20250211 Seabourn Sojourn Grand Africa Cruise Day 78/96 - Sea Day

Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 78/96 - Sea Day 1/4 - Links at Sea and Talented Crew

We completed our first of four sea days as we sailed westward around West Africa. Like most sea days, we started with Baggo. For the second time, it came down to an All-Kolb final with Arlona and I throwing against each other. We're both competitive and neither of us wants to win if the other isn't trying so we both went hard. In the end, I won again, finally scoring a nice gray Seabourn hat - the one item we hadn't won yet.

They are constantly doing maintenance on this ship and today was no exception. It was the starboard side balcony's turn to get a cleaning and polish today, at least here on Deck #5.

They removed the dividers and power-washed the entire deck area

The windows were all washed and dried

A highlight event today was the Master's golf putting tournament. All the departments got involved, setting up their version of a tricky putting hole. The golfers made their way floor-to-floor to the different departments. Each hole presented a different challenge and it was terrific fun.

I opted to run the course backward from hole #9 to #1. I started on Deck #10 in the Observation Bar and the Deck Department's hole.

The hole wrapped all the way around the bar and up a tiny ramp to the hole - it was incredibly challenging to the point that they redesigned the hole - Since I went early, I was able to play the hole again, reducing my score from 13 to 4 (did I mention it was initially challenging?)

Deck #9 featured a hole designed by the Salon team. I didn't get a photo, but it was set up so right-handers had a hard time standing and swinging the club.

The Bar team set up a hole on the pool deck

The "club" was a broomstick with a wine bottle duct-taped to make the head of the club

Guest Services set this up on Deck #7, hitting around a corner

The Boutique team set up a long dogleg hole in the shops on Deck #7

The Entertainment team set up this challenge in the Grand Salon on Deck #6, down the ramp toward the stage, around a podium, and finally up a long ramp into the hole

The Housekeeping team set up in The Club on Deck #5 with towel animals and rolled towels plus a feather duster as a putter

I missed taking a photo of the Restaurant team's challenging hole set up in The Restaurant, complete with menu obstacles.

The Engine team was in The Atrium on Deck #4 - putting into the hole sounded a buzzer and lit up LEDs around the putting surface

They even made a custom putter that weighed several pounds

With my redo on the last hole, I came in at a 31

The whole event was terrific. It got everyone moving all around the ship and let each department have some creative and silly fun.

Arlona was back at beading again today. The plan was necklaces featuring pearls but that didn't inspire her. She went out on her own, adding some new colors to her collection.

Today was the start of a new accumulative trivia challenge. We had a good day, tying the usual winners for first place, at least for today. Our mistakes:

• What elements are atomic numbers 1, 2, & 3, in order
• We had hydrogen, helium, and argon but it was hydrogen, helium, and lithium
• What was the name of Captain Robert Scott's Antarctic exploration ship?
• We guessed Endeavor - it was Discovery
• Who was on the cover of the first issue of People Magazine?
• We guessed Paul Newman - it was Mia Farrow

We shall see if we can continue this winning tradition into tomorrow.

We took it easy this afternoon, hitting the Observation Bat at 5:00 for a cocktail. We went to The Colonnade for dinner. They had a family-style rib dinner tonight. We went with a couple from Michigan who we had a lot in common with. We had a terrific dinner with lots of spirited conversation. It was a great evening.

At 9:30, we watched the crew talent show. 

Last night, 13 acts performed for the crew. Judges narrowed the field down to eight and those eight performed for the guests tonight. 

Tonight's judges, Captain Kyriakos Karras, Hotel Director Harry, Guest Services Manager Jen, and Corporate Cruise Director John Barron narrowed down tonight's performances to a top 3 and the audience voted for the winner

Most acts were singers and all were talented.

Killing Tom Jones' Delilah

Another singer

Yet another singer and tonight's second-place performer

Tonight's third-place finisher

A singer/keyboardist

Tonight's eventual winner

A four-member band, all from different departments

The last act was hard to describe - it was a drag act

And...he gave the Hotel Director Harry a haircut

After the judges chose the top three, Cruise Director Nick used a decibel meter to register the audience volume as we cheered for our favorite act from the judges' top three. Everyone received $100 for performing. The winner got a total of $700, $500 for second place, and $200 for third. The money came from the crew welfare fund. Tipping is neither required nor expected on Seabourn, but for guests who want to do something, Seabourn encourages donations to the crew welfare fund. Seabourn uses those funds to buy additional recreation equipment for the crew, provide crew excursion experiences, and do things like they did tonight.

It was a fun evening and great to see these hard-working crew members have at least a few moments in the spotlight.

We will remain at sea tomorrow as we continue westerly toward the northwest coast of Africa.