World cruise 25

February 23

We were supposed to be at Geraldton, Western Australia today...or at least for part of today. However, the best laid plans...etc. Last night and this morning, the seas were running pretty high along with high winds. This made the entrance to the Geraldton harbor possibly quite dangerous so the captain decided not to risk it, and we sailed on toward Benoa, Bali. The good news is that we will have dock space available when we arrive there in the early morning instead of our original arrival time of mid-afternoon. So, we missed a minor port on this end and will have more time at Bali on the other end with just about the same amount of sea time in the middle.

The other good news was that we got free champagne, wine, beer or soft drinks with dinner this evening as an "apology" for missing a scheduled port. That also happened back when we had to miss Rarotonga. Otherwise, it was another day at sea.

I'm working on another Project Linus blanket using the corner-to-corner diamond pattern that I used on the first one. This one is stripes of dark gray, light gray, cream, and a multi-colored yarn that has shades of gray and a dark pink. Very tailored looking. I have also made 3 scarves so far. One is a turquoise color that I've donated to a charity silent auction here on the ship. Another is hot pink for myself. The third is a very soft gold-colored one that I plan to wear on a formal night. Fortunately, the yarn for the Linus blankets is from a huge stash that is provided by the ship and donations. There are a lot of people on board who gather every morning on sea days to knit, crochet and talk. Some work on their own stuff. Some make whole Linus blankets, and some knit just strips or squares to be combined into blankets.

What else can you do on board a relatively small ship on a day at sea -- besides eat? Well, just about anything. There are regular trivia games. Movies on the big screen complete with popcorn or on tv in your stateroom. We had special live coverage of the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards. There's a chorus for people who like to sing. There are at least 2 and sometimes more lectures each sea day on everything from (tomorrow) "Lessons on Success from Brainless Blobs" (i.e. jellyfish) to "The Causes of Political Violence." There are lectures on the upcoming ports. All kinds of fitness groups. A star gazers group. A whole bunch of serious bridge players. There's quite an extensive library including a wide range of DVDs to play in your stateroom, and there's even a librarian. Jigsaw puzzles. A brief but daily version of the NY Times including crossword as well as editions of major papers from other countries. Ways to spend money including a casino, bingo, shops for art, high end jewelry, all kinds of collectibles, sundries and ship souvenirs. Live entertainment at various times during the day. Seven bars plus a coffee/tea bar. Sports and gym equipment and areas for basketball, pingpong, a pool, and a hot tub. A full service spa. Wine tastings. High tea each day. An arts and crafts activity where you can make something different each time. Drawing lessons. Watercolor lessons. Ballroom dancing lessons. We even had a series of lessons on playing a ukulele, another series on playing the didgeridoo, and a series on learning Polynesian dances for men and women. Who knows what we'll get next. You have to make an appointment with yourself to do nothing or to take a nap in a deck chair. If anyone is bored, it's because they want to be.

February 24

Spent a little money in the shops on board. Crocheted. Wandered around the ship. Played dominoes. Considered helping Scrooge McDuck count his millions. Formal dinner this evening.

We had guests at our table for dinner, Dennis and his wife Bianca. He is Chief of Security on the ship, has lots of gold braid on his epaulettes, and is from the Philippines. She is from The Netherlands and has just finished a contract working at the Front Desk on the Volendam. The denizens at the table behaved pretty much as usual despite lots of wine courtesy of Dennis. Certainly not boring as you can see. (L to R: Bianca, Dennis, Margaret, Mike, me, and Penny)



February 25

Still at sea. Eternally confused about what time and/or day it is anywhere except on the ship. I can get the ship's time off channel 40 on the tv set in my room, and I can get the day of the week from the carpets in the elevators. (All these years, and I've never spotted the elf who changes the carpets every night.)


And speaking of elevators ... sorta ... there are these really ridiculous chairs near some, but not all, of the banks of elevators. I think they are silly looking, and entirely too low for anyone over the age of about 6 to sit in or get back out of. I am pretty sure they were not on this ship in 2008.


Today there was a rather grand display of all the blankets made so far for Project Linus. There were 55 or 56 of them (some were arriving at the last minute). There are also a bunch more still under construction. I heard that 2 years ago there were overq 200 by the end of the cruise. Here is a photo of Margaret holding the first one I did in front of tables holding the others, and the purple and gray one at the left side is one of the ones she did.


The Captain, Hotel Manager, and Cruise Director turned out along with a Ship's Photographer to have pictures taken with all who knitted or crocheted them. There was a good deal of hilarity as Captain Jonathan and Hotel Manager Henk tried on some of the caps...or rather perched them on their heads. I did not get a photo of that "Kodak Moment."