"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #117 Sailing Towards Ft. Lauderdale, Florida April 26, 2016 Tuesday Partly cloudy, rain & 68 degrees 60 Pictures

Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 2:43:29 AM
Subject: Report #117 Sailing Towards Ft. Lauderdale, Florida April 26, 2016 Tuesday Partly cloudy, rain & 68 degrees 60 Pictures

Breakfast in the dining room was served on the lower level only this morning. That is because today was the Grand Show Buffet, created by Executive Chef, Petr Nozicka and his kitchen brigade. It is quite a project to set up this display, and it is halfway done by 8am. So, many of the crew must have been up quite early to start the preparation. We will come back at 11am to photograph this special showtime.

During breakfast, we watched the weather deteriorate from partly sunny, to cloudy, to black clouds, and finally downpours. Seems that the Captain's prediction of bad weather had materialized, as the rain was coming down in rivers at the back windows. Eventually, it let up, and the sun appeared again. Guess we are going through occasional showers. Good, it will wash the ship off for free.

We went to the buffet about 11:05am, expecting a line to get in that would go beyond the stairway. On the contrary, there was no line today. That is a first. Normally, you cannot get out of the elevators with the lobby crowded with folks. No crowd, we simply walked straight into the dining room, camera in hand, and joined the two dozen people there. The display was nice, but seemed less than we usually see. Like a lot less food. Much of it was already pre-dished, which was great for serving later.

The best items were the artistic carved veggies and fruits. We love the desserts too. There are clever chefs onboard. There were extra- large ice sculptures too. The best one was covered with little penguins made with quail and chicken eggs, hard-boiled. The heads and wings were made with black olives, and the beaks and feet were tiny-carved carrots. Really cute.

The majority of the meal was fish….such as shellfish, lobsters, shrimps, and clams. Other meats were rolled roast beef, small lamb chops, and some salami, we think. We never eat here, but love to take the photos before the displays are destroyed.

A neat talk all about old cars was delivered in the Queens Lounge during the buffet time. However, we were happy to see that it was televised so we could watch it on the room TV this afternoon.

We took some time to figure out future dinner reservations in the Pinnacle Grill from May 1^st to the 15^th. Better to get our choice before the thundering herd comes on in Ft. Lauderdale. By the way, we heard that the ship is sailing full on the Panama Canal re-positioning trip to Seattle. Right now, we have just under 800 guests onboard, so with over 1300 passengers getting on, we will certainly noticed the difference.

It was nice enough to sit out back this afternoon, although the pool was out of question. It has been netted for several days now. Between the rough seas and high winds, the pool had over-flowed and was not safe getting in or out. The rest of the afternoon, we watched a funny movie with Kevin James. He has the same moves as John Belushi…..very funny guy.

Tonight happened to be the final Gala Night of the world cruise. That meant the Mariner party would take place twice in the Queens Lounge before dinnertime. Those who were due for medallions got them tonight. Our time was at 6:45pm, where we were greeted by Captain Mercer, Henk Mensink, and Gene, our CD. We were led to the "corral" for the President's Club members. The current CEO's onboard were also included in our little group. Being in this group assures that we have the nicest canapes and drinks of our choice. After the dance session was over, we were each called up for a photo with Captain Jonathon and Henk, the Hotel Manager. Each of us had our "pure sea" days announced, except for one, who has so many, they have lost count, and perhaps, so has she.

Dinnertime came with a nice surprise. We had company, John, the Head Security Officer on the ship. We met John at least two years ago, when he recognized us from Cruise Critic. Seems like he has been a fan for some time, and has actually read our blog in the past. The entrees were excellent tonight with the expected items like caviar, escargots, surf and turf, rack of lamb, and a huge ravioli. All the good stuff on one menu. Even dessert was good with lemon meringue pie. Going to be hard going back to normal once we get home. At least we have over two weeks left.

The final gift of the trip was left on the bed tonight. The gifts were two commemorative plates for the 2016 World Cruise. This time they got the ports correct, not like last year, when the wrong itinerary was printed on them.

Oh, and for the last time this cruise, we had to put the clocks back one hour. Think we are on Eastern time now.

Bill & Mary Ann

Bread sculptures