20241213 Seabourn Sojourn Grand Africa Cruise Day 18/96 - Sea Day

Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 18/96 - Sea Day Fish Eggs and Arlona's birthday

This was waiting for us in the room tonight

Arlona woke up today another year older, and...just as old as I am. Of course, that only lasts two weeks and she returns to her younger status. Still, it's Arlona's birthday and a reason to celebrate.

We decided to try the grill by the pool on Deck #8 for breakfast today. Other guests recommended it for breakfast, and after dining there, we had to agree with their recommendation.

Arlona's egg tagine was delicious

My breakfast burrito was pretty tasty too

Arlona headed to art class - this morning was watercolor paintings of penguins.

The example

Arlona's excellent reproduction

They held a signature Seabourn event today - caviar by the pool. On smooth days, they actually serve the caviar in the pool. The sea was a bit rough today, so caviar was served by the pool rather than in the pool.

Hotel General Manager, Harry, offering caviar

Icy Grey Goose shots

Cruise Director, Nick, also served up the fish eggs

The trio supplied the tunes

As we listened to the music, Arlona captured these photos of a stowaway, hitching a ride on my shirt.

It was time for trivia - the final round of the progressive tournament for this segment of the cruise. We did OK today but were far enough out of the lead, there wasn't anything we could do. We finished in fourth - still a respectable finish. Today's failures:

• In what Olympic sport do all competitors cross the finish line backward?
• We guessed backstroke, but there really isn't a finish line - the answer was rowing
• According to IMDB.com, what is the only horror movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture?
• We guessed Parasite - it was Silence of the Lambs - we didn't think that was a horror movie
• What did Ian Fleming  (James Bond author) name his Jamaica home?
• We guessed Spectre - it was Golden Eye
• For the bonus, we had to rank the following product introductions from the 1970s in chronological order:
• Apple computer
• Cell phone prototype call
• First e-mail sent
• Consumer GPS
• Consumer VCR
• Correct order
• First e-mail 1971
• Consumer VCR 1972
• Cell phone prototype call 1973
• Apple Computer 1976
• Consumer GPS 1983 (yes, that's not the 1970s - the hosts weren't always on the ball)

We had e-mail #1 and GPS #5 but screwed up the middle. Regardless, we finished 4th out of 10 teams and will start anew in a few days on our next sea day.

When we returned to our room, we found that our cabin stewards had been busy.

The basket was our laundry coming back

It was a nice surprise and made Arlona's day.

Arlona had another art project this afternoon painting birds of Cabo Verde. I think she nailed this one.

The sample

Arlona artwork

I attended another putting competition this afternoon. Lots of folks showed up today - perhaps 15 or 16 guests. We putted two holes. Two players had the low score (not me) but they wanted more for the finals, so the next highest scorers (six of us) had a one-hole putt off. That sent four players into the finals along with the two leaders. On the first hole, everyone hit three or more strokes except one player who put the ball in the cup in two strokes, winning the contest outright. I can't remember who that was, but they left with a spiffy USB-rechargeable personal fan and power bank.

Oh, look - a fan and power bank!

It even came with a multi-ended charging cable

After a drink in the Observation Bar, we headed to our first dinner in Seabourn's premier restaurant, Solis.

As usual, I had the best-looking dinner companion in the place

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner. We both opted for the grilled shrimp and it was delicious. After dinner, they brought out a surprise birthday dessert.

Our server, Thabiso, leading Happy Birthday to the birthday girl

It was a very nice dinner experience and we will make more reservations soon 

After dinner, we went to comedian Steve Stevens' second, and final performance as he will leave us tomorrow. He was funny the first night. Tonight, he ratcheted it up a few notches and lots of laughs were had all through the theater. It was a nice wrap-up to Arlona's birthday.

When we returned to the room, the cupcake in the top photo was waiting for her, because, you know, we need more food. It was another nice touch.

We will dock in Abidjan, Ivory Coast tomorrow morning, and visit our 89th country.