Star Trek: The Cruise -- Day Two Recap

Stardate 2017.01.10, the U.S.S. Enterprise/Norwegian Pearl cruised effortlessly toward Cozumel, Mexico, while, on board, fans participating in Star Trek: The Cruise enjoyed a full day of activities, from a morning yoga class with Terry Farrell to an after-midnight Star TrekUnder the Stars screening of Star Trek: First Contact. StarTrek.com is there on the ship, and we’re pleased to report back with photos and a recap of Day Two:

It was 9 a.m. when the early birds on the ship joined Terry Farrell poolside for a yoga session. Farrell’s a pro, by the way. When she left acting for a while years ago, she taught yoga.

Cruises are famous for their vegetable carvings. So, what do you create for a Star Trek cruise? Easy, you whip up Klingon-themed carvings of Gowron – a tribute, of course, to Trek cruise participant Robert O’Reilly – and call them Klingon Karvings.

A cruise must have music, and, during the VIP T-Shirt Party, DJ Needles did the honors, with a cameo appearance by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, who played a full set later in the evening. Every fan received a Star Trek: The Cruise t-shirt in command yellow, and many of them switched into the shirt during the party.

Let’s be real: How many people can say they’ve played Bingo with Joe Piscopo? Well, everyone who got in on the fun at 13 Forward when the funnyman and friends hosted a Bingo session.

Piscopo told those in the room that the occasion brought him back to his childhood in New Jersey and the church bingo nights he attended. Fans enjoyed his non-stop jokes, impersonations and… shadow puppets. A fan asked if she could get a hug from Piscopo if she won, prompting cruise director Dane Boucher to promise that Piscopo would come to her cabin if she won. As it said on someone’s shirt: “What happens on the holodeck…” Oh, and a fan from Brooklyn, New York, took home the top prize.

And now let’s talk about meals – and a few dinner specials. Every cruise needs chefs, and Star Trek: The Cruise has one of the best in the galaxy. Neelix is cooking up specials all week at the Summer Palace Dining Room, and La Cucina is offering special Starfleet pizzas throughout the cruise.

Among the pizzas, there’s:

Dr. Gillian Taylor Pizza: a favorite that she shared with Kirk, featuring mushrooms, pepperoni and extra onion.

Hoshi Sato’s Fiorella’s Pizza: classic Hawaiian style pizza from Fountain Street in San Francisco, loaded with ham, pineapple and cheese.

Tom Paris Pizza: the pizza that Paris craved while suffering the effects of crossing the Transwarp Threshold in 2372, brimming with pepperoni and Kavarian Olives.

Bashir 62 Pizza: a meat lover’s pie with a Jack in the box surprise, it’s topped with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham and salami, with garlic and basil.

The Hungry Vulcan Pizza: You’ll live long and prosper with this one, which boasts mushrooms, peppers, olives, onions, tomatoes and cheese.

Other cool bits:

Turbolifts: The ship’s elevators have been replaced with the latest Starfleet turbolifts. Check out the special messages!

Cocktail of the Day: Andorian Ale… Raspberry flavored vodka, blue curacao and sprite!

Around the ship, out on the deck and also inside, fans could get in on a variety of activities, including panels, autograph and photo sessions, shows, exhibitions and more.

Real-life astronaut Richard Searfoss – a retired United States Air Force colonel, NASA astronaut and test pilot who ventured into space aboard the shuttles Columbia and Atlantis, and was part of the final Spacelab mission – teamed up with moderator Jordan Hoffman for an informative panel.

Searfoss, discussing what it’s like to launch a space shuttle, said, “It’s a really great ride… as long as you don’t think that you might die while you do it.” He also noted that, “Human space exploration has received broad bipartisan support and neglect over the years,” and shared his belief that outreach to Congressional representatives will be useful in moving the space program forward.

Go climb a rock! Brave fans heeded that call, getting in on an activity playfully dubbed El Capitan Rock Climbing with Steve Rankin. Frequent Trek guest Rankin didn’t just urge people on, but rather he bounded up the rock climbing wall.

Mid-afternoon, over in the Stardust Theater, John de Lancie attracted a standing-room-only crowd for his much-anticipated one-man show, called… One Man Show. Marina Sirtis introduced her old friend, de Lancie, warning that material would be quite "blue." And it was, particularly his reading of epic Billy Markham poems. De Lancie exited the stage to a standing ovation.

While the Enterprise-D has Ten Forward, the Pearl has 13 Forward. It’s the biggest club on the ship and home for the cruise's performances, games, chats, dancing and more.

Blackjack has been an on-board favorite, with the tables featuring custom Star Trek felts. The tables were full all day, but the crowds positively overflowed when Marina Sirtis settled in to play/host a Blackjack Tournament.

Sirtis sat at each table, taking turns playing against five players, occasionally giving advice to novices or playfully trying to sit in for another player at another table. She gambled away her chips and gave thumbs up to those brave enough to place large bets. Sirtis also cheered on those that won, though, understandably, she was much more exuberant when she managed to win a hand and a few chips.

Fans raised their glasses with... Damar. Well, not quite, but close, since they enjoyed a Wine Tasting with Casey Biggs. And Biggs knows his wines. He starred in commercials for Paso Robles, serving as the Paso Wine Man, a suave wine aficionado. And, with a full house at the Klingon Karnivoria restaurant overlooking the pool, Biggs spoke at length about the process of winemaking, as well as the conditions in different winemaking regions that make those better for producing particular varieties, all the while leading a tasting of six wines, including three reds and three whites, from across the world.

Back outside, poolside, in fact, Terry Farrell, Chase Masterson and James Darren talked about their lives, careers and time on Deep Space Nine during a panel moderated by Jordan Hoffman. Fans heard familiar stories and new ones, too, and Masterson discussed in detail her anti-bullying campaign, Pop Culture Hero Coalition. Best new story? Darren shared a remarkable anecdote about playing football with Elvis Presley during his Vegas shows.

Professor Lawrence Krauss presided over a panel called The Physics of Star Trek. He noted, for example, that physicists were happy with Star Trek VI because it got spherical blood in Zero G right, and he used a balloon to demonstrate the potential of manipulating space itself in order to travel. Also, in a nutshell, he explained that if you can have warp drive, you can have wormholes, and pointed out that, with our telescopes, we’re able to bring the universe to us. That's possibly more effective than space travel as we currently think about it.

The Stardust Theater, in the evening, played host to On the Holodeck... A Show That Defies Reality, featuring Robert Picardo and Jordan Bennett. John de Lancie introduced Picardo and Bennett, who wrote their musical-comedy revue especially for this cruise. It started as a small show they performed several years ago, they explained, which they expanded into the version fans saw last night.

Picardo started by singing the Star Trek: The Original Seriestheme song, complete with Gene Roddenberry's lyrics. Picardo and Bennett, the latter an original Les Miserables cast member, reminisced about how they met 30 years ago. Among the songs they performed were tunes from Broadway, Monty Python, the Beatles and the Moody Blues. Picardo also wowed the crowd of 1,000 strong with a rendition of the Doctor's opera song from "Virtuoso."

The show concluded with the audience "twisting the night away" and a standing ovation for Picardo and Bennett.

And the shipboard fun continued on late into the evening with Trek After Twilight -- Holo-Nights. The entertainment included a round of Trek trivia (with Casey Biggs), a performance by guitarist Michael Lamper, with special guest Marina Sirtis (a/k/a Mrs. Lamper), DJ Needles spinning music, an under the stars screening of First Contact and The Holo-Nights Party with the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. The party featured dancing and incredible fan costumes, and Denise Crosby was on hand to award prizes for the top costumes.

Visit StarTrek.com again to read our recap of Star Trek: The Cruise, Day Three. And read our Day One recap.