Tuesday, December 25, 2018 – At Sea Pacific Ocean – Warmer and Sunnier – mid 60s

The sea has finally calmed down and it is warmer outside.

After breakfast, I went to hear Naturalist, Gloeta Massie, in the Princess Theater talk about birds and dinosaurs. She is very glib and entertaining but I thought a bit technical at times. The crowd was not large (150 plus) but the early time – 9:30 AM – was certainly a factor. She has this thing where she asks the audience a question and asks them to discuss before answering (like the SNL Skit with faux Barbra). Gloeta must be a regular on the Hawaii run (like Gary) because we are in the room she had on the last run to the islands.

The big event of the morning was the gift giving with Santa and his helpers in the atrium.  There are a lot of kids on board so it's a perfect holiday event for them.

I played Science Trivia with Leo and his friends in One5 before lunch, which was in the Buffet Pool Area – Salad and quesadillas today (Mexican Buffet Lunch).  The food was pretty good and the pool area is a good place to eat if you have a lot of people and need a big table.  Also, it's always warm in there.

The rest of the early afternoon was spent up on a now warmer and comfortable Deck 15 Aft.  

This gave me a chance to make some progress on my book.  Mostly, though, I like watching the ocean go by.

My second talk – “DNA Testing: Cold Cases Solved” was at 3:30 PM in the Vista Lounge.  There was a significant improvement in attendance over yesterday – about 80 percent full (about 400 passengers).  Danny and Dova were in attendance.

We had dinner in the dining room - our head waiter continues to make sure we are happy campers.  He is amenable to bringing us some special items if we request them ahead of time.  This should be interesting.  We also had some fun with puzzles during dinner.

After dinner, we listened to the music of Ami and Finesse in the Atrium.

The show tonight is a Christmas Themed item called “Around the Fire” with Cruise Director Steve Campbell. We opted not to go and instead spent the evening in the Crooners Bar.

Clocks went back an hour tonight.