Day 46 - Sunday Feb 12 At Sea Day 1

Day 46 photos

position at 7:30 am: S29 13.06 latitude E113 34.2 longitude
(~1430 mile SW of Bali, our next port)
temperature: 69F, 80% humidity, overcast
distance since FLL: 16,273 miles

There was some cracking overnight, but not as bad as in the Bight. The overnight temperature is about 10 degress warmer than we have been seeing recently. It looks like we are moving back up into the tropics now.

Clay walked on deck this morning for the first time since Jan 22 at Bora Bora (exactly 3 weeks ago) when he fell on the pool deck. He went only a mile at about half his normal pace, but it was a start at getting back to normal.

They served a special champagne breakfast in Compass Rose this morning. It featured Crab Eggs Benedict with Caviar. They also had chocolate croissants this morning. And, they had raspberries again. So, it was a special morning all around.

Debbie went to morning aerobics and abs. For lunch, Compass Rose had white chocolate napoleon as a dessert. There was a Hot Sandwich Buffet at the Pool Deck. We went up to LaVeranda and checked to see if they had the white chocolate napoleon, but they did not so it was down to CR for us. Clay had the boiled brisket and cabbage and he really liked it. He said he would look for it again and order a double portion of cabbage next time. Debbie had a well-done roast beef sandwich with cheese, mustard and mayo on white bread with chips and cornichons on the side. Debbie thinks they do an excellent job with sandwiches here. She is really picky about sandwiches but they score major points here. They ask exactly how you want it and then they cut off the crusts and cut the sandwich into 2 triangles. Clay had a triple ice cream and Debbie had the white chocolate napoleon. It did not have that sweet frosting on top that napoleons usually have, but she thought it was very good anyway.
Freddie told us at his noon announcement that he expected low cloud cover all day. We have following seas and wind. We have swells of 6-10 feet and we are fighting a strong ocean current. He expected all of these conditions to remain the same throughout the day.

After lunch, the sun tried to make an appearance. Clay decided to return to the balcony. He turned the champagne bucket into a beer bucket with all of the local beers he had purchased since Auckland. Debbie did not think he needed to drink all of them. But, he stated that as his goal for the afternoon. Debbie is debating whether to go to both afternoon exercise classes. It is Pilates Mat followed by Yoga strengthening and stretching. The usual kink in her back has moved up a bit in recent days for whatever reason and has been really bothering her. She finds that Pilates, contrary to common reasoning, hurts her back more than helps it and is not sure if she wants to risk it. We'll have to see what is going on when the time comes.

Tonight is Informal. It is also the night of the final party in the Celebration Rotation cocktail parties for full World Cruisers. We started with the Bridge, then went to the Crew Laundry room and tonight we have the Engine Room. Our white Tyvek suits were delivered a couple of days ago as well as ear plugs and the invitation for 6-7pm tonight. Not sure what to expect. We did see several people come to the dining room in those white suits on the previous two party nights. They said it was very hot in there and some got help from the waiters stripping out of the suits. We don't really picture doing that and are not sure how to dress. It may depend on the suits. We both got Large size, so neither is likely to fit either of us!

Some catching up. We had 4 times changes this segment vs. the 3 they originally told us about on day one. All four took place in the past week. We moved the clocks back by 30min. on Monday, 30min. on Tues., 1 hour back on Weds. and another 1 hour back on Thursday. Everyone was pretty out of sorts about time by Friday-Saturday. But, getting hours back instead of losing them is better. Or traveling west instead of traveling east is much easier! This past week we also past the 1/3 mark. We are one-third of the way through our epic marathon of a cruise! This has brought on several reflective conversations about cruising and this cruise. On day 44, Clay conceded that he "was about cruised out"! After a brief victory dance, Debbie had to scratch her head. Now we had some really rough seas days in there, but normally the motion does not bother Clay at all, so Debbie cannot account for Clay's concession. Today marks the longest straight period we have ever sailed, so it is a milestone. Debbie has argued that as we finish Australia that cruising is not a very good way to see a country, even a country like this one that has most of the population on the shorelines instead of the interior. Clay has to concede that point, but counters that sailing into a city is a great way to see it first. Debbie admits that it is more scenic than flying in, but counters that for probably under $100 anywhere in the world you visit that you can take a harbor, or sightseeing, cruise and get the same views. Clay has to give her that point. So, the debate continues unresolved.

Clay is back from his balcony/beer excursion. First of all, he was interrupted by a neighbor and he is concerned about what he must think. Not! Also, he came in to declare a winner in the Australian Beer Olympics. We won't get in to it here, but those who know about it will understand Clay's bizarre equation of the Olympics with over-drinking. Debbie can't explain it, she only knows it always happens. So, the opening ceremonies of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics has been airing on our TV for the last 2 days. So, he decided to set aside the NZ beer (because the neighbor stared appalled and speechless around the divider at him?) perhaps because it was not from Australia and he had already had a Red Lion beer at the Birth of a Nation event. Anyway, before the suspense kills anyone...Here are the results. The far and away clear victor is Toohey's Extra Dry, followed by Carlton Draught and third place was Cooper's Lager. He did get some Cooper's Crown Lager here on the ship and he liked it well enough. (Bob was not invited to this balcony/beer event and is working up another grudge, rightly enough.)

We went to the engine room cocktail party. It was loud. It was hot. And we did not see a moving part. Bob got to go too, but he is a little hearing impaired as he did not use ear plugs like Debbie and Clay.

Day 46 photos