As I type this I'm half watching 'Home & Away'; unfortunately we have not seen a single episode of 'Neighbours' and I am beginning to have withdrawal symptoms!
Today was going to be an extremely short entry as it has been very warm all day which means we have done absolutely nothing but sleep, eat and sunbathe but I did go to a lecture myself this morning which made me cross. It was a Health Seminar entitled 'Secrets to a Flatter Stomach' which is a subject very close to my heart (!) but the lecturer mixed within some sensible comments some, what I thought were slightly dangerous, thoughts. He basically said coffee went through 800 different processes from bean to cup and was, therefore, bad; he then condemned reduced sugar/sugar free soft drinks (ie diet Coke, etc) as no good as they contained aspartame because, he claimed, that as one of the chemicals used to make it is formaldyhide all we are doing is 'pickling/preserving' our insides and we would be better drinking full sugar Coke, etc. He also derided the use of multi-vitamins saying that 96% of each tablet was simply flushed away. Apparently, according to him, if we exercised more and ate healthily we could throw away our diabetic tablets and blood pressure tablets. With hindsight I should have challenged him, even to simply ask how many Cokes I would have to drink before I pickled myself (gallons and gallons of the stuff by the way). I understand there will be more lectures and Stephan is coming with me next time, ready to ask the questions I should have done.
I say we have done nothing but that is our choice. For those people who have never cruised I would tell them that there is something going on all day. You can join a Book Club who, for example, will be discussing 'Pride & Prejudice'; there is a library so copies are available. You can learn to dance, or line dance; there are lectures to attend, quizzes to participate in, arts & crafts demonstrations, the list is endless – Stephan and I are just as happy doing nothing as those people who rush from one activity to another. If we see something we fancy we will do it, otherwise we won't.
The evening meal brought a surprise – 2 new people. Karen and Ted, who are from Missouri, had apparently been talking with Faye &John and mentioned that as they were on what is called 'anytime dining' they hadn't really met many people so they were invited to join our rowdy lot. Afterwards we went to hear a comedian – or so we thought. John was convinced the show was in the Explorers Lounge and as we settled ourselves into comfy seats I expressed my reservations as I watched chairs and music stands being set up in the middle of the stage, but I was shouted down. I proved to be right however when The Diamond String Quartet “Viva Classica” arrived on stage to present a classical recital. We stayed for half an hour before disappearing; strangely enough it was only when they attempted to play modern music that I got bored, the classical music extracts had been quite enjoyable.
Today started with everyone dodging in and out of rain showers, however by lunchtime they had disappeared and the sun has shone brightly all afternoon. It has been hot enough for even me (Rosalyn) to take a dip in one of the many pools to be found on the ship. However, what I had not taken into account is that unlike swimming pools at home which don't move ship pools DO and after a quick cool down I was out as quick as I possibly could. Forgot to mention that we were able to watch a Paul McCartney concert on the MUTS screen and what memories it brought back as he had interspersed some clips of The Beatles in their early days as he sang along with them. They looked so young way back in the '60s, but then we were all young.
I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you about another subject which provokes reaction amongst cruise passengers and that is the question of gratuities and tipping. I believe there are only a couple of cruise lines that include these within their price, which really is the way to go. In common with other lines, Princess automatically add 15%to any drink you buy – it is claimed that this 15% goes into a 'pool' and is shared amongst the bar staff and the waiters who serve the drink. Princess then automatically add $10.50 per person per day (ie; for us $21 a day) for gratuities which again go into a 'pool' and is divided amongst the cabin stewards, the waiters in the dining room and the staff behind the scenes, e.g. the kitchen staff. So, work it out – there are approximately 2,600 people on board ship for 23 days, the gratuities, therefore, come to a staggering £392,437.00. We know they are paid pretty badly; we also know that there is an option for the passenger to 'opt out' of the daily charge, leaving them to tip who THEY want and how much THEY want. But wait, as we understand it – any crew member who takes a tip and then fails to throw it into the 'pool' is threatened with instant dismal and the possibility of no further work with that cruise line. So, what do you do, what should you do and what is the answer?
Faye &John have a balcony so we all congregated there for a pre-dinner drink or two.
We understand that we were lucky to get out of Darwin when we did as hot on our heels has come Cyclone Carlos, bringing torrential rain and just about cutting Darwin off from the rest of Australia.
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