Sea Days - Water, Water Everywhere!!

We had booked these two segments of the world cruise partly, of course, for the ports we would visit, but also because we like days at sea...we just weren't 100 percent sure how much we'd like a whole week's worth at one go. But, as you can see by the spacing between our posts, we were busy enough to keep us from writing every day.

As usual, there were lectures to attend, knitting and art classes, and our daily laps around the Promenade Deck. In the evenings we had shows to attend after dinner, or we'd get coffee or tea from the Bistro and relax in our stateroom, catching up on news from home and reading, or in Monica's case, keeping up with the knitting.

One place we never managed to get to was the pool! But then again, about half the time it didn't even have any water in it. The swells were moving the ship just enough to slosh the water out of the pool whenever it was filled. We're planning to spend some time there when we have our shorter excursions and during the next sea days.

Fortunately the seas were kind most of the time. That's not to say we had rough weather like we did around Tasmania, but for a day or so early on the swells gave the ship a little more movement as we sailed through an area where prevailing currents meet. After that, with following seas, the crossing was quite nice and comfortable. Here's a small selection of the sights from our verandah:

We had seen dolphins a couple of times, usually in pods of
around 20. This was the only time we had a camera close to hand! 

And just for something a little different, an afternoon rainstorm
approaching the ship.

               

One evening we had dinner at the Stardust Supper Club. This is a new experience that is offered on a couple of black tie optional (i.e. formal) nights. The Stardust Lounge is transformed into an old-style supper club with background music, singing and dancing along with a limited menu from the Waterside dining room. It was a great experience, and limited to about 100 guests, so it is a special occasion when you can go. It is also something you wouldn't want to do more than once in a cruise even if you had the opportunity.

The ambience of a bygone era. Low lighting and the band playing
in the background. Vocalist Karin joined in for a few sets

Caviar appetizer

Main course of lobster

Dancing in between courses to Karin and the band

We also had on board guest chef Jon Ashton from the US, via Liverpool, who was filming a new cooking series for one of the networks. We had seen him around, and he's obviously been here before from the rapport he had with some other guests. Monica went to his cooking demonstration one morning and discovered his quirky presentation style. This series will be great to watch if we can get it at home.

Jon working the crowd before the demo started.

Introducing the chefs who helped put the demo together.

John and one of Crystal's chefs working on the featured dish:
Fisherman's Pie

       

One of our evening entertainers was Toni Warne from Britain. She had been a finalist in The Voice UK in 2009 and has been busy performing ever since. What a voice!! And she's a really lovely person. We were chatting with Rick Spath, the cruise director, one evening when he called her over and introduced us. Here's a quick snapshot with Rick photo-bombing in the background:

               

Although most people were happy to see the end of the seven sea days, especially the crew who are busy all day every day keeping us guests happy, we could have taken another couple of days, especially if the seas remained on the calmer side. Our next port stop was Mauritius, our first experience with the countries off the east coast of Africa.