The Taxonomy of Shipboard Creatures – Part 1

We have decided to use the multitude of sea days on this voyage to study and classify the abundance of creatures that one is likely to find on a cruise ship.  Today’s blog is the first of a multi-part, documentary featuring Cel and Cia’s taxonomic classification of the varieties of fauna that we have discovered on board.  While the Cel is primarily responsible for identifying the broad phyla and making detailed field observations, Cia, establishes the fine distinctions between the various species and supplies the nomenclature.  We humbly offer this scholarly endeavour simply for your edification and enjoyment; there will be no quizzes or exams.  So, without further delay, let us begin to make some sense of the wild menagerie to be found on a cruise ship by introducing you to a creature you are likely to encounter within moments of boarding your vessel, perhaps even on the gangway.

Blockers: The primary habitat of these monuments of ignorance includes stairwell entrances, doorways, the middle of staircases, narrow corridors, buffet queues, in short, any relatively confined space where traffic is easily congested.  They always appear in pods, rather like whales, which they also often resemble in size and shape.  Blockers have two broad modes of behaviour.  When active, they are characterized by flamboyant gestures meant to fill as much space as possible and they may strike without warning.  When indolent, blockers simply stand stupidly, mimicking a space-occupying lesion.  A defining feature of blockers, whether restive or idle, is that their mouths are in perpetual motion, typically emitting some senseless drivel that, for whatever unfathomable reason, they and their pod mates find immensely absorbing.  Blockers are invariably oblivious of their surroundings and become irate when the crowd of 20 or more people who have been waiting patiently for them to move out of the way express any hint of displeasure with their antics.

Keep following this blog for more informative taxonomy lessons in the coming weeks.  You will learn about Caterwaulers, Belugas, and oh so many other strange organisms!  Until next time...

Hawaiian Islands

We visited two of the Hawaiian Islands: Oahu and Kauai.  Oahu seems much drier than the last time we were there.  Traffic in Honolulu is jammed throughout the day.  After getting our rental car we drove to Diamond Head National Monument and hiked to the summit for amazing views of Waikiki and the coast.  Then we travelled along the windward coast to the north shore beaches with hopes of seeing some serious surf.  All of the beaches had red flags to indicate that swimming was prohibited due to the strong rip currents.  The beaches are gorgeous but the waves were not quite spectacular.  We then drove back to Honolulu, passing by the Dole plantation and acres and acres of pineapple crops. 

The next day, we opted to get a bird’s eye view of Kauai with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.  It was spectacular as we flew into valleys, through canyons and over mountain tops.  It was a great way to see the island.  After trying to connect with home we spent the remainder of the day on the beach and prepared ourselves for the upcoming five days at sea as we head for Pago Pago.

Cruise Tip: Avoid Enterprise rent-a-car in Honolulu.  We went to three of their locations and the service was atrocious.  Contrary to their ads, they do not pick you up and they give all manner of excuse as to why they cannot drop you off.  They are terribly expensive and tack on all kinds of extra fees,

Cruise Tip: When in Kauai a variety of free shuttles from the ship will take you to various shopping malls.  We recommend the Kmart shuttle since a Starbucks with free Wi-fi is in the neighbouring shopping plaza.  Also, you can stock up on ship supplies (wine, rum, beer, and other vital items) for sea days.

View of Kauai from Helicopter

Fantasy Island Falls -- The plane boss! The plane!

Sea Days

Thought it was time to write about a typical sea day.  You really have the option to do as much or as little that you want.  Traditionally I start the day with a two or three mile walk.  13 times around in the circle is a nautical mile and it tends to be busy on the track between 7:30 to 8:30.   I feel like I am in great shape in that I can still lap people.  The fact that they use walkers, in my mind, gives them an advantage.  After walking, it is time for the morning shower, followed by breakfast.  The selection is amazing with fruit, cereals, omelets, eggs of every variety and a good selection of breads and pastries.  Then you usually have a choice of activities to partake in or not.  For cloudy, cool days there are always shows or movies you can watch in your room.  You can opt to play in ping pong tournaments, attend  lectures on bridge or listen to "scholarship at sea " presentations.  For this segment of the journey they are covering WWII with a focus on battles in the Pacific.  And always they have Bingo and ballroom dance classes.    For those who like to sing you can join the choir.   There are computer classes available, casino games, carpet bowling and shuffleboard.  If you feel lucky you can hit the casino but whenever I walk by I rarely hear the sounds of winning machines and when I have misguidedly put money in these machines, nothing ever comes out.  For artists they offer ceramics classes and drawing classes.  At least twice a day there is trivia as well.   As part of this cruise we have the head chef of Princess cruises who offers culinary classes which are most enjoyable to attend.    I find the best part is sitting on our balcony in the afternoon sun in the peace and quiet.  Our neighbors next door are big Sinatra fans so we sometimes hear the strains of his music.  But we have an agreement that if either side is too loud pounding on the wall means cease and desist.  No problems yet. Lunch can be had in the Buffett or formal dining room.  Each lunch has a theme.  Today was Mexican, yesterday was Italian and the day prior was sushi. Dinner has been spectacular with a wide variety of choices. In the evening music is played throughout the ship in various lounges and there is always a show unless the seas are too rocky. 

Sharing the day with 600+ strangers means that conflict will invariably arise.  So each morning they have the equivalent of a breakfast show to highlight various activities and events of the day.  As the cruise progresses they have added a new segment which I call "providing minds for the mindless".  This segment focuses on rules that need to be created to prevent strife.  Topics have included "walking on the fitness track in an anti clockwise direction" and "no saving seats in the showroom for more than two people.". The theme in this segment has been "use common sense" and "play nice".  My solution is sit on the balcony and avoid them all.

All in all life is good, in fact it is wonderful aboard the Pacific Princess as we cross the Pacific.   

Cruise tip:  if you enjoy working out on the machines avoid the early mornings.  The best time to use the fitness facilities is between 11:30 to 1:00 when everyone is at lunch.

San Diego

It was a glorious clear day in San Diego with the temperature  being in the 80's.  The best part of the day was connecting with our families via Skpe and FaceTime.  The FaceTime did not work so well due to my inability to hear what was being said and my amazing digital control that always had my thumb over the web cam.  But now I know where the headphones are to be plugged into and the location of the webcam so next time should be much better.  It was so great to hear everyone's voices.  Beside our two hours on the Internet trying to catch up with all the news and emails (the ship's Internet is either down or you lose connections constantly) we did travel the town.  The morning was spent at Cabrillo National Monument, which offers a spectacular view of San Diego and the region.  The day was so clear we even could see well into Mexico.  After the monument it was off to Walmart for additional travel supplies.  We then drove to the island of Coronado.  We walked by the beach and to the hotel Del Coronado which is an outstanding hotel.  Then back to the city as we needed to be back 'home' by 4:30 or else the ship would leave for Honolulu without us.  
While ashore in San Diego, our faith in the fundamental kindness of people was renewed.  The address we had for the car rental agency was rather confusing because the entrance to the Avis office was on a cross street rather than the actual address we were given.  As we stared at our piece of paper and looked around confusedly, a young woman pushing a baby carriage approached us and asked if she could help.  Though she was also confused by the address, she did not hesitate to phone the car rental company and clarify their location for us.  We will recall her kindness fondly as our journey continues.

Cruise tip: rent a car from Avis on Kettner Blvd (entrance via Cedar) three blocks from the ship and they will drop you off at the ship when you are done, which is very handy when you are loaded down with critical ship supplies. (eg. Wine)

Cool Building in Panama City

Cloud Forest in Nicaragua

Here is a pic of the cloud forest in Nicaragua. If only Tarzan were available to swing on one of the vines!