June 11, 2024 – At Sea – Caribbean Sea – Sunny – 80s

A beautiful day at sea – polar opposite of yesterday.  

Today, I shook things up by getting some fried eggs plus pancakes for breakfast – both good.

Ellen got her breakfast in the Bistro – Deck 6 Midships – where they have lox and cream cheese, breads, cold cereal, and all sorts of pastries.  I ordered an iced mocha and it came in a tall glass and was super good. 

Rachel York was getting breakfast – I wanted to tell her how much I liked her show but I both chickened out and didn’t want to disturb her meal.  Maybe later in the cruise, I’ll get another chance.

At 11:00 AM, Ellen and I went to the Galaxy Lounge to hear old cruise friend, Roger McGwinn, give his first presentation.  We usually run into Roger and his wife, Camilla, on the QM2 but I guess he has now secured a gig on Crystal.  His talk was quite different and very entertaining; he had a lot of graphics of people and places in the 70s including some amazing videos of him with other stars of that era.  He also sang a few songs.  It was a great talk. 

I had a small lunch because I was scheduled for my first talk at 1:30 PM in the Galaxy Lounge.  The crowd filtered in slowly but eventually, there were guests scattered throughout the theater.  Rafael gave me a brief introduction

and I gave Rachel York a shout out early in the talk.  A polling of the audience revealed that they were not very many, if at all, CSI or NCIS fans. There were also a few UCLA folks in the crowd.  I don’t feel I really clicked with these folks.  I rushed a bit, forgot some things, and generally stumbled along.  It turned out that the talk only ran 38 minutes another indication that I had rushed.  I thought I had seen some movement in the back by AV guys so I thought I was running late. I spent a few minutes chatting with attendees afterwards.  

Also, Roger and Camilla came by (Roger doesn’t watch TV so it was all alien to him) and we spent about 30 minutes chatting about all sorts of things.  They are both very interesting to talk to. Fun fact: Roger and I were wearing the same Sketcher shoes.

For dinner tonight in the Waterside Restaurant, I had ordered a special meal – Fettuccini Pesto – and it was pretty good – along with a Cesar Salad (excellent); Ellen had the Kosher Chicken.  

After dinner we went up to Palm Court (Deck 12 Forward) to hear the Keys and Melody Duo. 

They are a married Filipino couple – she, I think her name is “Peechee”, is an excellent singer and her husband actually plays the piano but adds in electronic instruments.  They are the Dance Band.  The ship also has a squad of “gents” that dance with single women.   

The ride is starting to get a bit rocky.