Travelogues ...headin' down the highway, lookin' for adventure...
March 5, 2000
We are at sea all day today and won't be docking until tomorrow. For once my warm clothes are perfect for the 67-degree temperatures. The further south we go, the colder it will get. It should remain cool until we are well past the fjords and glaciers along the southern most tip of New Zealand. Since we won't go through Fjordland until the 10th, I've got at least four more days of sweater weather.
Joe and Connie call us to meet for breakfast but given the weather, we choose to meet inside rather than on deck for our big breakfast. Roger inhales his food, as he is hot to recoup the money he lost at the ship's casino yesterday. I decide to go along for good luck or to play "arresting officer" whichever is needed the most.
I have this thing about losing money. It makes me ill. Once in Las Vegas I told a total stranger whose slot machine was dinging away on a big win to, "cash it in, take the money, stop!" I was about to add, "You fool," when Roger firmly took my shoulders and guided me away from the poor fellow.
Roger is not overjoyed that I have decided to go with him to the casino but I tell him either I go with him or I won't have anything else to do but browse around the dress shops and stores on the ship. Getting nowhere, I finally add, "It's ok, just go on along, I saw something in the jewelry store that I want to take another look at," he grabs my hand and says, "Come on Lady Luck."
It doesn't take long for Roger to lose a little more money and feeling totally depressed, he retreats to the cabin to download his photos on the computer. By lunchtime, Roger joins Joe, Connie, and I in the ship's Pizzeria for soup, Neapolitan pizza, and homemade ice cream.
Scooping in my last bite of ice cream, Joe reminds us that the dinner tonight is formal with ladies in gowns and fellows in tuxes. Alarms bells. Near panic. What in heavens name will I be able to fit into? To make it worse, on the way back to our cabins, we pass by the formal dining room and on the display tables for this evening's dining experience are puff pastry swans. I think, "not only what I can fit "into" but also "remain in" will be the real test."
I frantically try on everything I brought but give up at some point. I'm shaking my head and deeply regretting that I opted for pizza today instead of "cruisercising" with Kathy, the exercise director. Hoping to loose 20 pounds in four hours, I check the afternoon schedule and try to decide if I should do the "Motown Low Impact Aerobics" or the "Tummy, Tush & Thighs" class, when Joe and Connie call us for a game of dominoes in the ship's game room.
We play several games of Mexican Train and I want to play more but Joe has signed up for the "New Zealand Open Golf Putting Tournament." Also the serious bridge players have invaded our territory and are beginning to snarl every time we "shuffle" the dominoes. I scan the "Princess Patter" for the remaining exercise classes but decide I'd rather fret about what to wear and take a look in one of the dress shops on the off chance I might find something.
I have no luck at the dress shops and little time to fret further. By 7:00 p.m., all the passengers who have the late dinner seating have been invited to a "Gala Welcome Cocktail Party" hosted by Captain Calabrese. From shorts and aloha shirts to rhinestones and tuxedos is quite a change and I marvel at how beautiful everyone looks as I scan the room.
I hold a glass brimming with champagne with my thumb and index finger and cradle a pecan cheese ball with my pinky and palm, while the other hand struggles to keep my clinging gown covered as completely as possible with a large shawl. I am a hard act to follow but Captain Calabrese charms everyone immediately.
The Captain is a handsome Italian in his mid-forties with dry deadpan humor and very, very funny. I crack up when he keeps talking about being up-so-down-so instead of down-under. But only a few of us appear to appreciate his humor and I think maybe it's because we are all so gussied up that the crowd is a bit stiff. However, there are only a few minutes of the Captain's monologue. By the time he's finished introducing his staff its time to move into the dining room.
Even the staff is dressed more formally than usual. The large room with crisp white table cloths and fresh flowers, the silver and crystal, sparkling gowns, and twinkling chandeliers, all combine to create a feeling of a bygone era of easy elegance. All six courses are perfection, beginning with four different kinds of caviar and ending with my favorite swans, creamy coconut somethings, pastel marzipan, and delicate meringue drops.
The Show Lounge features a musical, "Ports of Call" which are song and dance numbers from various countries. I think it's first rate but Roger has a visceral reaction to the lead girl singer and grumbles throughout. He says she reminds him of a particularly controlling man-hater he once met, but I think that maybe he is still feeling the sting of the slot machines and the tightness of his tuxedo.
However, on the way back to the cabin we both agree that all in all it's been a wonderful day and we're glad that tomorrow we can set our feet on land and roam about.