Cruisin Marys

This was our longest string of sea days of the entire trip. We found many ways to entertain ourselves. Here are just a few things we did…

ENJOYED THE SHIP’S TALENTED MUSICAL ENTERTAINERS

We try to go to guitarist Alan’s shows every day. He plays mostly 60s through early 2000s music. We’re big fans of his. You may recognize him from St Patrick’s Day when he and Kevin formed the band, Two Men in a Shower!

The Guitar Guys (Alan and the guitarist from the Viking Band) played a special rock show in the atrium, with songs and dancing before dinner.

Harrison, one of the Viking Singers onboard, is a dead-ringer for Mary’s nephew, Sean. He just turned 22 and is in serious danger of being abducted and taken home by a number of passengers who’d like him to be their adopted grandson.

Nate Simpson is a singer from the UK who was on board for over a week. He is extremely talented, as well as charming, funny, and kind. We loved getting to know him!

Twinning!!

We were so lucky to be in the lounge when an impromptu jam session including several musicians broke out. It was an amazing evening, and one of our favorite nights on the ship so far.

NULL ISLAND

It’s official, we are bonafide Emerald Shellbacks!

Emerald Shellback is an elite, rare, and unofficial title. It is given to someone who has crossed the Equator right at the Prime Meridian. This occurs exactly at 0° latitude and 0° longitude. It is a spot known as Null Island in the Gulf of Guinea, off the west coast of Africa.

There is no island there. However, we were up on the top of the ship at 7 AM where we tried to get our phones to say we were at 0 latitude and 0 longitude. As usual, it was a great celebration…with donuts!

TRIVIA / NAME THAT TUNE

Every sea day there is at least one Team Trivia activity. We played Finish the 80s Song Lyrics with our ringer, Joanna, and we won! Of course we enjoyed the celebratory mimosas.

COOKING CLASS

The ladies participated in a cooking class where we learned how to make ravioli and red sauce, swordfish with a warm bean salad, and profiteroles stuffed with cherries and chocolate. Yum, yum yum!! At the same time, the gentlemen went to a whisky tasting class for which we have no photographic evidence.

CHEF’S TURNTABLE – PARTY AT THE POOL

Our ship’s head chef Alistair became “DJ Ali” for an evening of dancing under the stars. It was a beautiful night for dancing with our friends. What a blast!

MIXOLOGY CLASS – ROUND 3

We’re pretty sure we will all be able to get jobs as mixologists when we return home, as we’ve started our third round of mixology classes. This time we had to create cocktails using a main liquor element (choices: vodka, whisky, bourbon, tequila, gin, or rum) as well as 2 mixers. The ones we got were determined by rolling dice. We were required to use Wild Turkey Whisky, Vermouth, and a Cherry Liqueur in our drink. We had our choice of various juices and garnishes to add. Mary, Dave, and Mary won the contest with our tasty concoction named the MDM.

FIVE CROWNS

We’ve discovered the very fun card game called Five Crowns, and we’ve been playing with 5 other lady friends for the last several weeks.

MAGICAL TEA

We discovered a very special tea when we were in Sri Lanka. We were assured that it is an amazing elixir that cures many ailments and keeps the drinker healthy and thriving. The caveat is that you can only drink it once a week for 6 weeks, and then you must stop as it is very, very powerful. We just completed 5 weeks of the magical tea consumption. We have not yet noticed any major improvements, but you may want to prepare yourselves for our changed appearance and vibrancy when we return home. 😉