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I began the day with my favorite morning rituals, coffee then breakfast in aft pool area then qi jong/thai chi class.
Had I not overdone it with setting the clock back then forward, I would not have shown up an hour early for class. Note to self: cease relying on I-phone for accurate time. We moved clocks back but my non-internet connected phone was still an hour ahead. I showed up at 7:15AM instead of 8:15AM.
Next, I listened to the live interview of Cruise Director, Gene and marionette performer, Phillip Huber. I find this man most intriguing. He has worked with puppets since at the age of 3 when his mom gave him his first puppet because he was shy. As a child, he collected more than 300.
Next, was a presentation from our Polynesian activities team/staff/ cultural ambassadors? They will conduct ukulele, singing, drumming, and hula lessons, crafts classes, and give lectures on the history and culture of Polynesia. I learn all Polynesians all originated in Tahiti. There are 100+ ways of tying pareo/sarongs. They will teach us how to make wearable items, dances, songs, and how to play certain instruments. They always wear a piece of land (sea shell necklaces, fiber bracelets, floral/tea leaf headpieces. Tahitian language classes will also be taught!
On my tight schedule, next, I took a galley tour. Here are some data points for this 1380 passenger ship:
---There is a saucier, an entremetier, saladier, and a soup cook.
---There are 122 service staff. The dining room as 34 stewards and 23 asnt stewards, 2 doorman, and 7 room service stewards.
Meat---8500lbs
Fish---1875lbs
Veggies---125000lbs
Dairy---500qts
Eggs---18041
Wine---1636 bottles
Our trivia team didn’t win the 11:45 game but we won second place at the 5pm contest. We still contest the question, "at the 1968 Olympics, what event was introduced?" The answer, "Special Olympics" shouldn't have been valid. That is NOT an event.
I lunched in the dining room at a table for 8, with Judy and Frank (met on previous cruise) and Joan from Juno. Tonight, the bridge instructors joined our dinner table. Michael has a fascinating life that includes having motorcycled throughout the US and the UK, having sailed his large boat for months at a time, working as a chemist post PhD, and more. He is 70 and retired and his passions are the sea and bridge. What a lucky guy to teach bridge at sea.
At 3:00, I took the jive one-step ballroom dance class. I got yelled at for leading and had to explain to Howard that I HAD to lead with the previous 5 dancers. It was loads of fun learning new steps and rotating partners. With each switch, we introduced ourselves to our new guy. After dinner, I danced more merengue and waltz, right before the evening show.
A comedien, Kermit Apio, entertained us with clean, funny humor. He covered all the topics of gender, marriage, aging, cruising, the TSA, parenting, and more.
I enjoyed ballroom dancing till 10:30 with the live band. I am getting to know the gentlemen dance hosts better.
Everyone keeps remarking how lucky we are!!!!!
We will set the clocks back again tonight.
Happy dreams!!
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| Varieties of napkin folding! |
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| Natalie Cole Puppet |
