What drinks were you actually counting though? Like if you had two coffees from the specialty place in the morning plus a couple of poolside cocktails, that adds up faster than people realize. And did you factor in port days where you're off the ship most of the day barely drinking anything? Also curious if your husband was drinking beer while you were doing wine, because that changes the math a lot. Basically I want to know if that 4 a day was an average across the whole week or just a typical sea day.

Skip the regret. DIY is half the point of buying a fixer.

The 40 degree thing is about the mortar temp itself, not the air temp, so a thermometer in your sand pile is only telling you half the story. You really want to check the mortar right out of the mixer since cold sand and cold water will drag it down even on a warmer day. Tenting and heat is the right call either way, that part you've got nailed.