Tuesday 27th November 2012
Today we have a sea day to enjoy. After breakfast I found a chart of our itinerary; we are heading south/south west at 17.1 knots this morning; before heading towards the Cayman Islands the water was 11,000 feet deep. Silver and gold by the inch are for sale on here I noticed, plus so much ‘stuff’ in the shops. This afternoon there was a Hairy Chest Competition held on deck, which was well attended, and tonight is Captain’s Celebration evening on the Prom Deck 9, with elegant wear suggested.
Mr Farcus designed the floor to ceiling replicas of the characteristic red, white and blue funnels of United States Lines' ships for the entrance to the America Bar, while the American flag colours are used in the room. Large round windows resemble oversized portholes and, echoing the shape, several large round copper-leafed sculptural panels in bas-relief depict such distinctive American scenes as the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Monument Valley, Yellowstone National Park and the Everglades. A bas-relief sculptural panel depicting an aerial view of the America at sea is positioned on the ceiling over the piano. I thought it was a fascinating room and it became a favourite venue for several of us.
Today the view/map details from the Bridge showed 3 red storms circling over the area between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and south of Cuba and including the Cayman Islands.
I went to the Show, this time before dinner, and it was lovely to see and hear a proper band, with the Shout Show, great music and dancing.
However, the storm broke before dinner, with huge flashes of lightning both sides of the ship, and then torrential rain. We had been doing 17 knots most of the day, but the speed was increased to 19 knots, and we could feel some movement from the sea. It was Force 6 on the Beaufort Scale. I heard tell of someone not being able to land at Grand Cayman because of the weather, and because it is a tender port. It is a coral island, one of three in the Cayman Islands, which are British Overseas Territories.
The Dinner menu looked a bit familiar, and there was a 'Didja' of alligator fritters, just as on Carnival Breeze last week. I didn't have them this time, but Jeremy did, and I mentioned the long arm movements. We talked a lot about the Big Bang Theory TV programme, which everyone seems to enjoy. The US are about 3 months ahead of us in the UK, with Howard in space for quite a few of the episodes, so that will be fun to look forward to.
Tomorrow we are due to arrive in George Town, the capital of Grand Cayman, and I am going on a morning tour to see some of the sights of the island.
Ships seen: No ships, only couple of cargo/container ships over on the horizon.
To be continued….
