At Sea

March 21^st, 2024

Packing again! This time just for a 2 day trip. However we are going to experience different kinds of weather – hot and in the 80s, cold and in the 50s, rainy, windy, you name it. At least there won’t be any snow.

It was certainly nice and warm today and we ate our lunch by the conservatory pool enjoying the lovely mosaics.

On our way to lunch there was a very intense game of pong (beer?) going on in the Piazza between the officers and the passengers. They certainly use the piazza frequently for activities.

For the past 2 days I have seen 3 men going in and out of the life boat outside our window.

They do not look like regular crew members, and although they often leave the door open when they are in there, sometimes they are in there with it closed. It all seemed rather suspicious. I mean could they be drug smugglers? Then when I was walking by our backpack which is hanging on one of the many magnetic hooks in our cabin I saw at the righthand bottom of the backpack the tiny word.

Stowaway. Goodness gracious. That’s who they are, stowaways!

I decided I should be more discreet when observing their actions. I was feeling like Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched. I mean, when do I tell the authorities?

I noticed they all had the words Fassmer Service America on the back of their shirts. I consulted Google, and I think I have solved the mystery. Fassmer Service America says this on their website: Fassmer is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of lifesaving equipment. We produce lifeboats, rescue boats, davits, winches and deck equipment, …

OK, they have come to check out the lifeboats. Phew! Thank goodness I didn’t start an international incident. Who says that an obstructed view cabin is boring? I don’t!

But then I thought…………what’s wrong with the lifeboats?

Hoping that there actually would never be a need to use the life boats I got ready for pre dinner drinks with Rob Raincock, one of the enrichment speakers. We planned to meet at the Tradewinds Bar at the back of deck 14. We decided to go a bit early to make sure we could find a table. But by the time we got to deck 14 aft Rob was already in full enrichment speaker mode discussing the stars above us and explaining several different Apps to the crowd that had assembled around him.

The moon was particularly bright so I didn’t think we would see much. I was most interested in the Southern Cross. I looked south, and although it was a relatively clear night, right where the Southern Cross should be there was a cloud bank. How frustrating is that. I thought we should wait a while until the clouds moved on, but they seemed determined to stay in that one position. Then Brian realized that they were unlikely to move. That wasn’t cloud cover, but it was the smoke/condensation from our funnel, and it was likely to follow us the whole evening. I was so disappointed. We are sailing ever north, and our chances of seeing the Southern Cross are diminishing.

What was becoming clear is that we were not going to be able to extract Rob from his group of admirers, so we abandoned the idea of drinks tonight, and Brian and I went to dinner at the Steak House.

During the day the area where the Steak House is situated is part of the Horizon Court buffet, but at night it is transformed into the specialty restaurant. We were able to get a table by the window, and the restaurant was very quiet with plenty of space between the tables. It was a pleasant setting. The food was good as well, and I had an excellent steak and Crème Brule. The evening would have been perfect if our waiter had been a bit more on the ball, but yet again the service simply wasn’t good.

After dinner we went back to see if Rob was still holding court, and indeed he was.

It was nearly 10:00 PM and I was fading fast, but he continued to be as energetic as ever. Then the smoke/steam at the back of the ship cleared for a few minutes, and the elusive Southern Cross made a brief appearance. We could just make it out, but it was certainly there. Yay, finally.

In seconds it was invisible again, we were so lucky to have been there just at the right moment. With the bright lights on the ship it is amazing that you can see any stars at all.

Rob was still deep in conversation as we left to go back to our cabin and get the rest of our packing done. I am impressed by his energy.

We finally had our backpacks filled and it was time to get some sleep – we have an early start tomorrow. Peru, here we come!