After our day in Honolulu, the Carnival Luminosa headed toward the second port of call: Tahiti. And I learned something about the islands of the Pacific: rather than heading west, as I expected, the ship headed south. Actually a bit southeast as Tahiti is east of Hawaii. And in the same time zone. So for the 6 days after Hawaii we will not have to adjust our clocks.
Day 9 was pretty quiet. I did some reading in the afternoon and we did some dancing in the evening. We also played some cards (Marlene won 2 and I won 1). The rest of the time was spent on the two things cruises are famous for: eating and gambling. Our dinner was at a table of 5, with Mike & Jean from Oregon and Bob from Australia.
We played more knock rummy after breakfast on Day 10 with Marlene winning 2 to my 1 (see a pattern here?). After lunch we took a dip in the hot tub followed by a dip in the pool. Dinner was elegant (and we had some photos taken by the ship’s photographers) and we dined at a table for 8 with Walter, Melissa, Brenda, Mary, Randy and Debby. After dinner we danced, skipping the show. The music was provided by the band’s two singers and one guitarist. Apparently the rest of the band was practicing for their big night on Day 11.
On Day 11 we crossed the equator around 3pm. This event is always celebrated in a traditional way – by King Neptune holding court and punishing the offenders (which always includes the captain being tossed in the pool). We didn’t actually see the event as we knew it would be wall-to-wall people. We played cards instead with Marlene winning 4 games to my 3. I guess I am improving as I held her to less than a 2-to-1 ratio. Dinner was a table of 7, including some folks that we have dined with before, plus two women from the UK. After dinner we attended the show – “One Night Only” which featured the ship’s band which is absolutely terrific. Great voices on the two singers, Matt and Zoe.
The casino continues to be unkind to me. I have had 10 consecutive days of losses, but I am pretty good at walking away when I reach my limit. I am down $560. I think Marlene is down more than that, but she has winning days so there is hope for her.