At Sea

We had a bit of a bumpy night, but nothing spectacular. Still Brian decided to forgo the gym this morning as the ship was still rocking and rolling somewhat. You get enough exercise just going up and down the corridors as far as I am concerned due to the pitching of the ship.

In a further science experience I have put Brian’s iPod headphones through the washer and dryer. Like the camera battery which shared the same fate (and still works by the way), they were in the pocket of his shorts, and were not removed prior to the shorts going into the machines. Yes they still work! However, they became totally tangled in the clothing in the dryer, and it was quite a challenge to separate them. Again I say, he who wears the shorts should check the pockets rather than she who does the laundry. I am not convinced that that is ever going to happen.

The only lecture we attended today was on whales. Denny Whitford gave an excellent presentation, which included great whale audio and videos. They are all really magnificent creatures. I am hoping that we will get some whale sightings when we are closer to Hawaii.

After the talk we headed up to the Commodore Club. We were in a force 7 gale with the outside decks closed, in what the Commodore called “rough seas”. I was sitting there trying to read the waves, but they seemed to be coming from all directions, so I deemed them illegible. A fellow passenger informed us that she received an email from a friend saying that there was a category 4 cyclone near Hawaii. Hopefully not heading our way.

Roscoe stopped by. I am suspicious that he wants to extract details of our floating boat from us, but I was strong and didn’t reveal any of our secrets, letting him know that all would be revealed eventually. We asked him to join us for pre dinner drinks tonight, but he has been invited to a party in a Q1 suite. These are the fanciest Queens Grill suites, and I would love to see inside one. So hopefully while he is partaking of bubbly and canapés he will take some photos. These suites are the ultimate place to hold a soiree. If we had a Q1 suite, I would absolutely invite the whole world so they could share in the experience of being in one. Meanwhile I have to be content with our Britannia balcony cabin. That being said, I do love our cabin, and will be most reluctant to give it up in Los Angeles.

We heard one of the warning alarms going off, and the Commodore reassured us that it was a false alarm. Next he alerted us to the fact that some of the fire doors were closing automatically, and warned us that although we can go through them, they are heavy and to be careful. His next announcement, while continuing to reassure us that there is nothing wrong, was that the elevators were out of action at the moment, which is what happens when alarms go off. He has such a calming voice and sounds so totally in command, that I am sure even if there was a problem we would all be reassured that all was well. I suppose that’s why he is the Commodore. And we love him for that! Soon everything was sorted out, and the lifts were working again.

Despite the high winds it was quite sheltered by the Pavilion Pool so we decided to go out and get some fresh air. The pool had a net over it due to the fact that the water was splashing out all over the deck, and it looked most unsafe in there. No swimming today alas.

Tonight’s formal night ball was the Hawaiian Ball, and there were many passengers looking very Hawaiian. Two of the men had an interesting take on the theme; a Hawaiian shirt with a black bow tie and a tuxedo and a Hawaiian floral material sparkly dinner jacket, but most relied on a white dinner jacket and floral bow tie accessorized with a lei. The women wore floral or brightly colored dresses and many (me included) had flowers in their hair. It really looked very tropical.

The ship continued to be very bouncy, and dinner was a challenge at times because there would be a sudden thud and you had to hold on to your glasses. We continued to discuss our boat design, and progress. I think it is going to look grand. Whether or not it will float is to be determined.

After dinner we watched the ball for a while, but didn’t dance, choosing instead to go to the Commodore Club to listen to Carlo on the piano. Although many of the after dinner shows are good, we really enjoy sitting in the Commodore Club and listening to him instead. Carlo and Hannah the harpist are excellent musicians, and it is such a joy to be able to sit back, relax, and absorb their performances. Brian tried out different single malt, and I had my usual Chocolate Affair. I have a recipe for a Milky Way Martini, which they used to serve until a few years ago, and I keep meaning to ask the barman if he could make one for me. It has more chocolate than a Chocolate Affair; I decided that tonight was not the night. In trying to get all of the chocolate out of my glass I ended up getting chocolate all over the tip of my nose. Not an attractive look on a formal night. I though the barman may think that I had had too much chocolate already. Maybe tomorrow night.

Then it was off to bed for another bouncy night.