A&J's Travels: SOUTH PACIFIC CRUISE: ALL THOSE DAYS AT SEA

A question I get asked a lot is "aren't you bored with all those days at sea?" My answer is always NO! I personally wouldn't get tired of just reading and staring at the sea but on this cruise there was so much more to keep one amused.

For example, every evening when we arrived back in our cabin after dinner, the burning question was, "what animal will it be tonight?" (or sometimes, "what is that?") On a 35 night cruise our room steward had to have many animals up his sleeve!

Seahorse?

Orangutan

Also after dinner we got the program for the next day. It was fun to see what new and different activities the cruise director came up with. I was especially excited when they announced a special "James Bond Martini" event on one of the formal nights. I was so sure the lounge would be playing vintage Bond theme music while the glamorously dressed sipped martinis, shaken, not stirred.

Alas, it was the same old tired piano bar music.
But, at least the drinks were good.

My days at sea fell into a routine. After breakfast in our room I would try to get in a mile or more on the promenade deck (4 times around) before it got too hot. Then I would attend a cooking class or go to a lecture (we had a great speaker on Quantum Mechanics) or an art auction. If none of those things were happening, I could also spend a little time at the penny slot machines. Later in the day I would head up to the swimming pools for some laps followed by the hot tub.

Outdoor pool, Deck 10

Of course food played an important part in the day. As we had the late seating for dinner (8 pm) I fell into the habit of skipping lunch and going to High Tea every day at 3 pm. This was an amazingly civilized event. After choosing what tea you want to drink, the server first brings around the tray of little sandwiches. There were usually 4 or 5 different ones to choose from and they varied throughout the week. This was one of my favorites - sun dried tomato, avocado, chive and cream cheese. Another favorite was a slice of roasted portobello mushroom with dried cranberries on top served on pumpernickel.

Tea sandwich with sun dried tomato

Tea sandwich with prosciutto and arugula

Next was the goodies tray. Again, 4-5 choices. Usually always a sponge cake/jelly roll type of thing, a cookie type of thing, a tartlet and a cake. This was my all-time favorite - blackberry with custard below.

Coconut and chocolate

Last but certainly not least was the tray of scones. These were nearly always hot. There were plain and raisin and they were served with gray boats full of orange marmalade, strawberry jam and whipped cream. Oh my.

In the evenings, besides the fabulous dinners, there were shows and sometimes movies. One of the shows I really enjoyed was "Bob Mackie's Broadway." For those of you who don't know Bob Mackie, he is famous for his over-the-top costumes for celebrities such as Cher, RuPaul, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, etc. The costumes in this show did not disappoint. Lots of satin and bling. The singing and dancing weren't bad either. We didn't go to the shows every night. Sometimes it was nice to just go out on deck and enjoy the stars of the Southern Hemisphere.

One formal night, groaning from dinner, we went to the late night Dessert Buffet which took over the whole pool deck. It was amazingly elaborate with a chocolate fountain, a Komodo dragon carved from chocolate, hundreds of cakes, pastries, breads, sweet rolls, fruit, etc. The pastry chefs paraded around to thunderous applause. We were still so stuffed that we didn't eat a thing.