Our final day on Tonga and, Tour buses were a’plenty, the market stalls were open and the sun was shining, what more does anyone want?  Guests and crew alike were off “up the road”, shopping for last-minute bargains, or making sure they had sufficient photos.

I spent the day on board while Karen (aka the “mob”) put their bargaining skills to use; they consequently came back with some beautiful Tongan jewellery and wood carvings.  Incidentally, World cruisers are adept at ensuring that any wood carvings they bring on board, no matter where in the world, are put into one of our freezers for 2 or 3 days; that kills any pesky insect that might be in them.

I watched part of the Super Bowl, however my main concern was not the result of the game, but when it would finish.  We receive all our transmissions by satellite, our aerials ‘lock-on’ to the relevant Satellite and lo, the programme can be watched.  I was worried because a small change of heading of the ship itself should, theoretically, not affect the signal strength.  I, however, had to turn the ship through 180° after coming off the berth, this being necessary to cross the lagoon and thence the shallower areas to the open sea.  The other challenge being that the wind was blowing, around 28 knots, so the turn could not be a leisurely one, it had to be done fast; if this were the case, our receivers would probably not rotate fast enough and thence we would lose the signal.

It’s not often that one schedules a departure around a football game, this time though it was a necessity.  Consequently all our calculations revolved around “time-outs”, “2-minute warnings” and heaven knows what else.  There would have been a mutiny had the signal been lost, your Captain probably hung from the yard-arm by a lynch mob.  Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on where your allegiance lay), the game finished at 4 p.m., our sailing time and I could rest easy.  I happy to report that I am not writing this from the yard-arm……. 😉 

Today, our Tuesday has been a busy one; social functions, drills and not forgetting the day-to-day management of this beautiful ship.  I took my camera with me as I went to various venues; I thought you would appreciate something other than charts or ‘island’ photographs, so here we go…..

These are of a Suite event which we hold every World Voyage, guests are invited to dine in the galley, (kitchen), the ‘kitchen brigade’ enjoy it immensely as they can interact with the guests, while preparing the cuisine.

 

 

This is a photo of our ‘knitting’ brigade.  Again, every year, ladies (and some gentlemen) while away a couple of hours in the morning.  They knit for the ‘Linus’ project; a wonderful way to knit hats, scarves and blankets for babies and children in Seattle’s hospitals.  (I hasten to add that, as is usual with such large a large group of women, the ship’s rumours and scandal probably also make for an enjoyable morning).

We are in sunshine, although it is cooling down slowly as we sail south.  One more day at sea and we arrive in Auckland on (our) Thursday for a 2-day stay.

Another photo of Emily; her latest ‘trick’ being to climb up on the coffee table and dance to the Disney music on TV.  🙂