Cruise Day #33 - Sea Day 3of 3

Last night was a repeat of our usual (and favorite) pattern—starting out in the Observation Bar. Once again, it was hopping, and Charlie had the whole place singing along with him. Always a good time! 🎶

We stayed until it was time for our 7:30 reservation at Solis, where dinner was another big success. We shared the table with two lovely solo ladies we’ve come to know over the course of the voyage. They are incredibly interesting and extremely well-traveled, especially with Seabourn. We’ve learned a great deal about the line through them—always fun swapping stories with seasoned cruisers.

Now, on to the food… Debbie and I both started with the grilled gamba (a huge shrimp—more like a langostino) as our appetizer. Wow, was it good! 

Next, I had the table-side prepared Panzanella salad… another wow! 

For our main course, we each ordered the (also huge) grilled swordfish and shared a Zeffirino Trofie with pesto.

So. Good. 😋 We were one of the last tables to leave—10:00 pm! We couldn’t believe we’d been there that long, but that’s always a sign you’re having a great time.

After dinner, we headed back to our stateroom to continue streaming a really good Netflix series, The Beast in Me. Before calling it a night, we turned our clocks forward another hour.

The seas were calmer overnight and are even better this morning. Today’s high is expected to be around 78°F with slightly overcast skies. Our plan? A relaxing day by the pool—which is exactly where we are right now, stretched out on our loungers. 🏖️

Tomorrow—Monday for us—we arrive at our first New Zealand port, the Bay of Islands. They’re hosting a Super Bowl party in the Grand Salon starting at 12:30 pm. Since we’ve been to the Bay of Islands a couple of years ago and didn’t find it especially memorable, we’ll be staying onboard and joining the “Super Bowl Monday” festivities instead. Sounds like a perfect plan to us! 🏈

Cruise Day #32 - Sea Day 2 of 3

We kicked off our evening last night with our friends—and Charlie—in the Observation Bar. Engen, the Head Bartender, is fantastic; he has our drinks ready before we even sit down! 🍸 The place was hopping, with several late arrivals unable to find seats.

Our friends S & W from Sarasota, Florida, invited us—and Mrs. B from Brussels—to join them for dinner in The Restaurant. Dinner was really good, and the table conversation was just as good.

Afterward, no one at the table was interested in the violinists’ show, so we all headed back to the Observation Bar for Charlie’s 9:30 set. There’s now a regular crowd that gathers there, always in their usual seats. It really has a “Cheers” bar vibe—all we need is for Norm to walk in! 😂

After Charlie’s set, we were the first to head “home.” Apparently, some of the regulars stay well past midnight… way too late for these old-timers!

Since leaving New Caledonia, the seas have been rocking a bit, along with overcast skies. Today is no exception, and the winds have picked up—definitely not prime pool weather. We also moved the clocks forward an hour, just to keep things interesting. 😴⏰

We ended up observing Trivia again today, but the questions were much harder this time.

Afterwards, we made our way to The Restaurant for the Galley Market. Wow—what a spread! Just about everything you could possibly think of was available, and honestly, the photos don’t do it justice.

We tried to show a little restraint since we’re having dinner at Solis tonight… but let’s just say plenty of lobster, crab legs, stone crabs, and green-lipped mussels were consumed. 🦞🦀

Cruise Day #31 - Sea Day 1 of 3

Last night started off, once again, in the Observation Bar. Charlie had been off for a couple of days with a cold and returned last night with one small restriction—no singing. Enter Melody, the Assistant Cruise Director, who generously lent her voice to Charlie’s guitar. Wow! She has a fantastic voice! This was their first time performing together as a duo, and they were really good.

Afterwards, we had dinner with our Australian friend, Mr. C, in The Restaurant. From there, we headed to the Grand Salon for the Seabourn Singers and dancers’ Rock Opera show—and extraordinary doesn’t even begin to cover it. We are beyond impressed by the talent in this cast. Hands down, they are the most talented troupe we have ever seen or heard on a cruise. Bravo! 👏🎶

We started today with breakfast in The Restaurant, which is one of our favorite sea-day pleasures. It’s quiet, the service is superb, and we always enjoy catching up with our serving team.

The weather has shifted again—overcast skies with a chance of showers, and moderate seas running about six feet. Debbie spent the morning by the pool, while I retreated to our stateroom to tackle the online New Zealand Declaration forms and take care of some banking. Thankfully, most of our bills are on auto-pay, which makes life so much easier while traveling.

We had promised Mr. C we’d stop by Trivia this morning in the Club. He’s really trying to recruit us for a team, but we’re not quite ready to commit to every sea day. So Debbie and I showed up, sat in the back, and played along. We knew most of the answers, but a couple were real brain busters. For example—can you name all seven children from The Sound of Music? Really?! We could only come up with one! Our friend Danny should have been there… he’s a total Sound of Music fanatic.

We grabbed a quick lunch in the Patio and then retreated to our room for a quiet afternoon of reading. I think sushi is calling our name for dinner tonight. 🍣😄

This isn’t related to our current trip, but I thought I’d share this with my fellow aviculturist friends. A friend in Panama just sent me this photo from his aviary—an absolutely amazing Cuban Amazon mutation. We bred many Cuban Amazons, but we were never lucky enough to have a mutation. 

Spectacular doesn’t even begin to describe the beauty of this rare parrot! 🦜✨

Cruise Day #30 - Chepenehe Village, Lifou, New Caledonia

Today we finally made it to the Patio for breakfast—and discovered (surprise!) that they have a separate menu. 

How did we not know this sooner? 🤦‍♂️ We both ordered the breakfast burrito and wow… it was delicioso. Definitely worth the wait.

Since we had already prepped to go ashore before breakfast, we ended up being among the first on the short water-shuttle ride. The views on the way in were absolutely stunning.

While there isn’t much to see in the tiny shoreside village, a quick 10-minute walk brought us to a gorgeous stretch of soft, white-sand beach.

We were the very first ones there and rented two chaise loungers with umbrellas for $30 USD—money well spent. The water was perfection.

Crystal clear and calm, and we were lucky enough to swim with a whole bunch of sea turtles (sadly, photos just weren’t possible 🐢).

After about an hour, a few more people arrived, but it never felt crowded. It was one of those rare, incredibly relaxing days… I was in the water for at least three hours.

On the water-shuttle ride back to the ship, we shared the ride with the Chef, who had just picked up fresh local fruit—pears, nectarines, apples, and sweet mini bananas. Doesn’t get much fresher than that!

Now it’s on to three sea days as we make our way toward our first port in New Zealand.