DAY SIX - AT SEA

Today is Sunday October 26th and we are at sea midway between Noumea and Nukualofa. Although there is no land in site we must be sailing close to some land mass as there are quite a few birds skimming across the top of the water. Channel 36 on out TV shows the ships course, present position, distance traveled and distance to the next port and looking at the map here shows us just off the coast of Fiji. We have lost 2 hours in the lat 48. On Friday night we were advised to put our clocks forward 1 hour and then again last night, Saturday night. The further we travel the warmer it gets and the calmer the seas. The only time we have experienced anything that could be considered rough was the first night leaving Sydney. Since then I could have been sailing in my 4.2m tinnie quite comfortably.
I’m taking this opportunity to correct a couple of bits of misinformation that I’ve read on CC forums. This will mainly interest those that intend to sail on Sun Princess in the future.
The first relates to the coffee in the Horizon Court.. I have read that this coffee is “horrible - tasteless - really bad - and ghastly”. Well, all I can say is Princess Cruises must have been taking notice of these comments because on this trip there is absolutely nothing wrong with the coffee. This is not just my opinion, I’ve asked several and they all agree, the coffee is fine. In fact we believe it is the same coffee that is served in the formal dining rooms.
The second bit of information that might help future cruisers is about the internet. I was told before boarding that I would need to swipe my card in the internet lounge and then very quickly write down a code to allow me any future connection. The following may only relate to those using their own Wifi enabled laptops and for those who wish to use the computers in the internet lounge the above swipe the card process may still apply.
The process for connection via a Wifi enabled laptop is as follows. When the computer is turned on it will search for available networks and will find one named Princess. You then need to type in you first initial, surname and cabin number, all one word. This will connect you to the Princess server. You then need to specify a password for future connections and purchase a package of time. The bigger the package the less per minute you will pay. I purchased $100 worth at .40c per minute. You can, of course, pay as you go, but this will cost you .75c per minute.
The interesting thing that others might like to try is location searching. When I was talking to the computer manger I was told that I would need to bring my laptop into the internet lounge or one of the public areas around the ship. Not accurate - I post from my own cabin on deck 10.
This morning our CC group has been offered a tour of the galley at 10 am and tomorrow we sail into Nukualofa.. The next 3 days will be busy and I’m not sure how often I will be able to post. Tomorrow Nukualofa, Tuesday we are at Vava’u and on Wednesday we spend the day on Rarotonga.
All for now.