March 24th, 2023 Day 80 of 128

Sea Day 3 of 3

Good morning. Today is a big day and there is an excitement on the ship you can feel as soon as we woke up. We decided to sleep in this morning and finally headed out around 8:30 am for breakfast in the Pinnacle. After breakfast we made our way to the Lido Deck poolside for the King Neptune’s Ceremony. Time for the pollywogs (sailors who have never crossed the Equator) to go before the judge and King Neptune for his penance. “The ritual dates back at least 400 years in Western seafaring. The ceremony observes a mariner’s transformation from slimy Pollywog, a seaman who hasn’t crossed the equator, to trusty Shellback, also called a Son or Daughter of Neptune. It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness.” There were several pollywogs in the crew on the ship and they all had to bow before the fish, be subjected to being slimed (colored meringue) and then the captain and four other officers had to make judgement if they were to be dunked in the drink (the swimming pool) or had to sit poolside in their slime. Now, to be honest, going in the pool was a punishment, but I believe having to sit with the slime all over you was a worse punishment. Cute poems stating their “crimes” against King Neptune were read and they were all humorous and the passengers enjoyed them immensely. About half the crew was made to “swim with the sharks”. It was a lot of fun to watch and to take part in. In the end all of the crew wound up in the pool. Then came the clean up…there was a white film on the top of the pool and it had to be drained and scrubbed down and that took most of the rest of the day. After the ceremony we went up to deck 10 and awaited the momentous moment for the day. We crossed the Prime Meridian and the Equator at 11:11am. At one point, different parts of the ship were all in the Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern Hemisphere all at the same time. It is not a common occurrence and it makes us all now a rare titled “Emerald Shellback”. To read more information on this unique place in the world you can look up Null Island. It was a very interesting read and something cool that will make a great trivia question someday. After the morning festivities we were hot a little overheated so headed inside to spend some time crocheting in the air conditioning even though we missed our Project Linus group this morning. Next, we decided to head to the Lido because they had a seafood buffet for lunch today. We dined on cooked cold lobster, prawns, mussels, clams and sushi. Next, it was tutoring time for Megan and an acupuncture appointment for me. We met back at the cabin around 4:00pm and made an executive decision that the dining room menu didn’t make us want to get dressed up and we were still full from lunch. So about 6:00pm we went to the lido for a light dinner. There is still no self service anywhere on the ship. I am a “do it for myself” kinda girl and it bothers me to have to ask for someone to give me a cup of hot water for tea, but unfortunately those are the rules right now so we all have to follow them. Hoping the restrictions will be lifted soon. We came home after dinner and continued to crochet for the rest of the evening. It was a fun day and I am happy to have finally had the opportunity to see my first King Neptune’s Ceremony. I am so thankful to the staff and crew for making it so entertaining. Enjoy that sunshine my California friends and family. It is long overdue!! Hugs.