DAY 43 DAY 32 SERENITY

ON THE ROAD TO RAROTONGA

Let us begin with yesterday.  

These are photos from our visit to Raiatea and the island's capital city; Uturoa.

The city  is  the way we remember from our first visit in 2008.

Once back on  the ship Keith ran on the Promenade Deck  and also walked inside the ship.  Anne Marie began walking inside the ship  a couple of years ago either when it was too hot and/or windy outside or when it was dark outside.  Keith started to do the same last year  if he wants to do  less on the Elliptical Machine or if running is  not possible.  

We  walk  Deck 6 on Serenity which is the deck with many public areas including three lounges, shops, casino, photo studio  and shops.  We prefer walking this deck over the guest decks with staterooms  and suites.  These are some photos of the areas  we walk.

After returning we enjoyed the rest of the  day  on Serenity.  This included lunch at Marketplace, Paddle Tennis for Keith and a long walk for Anne Marie.  At one point  while playing Paddle Tennis a storm arrive and you could hear the wind howling.  They got in another game and finally it started to rain and it was time to stop play. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon visiting with people and catching up on reading and writing.

We enjoyed  a pre-dinner drink at the Crystal Cove before returning to Waterside for dinner.  We listened to Pianist Richard Pucci perform.  We love his piano playing.

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These are the Waterside menus.

We enjoyed a delicious meal starting with Sautéed Seafood for the two of us along with a dinner salad.  For our entree, Anne Marie had Broiled Fresh Swordfish and Keith had the Local Fresh Ruby Snapper from the modern menu.  Everything was great including the wine.  Keith had a  new Vina Robles wine recently brought on board.  They still have the Cabernet which many are familiar with  and this one is called the Arborist.   Keith enjoyed it very much.  Kudos to Sommelier Amela who explained each wine.

The evening entertainment featured vocalist Jamila  who  performed at 7:45 and  9:45 PM.

We slept well as Serenity sails to our  next port-of-call of Rarotonga and  began our day with a visit  to the Fitness Center by Keith, and breakfast in our  room. Keith went on a run and later joined Anne Marie for a walk before she went to Yoga.  Keith played Paddle Tennis with three other guests until the skies darkened and rain showers arrived.  

Today  is  the first sea day of this young  segment.  The program featured  three lectures in  addition to 50+ enrichment  programs.

This included:

Captain Richard Hayman who spoke about the islands which make up Polynesia, Gen Joe Shafer who spoke about will nations die for Water, and Professor Judith Fordham who spoke about Life, Law and Not Enough shoes.

Today was an Italian Theme at Marketplace.
 

After having lunch  at Marketplace  we both walked inside the ship given the rain.   Keith met up with dear friend Bob while Anne Marie read and wrote.

A nice addition to the afternoon program was wine tasting at Waterside.  The focus was on Sauvignon Blanc.

This evening is Black Tie Optional and we will  return to Waterside for the third consecutive night.

Following is todays' daily Reflections Program.

Cheers,

Anne Marie &  Keith