Days at Sea

Cruising off the coast of Haiti
(preparing to head between Hispaniola and Cuba) 

We close out this trip with two days at sea.  Ahhh…  There is just something easier when there is nothing you have to do.  Sure, we don’t have to do any of the ports, but there is a sense that we “should”.  Anyway, we got up and headed to the “Speed Sudoku” at 9AM.  We have never been there since it doesn’t seem to time very well.  But we figured we’d give it a try.  The host is a brand new person to the ship (only on her second day), and she passed out the puzzles face down.  She told us we had up to 15 minutes to finish.  Finally the count down 3..2..1…GO!  Bill finished first, and apparently in about 3 minutes, which seemed to startle the host a bit.  But we won a small notebook.  Afterwords, we visited with another couple we had met earlier.

Some guy wind surfing by Haiti...by himself.  Good Luck!

On to the morning trivia!  It was hosted by the same lady as Sudoku.  She told us to expect a question on her homeland of Serbia at each of her trivia competitions.  We managed 16, but 18 was the winner.  But we did get her Serbian question right. 

After finishing our blog post, we chilled a bit and then headed to lunch.  On sea days they have a specialty restaurant for lunch that serves lobster mac and cheese.  So, had to go back for more of that!  We watched an onboard game show (Deal or No Deal), and went to enjoy ice cream, and then found a spot to play some cards. 

Playing some cards.

Theresa started getting ready for formal night and Bill went alone to trivia.  He was joined by 3 others and together they managed 18 points, which set up a four team tie.  The tie breaker question was “What is the heart rate for a hummingbird?”  Our guess (300) was a little shy of the answer (1260 beats per minute), and the closest was 400.  Oh well.

We went to dinner at the dining room and then tried to make it to the show, but were a little late.  It wasn’t fun standing in the back, so we didn’t stay.  Eventually, we found our way to the library and spent a little time putting together puzzles (something Bill enjoys), then headed to a bar for a show.

Ready to make Theresa's drink.

They call it “Good Spirits at Sea”.  They pick a guest, take his order (from a special menu), then make a show of preparing the drink, while having the guest sort of make their own.  The bar staff sets all the ingredients out, and then talks them through what to do.  Theresa got picked and ordered (made for herself) a Butterfly.  It was made from Butterfly tea, which Theresa assures us is NOT made from real butterflies.  She says it was made from a “Butterfly pea”, but in the noisy bar, that conveyed a little differently to Bill.  Anyway, she had fun.  Bill didn’t get picked, but he finally just ordered a Talisker neat, which he is already fairly adept at making himself!

Start with "Butterfly Tea"

Add some gin (upgraded since we have the "Premier" package)

Shake!  Shake!  Shake!!! 
(And splash and spill since it leaked a bit)

Time to strain...

Look!  It's Purple!!  But wait...

Add something unknown and it changes to...pink?

Enjoy!!

Somehow the ceiling broke. 
We had to move, but watched them try to fix it.

In the morning, we managed to get up early enough to make it to breakfast in the restaurant.  We stopped by the coffee bar since it is faster to walk in with your drinks then try to get it at breakfast.  Theresa got an iced Cappuccino, and Bill got something tomato juice related, which is common at breakfasts.  😉

What drink goes best with
morning trivia?  Beer.

We went to the trivia afterward, and then checked out the shops to spend the onboard credit which we can’t take with us.  The last few cruises, Bill exercised his option for some nice Scotches, so it was Theresa’s turn.  (It was her turn last cruise, but she deferred.)  So, she got a purse.  There was a little left over, so Bill will use that on an unknown Welsh whiskey.

This afternoon will be all about packing, so that will go to our final blog for the way home!