this cruise or is it a Princess 50th Anniversary thing? 'Cause if it's the latter, it's going to be a long, long, LONG year. Good grief that show grates on me!! Bad acting, sexist comedy, implausible situations...I can't bear it. Thank God for the quality video content on my iPhone plus MSNBC (which I can't watch when G's in the cabin. We have a truce- no Fox and no MSNBC when we're together) and CNBC's American Greed (one of my favorite shows. If I had it to do all over again I'd like to be a forensic accountant, Angie Dickinson with a green eyeshade and a calculator). I'll have to make time to load new content on my phone during my three days at home in early February.
G came to find me to go to lunch in the Club Restaurant just before 1pm, and what a lunch it was! It was the chicken korma- veggie burrito menu, and I had chicken korma and some of our bottle of Pino Grigio and was completely content. Afterwards we sat on the Promenade Deck for awhile and contemplated the sun sparkling on the sea. On one of the bigger ships, with their narrower, wrap around Promenade Decks and chairs with no foot rests, a sea day afternoon would find every chair in use as either a seat or a footstool, and people doing laps jogging and walking around the deck. Today, there was just us (just the two of us!) on one side of the promenade, no one walking or running by, and comfy padded teak loungers to recline on. We have gotten sooooooo spoiled!!
But the football games were pulling me back, and I caught the second half of the last quarter of the Patriots-Ravens game and stayed for the start of the Panthers-Seahawks game. I had no dog in these fights, but that's when football spectatorship is most fun for me. G went to champagne ring toss...and handily won (he's figured it out now, and can't miss). The real contest was between second and third place, so G gave his awarded bottle of schlock...er, champagne to the second place winner. When he discovered he had left his key card in the cabin, he came looking for me, and I watched the rest of the first half of the game in our cabin. Honestly, in the Casino Lounge, unless I'm in the front of the room, I have trouble seeing the information (alike the score and the play clock and the time remaining) on the TV. I do better in our cabin. MUTS (the big screen by the pool on most Princess ships), this is not.
Dinner seating times have been changed starting tonight, with first seating at 5:30pm and second seating at 7:45pm. That's fine by us...at sometime (after we leave Hawaii?), we will have to move our clocks ahead by two hours. Better to move up dinner time to acclimate, plus that leaves more time for some of the wonderful evening entertainment that is being offered. As a result, the Elite Lounge is starting at 5pm. That still doesn't leave much time for a pre-dinner drink and hors doerves, but...well, that's the way it is.
I didn't eat or drink at the Elite Lounge and still wasn't one bit hungry at dinner. Chicken korma at lunch will do that to you. We enjoyed another new menu tonight, though, so I had three appetizers- a crab cake, chicken bits with black beans and corn and pico de gallo (just like we eat at home) and melon balls- and mango sorbet and was happy. Jere Ring started playing piano at 7:15pm; and Elua performs starting in five minutes. I'm going to try to get on Internet to post this and head back out to listen to them.
One sea day down, nine to go. It wasn't so bad after all (but football helped!).