Christmas at sea

Sailing between the Panama Canal and the west side of Costa Rica, we had various activities available:  yoga, Christmas service, lecture on the history of holiday decorations, Christmas trivia, the movie"It's a Wonderful Life," tango lessons, etc.  I didn't do any of these and instead walked four miles around the deck and spent the rest of the day wrestling with this blog.  WiFi speed continues to be a big problem.

We've met a couple from Nova Scotia who invited us to join them at The Chefs Table restaurant.  That's one of the two specialty restaurants on board.  Its menu changes every few days and doesn't offer any choices.  It usually highlights the regional cuisine and pairs each course with an appropriate wine.  The Christmas theme was "Erling's Scandinavian Bistro."

Following dinner we went to the theater for a Christmas extravaganza which included selections from some of the performers that had appeared earlier in the week plus special appearances by some of the talented staff.  Check out the finale (I haven't been able to get the video to load. I'll keep trying.  Check back later.)  It seems like staff members are selected for the primary qualifications of their given positions as well as for their other talents.  The very competent, energetic and charismatic cruise director also happens to have opera training.