Here, There, & Everywhere

Today is Friday the 13th. ☹

We wanted to note from last evening how much we are enjoying the dining room staff. Our waiter and senior waiter have been wonderful. They are of the same nationality. While from a different nation, the waiter and senior waiter we had last year were of the same nationality. One of our enjoyments of travel is learning a great deal about others around the world through seeing things through our own eyes and also from listening to others. It has been amazing learning about the culture of these two individuals and what has added to our education is that fact that we visited a couple of ports of call in their homeland last year. There is so much that we can learn from one another.

The title of today’s Blog is a reminder that we have the ocean all around us as we are making our way over to Honolulu, Hawaii.

We had success once again. Keith woke up early but as is normally the case I woke just a few minutes before the alarm went off. So, better news. ☺

The seas were a bit rougher during the night. Anne Marie is doing a bit better but is still challenged with the cough that occurs either if she is talking or laying flat in bed. So, during the course of the evening she will move from the bed to the couch where she attempts to sleep in more of a sitting position. The nebulizer treatments at the Medical Center are helping and we appreciate all that they have been doing for her.

When Keith arrived to the Fitness Center he was the first person working out but by the time he finished there were quite a few passengers up there. Using the Elliptical Machine when the Seas are somewhat rough actually makes Keith forget about the seas since he can’t feel their roughness during the workout. ☺

It was a bit on the warmer side so for the first time ever Keith consumed four bottles (yes four bottles) of water during the workout. He also felt like it was déjà vu. It was two years ago on the World Cruise that for about the month the news was mainlyh focused on the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Well, here we are two years later and the news last evening and while Keith was working out was on the items related to her death. With that said, the news on the financial front is certainly quite different than two years ago. We were talking with one of the lecturers who we know from many cruises who talks about Estate Planning. The difference this time around is that there is less to plan these days.

Speaking of the economy many people who we have spoken with are taking a cautious approach in their travel plans. While many have other travel planned for this year and next year already they know that they will adjust these plans depending on the current economic situation.


We enjoyed a very nice breakfast in our room this morning. Afterwards, we got ready for another nice day at sea. We are scheduled to arrive at our port of call tomorrow at 5:00 PM.

Lots of activities were offered today. This included a destination lecture given by Dorinda Nicholso titled “Pearl Harbor Warriors; the Pilot, the Friendship”. There was also a Health Seminar, and a couple of courses on computers and one on music given and a class on Memoir Writing. Of course, there were many other activities from Bridge to Bingo and so forth.


And, there was Team Trivia which was held on 12:00 Noon. Our team did quite well but the team that won the past two days answered all fifteen questions correctly. So, who won? It wasn’t us. ☺


We enjoyed a nice lunch in the Main Dining Room. Today was the American Classic Buffet so when we entered the Dining Room we told the Maitre d’ that we were looking for the American Luncheon that they were serving. We each enjoyed a wonderful salad entrée.

In the afternoon, in keeping with the theme of this cruise, there was a nice lecture given on the life and music of Leonard Bernstein as well as two different movies shown in the Hollywood Theatre. Many other classes were available along with other activities and there were Sabath Services.

This evening we attended a reception at the Captain’s Quarters along with some other guests. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed our conversations with the Captain, other Senior Officers and with our fellow gifts.

This evening we dined at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant with Ambassador Peck and his lovely wife. We enjoyed wonderful food and outstanding service and a wonderful conversation.

Keith