Day 9

We enjoyed a lazy sea day as we sail south toward our next port in Belem, Brazil.

COFFEE CHAT

John Bressler was the guest this morning at Coffee Chat.  He was very interesting and told great stories about his earlier days as entertainer.  One of his most memorable performances was when he opened for Johnny Cash and was able to meet him before the show.  He is putting on his encore show this evening and we’re looking forward to seeing him again. 

The morning lecture by Charles McClelland was a summary of the book Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.  I read this book a few years ago and found it fascinating.  Charles did an excellent job summarizing this lengthy book in less than 45 minutes.  For anyone interested in the history of human evolution and why certain cultures evolved differently this book gives some great insight into how that happened.  There is also a multipart TV special on the subject that is available on YouTube.  Links are included below: 

CASINO UPDATE

I didn’t finish in the money today during the 11 AM Texas Hold‘em game.  We are getting six people for the tournament now.  This is a far cry from the 2018 World Cruise where people would line up an hour early to secure one of the 10 spots.  Maybe things will pick up as the cruise goes on, but in 2018 the buy-in was $30 and it’s now is $60.  If they lower the price to $30 they may be able to get a full table every day.  I had better luck this afternoon during the cash game and was able to walk away a winner for the first time.

SUNDAY BRUNCH SAMPLER

We went to the Sunday Brunch Sampler for the first time.  This is held every Sunday at sea in the main dining room on Deck 4 from 11 AM to 1 PM.  There is a set menu of small samples of various items.  Here is a copy of the menu.  Other than beverages, there isn’t any ordering.  You get what’s listed – period.  

We were seated at a table for eight and it was enjoyable meeting several of our fellow passengers.  We had a wonderful time discussing our future shore excursions as well as our previous adventures over the years. 

BRAZILIAN CULTURAL AMBASSADORS

We have a Brazilian Cultural Ambassadors Team onboard offering various activities related to our upcoming port visits in Brazil.  Today they offered a class by the Lido pool to learn how to play Samba music. 

MAIN DINING ROOM

We were joined for dinner this evening by Andy Buenger, the wonderful performer who plays seven instruments.  He hails from Hamburg, Germany, and travels extensively on various cruise lines performing his outstanding show.  

MAIN STAGE

The current crop of entertainers will be leaving the ship tomorrow and we will pick up a new bunch that will take us through Buenos Aires. 

John Bressler was on the main stage this evening with his encore performance.  He put on another great show featuring hits from Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Elton John and Leonard Cohen among others.