We forgot mention in yesterday's post about what happened when Keith returned from Paddle Tennis and the surprise he brought to the room. When Keith got back to the room, he was going to meet up with dear friend Bob and a couple of other guests. As he does each afternoon, he changed out of the underarmour shirt that he wears as it is usually soaked from the heat and humidity. He removes it so it is inside out as this is how we will wash them. When he removed it he felt as it something had put a pin in the back of his arm. We could actually see a little whole, but didn't see any swelling nor any swelling. We did immediately put alcohol on the area and thought maybe it was something sharp from the shirt. About 15 minutes after Keith left to meet up with Bob, Anne Marie walked over to the curtains to pull them open to get more light into the room and sure enough she saw what looked like a Bee or Wasp and on the second look decided it must be a wasp. It was on the curtains. Anne Marie was able to get the wasp outside by opening the sliding glass door and pushing the curtain outside and the Wasp flew away. Thankfully, Keith still has no swelling from the Wasp and maybe it just "pinched" him. Next time he will be more careful about any "strangers" he brings back to the room.
We had a wonderful time last evening.
Before dinner, we sat at the Crystal Plaza with friends Linda and John and with friends Rob and Jim.
We then dined at the Tastes Specialty Restaurant with Rob and Jim. We met Rob and Jim the first day of the World Cruise and also Keith knew Rob from Cruise Critic. We also have a mutual friend, Patty, who who knows Jim and Rob very well.
We had an absolutely wonderful time dining with the two of them and learned a great deal about one another.
From L-R; Keith, Anne Marie, Rob & Jim.
We usually wear something orange to Tastes as that is part of the color scheme with the waiters and assistant waiters wearing orange tops. As they say when in Rome......LOL.
Our waiter for the evening was Deirdre who took outstanding care of us. She went through the menu and answered questions that any of us had. After we all ordered the food items that we wanted she organized them so that she brought out one or two courses at a time. She was assisted by others including Brian and Clark. Although it was light outside when we began our meal, by the time we finished it was dark outside.
Rob and Jim ordered the cocktail which is featured on the menu which comes out in bags around the outside of the glass. The challenge for the waitstaff is figuring out when to ask if someone would like another drink but the waitstaff still figured it all out.
The cocktail is appropriately called Adult Lemonade and is Ketel One Citron, St Germain, Lemonade with Fresh Lime Juice.
These are some of the items that we both had starting with a salad. In total, we ordered eight different items, plus we shared two desserts. That exercising that we do does have its advantages, plus we only dine at Tastes once per segment and some of these are rather long segments.
This is an Oven Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Parmesan Cheese, Lemon, and Caper
Scottish Cured Salmon
Has similar characteristics to a Pizza but is an Alsatian Tarte with Leek Jam, Gruyere and Béchamel.
This one Rob and Jim had and we have not yet had this one which sits atop waffles.
It is Buttermilk-Fried Chicken with Cheddar-Green Onion, Waffle and Maple Gravy. No calories. LOL.
Spinach Quesadillas with Oaxaca Cheese, Feta, Tomatillo-Avocodo Salsa.
We also had Oven Roasted Cauliflower, Chimichurri Steak and Saffron Marinated Lamb Kebabs.
There was also a Pre-Valentine's Mixer in the Crystal Cove.
Last evening also featured two showings of Liar's Club.
We slept very well last evening. We thought that the seas were relatively calm.
Keith was still up early and worked out at the Fitness Center. He caught up on the news of the day and one of the lectures he had missed. Afterwards, he was back at the Lido Cafe for some coffee and to read and to write. He also brought back coffee for Anne Marie.
Anne Marie got in her one hour walk by walking inside the ship and then we had breakfast in our room.
We sent out some Valentine's Day Cards to some friends and also members of the crew and also received some cards.
We also gave Valentine's Day Gifts to our Stewardess Longhar, and to our Assistant Stewardess Nancy.
We also gave gifts to Butler Rao and to our Stewardess, Sneha, from the 2012 World Cruise and also from our North Atlantic Crossing this past September.
Anne Marie with Sneha.
We anchored off of Rarotonga, which is part of the Cook Islands. Rarotonga is considered to be the main island the Cook group of islands. The Cook Island chain was named after explorer Captain James Cook. We first visited this island in 2011 and took an excursion that took us to a beautiful rain forest and yes it did rain when we were there. Tendering can be a big challenge. In 2011 it was very windy making it a challenge to get from the tender platform into the tender. Our return at around 1:00 PM was choppy and by 3:00 PM some people returning in tenders either turned green or did get sick.
Now for the good and the bad news. The good news is that we did visit Rarotonga in 2011. The bad news is that due to the severe swells a few minutes before 8:00 AM, Captain Giske made an announcement from the bridge that we would be leaving the Island as it as unsafe to run Tender Service. Before we could leave, we would have to get cleared from the local port authority and that some paperwork would need to be processed. Back to good news is that Captain Giske announced that we would arrive to New Zealand one day earlier than planned and that the itinerary was adjusted to provide a day at the Bay Of Islands from Noon to 8:00 PM. We believe we will be crossing the dateline earlier than expected so we might lose a different day which should be interesting since it will make it a little challenging for restaurant reservations already made.
With the change from a port to sea day several items were added to the schedule.
After spending time at our office at the Crystal Plaza (Patty we will post photos of the location tomorrow) where we spoke with fellow guests and officers, Keith led a spin class at 10:00 AM and at 10:30 AM Anne Marie went to Knitting. Keith had a nice turnout for the class thanks to friend Sandra calling many of the people who we know who enjoy Spin about the class. Keith also does a one hour class rather than 45 minutes.
We enjoyed a nice lunch which was a Tuna Cobb Salad.
Afterwards Keith played Paddle Tennis for a couple of hours. Anne Marie walked for an hour outside. The outside weather was great with sunny skies and warm temperature.
Keith also got together with dear friend Bob and a few other guests.
This evening will will be having our Valentine's Dinner at Prego and will post all about it tomorrow.
With love in the air our thought is about love.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.......
"Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." - Franklin P. Jones
"All you need is loves." - The Beatles
"Love that will last a lifetime." - Anne Marie & Keith
Keith & Anne Marie
Keith & Anne Marie
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