March 3 Day 1
Throughout today we will be setting a north-easterly course across the Coral Sea towards the many small islands at the eastern end of Papua new Guinea.
It is getting hotter as we are getting close to the Equator again. We’re presently at 13 degrees latitude and 1633 miles from Guam. It is still pleasant on the balcony in the afternoon after the sun is overhead. Since we are headed north we get the morning sun. This afternoon we had another talk by Art Lowe on his stages in baseball, what It’s like to play, coach, manage and scout.
Back to the Dining Room for dinner tonight, then to the show. The entertainment was Annette Wardell a opera star who came on stage and said she wasn’t going to sing opera, then proceeded to sing opera. We actually saw her before on a previous cruise but we didn’t realize it or we would not have gone.
Tonight we will turn north and and transit the Jomard Entrance between Bramble Haven and the Louisiade Archipelago, which will mark our exit from the Coral Sea and our entry into the Solomon Sea.
March 4 Day 2
This morning we are at 9 degrees latitude, the temperature is 90 degrees and water temperature is 96 degrees. Won’t spend much time on the balcony today! We are crossing the Solomon Sea today heading towards the Vitiaz Strait which we will transit this evening and sail between Fortification Point and Umboi Island. This will mark our exit from the Solomon Sea and our entry in to the Bismark Sea.
We had a Scholarship at Sea lecture titled “Denizens of the Ocean” by the ship’s naturalist. Everything we always wanted to know about whales and giant squid. So much for eating calamari.
We also had a port talk on Guam-American Micronesia. This island was inhabited 4000 years ago by the indigenous Chamorros people. It, along with Saipan, was a key battle ground during WWII. My father served in Guam while in the US Marine Corp during the war. In the next 10 years the island will be 40% military. It is ironic that the most tourist that visit this island are Japanese.
Today in trivia, we needed our grandson Brandon, the question was what is the common fraction used in Pi? No one on our team knew and we guessed 1/3, which was wrong. Brandon knows everything there is to know about Pi!
Tonight’s show was a Latin and Spanish Guitarist “Vincenzo”. We looked forward to the show but we were disappointed as it was like guitar karaoke. It was strange listening to an Italian that grew up in Australia playing Spanish music.
During the night we will pass the Island of Manus and alter to a northerly heading across the East Caroline Basin.
March 5 Day 3 Mid Point
for the early Saint Patrick’s Day gift!
Today we will continue to maintain a northerly course across the Pacific Ocean towards Guam. We are scheduled to cross the equator at 5:00 tomorrow March 6th. Not much going on today, only one lecture this afternoon by the Naturalist on Explorers of the South Pacific.
I asked a question at dinner last night and no one could answer it. Maybe someone out there knows. What is the difference between a Ocean and a Sea? Even the Naturalist was stumped! I would Google it but internet is too slow. I thought I was going to get some free minutes, but have been told that since this was my first Princess cruise I have to book another one before I am eligible.
Saw quite a few cargo ships and tankers this morning, more in a short period than any other time. The ocean, or is it a sea, is a vast area that we almost never see anything.
Betty went to the “Onboard Outlet Sale” Where else could have they had it? She bought me a couple Princess shirts for $10.00. I like both of them and price was good, which explains why half the men onboard are wearing them.
It was very pleasant on the balcony this afternoon, we are at 3 degrees, still warm and slightly muggy. We spotted a whale, thought it was a log as it was on the surface for a long time, but then we saw the spray from the blow hole. It was swimming in the opposite direction and we only saw it for a couple of minute but it made our day. When you spend enough days at sea even the tiny flying fish excite you.
Tonight’s show is a encore performance of International Violin Showman Martin Lass. We missed the first show so thought we would give it a try. Usually we try to get a seat in the back in case the performance is really bad. Unfortunately this time we were trapped and had to sit through another mediocre performance. There is a reason these people are playing on cruise ships. Sadly they all bring stacks of CD’s to sell, I wonder how many people actually buy them.
March 6 Day 4
We crossed the equator this morning at approximately 5am. I was up but didn’t feel the bump in the ocean. Apparently Princess is cutting back and not celebrating the crossing for the people that just boarded the ship in Sydney. Also cutting back on lectures as we only have one scheduled talk today. Last night we had some sports on TV and I see that Ohio State won a piece of the Big Ten Title. Also saw the news about LeBron James choking and losing the last 2 games.
It rained hard this morning and continued to rain until around 4pm. The seas are a little rough, but as Betty always says not rough enough. We hope it is not raining when we get to Guam. We watched the movie “Money Ball” again since one of our speakers, Art Lowe, was the manager of the Oakland A’s. His next talk will be about the movie, we are anxious to see what he has to say about it. He looks and acts nothing like they portray him.
Today the crew had another drill, this time they had to find suspicious packages anywhere on the ship. If a passenger found one in their cabin they would win a prize. Betty looked everywhere but all she found was dust. We thought of making our own suspicious package until the captain came over the speaker and said there would be serious consequences for anyone making fake bombs.
Dinner tonight actually was very good, we had Tex-Mex beef wraps. They do Mexican food pretty good on this ship, I think they have a Mexican stow-away in the kitchen.
We skipped the encore performance of karaoke guitar this evening and watched some more reruns on the TV. What we would give for a DVD player and a DVD library.
March 7 Finally Day 5!
Today marks the start of the second half of our cruise. Things will improve as the ports will be more interesting. Less sea days too. Today we will continue our passage north toward the island of Guam, passing over the Mariana Trench. This is the deepest place on earth, where the Pacific Tectonic Plate is sub-ducted under the Mariana Tectonic Plate. At the bottom of the trench, the water above exerts a pressure of 15750 psi, more than 1000 times the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level.
Woke up to a partly cloudy sky but no rain. The ocean is choppy today, the ship’s stabilizers work well at keeping the ride fairly smooth.
Today we had one lecture given by Ann the naturalist titled “Captain Cook-Where No Man has gone before”. It was very interesting. It is hard for me to believe he did all they claim he did. Quite amazing.
During the night we will continue north and should arrive in Guam at approximately 8am. We then have to have a USA face to passport inspection and should be ashore shortly thereafter.
