Subject: Report # 118 Sailing Towards Ft. Lauderdale, Florida April 27, 2016 Wednesday Partly cloudy, rain & 75 degrees
Another day at sea found us rolling with a healthy swell, which became quite pronounced after lunchtime. Not a great day for walking outside, as very few folks were out and about. Actually, we suspect they are deep in packing now that the days are coming to an end. A reminder of that was the preliminary bill that was kindly left on our mailslots early this morning. This gives the passengers the time to reconcile their charges, and change things if necessary. Normally, that means a line that goes on forever at the front desk. Our seemed to be OK….everything correct. A word to the wise: always keep a record of your charges, because mistakes can happen. Also keep receipts until you are sure they are correctly posted.
Forgot to mention the Masked Ball that took place at 9:30pm last night in the Queens Lounge. Since our table was full last night, and we had a host, we did not get out of the dining room until 9:45pm or later. We did hear that the Crow's Nest was jammed after the dance was over. Standing room only. We do know that many bunches of gold, black, and silver balloons found their way down to some stateroom doors on deck one. Guess they came from the ball and the after-party.
Since the weather was crummy, we sort of got interested in a funny movie, and ended up watching the whole thing. It was the new one, Sisters. Totally off-the-wall outrageous silly funny.
More serious things were happening onboard with two guest speakers talking in the Queens Lounge. Ann Schwartz dealt with a watercolorist's view of the sea, while Mike Raick talked about what we are seeing, learning that astounds us. Will catch that later on TV probably.
The second Mariner Brunch took place at 11am in the lower dining room. This was for the folks with 400 days. It was the largest group onboard. Our fearsome foursome met upstairs to share a table by the window. The crispy-fried buttermilk chicken breast with mashed red-skin potatoes was excellent. During lunch, the Captain gave his PM update, and Gene happened to mention the winners of the latest photo contest. Our buddy, Heo, won first in the "ancient" category. Pretty good.
The Filipino Show dominated the afternoon schedule at 3pm. Many of the bar and front desk staff performed their native dances and songs from the Philippines. And as always, they did a fine job, drawing applause throughout the show. Pretty hard to do the bamboo dance (called tiniklng) with the ship moving like it was. We could tell the group has had much practice. The crew show special beverage was a "luningning marikit" served in a souvenir glass that lights up (with batteries). For $9.75, the drink is a blend of baileys, banana liqueur and colada mix. Sweet.
Rain began around 1pm, and continued off and on during the afternoon. Walking on the promenade deck, we found few people. Most must be deep in packing, as we will be in a few weeks from now.
We had been delivered an 8 by 10 photo of us with Captain Mercer and Henk Mensink at the Mariner Cocktail Party last night, complimentary, another President's Club perk, we assume. A nice souvenir.
Around 5pm, we went to the Ocean Bar to listen to the band. We could hear rehearsing coming from the Queens Lounge, so we went into the back and watched most of the show for this evening. Even though the dancers and singers were not in costume, we still enjoyed the music from iconic songs we know and love, or really liked.
Dinner found only five of us present. Three were in the Canaletto, two were dining with other friends, and two more with invited to another table. Today happened to be Koningsdag, which in Holland, means King's Day. The waiters were dressed in orange vests and ties, and paper mache tulips were hung from the ceiling. So the theme for tonight was Dutch Dinner, with several Dutch entrees. Appetizers of rollmops (herring), or bitterballen (an acquired taste), and one of our favorites……split pea soup. Most of the entrees were a little strange, but we ended up with beef brisket and a sliced pork plate. Dessert was better with an apple torte, and a plum cake, both with vanilla ice cream. Good way to end the day.
Two more days at sea, and we will be in Florida. Sure hope the seas and the weather improves.
Bill & Mary Ann
The finale……….Grand World Voyage commemorative plate
All the ports printed for 2016, and all correct (except Mooloolaba, Australia)
