At Sea – January 31, 2018

Although there was a water aerobics class this morning at 9, I wanted to see “Coffee with Hamish”.  The guests this morning were the members of “The Knights” who told about their background in music and how they started The Knights.

Stopped in the Lido and had a donut (first one I had on board and they are pretty good) and a glass of orange juice before heading to Sit and Stitch.  We only had a handful present this morning.

Morning trivia saw us coming in second place with 11 correct and the winning team had 12.

1)What are the only nuts mentioned in the Bible?

2)What country is the largest exporter of rice?

3)What sport did Althea Gibson take up when her tennis career ended?

4)Which European capital is known as the Venice of the North?

5)Which sea gives Iran its northern border?

Worked on the blog for awhile before heading to lunch.  I ate at the Taco Bar and sat by the pool.  The cover was still on but the sky was clearing up. 

We made a mother-of-pearl necklace which required more jewelry making skills than any of our other projects. 

Sat by the pool and had my afternoon ice cream while reading.  The water was still sloshing around too much for me to swim.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can finally get back in the pool because the seas are supposed to calm down tonight.

We had 13 out of 17 for afternoon trivia.  Three teams tied with 15.

1)”The Great Gatsby” was written by which author?

2)Dolphins are believed to not possess which of the five senses?

3)Lake Tahoe straddles the border of which two states?

4)How many Super Bowl rings did Troy Aikman win?

5)What is the last book of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible?

This was another Gala Night with the theme “Bowlers and Bumper Shoots” although I think they really meant “Bumbershoots”.  I always thought bumbershoot was a British term but when I looked it up today I found it is actually an old Americanism.  Who knew???

I listened to part of Jamm’s program (it was hits of Judy Garland) and then on to dinner.  The dining room was festively decorated with umbrellas, gold and silver hats and chair covers.  I had the crabmeat cocktail, surf and turf, and a crumble for dessert.

Went to the show which was the singers and dancers performing.  When I returned to my cabin there was another “Grand Gift”.  This one was actually very useful – a universal adapter.  Funny thing was, I heard someone in the shop today asking if they had them for sale.

Before I go to bed tonight I am going to go out on my deck and see if I can see any of the eclipse/blue moon.

Another sea day tomorrow – our last before getting to Auckland.

decorated with London umbrellas and bowler hats

the Gala Night Menu

my dinner

the Grand Gift came in a nice little case and has two USB ports

today's necklace

Morning trivia…

1)almonds and pistachios

2)China

3)golf

4)Stockholm

5)Caspian Sea

Afternoon trivia…

1)F. Scott Fitzgerald

2)smell

3)California and Nevada

4)3

5)Malachi

Smooth sailing until next time!

At Sea – January 30, 2018

I stayed up late last night because I was finally able to resize my pictures and I had three days worth to do.  After being disappointed that Claudia was not able to diagnose my photo issues, I thought back to what Tom, one of my trivia partners, said about automatic updates which was to try turning them off.  So last night before I went to bed I did that.  After restarting my computer I was able to get to my pictures once again to resize!

There was no water aerobics so I slept until 9:30. Went to sit and stitch for an hour before trivia.  At morning trivia we had 10 and the winning team had 13.

1)Who wrote “The Downing Street Years”?

2)Which is the most visited Greek Island?

3)Who is the Godmother of the Amsterdam?

4)What was the original route of the Orient Express?

5)Who was the first solo female host of the Academy Awards?

After trivia I decided to get my three days of pictures up on the blog so I did not got to lunch until about 1:15. Sat with Cyndi for arts and crafts.  Today we made a tapa cloth island note card.

Sat by the Lido pool after arts and crafts.  I decided the water in the pool was sloshing too much to be able to swim.  I also found it very hard to be able to read without falling asleep.

For afternoon trivia we had 13 but two teams tied with a perfect 17.

1)In 1875, what was the first city to be illuminated by 80 electric lights?

2)Which country produces more silver than any other?

3)What is the fourth most populous country after China, India, and the US?

4)What crazy character wore a hat with the size on the outside?

5)What four countries border the Czech Republic?

We sat and talked for about an hour after trivia.  The seas, which for most of the day had not been too bad, started getting a little rockier and people were not walking straight lines.

Listened to Jamm (pop hits tonight) and then to dinner.  Cyndi and Ed went to the “Mystery Chef” dinner in the Pinnacle so there were only five of us.  I had a crabmeat salad, the macaroni and cheese, and a butterscotch sundae for dessert.

I have been having problems with my beverage card scanning properly so I stopped by the Front Office to have it fixed before returning to my cabin.  The show was two of the previous entertainers but I decided instead to finish my blog and get to bed early.

My delicious mac and cheese

my tapa cloth card

 More pictures from around the ship

Morning trivia…

1)Margaret Thatcher

2)Santorini

3)Janet Lanterman

4)Paris to Istanbul

5)Whoopi Goldberg

Afternoon trivia…

1)Paris

2)Mexico

3)Indonesia

4)the Mad Hatter

5)Germany, Poland, Austria, and Slovakia

Smooth sailing until next time!

No such thing as January 29...

Overnight we crossed the International Date Line and lost January 29.

Alofi, Niue – January 28, 2018

Although we arrived at about 8 am, I had decided to wait until tender tickets were not needed so I got my swim in first thing.

We needed to have special approval to tender in today and for some businesses to be open because it is Sunday.  Normally nothing is open on Sunday which is a day for church and family. 

Open tendering started at 10:35 but I was still in the pool at that time.  I arrived on Niue about 11:30.  Even if it wasn’t Sunday, there is not a lot to do on the island – there were not even any excursions available.  How many ports have you been to where the cruise line does not offer any excursions?

The steps at the tender dock were a bit difficult but there were plenty of crew members there to help you get off the tender and up the steps.  There were two island ladies handing out maps before we started uphill to get into the town of Alofi.

The few stores that were going to open were not supposed to do so until noon so I started walking.  To my arthritic hip it felt like I walked for miles and miles (I forgot to take an Alleve before leaving the ship) but in reality I walked about two miles.

On the way back a few things were open including an Indian restaurant, a store that sold SIM cards, and the Information Centre.  The Information Centre had a few artifacts on display.

There were lots of dogs running around but all seemed to be friendly.  There were also lots of flies that were not so friendly.  Any time you stopped walking they descended on you.  At least they were flies and not mosquitoes!

Although it had been mostly cloudy all day – there were even a few sprinkles – it was very warm and humid.  When I returned to the ship I took a quick shower before heading to the Lido for a late lunch.

I started a new book today so I sat by the Lido pool and read until it was time for trivia at 3:30.  Not one of our better games with only 8 points – the winners had 13 out of 15.

1)What is the national bird of India?

2)How many gold medals did Carl Lewis win in the 1984 Olympics?

3)How many pawns are on a chessboard?

4)Name all 7 of Snow White’s dwarfs.

5)What color is the Golden Gate Bridge?

Not much time between the two trivias but I used it to return to my cabin and get a bag of laundry ready to go and to take some pictures from my deck.  Just before I came in the captain announced that our good weather and smooth seas were going to abandon us for a day or two.  Tomorrow is scheduled to be rainy with 40 mph winds (gale force) and this might carry over into the following day.

We had a little better showing at 5:00 trivia with 11 correct.  Winning team had 14 out of 17.

1)What is the name of Batman’s butler?

2)Who cannot be on a US postage stamp?

3)What is the highest waterfall in the world?

4)According to Greek mythology, who was the first woman on Earth?

5)What color is a Himalyan poppy?

Changed for dinner and was second in line to see Claudia about my photo issues on my laptop.  Turns out she had no idea what was causing the problem and suggested I visit the Microsoft Store in Sydney.  Not what I wanted to hear.  I am going to try to load the pictures onto the blog using my iPad although it will take much longer.  I may be a few days behind on pictures until I see if they can figure out my problem in Sydney.

Listened to the “Broadway Extravaganza” by Jamm in the Piano Bar before dinner.  I had a shrimp cocktail (no more shrimp until Auckland we were told – they are also out of spinach although nobody at our table was much concerned about that), beef brisket, and a mixed berry strudel for dessert.

“The Knights” performed their second show with songs from Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, as well as others.  Another great show.

Day at sea tomorrow.

Some pictures from my walk...

Cemetery in church yard although many are buried in people's yards

Shops

Government building - Niue is an independent country with ties to New Zwaland

Police station

A house...

...and its view

Solar panel and tank seen on many homes in Polynesia

Tsunamis must be a major threat to the island

LDS church - one of about 4 churches I passed while walking

Near the site where Captain Cook received a not-so-warm welcome 

a coconut crab - it can crack a coconut in its claws

Below are three pictures from the displays in the visitor centre

Electronically deprived getting their "fix" outside the Indian restaurant

Below are three views from my deck

the "hill" to walk up from the pier

"The Knights" in their final performance on board

3:30 trivia…

1)peacock

2)4

3)16

4)Bashful, Sneezy, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey, and Doc

5)orange

5:00 trivia…

1)Alfred

2)anyone still living

3)Angel Falls

4)Pandora

5)blue

Smooth sailing until next time!