Captain’s Party - take two

Okay, Hawaii is not quite discernible but we will dock in Honolulu first thing in the morning. We had our coffee/tea out on the balcony as it is remarkably pleasant out there at that time of day.  All the colors on the undulating ocean are a sight to behold. We didn’t however see anything move above or below the water- and haven’t in several days.  At this latitude, at least at this time of year, the water and air temperature always seem to be about the same.  Last night was another Captain’s Party.  Yep, another printed invitation – you know what that means. This one was “exclusively” for the around the world cruisers. By this ship’s standards, that is not too exclusive. Apparently, about half the ship’s passengers are doing the world cruise. Quite a few got on before Florida and are staying on for a Mediterranean cruise after Venice! We were told that we will travel over 37,000 miles at sea before arriving in Venice. I think it is only about 25,000 miles around the earth at the equator – but then we are a long way from traveling in a straight line. During the Cruise Director’s welcoming speech, he asked “how many people here are on their first world cruise, second, third, fourth, etc”. I heard lots of applause at each level until the seventh world cruise.  I just heard one little clap from the back of the room. I turned to see if perhaps it was the Captain. Nope, it was the couple who have spent six years at sea. This guy is also a big walker, lapping Jim several times each morning. He often wears a tee shirt that says, “I have walked 9,000 miles on the Princess.”  The poor Princess must be tired of being trod upon. He reports that he tries to walk 10 miles every day he is aboard ship. He is very tall and very thin. It is rather hard to like someone who can practically live aboard a cruise ship and can still remain so skinny. There was also a couple for whom this was their first cruise ever – not world cruise, any cruise. The funny thing is, I think I met that lady in the elevator and she had been sea sick several days. Wouldn’t you think you might warm up with a little Caribbean or Alaskan cruise before striking out for 3 ½ months at sea?  The party continued with the requite umbrella drinks and an abundance of canapés – knowing our obvious need for a little more food. After that, we all headed to dinner.