At Sea: Dolphins and Boobies

We’re cruising the Pacific again today … need an afternoon at sea (yesterday), a day at sea (today), and a morning at sea (tomorrow) to get to our next port of call in Mexico … 762 NM from Puerto Chiapas where we visited yesterday. At the time of this writing, we still have about 220NM to go before we tie up again.

A nice quiet day of rest … after a very rocky night. We were warned to expect the rough conditions between 9:00p and 2:00a… as Insignia shifted its heading. While Mui braved the movement at the Insignia Lounge on deck 5 forward for the production show, I decided that the cabin was the place to be for me.

This morning, for the first time in a while, the veranda had a corner in the shade. I set myself up there to do my journaling and blogging. About mid-morning, we were entertained by a large pod of dolphins … surfing and jumping out to spin in the air before gracefully crashing back into the water. I didn’t even attempt to video tape them — though it was very tempting to do so. They are just too fast for me. So, I just sat back and enjoyed the experience … calling Mui out to the veranda to do some dolphin-watching with me.

Of course, the boobies were present as well. Riding the air currents as they like to do. This time, there were more of them dive-bombing into the ocean to get a bite to eat … squawking when a fellow-booby got the prey they missed.

At noon, CD Ray came on the P/A system to announce that we’d be having a muster drill. Here we go! You see, Oceania exceeds the SOLAS safety requirements by conducting drills not just at the beginning of the cruise, but also every 14 days or so. In this case, the drill was held early because day 14 will be in port. The good news? For this second drill of the Golden Gala segment, we didn’t have to actually go to muster stations … just listened to the information broadcast around the ship … including in the cabins.

I’m glad I took the time to chill on the veranda this morning. By noon, my favorite space was bathed by the sun and I had to move inside. Good timing, actually, as I had to process photos for the footprint for yesterday’s visit to Tapachula City.

For dinner tonight, we were hosted by GM Damien and Mariusz, who is the Food & Beverage Manager (F&B here on out). Sharing the table with us were Beth and Randy, the couple who joined our tour in Acajutla. While we know Mariusz from RTW2017, this is our first time cruising with GM Damian. He will be disembarking in a week or so to go home to enjoy time with his family. We were especially glad to have a chance to get to known him better before he does so. If the stories and laughter that went around the table are anything to go by, a good time was had by all.

Mui’s at tonight’s show, featuring the magic, music, and comedy of Fred & Bobbie Becker. From their bio, which includes performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC under the direction of Marvin Hamlisch, I am sure it’s a great show. Not my cup of tea, however. I’m ready for some downtime on the veranda before bedtime.

Tomorrow we’re in port again.Read more