We’ve been moving north through the North Sea for two more days.   Yesterday, we had another slow day spending much of the time in our stateroom watching the sea go by and watching the movie “M.A.S.H.”  Sadly, the movie has not stood the test of time very well.  Racist and sexist jokes that seemed funny and normal fifty years ago are no longer palatable.  Good to see it again though to remember what was. 

Yesterday was the first formal night so we dressed up for dinner.  Philip didn’t pack his tux on this trip, but has a suit and tie.  I saw a few tuxedos and dinner jackets, but not many.

This morning about 3 a.m., we were awakened by an announcement over the loudspeaker in the hall. Although I couldn’t get up quickly enough to hear it, we were sure that it was about the first Northern Lights sighting.  We pulled on warm clothes quickly and went up to deck 15 to see what we could.  In the elevator, two other couples said they’d also heard the announcement but not the exact words either.  

Up on the deck, we saw what may have been the lights, but weren’t sure. We looked in the direction that photographers with big cameras had them aimed.   I tried a few photos with my Canon without success. We’ll need to try again when we get the chance.  Even though the photos always show colors of mostly green, but also red, blue, and purple, the human eye is not made to see such bright colors in the Lights. We have been warned that we may see only shades of gray.  That’s what we saw which may have been just clouds. Don’t know.  

When Shaun and Yvette were in Iceland a few years ago, they took a small boat tour to see the lights.  Yvette could see them, but Shaun saw only cloudy streaks until he looked at his photos.

This morning, I saw a Facebook post from another passenger who posted a few good photos of the Lights. He said that he hurried as soon as he heard the announcement and was one of the first up there.  Sometimes, they last only a few minutes.  Other times, they stay visible a long time.   

The sun came out this afternoon after several gray days, and the view of the sea is beautiful.  Hope the good weather holds.  The lights are supposed to be very active now so I hope we can see them tonight. 

Today, we slept late since we were up during the night. Both of us went to breakfast in the busy buffet.  Breakfast in the dining room closes at 9:00, and we didn’t get up in time.  We had lunch and dinner in the dining room.  The food has been fine on this cruise.  Not as great as some other ships and not as good as what I remember Princess having, but fine. The service by the waiters in the Club Class area has been great.   They all work together as a team. We’ve not had to wait very long for anything.  They seem to be trying really hard to please.  They’re friendly and try to personalize service for every guest, making jokes and providing treats and saving our favorite table for us at each meal. 

Watched another old movie this afternoon.  “9 to 5,” although 40 or so years old, was still relevant to me, and I laughed out loud throughout.  Who could be funnier than Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton?

I wanted to see the comedian/hypnotist again tonight. He performed in Explorer’s Lounge, one of the smaller lounges, so we went down to find a seat really early.  I thought we were getting there an hour early, but it was actually two hours before his performance.  My phone updated to the current time, but my iPad and Fitbit are still stuck on GMT.  Norway is one hour ahead of Britain.  While we waited for the show to start, a musical group, Opus, did a nice set of pop music.  One couple made good use of the dance floor, mostly by themselves, during the music.  It was fun to watch a couple who knows how to dance, too.

David Knight, the comedy hypnotist put on a good show again.  This time he had ten people volunteer to start.  One person didn’t respond to his suggestions right away, but David replaced him with another person from the audience.  During the show, one woman appeared to be hypnotized but made very small movements when told the behaviors he wanted — act like a chicken, row a boat, ride a horse like a cowboy.  The hypnotist explained that there are many levels of depth that any person can go into and she was in a light stage.  He eventually had her move off stage, too.  The show is so funny— not as funny as the first one, but still it had the audience guffawing throughout.  A couple of the participants looked to me like they were faking it — smiling/laughing at the wrong time, but most seemed to do what he asked like they had no control over themselves.  

I have turned on the TV again tonight in case we get another announcement that the Northern Lights are visible.  Don’t want to miss any opportunity.  We expect to dock at Tromso around 1 a.m. and get off the ship for the first time tomorrow.