Day 8 - at sea day –Sunday

Sunny day but cooler as were at sea



Let the games begin

 The sun broke through a and welcomed a cool morning. It was around 7 AM when I got up (strange as that may be) but I was not alone as most of our team reported a good night’s sleep. I managed to get a bit of writing caught up and downloaded the photos of the day before. After selecting a few photos for this blog I made smaller versions for uploading to the Internet. That activity was interrupted by the requirement for breakfast before we met the Americans for the CanAm games. The challenge had been issued by John the evening before. John and Paul set up the plans for the challenges and we were to meet at 10 AM to start the process. For some reason the Americans had not included the women in the challenges. John is sure that was done because the women wanted some time to themselves away from the men. None-the-less the Canadian women were visibly disappointed. To their credit they showed support and cheered us on and were the official record keepers. Plans were started to change the format for day 2 of the games.



The Canadian Support Team

The first activity was a mini-putt challenge. We paired up with Canadian and American members in each team and went around the 9 hole Scottish links type mini-putt course. It was pretty cool outside and the Canadian team looked very proud in their flag adorned clothing that Freddi supplied. The Americans were not showing any national pride and had no support from their ladies. The course provided challenges to all as it was not straight forward in any way. We were met with holes where an easy 2 shots were expected but up to 8 were delivered and tough holes that allowed a simple 2 shots to go in. The game of skill was diminished to lady chance for sure. In the end the Americans edged a win with their 5 man team against our 5 man team. Off we went to take up the basketball hoops challenge. We each had 10 throws and our scores were recorded. Most of us got 2 or maybe 3 but Don managed to be the high scorer by getting 6. That lifted the Americans higher in overall score. The third game was a soccer kick challenge that ended up being more evenly balanced but that left the Americans still in the lead. The final game was shuffleboard and after much discussion about the rules (which no one was clear on) a set of rules were defined and we started playing all players on each team. We played with 5 stones to match our team sizes. It was windy and cool but we played on the sunny side of the ship as it steamed along in the Baltic between Warnemunde and Tallin. The target score of 100 was achieved by shortly after noon by the Americans. The high fives and thanks were very much like the Toronto Maple Leafs as we retired to our rooms to prepare for the rest of the day. It was a fun time with many laughs as we learned about the competitive streak in each of the team members. There was an agreement that there would be a day 2 but it would include the ladies and there would be some modifications to the games. John and Paul took on that challenge. The next events would happen on the next at sea day after we leave Stockholm.

Style counted for more than accuracy.....

The balance of the day was doing personal things by each of our group. I finished the blog and posted it with much difficulty as our communications fell down a few times and the blog software gave me a bad time. By 2:45 we were ready to take on the wine appreciation seminar that was delivered by the ship's sommelier Mihei from Romania. He was a friend of Marian. There was a great line up to get in but we managed to get our group of 6 at one table. We were to taste 6 wines with some nondescript sparkling wine given to us as we sat down. The presentation started but the large attendance made it difficult for Miguel to be heard above the rude folks who talked at their table all the way through the presentation. The level of attention dwindled as we progressed through the 6 wines. We tasted a champagne, 2 whites and 3 reds. All wines were on the wine list and one we had already tried. There were small applies that would compliment each of the wines. It was a good format but the size of the audience contributed to the noisy room. Mihei did a good job from removing a champagne cork with a sword to detailing the characteristics of the individual wines. All that took about 45 minutes and we were on our way to the Gold members reception where we were regaled about the beauty of Princesses new ship and how we should book our next cruise while we were on-board this one. A complimentary drink ticket was our prize for showing up and one cabin received an elevated status for the balance of the trip. Freddi went down as her Asthma could not take the increased levels of perfume that the women were wearing. It was formal night and some were gussied up for the evening activities. She went to our stateroom for a rest and that is where I found her aft the event. She had a sleep and we had some quiet time before our dinner reservation. I stayed in the room and listened to music during that period and we missed the champagne mountain and the fuss associated with the formal evening.

Dinner was in Divinci dining room and Allan had made the reservation. He had suffered from the day’s activities as he started the cruise with a bad back. He looked like he was in lots of pain while he sat upright in the dining room.



The food offering was good as it had a diverse feel to it and everyone tried something new. The hardest thing about cruising is not overeating and we had all failed in that category. The smaller portions of the evening were appreciated by all. I enjoyed duck breast slices with greens and a shrimp neptune dish with saffron rice. A couple of others enjoyed that meal also but there was also a pork roast dish, steaks, chicken, pasta, salads etc offered for dinner. Freddi broke down and had banana foster while I enjoyed a fudge pudding for dessert. All very good for sure. Some of our team went to the musical entertainment for the evening and some went to bed. Bob and I had a nightcap in the jazz bar before retiring for the night.

It was a good day that slipped into history very quietly but quickly.

CanAm Games challengers 2012