Role call at sea!!

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Today is a full day at sea. Now whether it was last night's success at trivia that went to our heads or the fact that we forgot that an inside cabin is like living in a cave and we'd gone in to hibernation mode, we don't know. Our brains didn't compute that it was time to get up and our alarm must have had the same problem!! We didn't wake until 9:55. Morning Trivia was in 5 minutes. Never mind. Let some others win for a change. Lead them in to a false sense of security!

We had a leisurely brunch on the aft deck. Despite being grey and overcast, the wind was only 5 knots (gentle breeze) and strangely temperate. It was about 60°F on deck but felt decidedly warmer.

After breakfast we took a wander through the ship. There wasn't a seat to be had. We didn't remember the Sapphire Princess being so crowded last year across the Pacific.

Why do old people insist on getting up at the crack of dawn then hogging one of the seats in a lounge and fall asleep?? They should just stay in bed for an extra hour then they'd have the rest of the day to enjoy themselves!! This would free up seats for those of us who want to chill out whilst still conscious!!!

We found some seats near the Internet café. This was handy because I could catch up on my blog.

There are only about 26 Americans on board the Grand Princess out of approximately 2500 passengers but despite not wearing my bright orange SF baseball cap, the Americans can still spot a Giants T-shirt from 200 paces. I was approached by a lady who asked me if I was a Giants fan. We spent the next 10 minutes discussing the current season and how unfortunate Buster Posey is at recently breaking his leg and probably out for the rest of the season and Torres (the other one!!) is getting back to form after a recent lull in form (it must run in the family!! Happy days!!

There is a web site called Trip Advisor. Like-minded people who are on the same cruise can organise get-togethers. Roisin had joined the 'roll call' for this cruise and at 2pm we headed for the aft bar and met up with the organiser, Swiss Dave.

Swiss Dave lives in Switzerland and is called Dave (hence the name!!). We were soon joined by 20 others including 2 Americans, Alice and Ken. We spent about and hour and a bit chatting and swapping stories. I was surprised by 1 lady, Rachael saying that she had been with Thompson's, (who I thought were very family oriented) but she said that her 2 children are in the cruise kidz club and loving it. In her opinion, Princess have more to offer because they have a large plasma TV, Nintendo Wii and xboxes. It sounds great. I may even give that a go myself tomorrow. I wonder if I shave my goatee and wear shorts that I'll get admitted to the club. Roisin said that if I were caught trying to get in to a kidz club dressed like that I would likely get arrested!

Is it that time again? If it's 4:30 it must be afternoon trivia. We met Kaye at 4pm. She said that she had met a couple of Americans and a chap from Malta. They did well this morning scoring 18 out of 22 but came up short of winning.

Suddenly Roisin and I heard 2 familiar voices. Well what d'ya know? It was Alice and Ken. Kaye seemed surprised that we had already met. Alice and Ken were shortly followed by George from Malta.

The final question of the afternoon was: ‘What do you call a hand of 3 of a kind and a pair in poker??" The answer is exactly what our team got…”A full House”!! 20 out of 20 and 2 wins out of 2. Jeers of ‘Cheat!!' have already started to ring around the Explorers lounge.

Tonight was the first of 2 formal nights. We made our way down to the Piazza at 7:15 to be greeted with a tray of champagne. The captain made a customary speech at 7:50; people got various photos and portraits taken by an array of backdrops. After agreeing that we have enough portraits of us in our formal attire, we chose to have our portrait taken by the champagne fountain. Never say never. That's going to be my motto from now on!!!

Roisin and I always choose the late dinner sitting which in this ship is 8:15. We were shown to our table in the Botticelli Dining Room for the first time this voyage and were shortly joined by two other couples. Both were from Southampton, as it happens - Ron and Suzanne and Ernie and Mary. Ernie is a Property Manager and this is only their second cruise. The first was on a Thompson's ship. Ron and Suzanne are cruise virgins!! Blimey!! That made Roisin and I senior cruisers on the table.

Arnold, our waiter seemed pleasant but they all do, don't they, though!?? He gave his speech before each course for his recommended dish, just like those before him. His Mexican assistant (I don't know her name yet as it was difficult to clock her name badge without her thinking I was looking at her breasts!!) looked suspiciously like a Ukrainian assistant we once knew!! She even scraped the crumbs from the tablecloth with the same implement and with such confidence!!!

Rather than catch the late show, titled ‘Stardust', Roisin and I decided to try out MUTS. The Movies Under the Stars film was ‘Little Fockers' starring Ben Stiller and Robert de Nero. The movie started at 10:30 and finished a little after 12 midnight. The wind had picked up but with true northern grit we battled the cold and risked the frostbite!! We were given a blanket but that was as about much use as an ashtray on a motorbike!! Don't get me wrong. MUTS is a great way to spend an evening…in the Caribbean or Mediterranean but when you are now on the same longitude as the Shetland Isles it's a completely different ball game.

It's a good job we smuggled that case of wine aboard because after that I need a drink!!

Tomorrow we arrive in Stavanger before setting sail for Hellesyllyt and Geirangerfjord then off to Olden where we will be visiting a Glacier close up. I just hope it hasn't melted before we get there! Finally back down to Bergen before heading back across the North Sea to Southampton.

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[Dave B]

I get up early to make sure that I am still alivem. 20 degrees in Torquay!