"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 45 Sailing Towards Townsville, Australia February 14, 2016 Sunday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees 71 Pictures

Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2016 12:03:43 PM

Subject: Report # 45 Sailing Towards Townsville, Australia February 14, 2016 Sunday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees 71 Pictures

Report # 45 Sailing Towards Townsville, Australia February 14, 2016 Sunday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees 53 Pictures

Happy Valentine's Day to all! A few days ago, we got a nice box of chocolate truffles from our travel agency and our hosts. Today, we had 2 red long-stem roses on our bed with chocolate suckers and a nice card waiting for us after breakfast. Nice touch.

A normal sea day, this was not. Far from it. We woke up to blue skies and soaring temperatures…..no rain, thankfully. The color of the water outside was finally that aqua-green, an indication we are sailing in much more shallow seas as we travel between the dozens of islands that dot the east coastline.

As the Mariner Appreciation Days continue, the morning was dedicated to a special presentation by the President of HAL, Orlando Ashford. It was scheduled for 10am to 11:30am, however, the Queens Lounge was filled on both levels well before that. Cruise director Gene announced the start of the talk, introducing Mr. Ashford to the crowd. Orlando gave a brief thanks to the other CEO's onboard, as well as thanking us, the passengers for making this all possible. He added that the company must be doing something right to have been in the cruising business for the last 143 years. He's got a point. He turned our attention to the new ship, the Koningsdam, which will debut this April.

With the aid of two videos, he showed us a short clip of the new build, pointing out the ultra-modern design, which is bright and light. It will be bigger and better, so they say. They will offer NY pizza, the largest Queens Lounge dance floor of any HAL ship, a brand new wine blending bar, and a dedicated spot for the Canaletto restaurant. An innovative café will feature farm to table vegetarian cuisine.

The ship will be in the port for Rome the same day we will be there. So, the powers to be have decided to arrange the chance for us to visit the ship. That should be fun, since we doubt we will ever sail on that ship.

A surprise to all of us was the announcement that HAL is changing its logo of Signature of Excellence to Savor the Journey. Exactly what this means, is still not clear. We have already seen many upgrades referring to the SOE, so most of that work must be complete. Of course, all of the ships, in particular, the ones that are getting older, are always in the process of being repaired or overhauled periodically.

We all wondered what the itinerary for 2018 will be? After hearing Orlando's talk about it, we still don't know much. He promised it will be westbound, as they have learned that eastbound is not favorable. Whether the cruise will go through the Suez Canal or sail around the Cape in South Africa, we still do not know. What we do know, is that the same head team of Captain Mercer, Henk Mensink, and Gene Young will be back in 2017. It is also possible that we will not be voting on an assortment of different itineraries for the 2018 word cruise. Doubt it ever made a huge difference what we thought.

Gerald, the Mariner head honcho, was next. He showed original photos from the very first world cruise on the old Statendam back in 1958. It sailed out of New York City and went eastbound for 110 days. She held 400 guests who relaxed with little to do onboard.

He also showed an around the world cruise that took place in 1926, where 500 students and their instructors sailed for 8 months on the SS Ryndam. It was named the University at Sea.

He announced that there will be four Grand Voyages in 2017, with the fall Asia/Pacific coming back to the Amsterdam. It will be round trip from San Diego.

By 11am, it was time for the question/answer period. Roaming crew members took questions from the audience. Orlando handled most all of these questions. The first one asked was about the poor quality of the internet service on this ship. Orlando admitted they were frustrated by the service, and they were working on it. Truthfully, that was his reply to most all of the questions to come.

One person wanted a non-smoking policy to include the verandas. It is being tested on the Noordam already. They are providing space for the smokers, but will stop it on the verandas to see how well it is accepted.

One man asked why we don't go to the Philippines, which we have for two years, as recent as four years ago. He should have asked someone before speaking up.

Someone asked why there was not a better venue for religious groups. Few folks agreed with that. That was almost as strange as the person that asked for warmer pool temps. Isn't that the point of cooling off in the pool? It's not a substitute for a shower or bath.

One lady wanted to know when we will be getting new flat screen TVs. The answer was that they are coming. Hope it is in our lifetime. To take it a step further, we would like the interactive TVS. They are much more practical. Again, they might be coming.

Smaller ships was discussed. The smallest in the fleet, the Prinsendam, happens to be the most costly to sail. We will never have another one of those size ships when the Prinsendam is retired. Orlando did mention that she is close to the end of her days.

One person said the music played in the lounges was not good for dancing. She was asked if she danced enough at the beach party the other night. Orlando asked how many folks liked that party, but he did not get a standing ovation at all. The clapping was lukewarm, in our opinion. Sure it was fun, but not exactly appropriate to this particular crowd. He claimed 85% of the cruisers liked it.

The single ladies, and perhaps some of the married ones, want more cruises with dance hosts. Simple way to attract more cruisers, we think. Many want to see more single person staterooms as well. They are working on it.

Someone said that the muster drill procedures are out of date on this ship, and other HAL ships. Guess what? They are working on it.

It was Gerald's turn to answer some questions about the Mariner Club. They want to know if there will be another level added anytime soon. It was suggested that a 1000 day level (6 star) is on the "plate". One lady would like shipboard credits for spending money in the casino. Doesn't hurt to ask, right?

Captain Mercer addressed one inquiry about why the Koningsdam could not be used for a world cruise. He said it was too big to fit in many ports, and he, for one, would never want to take that size of a ship on such a long voyage. We feel that filling it with 2600 passengers would be impossible.

Henk, the hotel director, never had a chance to answer any questions, although the question about the air-conditioning should have been his to answer. A lady asked why this ship has been so cold. Orlando laughed, and said he was burning up in his suit in the Queens Lounge. He had no good reply to that question. Perhaps he should have suggested she wear a sweater.

With that, the meeting ended exactly at 11:30pm. Good thing, because trivia was starting in 15 minutes, and you don't mess with trivia.

We had an hour before we had to be in the Culinary Arts Center (aka Wajang Theater) for the cooking demo with guest chef, George Geary. Barb and Martha joined us, along with two other ladies. Since this class was announced this morning, the rest of the group failed to show up. Great, more room for us. There were four stations set up on the large counter with ingredients for four different courses to be prepared. All the food we did make, was not for consumption, however. Probably a safety issue.

So the two ladies took over the beef in garlic sauce, and the roasted red pepper tomato cream soup. Barb and Martha tackled the basil and lavender scallop dish, while Bill & I took care of the garlic mashed potatoes. The dessert, a chocolate pots de crème, was prepared in the Pinnacle Grill by their chefs, as was the entire meal we would eat in there later.

The best part of the demo was using the invection cooktop, a first for us. Instant heat cooked the beef, soup, scallops, and potatoes in minutes, with the help of using the correct pots and pans. Oddly enough, many of the needed utensils were missing, such as spoons, forks, paring knives, and mashers. One recipe called for the use of a blender. Nope, there was none.

George gave a little direction, but for the most part, he entertained us with kitchen stories from his work on TV shows he has been on over the years. He did not seem to mind that we had things flying back and forth, like wet paper towels, or bowls and spoons. He knows us and even gets in on the fun himself. The nice thing is that all got very nice Culinary Arts aprons, printed recipe cards, and bottles of water. Not sure why we got the water, but it will be good to take ashore tomorrow.

Lunch followed in the Pinnacle Grill. George joined us as the fun continued for another hour. Big mistake, they served us all wine, white and red. That kept us there even longer. The best part was that the class was free for all of us, a 5 star Mariner perk. This was the first time we joined the group, and it was a hoot. Who cared that our mashed potatoes looked like potato soup? Without that potato masher, it was hard to make it smooth. At least we didn't use our fingers to dump the Dijon mustard into a bowl like Barb did. We almost died laughing because she couldn't find a spoon. She just said watch this…….then used her fingers. Hey, we were not eating it anyway.

We walked after lunch on the promenade deck, but not for too long. It was really hot and humid, and with the wine at lunch, we needed to take a break. Good time to download the morning photos, and cool off in the room.

By 4:15pm, the first cocktail party was held for the early diners in the Queens Lounge. We snuck in to the deck five level just to see the decorations. Also, we wanted to see if the President Club members were sitting in the corral. We ran right into Christel, who was watching from deck five, all by herself. She said, yes, the corral was up, so we took some photos. Two of the waiters tried to give us champagne, even though we were obviously in our shorts, they were kind to offer it anyway. We declined saying we would be back later. By the way, the decorations were quite nice, as were the addition of flowers everywhere.

Our party began at 6:45pm, and we went early to get our pick of the seats in the corral. Ellen W, a PC friend who is not here this year, refers to the corral as the "best in show", alluding to the Westminster Dog Show. Yep, it feels that way. Konnie teased the heck out of us when she entered the room. Only she can get away with that. Anyway, we did have nice hors d'oeuvres, the good champagne, and cocktails of our choice. The band played and the cruisers danced before Orlando took the stage to announce awards for some of the deserving crew members. Among the recipients were a kitchen worker, the beverage manager, Willie, the purser, Peter, and a tailor who works in the laundry area. They got a loud round of applause.

Gerald, Henk, Stein and Linda Kruse came into our circle to chat with each and every one of us. The time for dinner came quickly.

We had company at our table tonight…..the doctor and her better half. She remembered us from several previous cruises, but never had the chance to say hello. We were glad to get to know her better, especially if it was social and not for medical reasons. She agreed. Towards the end of the meal, her partner did a few magic tricks…very entertaining, better than most comedians. We both order the rack of veal, and boy, was it good.

Most folks were going to the Valentine's Day Ball to hear singers Liam John Burrows, an Australian, and Darcy Jones, a singer from Memphis. More complimentary champagne was served there too.

Back at our room, we had gift waiting for us. They were heart-shaped Valentine votive candle holders with the HAL logo. They were designed in Sweden, and made in Slovenia. They are heavy, because they are full lead crystal made by Orrefors. Nice gifts.

Tomorrow, we are looking forward to this new port…..Townsville.

Bill & Mary Ann

Happy Valentine's Day! Candy, card & long-stem red roses