Days 96 & 97 On the way to our last port August 28 & 29th

Having had the air conditioning sorted, yesterday, we were somewhat dismayed to find that it was just too cold, even on the warmest setting and woke in the middle of the night and had to open the ranch-slider to the balcony to let in some heat!  Fortunately, the second call fixed it for good and it is now working as it should.

Somehow or other, young Logan wrote our names down for morning bowls but it must have been on the wrong sheet of paper as we never had the call to perform.  Never mind.  Another early coffee with Norm before the 11:30 dance lesson – Foxtrot & Quickstep.

Billed as the International deck party night, our table did its own thing by doing a mix and match with shirts and hats, hence my Union jack shirt and Arab hat. Up on deck we met two lovely ladies we have often sat with for the atrium quiz, Rita and Veronica. Rita is now my adopted Mum!  An amazing lady whose extensive travel experiences are mind boggling.  We didn’t hang around the deck too long (birdie was getting tired of all the attention), even though the dessert buffet was superb and we retired to the atrium for a late coffee and a sit down. 

One of the popular dances Alana has taught has been the disco samba.  A mix of line dance and samba, ideal for those on their own.  With Terry and Kev holding hands, I suggested to Nigel that maybe Kev should be carrying a handbag, and within a couple of seconds, Nigel had it sorted!  The next night, it was Nigel’s turn...

Clocks back again another hour, plus another sea day so no need to go to bed early.

Monday

Much the same as yesterday, a relaxing day, with Alana almost back to normal with a Jive class.  Afterwards, we managed an extremely light lunch with just a couple of small sandwiches and a coffee down on deck five and a long chat to Philip.

After an abysmal 7/20 quiz, then a hot spa, dinner was Italian night and we looked forward to winding up head waiter Maurizio, with a litany of fake complaints from everyone on the table.  Maurizio arrived late, slumped into a vacant seat (No Anthea & Dennis) and after we had gone around the table with our tales of misery, he explained he was late as he had smacked his hand when the ship lurched and may have a broken bone in his hand. Immediate sympathy...

To the Vista lounge with a Mexican singer/comedian, Patricio Rodriguez.  A slightly different show from normal but enjoyable. Once again to the atrium for coffee (Paula claims it stops me snoring....) and Nigel’s incriminating photograph, though he does look quite at home.

Ho hum.  The very last overseas port tomorrow – Apia (Samoa).  We have nothing planned and will probably just wander into town and relax, soak up the sunshine (hopefully) before the three day run back to NZ, where we are delighted to see that the thermometer has reached the dizzy height of 18 degrees. We have had our luggage labels issued and have booked to leave the ship at 8:30am so Julie, hopefully, will pick us up at about 9am.  The ship leaves Auckland at 2pm Sunday, so depending on the weather, we may even head to Devonport wharf or Mt Victoria to wave it away and to wave farewell to so many great Australian  people we have met over the last three months.

Only another 11 months now before we return to OUR cabin on OUR ship!