All was well as another day advanced while at sea. That is, except for the elevator area forward on deck one. Appears there has been a leak somewhere higher up in the ship, and something foul-smelling has ended up down this way. This morning three of the four elevators were shut down, and there was a dehumidifier plugged in to dry the carpeting. Paneling was removed from the back wall, so they must be searching for the problem. These kind of things happen all the time on all the ships. Just like at home, things break. We're glad that it is far aft and not forward where our room is located. The aroma was not very pleasing to say the least.
At breakfast this morning, we spoke to Presti, one of the head waiters in the dining room. We asked why Ed Sayomac was not here, and he told us that Ed decided to leave the ship and his executive chef position right before the Asia/Pacific cruise was over. It was his choice to turn the job down perhaps due to overload or stress. Luckily, his replacement is equally as talented.
There was one lone masked booby following the ship this morning. He had his work cut out for him, since there were few flying fish, their favorite dish. We love watching them dive like a rock when they spot one. It has to take all their energy to soar all day for the few fish they catch. We have yet to see a fat booby! Oops, maybe that did not come out right??
Another phase of the room job got finished this afternoon. The desk area is neat and organized with the plug strips connected for all our toys. One of us did some computer organizing to catch up with basic bookkeeping for our trip so far. We find it much easier to keep up with purchases as we go, instead of waiting until the end of each week or so. Keeping track of shipboard spending also helps us to reconcile our statement too. Speaking of onboard sending, we figured that we have saved a lot by being 5 star Mariners. We get unlimited laundry, which is worth $678. for the 113 day world cruise. If we had to pay for unlimited pressing, it would be another $339. That makes the laundry by the bag at $20, sound like a deal. The only drawback is the size of the bag ( about 12 inches by 20 inches ).
The last thing left to do is hang our world wall map, and a dozen or so Command hooks for small stuff like the calendar, etc. That will have to wait until we sail through the Panama Canal, because tomorrow is our first port day of the trip. Looking forward to firm ground for a day. Speaking of the Panama Canal, the head baker demonstrated how to make Panama Rolls this morning. Hope it was televised, so we can make them at home. They have to be one of the highlites of sailing through the canal in our opinion.
We saved some time to start our books at the aft pool. We no sooner got settled, lotion slathered on, and books out, then it rained. Beginning with a light drizzle, it soon came down hard enough to flood the entire deck. Thinking we could tough it out, we changed our minds, and took shelter against the wall. It stopped as fast as it had begun. We added dry towels and spent the rest of the afternoon there under partly cloudy skies.
Our tablemates reported that the show last night was OK, but not quite up to Broadway standards. Only real New Yorkers can say that, and that is exactly where our new tablemates, Bill & Marianne, live. Tonight the show features gymnast, Lance Ringnald. We are certain that this audience will marvel at his limberness, remembering the days they may have moved like him.
