It is a beautiful day at sea.  Sunny, breezy, excellent on our big balcony.  And bonus!  There are actually enrichment lectures!  We had never even dreamed there would be lecturers aboard, so we are psyched.  Our day is planned!  We actually went to 3 lectures.  The first was a Maori culture presentation, which ends up being 2 Maoris, a man and a woman, who talk about the culture and perform some of their traditional songs and dances.  At then end, a Maori passenger stands up and yells and starts talking to the male presenter – in their language!  So we have no idea what he said, he seemed angry, but the presenter didn’t seem anxious.  Who knows?

The second is a regional history/area speaker who is really good and funny.  And the third is Jessica, the port/destination girl, who is great – and doesn’t push Princess shore excursions, but just presents what she thinks is important in each port.  Which is really nice. Plus, she gives us details on the shuttles we will need to use, etc. 

Between all of the talks, our entire afternoon is handled.  Sweet.  Then of course the gym.  Then off to our balcony for a lovely evening beverage and down to dinner. 

It is formal night tonight, sigh, the bane of our existence.  But we are being good doobies and dressing up, to some degree.  Little black dress for me, button up collared shirt and nicer pants for Ed – and we’re good.  Ed decided to nix his tie – it’s such a hassle and so uncomfortable – and he wasn’t out of place at all.  Formal on this particular sailing is a wide range of interpretations!  We saw maybe 2 tuxedos, some suits, but mostly shirts and a few ties.  Oh, and the sweatshirt guy.  Not even trying to follow the dress code, obviously, and no problems.  They seated him in the dining room as if he were in his finest.

The show was the 2^nd production show.  Very good.  Again, no NCL, but still good and entertaining.  The cast is huge, and the dancers are very energetic.  Plus the singers all dance, so it is quite different.

As usual, we finished off our evening on the balcony with a gorgeous moonrise, then off to bed for another exciting day at sea.