The captain told us to expect 4 metre waves today, but we have been blessed with the absolute best in weather for the whole trip, so we woke this morning to a sea that looked like a mill pond. It was great weather to lie on deck with a book and soak in the 25 degree sunshine. We have heard from people in Auckland who are following this blog that the weather there is most foul. If the weather we have been experiencing continues, the Dawn Princess will bring great weather to Auckland. We were told the monsoon season had started in India but we had no rain while we were there. We were told to expect rain in New York, but there was only a small shower hat lasted for a short time. I did not even notice it as I was in the theatre when it rained. We were told it was going to rain in Tahiti and again in Moorea and also in Samoa, but sunshine prevailed in all of these places. We hope the pattern continues in New Zealand. We had a big dance day today. At our normal classes we did a review of the dances we had learnt and then we went to the first Afternoon Tea Dance of the cruise. Waiters in tuxedos and wearing white gloves served afternoon tea in the Vista Lounge. The afternoon tea was presented for our selection on large platters, which were brought to our small tables for two. While this was happening, the orchestra played and we danced. This was Alana’s brain child and she said that if it was a success we would do it again. Judging by the numbers who attended and the people who actually danced, I would say that it was a huge success. The band said that they enjoyed playing when so many people danced. Tonight, we had the Captain’s farewell cocktail party. All of us who did the world cruise received a commemorative plaque. We had a formal farewell dinner with so many courses but I could barely manage three because of the afternoon tea. Again lobster was a choice as was caviar. Bill had the caviar and said it was the best entrée he had eaten all trip. He had the symphony of mousses for dessert. This came on a plate that was decorated in chocolate with the treble clef and the lines of music. The staff had gone to more trouble than usual to make this night special, and that is saying something. The ten people at our table took photos of each other and exchanged addresses. We had the most wonderful dinner companions for the whole trip. Some tables did not seem to gel and the people did not turn up, so some tables for ten only had two or four people at them. As our American friends from the South who joined our table when they boarded in L.A. told us, “We were told by some people at the table next to us that they had lucked out when they were assigned to our table.” There is always great talk, but maybe we get a bit loud. Earlier we had a single lady at our table but she asked to be put on a table with some single men. After she was moved, she used to come back to our table because she said she enjoyed the conversation with us. She was disappointed when the Americans were put on the table in L.A. and she could no longer come back. As we entered the dining room tonight, we were each given a menu, tied with ribbon like a diploma, to take home. We will have to buy some boxes in N.Z. to post home about 40 kilograms of goods as we will be too overweight for the plane. The main problem is our Turkish Carpet. We joined with our other four trivia partners tonight for the Spooky Entertainment Quiz, but we bombed out on the section on books as none of us was into reading horror novels. Also, tonight, we enjoyed going to the Beatles Tribute Showtime. They did the same show that they did earlier in the cruise, but we enjoyed it just the same. People were up singing along with them and dancing in the aisles. (Barbara)
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