Good-bye Autumn, Hello Spring - November 8

Today was the day we crossed the equator so this morning was the King Neptune Ceremony.  King Neptune and his Queen came aboard to address the pollywogs (those who have not sailed across the equator) as to their crimes.  The MC is usually the Cruise Director, and Jeremy was ours today.  Once the pollywogs were convicted (they always are), they had to kiss the fish and get slimed.  It was then up to the top officers (including the Captain) as to whether the convicted had to sit on the side of the pool and let the slime dry in the sun or jump into the pool and wash it off.  Eventually all of them are in the pool and become "shellbacks".  It is fun to watch even if you have seen it numerous times before.

During his noon update, the Captain said there had been a few more cases of Covid and upped the mask status from "recommended" to "strongly recommended".  We are wondering if another ship-wide testing will take place soon.

During lunch I ate with one of my new knitting friends, Marlis.  After she left for the afternoon lecture, I read until it was time to leave for trivia.

After trivia I went by to check if the Sea View Pool was cleaned yet after all the slime from the ceremony.  It had been drained and was just being refilled.  I decided against swimming because I don't like doing laps in the Lido Pool.  I came back to my cabin and worked on a few things.  During this time, my safe was replaced.  I had gotten a note yesterday they were coming today and everyone has been getting theirs replaced.  I wonder which big wig in Seattle thought replacing perfectly good safes with new ones was a good use of money.

I played "Lightning Trivia" with two of my teammates.  In this, the question is read, you have about 30 seconds for an answer, and then the answer is given.  We did not do too bad.

Afterwards, I did something I haven't done before.  I sat out on the Promenade deck in one of those old-fashioned, wooden deck chairs.  I now understand why I see so many sitting there during my walks.  It was very pleasant with a light breeze and just a bit of sun.  I even saw a number of flying fish!  (They "flew" too fast for me to get a picture.)

Around five, I started my four laps around the deck as the sun was setting.  At 5:39, the Captain tooted the horn to signal we had officially crossed the equator.

Tonight was a dressy night with "Under the Sea" as the theme although other than a number of seafood items on the menu, I did not see any decorations to carry out the theme.  There was not a "Gala" menu but I had a tasty steak and shrimp meal.  Only three of us for dinner again tonight.

The show was Maria Campos, a singer, for her second show.  Afterwards I did a lap around the deck before retiring for the night.

So far the internet is working as normal.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

1pm trivia - African trivia - we had 12 out of 18, two teams had 17

1.  What is the sea that separates Asia and Africa?

2.  What is the largest city in Africa?

3.  What is the southernmost city in Africa?

4.  What is the narrow feature that separates Asia and Africa?

5.  What is the name of Nelson Mandela's autobiography?

1.  Red Sea

2.  Cairo

3.  Cape Town

4.  Suez Canal

5.  Long Walk to Freedom

4pm Lightning Trivia - We had 21 out of 30, the winners had 25

1.  What is the only country that had two Nobel winners who lived on the same street?

2.  What is a pig over 120 pounds called?

3.  How many eyes does an earthworm have?

4.  How many Oscars did Titanic win?

5.  What is the name of the sun god of ancient Egypt?

1.  South Africa

2.  hog

3.  none

4.  11

5.  Ra

Smooth sailing until next time!

King Neptune and his Queen

the singers and dancers on their way to be tried

entertainment staff listening to Neptune 

two fish to kiss

the officers giving the thumbs down

slimed crew members drying out

the sun just before it sat