THIRD WEEK ON THE PACIFIC – WHAT NEVER WAS



Well, it is now Sunday, February 10th on the Pacific Princess and we’re right at home in our wonderful cabin.  The ship is relatively small compared to so many of the new jumbo cruise ships and even the mid-size ships in Princess’s fleet.  Although the amenities are much fewer, we’re very comfortable and everything is very accessible. 

We’re in the forward area of the ship and right above us is the spa and gym.  Two decks up is the Pacific Lounge where we’re able to dance when the ship isn’t rockin’ and rollin’ which it has been this week.  Which brings me to the title of this post.

We passed the International Date Line sometime on Tuesday, February 5th and we woke up the next day on Thursday, February 7th.  It’s always a mystery to me but I just go with it and don’t think about it too much.  I have two friends whose birthdays were on the 7th and wrote them on the 7th, knowing at the time that back in Washington it was still the 6th.  I included a note wishing them happy birthday early because after each day that went by, I’d never get the timing right. 

Aside from losing February 6th, the Captain informed us, immediately after leaving Raiatea on Monday, that, due to a bad storm in the Pacific, we would not be going to Tonga (which was scheduled for yesterday).  Safety is always the highest priority on these ships and when the Captain makes that decision, it’s final.  He has been able to navigate around the storm but it has still been extremely rocky, bumpy and rolling for the past few days.  Fortunately, neither I nor Michael experience any sort of seasickness so we’re fine.  I feel bad for those people who do and I do see some people with patches behind their ears.  I hope that works for them.   The weather has prevented us from dancing in the Pacific Lounge, particularly because the Lounge is in the front of the ship which feels the most movement of the waves. 

We have been to Tonga on our last world cruise in 2016 and if anyone is interested in the Kingdom of Tonga, our blog from 2016 contains information as well as photos. 

http://teamsalazar2016.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-kingdom-of-tonga-february-4th.html

I’m hoping I’m getting this website address correct but if not, you can always just check out teamsalazar2016.blogspot.com and click on February’s postings. 

We’re expecting to arrive in Auckland ahead of schedule tomorrow night, Monday, February 11th, and we’ll stay overnight until Tuesday.  No excursions planned but lots of walking. 

MICHAEL’S OBSERVATIONS:

I’m amazed at how quickly time is passing by and, as noted by Leona, Wednesday never came and just disappeared after we crossed the International Date Line.  Time seems to be passing more quickly than the last world cruise – I can’t believe we’ve been onboard three weeks already. 

My general observation is that the passengers seem to be nicer, and, for the most part, dress better on formal nights than on the last world cruise.  I also get a lot of compliments about my wild Jams World shirts and the standard question “how many shirts did you bring?”  This time, I only brought 40 shirts. 

I’m really enjoying this cruise and have settled into a nice routine.  Generally, at home, I spend all night on the computer watching tv;  in contrast, I never bother to even go online and leave that to Leona to check emails. 

It’s amazing how rocky this trip has been due to the tropical storm that the Captain has tried to avoid.  We are rocking between 10 to 15 feet as we look out at the horizon.  Of course, it doesn’t really bother me but it does cut into my dance time with Leona.  Hoping to spend more time on the dance floor once we enter sheltered water.  I suggested to some fellow dancers that we offer up human sacrifice this afternoon (because there are three dance opportunities tonight) but my idea was nixed. 
 

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