All at sea

Day 32 - 22 July
Wouldn't you know it - lovely sunny day as we head generally north-east towards Alaska.  One thing I noticed in particular is the return of the deep blue Pacific Ocean after the various shades of murkiness over the last couple of weeks.  We have lots of hours to loose before we hit Alaska, but in a new twist, they decided to move the clocks forward at 2.00 this afternoon! rather than overnight.  Really confusing and a by-product of this was that bridge started at 12.00, so no lunch.  Not that I needed it, but pretty unsociable.

Day 33 - 23 July
A little cloudy to start with, but fog rolled in about 10.00, so the sound of the foghorn carried on for a few hours.  We are actually speeding along at 18.7 knots, which is a lot faster than we were doing around Asia.  The bad news from yesterday has just got worse - the clocks go forward at 2.00 pm for the next 6 days.  No one has heard of time changes in the middle of the day before, despite the Captain suggesting that this is being done because passengers were complaining about loosing sleep!! - a bit like daylight saving fading curtains etc.  The reality however is that we do actually miss out on an hour's daytime activity (including lunch).

Great news though, we have another Formal night tonight - just 4 days after the last one.  Marilyn & Ray are coming up for a drink before dinner, although it looks as if it'll be a bit cool to sit outside.  As it turned out, Ray & I sat out, watching the sun set - but yes, it was pretty chilly.

Groundhog Day
Day 34 - 23 July
Yes, our 2nd Saturday 23rd, so we are trying to be better this time around!  The weather has deteriored quite a bit, it is overcast and cold.  The shorts have all but been abandoned for a week or 3 until we return to warmer climes.  One of the beauties of the cruising life is the ability to get through all 4 seasons in just one month.  Bridge has been brought forward to 9.30 as they need the dining room for (yet another) wine tasting - one of the minor gripes about Princess on this cruise is the continual "hard sell". 

Well, although bridge was completed in the morning, it turned out that the wine tasting was abandoned due to lack of interest!   We had arraged to meet for lunch with Rick & Beverley from Snells Beach,  which was great.  Afternoon Tea was with Megan & Colin from Adelaide - bridge players we first met on the Ocean Princess in 2013 and again on last year's WC.  So all in all a bit of a different day after all.

When we put our clocks forward this afternoon we moved to NZ time, albeit a full day behind.  Of course this shows that our observation of crossing the International Date Line is a family - even their own navigational map shows us well west of the line.  One can only assume that there is some greater plan in the mind of Princess, of which we are not aware.  Since afternoon we have been speeding along at just under 19 knots in thick fog, so the foghorn is a constant background noise.

Oh yes, they ran the film "Groundhog Day" on both days.

Day 35 - 24 July
Pretty much the halfway point on the cruise.  Cool, misty/foggy and on we go.  Early bridge as they needed the dining room for the "most travelled passengers" lunch with the Captain.  We certainly are not in that league and probably never will be.  As I have commented in previous blogs, the favoured 40 are the same on each sector - why not mix it up a bit and add some "almost there" passengers? Still wouldn't include us of course.

Day 36 - 25 July
Did not wake up until 9.30, so must have needed the extra sleep (given of course the continual 23 hour days!).  Breakfast was just coffee & muffins in the International Cafe with no lunch due to 12.30 bridge.  There was one of the regular outlet sales on (one every 4 or 5 days - same stuff all the time), and although Vivian was not keen we had a look to fill in time.  She ended up buying a top priced at $43, reduced to $21.99 but actually only paid $8.99. Pity I couldn't find a bargain like that for me...?.

The morning was cold with mist/fog hanging around the ship.  This lifted a little after afternoon tea, so we donned our Kathmandu coats and off we went.  Yes, it was freezing, particularly on the windy side.  We are certainly a lot further north and a bit scary to think how much colder it is likely to be when we reach Alaska. OK, so I was still wearing shorts, despite what I said a couple of days ago.

Captain's Circle Cocktail Party tonight, so given that the limited number who went to the first one raved about how good it was we have decided to go. Well, it was pretty much as anticipated, although we were fortunate in being relatively early and got drink & food without any problem.  All our friends seemed to suffer from the usual lack of waiters.  While it was nice to be greeted by the Captain on arrival, I still fail to understand why the waiters are not the next in line before guests take a seat.  Still, I am just a passenger, so what would I know of such things?

Day 37 - 26 July
Thankfully just 2 more afternoon time adjustments to go.  Officially we move to GMT-9 at 2.00pm but this time zone does not exist either on my phone or the tablets, so we are really in no man's land.

The day is once again dismal and cold - at least the sea is calm and we are still pounding away North to Alaska.  Just another day at sea - while we like sea days, a bit of warmth and sunlight would certainly help.  Temperature is hovering around 11 degrees before taking in the wind chill factor.  It was certainly freezing doing our morning mile, although just now (after the pre-dinner show) we actually have something called sunshine I believe.

Finally the Captain has just made an announcement that we have yet another medical emergency and we have altered our course to get closer to land so that a helicopter can reach the ship and do the evacuation.  It is still up in the air (pun not intended) at this stage, but it is likely to happen early tomorrow morning.

Day 38 - 27 July
Yes, 6.20 and the roar of a US Coastguard helicopter right outside our cabin.  It was all over in just under half an hour and we have resumed our course towards Seward.  They evacuated all the rear staterooms on decks 10 & 11, from after our cabin - so we got to stay, whereas the others had to go to the lounge while the evacuation took place.  Full credit to the pilof and crew as we were maintaining a speed around 13knts throughout.  The ship had actually diverted to the very far western tip of Alaska, near the Aleutian Islands, so we don't know how far the helicopter had to fly to a hospital or other centre.

The sky is still overcast but surprisingly doesn't feel as cold as yesterday.  Our walk was pleasant and although there was no lunch again, at least we have now done our final time adjustment forward (we'll later start a few 25 hour days to compensate).

Day 39 - 28 July
Last sea day.  Yes, it has been a long one, not made any better by the overall bleak weather.  Early bridge as yet another wine tasting this afternoon.  The good news is that we can actually have lunch for a change and met with Margie & Ash, as they are leaving in San Francisco and we have a lot of port days coming up.

The weather continues to remain overcast, but we can see parts of Alaska as we sail along - currently sailing past Kodiak Island, about 300 miles from Seward.  We do not have anything planned for tomorrow, as we've spent time in Alaska previously.  Our biggest event will be negotiating US Homeland Security - although hopefully they may be a little more laid back up here, as they don't get many visitors coming from our direction.

Photos:
View from cabin on Days 33, 34, 35 & 36!
US Coastguard
Our patriotic stateroom