Borealis Thursday 27.04.2023
We carry on gliding through the Pacific, as placid now, as its name implied, and as it must have appeared to Nunez de Balboa "silent, upon a peak in Darien" (although it wasn't exactly Darien). Frigate birds and boobies skim alongside the ship swooping down on the occasional flying fish in the sea, as they offer us their company for this day's passage. It is delightfully warm without being overbearing, and ideal weather for sitting and working on our balcony.
A quiet day writing, while Albina spent most of the day in bed. I spent an hour sunning myself by the pool before attending a good lecture on the history and design of the Panama Canal, which we are crossing tomorrow.
The Polish Embassy acknowledged receipt of my letter to the minister and thanked me for making the effort while still on my holiday. Several friends even congratulated me, and said they would forward my comments to their friends.
I had checked at Guest Services on the gratuities policy by Fred Olsen payable at the end of the cruise. Basically they charge us £395 per person to be distributed to our maid and to restaurant staff that we used,That probably meant the lion's share may go to the Borealis Restaurant staff where a table was reserved for us, but which we hardly ever used. Albina was furious, but I had warned her all this was in the small print before we boarded the vessel. I know others had prebooked alternative methods of paying gratuities before thir voyahe began, but I am not sure quite what this was based on. As far as I am concerned this leaves the messy arrangements in the hands of somebody else, and we had expected to spend that money in any case.
We watched telly together in the evening and at 10pm I went upstairs for the quiz.
We got 14 out of 15. Sounds good but the questions were exceptionally easy and I foolishly allowed my team to overrule me by saying biggest cats were lions, when I thought tigers were right. But even if we got 15, 6 teams reached that figure as well.
Bed at 1pm but also we had to set watch one hour forward. I remembered to do it this time.
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