Stabilizers do a wonderful job of controlling the ship’s roll, but they are ineffective against the inevitable pitching caused by the swells of the Southern Ocean.   Looking forward toward the navigation bridge you get a better sense of just how much the ship is moving on its steady march toward Picton, New Zealand.

 

 

Skies were mostly clear with a sharp horizon and moderate temperatures. The Captain mentioned that we may be able to see an Albatross in this part of the world and Gene offered a bounty of $100 Grand Dollars if anyone could capture one with their camera.   I don’t know if anyone collected the reward.

Yesterday was exhausting and we slept in a little latter than normal to recharge our batteries for Picton.   Room service breakfast continues to be exceptional, always hot and always on time – a real treat unmatched by any other cruise line in its class.

Martin Ralph was the guest on Good Morning Amsterdam. He passed out some Yo Yo’s and did a few Yo Yo tricks.   He mentioned that he contemplated building an even larger top, but said that it would prove too difficult to pack for travel.

 

 

 

Judy took inventory of her yarn purchases from yesterday in preparation for the daily knitting group meeting.   Here is a picture of the new additions to her stash.   If you click on the picture you can see a larger version.

 

 

 

 

The afternoon lecture by Joseph Kess was on the subject: Pacific Escapes – How a Sojourn in the South Pacific Changed the Lives of Paul Gauguin, Herman Melville, Marlon Brando and Others. His lectures are always well attended and interesting.

 

 

 

 

Crafts and the Texas Hold’em tournament are at the same time and I am now playing cards while Judy does crafts.   We both had successful days here as I finished in the money for the second time out of three attempts and Judy decorated a tile that can be used as a dry erase message center.   Her first message “Wake up!”is very appropriate for this cruise.

 

 

 

Tender 9 is still out of action and rumors that it may be repaired in Auckland proved unfounded.

We enjoyed dinner with Noel from the ships staff this evening. She is the Onboard Marketing Manager and provided an interesting insight to her job and her background in music industry and growing up in Nashville.

 

 

 

 

Ashley Carruthers electrified the crowd tonight with an high energy show, singing and playing the piano along with some interesting stories about his career.   His final number, “Great Balls of Fire” resulted in an enthusiastic standing ovation. The entertainment on this Grand Voyage continues to excel.

 

 

After the show, we wandered up to the Crows Nest to find a sparse crowd listening to music performed by Oasis.   We discovered a map of the world with our course charted next to a flat screen TV displaying a variety of navigational and location information.