2 Sea Days and Fiordlands Scenic Cruising

We had two straight sea days, which was quite relaxing.  I read the first two books I've read since 6th grade (thanks, Economics!). Beth was so proud of me for being patient enough to read a book.  This only occured because it was during the holidays and my phone didnt work. I relaxed by the pool, had soft serve twice a day for a week, and other good food (Princess is exceling at the vegetarian options btw) and used a machine called an arc trainer to burn it off.  Beth read some lame (fun!) girlie novels, used the arc trainer, and took forever to get ready to walk to the pool.  We saw a friend from high school on the boat (Spencer Torgan on his honeymoon), and had a nice, relaxing time.  

Every cruise has the gameshow "Newlywed Game"  After our third time entering the show, we finally got picked to be contestants (fulfilling Richard's lifelong dream). Basically they pick 3 couples (of different # of years being married) to go onstage and answer questions about each other.  Needless to say we wiped the floor with the opposition and picked up 2 new hats, a bottle of champagne and a reusable grocery bag.

The next day we did a scenic cruise through Fiordland National Park in New Zealand, which has 14 Fjords and waterways.  The cliffs surrounding the waterways rise straight out of the water to 5-6,000 feet nearly straight up.  More incredibly, they are covered by thick rain forests from the water line up. The area gets a ton of rainfall (though we were lucky to experience it without rain) and creates waterfalls down the sides of the cliffs.  It was a really neat day, watching the cruise ship sail through these narrow waterways. The first fjord was at 6:45 am, and the temperature was roughly negative a billion, with fierce winds.  Most people stayed out for a few minutes before retreating to the Casino.  We took a nap and woke up for the next two as well, where the temperature was bearable.  We cruised through 5 of the 14 fjords. Next, cruising on to Dunedin, New Zealand.

Notes:

Noticing many people with giant cameras.   Isn't digital replacing these monsters?

Asian guy with a lime green jacket while watching fjords.  What was weird about that?   That he was using a camera with film!  Film!

If you have more than 6 tattoos, you probably are too cool to be on a Princess cruise.

If you are religious enough to go to mass and sing christmas carols in the atriun, you probably should be at church and not on a cruise.