World Cruise - Day 47 - Feb 28 - At Sea

Sunrise was early this morning or I guess relatively early this morning, since I was up until midnight last night doing my blog entry for Sydney.  We went to the late show at 10:15p and didn’t get back to the room until 11:15p or so.  It usually takes me about 30 minutes or so to complete the blog entry and send, but yesterday took longer, since I still had to sort through all of the pics.  I usually make entries into the blog during the day while we are at sea, but the port days it is usually done all at once at the end of the day, so it can take longer.

So I really didn’t feel like waking up this morning to get a sunrise pic at 6:40a, but finally managed to roll out of bed to get this photo:

I am back on my coffee-breakfast-Zumba-ping pong-seminar-morning trivia-lunch-another seminar-afternoon trivia-dinner-show schedule.  Krissie is back on her coffee-breakfast-Zumba-lay out-paint a little-lunch-lay out some more-paint some more-dinner-show schedule.

Dan got a new ping pong paddle in Sydney.  Actually, Wai and James bought it for him and gave it to him.  So he’s now practicing with it, getting used to the feel of a foam paddle.  I know, I know, no more ping pong, just thought it was interesting, plus we got a new player with the new segment.

We had our Cruise Critic meeting this morning.  Most people are using one of two different tour companies for going diving or snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns.  We had five new couples join us in Sydney as well, so we lost a few with the end of the last segment, but had new joiners balancing it out.

We tied for first at trivia this morning with 13 out of 20 and again lost the tiebreaker.  We have only won the tiebreaker once in about 12 or 14 tries.  But there were five teams tied at 13 and we got the second closest answer out of the five teams, so respectable, but no prize.  Here was the tiebreaker question: What percentage of a cucumber is water?  96% (we said 90%, another team said 95%).  Here are some of the other questions: What did Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde create in the 1500s?  Equal sign (we said infinity).  Approximately how long was the Anglo-Zanzibar War (multiple choice, 38 minutes, 5 hours or 14 hours)?  38 minutes.  What is Epistemophobia the fear of?  Knowledge (we put writing).  Shaggy Main, Giant Puffball, Oyster and Sulphur are all types of what?  Mushrooms.  What German coding machine was decrypted by Allied forces in WWII?  Enigma.  How many men perished when Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance was stranded in Antarctica?  Zero (we put 6).  What chain was California’s first drive-thru hamburger stand in 1948?  In-and-out (we put McDonald’s).  What are chewy pearls in bubble tea made from?  Tapioca.  Cape of Storms was the original name given by European explorers who rounded it.  Cape of Good Hope.  What meat is in a traditional shepherd’s pie?  Lamb or mutton.  The bento box is a form of lunch that originated in what country?  Japan.  “Love is patient, love is kind…” comes from what book in the Bible?  1Corinthians.  Who promoted psychic services in a Jamaican accent on late night infomercials?  Miss Cleo (we put Billy Crystal, we had no clue).  What is both a shade of blue and a bean?  Navy.

We did the raffle in the afternoon, hoping to win one of the several gift certificates, etc.  It always amazes me how people spend thousands of dollars on a cruise, then fill out a form and sit there hoping that their number will be called from among a hundred other passengers.  Krissie makes me go, since you get two entries if we’re both there.  And you have to be present to win, so she would be sad if they picked my name and I wasn’t there.  Kinda like the spa raffles (they had one of those this morning as well, although I didn’t go, since I was at the Cruise Critic meeting).

I missed trivia in the afternoon due to doing laundry and making the Cruise Critic updates.  I heard that our team was again tied and lost the tiebreaker again.  Eeks.

We have a new table assignment for this segment seated with Chuck, Lorraine, Ken and Sara.  Here is a pic our new waiter (Edward, from Romania) and his assistant (Gloria, from Peru):

The entertainment tonight was Pearson & Harvey, a variety act that included both singing and comedy:

Tomorrow is sea day #2 of 3 on our way to Cairns.