Second day at sea

  cinnamon buns                                               silly sushi

Sept 29, 2010  At Sea

Today we had coffee delivered at 7am, then dressed and off to breakfast by the pool. It is very foggy, but much calmer. Joan went off to a class on beautiful edible bouquets – apparently very informative. Ruth went to the digital workshop on working with photos – more new info. Next Joan went back to the ocean bar to read and Ruth went to a cooking class on Silly sushi – looks like sushi, but made with rice krispie squares patted thin, then gummy worms instead of veggies, roll it over and cut then make another one. The leftovers are just rolled into a little roll, gummy fish on top and wrapped with licorice, gummy worm – whatever. Melted choc instead of soya sauce. Whew, that’s a lot of work, must be lunch time. We decided on burgers by the pool. After lunch it’s back to culinary arts to see if there are any new tricks for cinnamon rolls, and also to make a Phillipino delicacy – empanaya – very yummy. Joan is reading again. Ruth is off to a talk on San Diego as we will be there tomorrow. Found out exactly where to get the bus to the zoo. Joan popped in for a minute then back to reading, and I went to another computer class on Windows 7. That’s a long day of learning and reading so it must be happy hour-tom collins and green apple martini!!! It’s too early for dinner so back to the shops and they have watches with other jewellery for ladies and with wallets, pens etc for men. Not name brand but ok for evening wear. We each bought one as they were just $20. It has been foggy since we left Victoria and just as the sun went down we could see blue sky. Hope that means it will be nice tomorrow. The show tonight was Jade Milion – who had a great voice but her music was too loud and music to young for the crowd. We retreated to the Ocean Bar to listen to the oldies but goodies. Off to bed as we have to clear customs in am and our time is 6:30!!

First Day at sea

Sept. 28th First day at sea

^{Today we had room service at 7am – slept in!!! Joan is feeling much better, but the ship is still rocking and rolling a little. She ordered a little light breakfast with coffee and Ruth went up to breakfast after the coffee. We went to a demonstration on making an omelet, and we both learned something new. We attended a talk on the history of Rum. Joan was bored and went to check out the sales of the day. We met up again at another cooking demonstration of Steak Diane and Caesar Salad. By now our mouths were watering but we had to attend a drawing for a piece of jewellery which neither of us won. After lunch we went back to another cooking demonstration about chocolate and raisin bread pudding, and we had a taste of this one and it was delicious. Joan went for a short nap and Ruth went to a computer demonstration, then asked Hana the Techspert to help me with my blog because blogger will no longer let me copy and paste my blog from word. Hana helped me load another word processor which is compatible with blogger. I am still having difficulty getting the pictures on so I will see her again tomorrow!!!! I then sat in on another computer session on photo editing. By now it was half way through happy hour so I made a beeline for our Ocean bar and sure enough Joan was waiting for me. We had green apple martinis today. At dinner we sat with a couple from Vancouver and one from North Van. The show tonight was the 4 men of the ship’s cast singing songs of the 50’s and 60’s. They were fantastic. We are now in the Ocean Bar again enjoying the music of The Neptune’s – a trio playing some oldies. We will soon be off to bed. The sea is fairly calm now. The reason for the rough seas was the fierce storm that hit northern Vancouver Island last week!!}

Victoria

Sept 27the Victoria, BC

I woke up at some point during the night and looked out the window to see the lights of the Peninsula west of Victoria, and we were not going anywhere. In the morning we woke up to the knock on the door for our room service coffee – 6am. At 7am we’d had our breakfast and Ruth was off the ship to talk to our travel guide, Daniel. Just wanted to know how long it would take us to walk into town and what the weather was to be. We left the ship about 8:45 and walked into town, about ½ hour. Of course nothing was open, so we walked around for awhile until the Bay was open in the mall, went to a few other shops and were back on the ship by noon. It was quite cloudy, but not too cold. We felt a few raindrops now and then but it didn’t rain. We had lunch on the Lido by the pool and just watched the activity. Around 1pm the band played as we sailed away. We attended a digital photography demonstration, then a competition between the cruise director, the DJ, and a member of the audience, who were all putting a black forest cake together. Of course the 2 staff were making a mess of the whole thing, and it was quite entertaining. After that we went to our room to change for dinner and then on to happy hour – yum. It was really crowded, so a good thing we got there early!!! On to the dining room, where we sat with a couple from White Rock, and a man from White Rock and his sister from Wiinnipeg!! It was starting to get quite rough and by the appetizer 2 ladies had left ( one was Joan). Half way through the main course the lady from Wpg left. The 2 men and I finished our meal. Ruth was able to get to the early show. It was a comedian by the name of Max Dolcelli. He started off a little dry but got much better about ½ way through. Between the 2 shows the house band and singer entertain and that’s what I am listening to now. They play a lot of old pop tunes – and are very good. Back to the room and Joan is feeling much better but best if lying down. Off to bed

On our way

Sept 26, 2010
it is noon and we are boarding the Statendam, bound for Ft. Lauderdale via the Panama Canal. Joan and I can't wait to get aboard and get going. As we board we are given an invitation for lunch in the main dining room for previous cruisers. Of course the meal is fantastic. After lunch we took ourselves on a tour of the ship. It has been refitted since we were on her last, and lots of things have changed. Some of the lounges are bigger and some are smaller. The casino is smaller, as is the main theatre. Our room is on the 9th floor at the very front, and we were upgraded to a window. It is called a spa room, with our own yoga mat, slippers and a pedometer - yippee!!!! We are out of port a 5pm and under the Lion's Gate Bridge. Once out in the harbour it is time for this ship to have its magnetic clock recalibrated. This entails a special captain who's only job it is to go from ship to ship doing this calibration. We start spinning around slowly in a circle and make about 10 turns before it is done. We have lots of time as we are only going to Victoria. After the safety drill we went to our room for a glass of wine, and change for dinner. We are not in a rush for dinner as we had such a big lunch. At dinner our tablemates were from Victoria and White Rock. Some of the guests are from the Alaska cruise, and some are going all the way to Ft LaUDERDALE AND SOME ARE GETTING OFF IN SAN dIEGO. tHERE WERE LOTS OF DRAWS FOR DIFFERENT THINGS, SO WE RAN FROM ONE TO THE OTHERR AND rUTH WON A CERTIFICATE FOR $50 FOO AN ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT. tHE TREATMENT COSTS $150!!! tHE ENTERTAINMENBT TONIGHT WAS INTRODUCTIONS TO THE CAST, THE BAND AND THE CRUISE DIRECTORS STAFF.