A day (or two in our case) at sea is the perfect opportunity to really explore all the ship has to offer. You can be adventurous (rock climbing wall on Deck 13 anyone???); you can focus on fitness (Vitality Fitness Center and Spa offer a range of health and fitness programs with an unlimited class pass costing $79 USD + 18% gratuity); you can be social (games, contests, casino, craft - some cost, some are free) or you can just relax on a lounge, in a bar or find a quiet nook to read a book.

Each night the "Cruise Compass" newsletter is left on your bed which tells you all the activities offered the following day plus the location of each. It is up to you to be as active or as laid-back as you want to be.....after all, is that not what a vacation is about????

The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania. The Tasman Sea has for many years been referred to as "The Ditch" by Australians and New Zealanders. The exact etymology for this term is uncertain, however, when traveling between Australia and New Zealand, it is commonly referred to as "crossing the ditch".

What can one say about sailing across this "ditch"........ lows follow highs follow lows in a ceaseless cycle so we ended up with approximately 2000 Kms of ferocious seas with up to 5-metre swells. Got to love those Roaring Forties which turned out a bit more than the "poor and possibly dangerous conditions with strong swells and winds" which was forecast!!! Even the crew were getting sick on these tumultuous seas. Seasickness seemed to be "par for the course" for many passengers too but of course, yours truly came prepared. Decided that sea days were for relaxing and enjoying the amenities the ship had to offer. Needless to say, it was easier to get a seat in the cafes and restaurants and you just had to go with the waves!!

The ship offers a number of complimentary health seminars with the Personal Trainers Flavio and Charlie in the Vitality Fitness Center. I decided to check one out on the first day at sea which was attended by about 30 people. This was held in the Gym which unfortunately is at the front of the ship......so movement was up and down as well as side to side.....the only time I felt physically ill L. I figured attending the gym was not for me on the sea days and to be honest the seminars were more of a sales pitch for the services that attract an additional cost.

Prior to sailing, I had joined a Facebook group which was duly called the "red radiants" (we had decided to tie a red ribbon to our lanyards for easy identification) which was great as we shared tips and hints for our upcoming cruise. We had a "meet and greet" on the afternoon of day one at sea which was not as well attended as hoped (probably due to seasickness) but it was still great to put faces to names. I met one lady who was on her 87th cruise!!! On day two I attended a Cruise Critic "meet and mingle" and guess what........I won a prize!!! Thank you for a lovely bottle of wine as well as some RCI merchandise just for stopping by to say hello. I also got to meet "Larry" with whom I had been conversing with prior to sailing. On a ship this size, it is great to have some familiar faces to say hello to as you wander around and it helps to lose that sense of being "one of the masses" so I would highly recommend getting to know your fellow cruisers through these types of groups.

Two days of rollicking seas are getting a little monotonous so we are all looking forward to reaching New Zealand tomorrow. I cannot for the life of me work out how to link my photo album to the blog so I suggest you have a look at my Radiance of the Seas folder to check out the ship.....