The Captain's Cocktail party last night was extremely well run and enjoyable. We are lucky that the QV has a large ballroom available for such occasions, as well as all the ballroom dancing, Afternoon Tea & fencing classes! A far more organised arrangement where we met the Captain and walked along a line of waiters with drinks before moving away to be served with little nibbles. Drinks & nibbles were in abundance and there was none of the bun-fight we've experienced recently on Princess. Captain Philpot gave a short address, introduced the senior staff and that was it. Off to dinner. We had actually been in this room just an hour earlier for formal afternoon tea. Although we didn't indulge, the scone recipe must be shared amongst the Carnival group - rock hard & inedible. The sandwiches & cakes however were superb.
After dinner we elected to have an early night. It must be the sea air. The sea has certainly calmed down and slowly the weather is warming, but as we put the clocks back an hour this morning, the evenings come quite early. As we are predominantly sailing westwards towards Hawaii, the evening sun doesn't reach our balcony although it is quite mild, sitting here with our green tea & chocolate cake!
This morning we wasted an hour as they had bomb practice. To explain, it was a predominantly crew exercise to practice procedures in the event of a bomb threat. So we were pretty well confined to the cabin for most of the hour. This afternoon we went to the movies, as they were showing the latest Bill Bryson film, Walk in the Woods. The theatre was absolutely packed. Vivian even missed her bridge to attend. After dinner we enjoyed the show - very professional & they used all the various instrumental groups from around the ship as well as the theatre orchestra and singers.
Thursday 11th
Last sea day, as we arrive in Honolulu tomorrow. While the sea has calmed and today is a magnificent deep blue colour, there is a cloud covering and that usual Pacific Swell. After breakfast we went up to the Wintergarden on Deck 9 and certainly the ship's movement is amplified up there. Our own deck on 5 is pretty darned good! We continue to meet really interesting people and while there are a fair number of Kiwis, there are also quite a contingent of Americans, Canadians, Germans and of course Brits. Very few Aussies by comparison, although this will undoubtedly change after Sydney. Only a small proportion of total passenger roll are doing the whole cruise, unlike last year's WC.
Ah, yet another formal night tonight. While I like formal nights, every 2nd night is a bit much. Whilest it is formal, it is also Hawaiian Ball, so not sure how that works. All good and we managed to get our mile in before dinner. It was a bit of a challenge as the swells are up to 5 metres, but smooth and gentle however the ship movement is the difficult part. Enjoyed the show, which featured Jon Courtenay on piano/comedy & the British Tones. The latter didn't do much for me and certainly their repertoire of American 50s was overdone. But Vivian enjoyed them, clearly I have no taste!
Set the alarm for 6.30 tomorrow as we have a trip booked in Honolulu.
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