Changing to the required long pants and collared shirts, we attended the hosted meal, sitting with the future cruise consultant, Luciana, and six fellow members of our travel group. Among them was Tom M, our host we have known forever, it seems. What a nice time we had while enjoying a totally new menu for this brunch. The entrees were lamb, salmon, or a quiche-like veggie choice. Dessert was key lime pie, one of our favorite treats. Naturally, champagne flowed throughout the meal. Bet there will be a few naps in order among the many guests this afternoon……And as a gift, we all received the signature tile of the Amsterdam and the Rotterdam, but a new design.
The affair ended by noon, then the dining room had to be cleaned up, and ready for the second lunch at 1pm. The staff is terrific to pull this off.
Then it was back to the room to change for the pool. The sun had been out earlier, and now there were a few clouds popping up. If we were to get any sun, it would have to be now. Unlike yesterday when there wasn't a breeze, the wind was actually blowing today. Still warm, it was most pleasant. Every now and then, it began spritzing, but it felt good. We stuck it out until 3pm, then headed in to watch a movie in our room.
Also at 3pm, was the Filipino Crew Show in the Queens Lounge. Both levels of the showroom were filled, and the guests loved the show. So much talent among the crew.
Back to shorts and t-shirts, we watched Hell or High Water, a good flic about bank robbers and the Texas rangers that hunted them. Good actors and an equally good theme kept us entertained until almost 6pm. We ducked outside to see if there was a possibility of a sunset, but there were too many clouds and heavy rain showers on the horizon. The good news was that Jack and Shirley shared their lunch experience with us. As they will be shortly getting into the President's Club, they were seated with Captain Fred and two other ladies, one already in the club and the other very close to it like them. Four invited guests that were supposed to be there did not show up, and failed to inform the staff. Awkward, especially for the Captain, who seldom hosts a table on these cruises.
The final change of the day was for the last Gala evening on this cruise. We suspect that some guests have been ignoring the dress suggestion of the evening, because they put a reminder not to wear shorts or jeans tonight in the dining room. Furthermore, the suggested dress code is asked to be followed throughout the entire evening.
We had a guest join us…..Ian, the Staff Engineer, we believe. He had hosted our table on another occasion, but we were at the Captain's Dinner that night. Our tablemates had said he was delightful, and we can agree, as we truly enjoyed his company. Actually, he looked quite familiar to us, as we did to him. Guess we have been on many of the same voyages together, although our paths have never officially crossed. We did get a kick out of sharing our memories of the problems with the ship's platforms and the wrecking of the tender boat # 11 while on this year's world cruise. In fact, he happened to be one of the officers that donned swim trunks, still wearing a uniform shirt, and walk in the surf to bring water to the stranded guests.
All the good entrees were on the menu this evening like filet mignon and lobster tails, arctic char, a huge ravioli, and rack of veal. We had the veal and it was to die for…….tender, tasty, and ample. Mashed potatoes too. The most-ordered dessert was the flourless chocolate cake, with raspberry sauce, and a dollop of whipped cream. Oh, it is going to be so hard to go back to normal when we get home…………
We lingered with coffee and a continued discussion until 10pm. Time to go to the show, which was the second performance by The Unexpected Boys. Tonight they did their new Broadway tunes from The Great White Way. They were very well-received as the crowd loved it.
Oh yes, the last change of the evening…pj's. That makes six changes for the day. And who says we don't have any fun???
Bill & Mary Ann
Copy of the Mariner Society Brunch
Table 309 reserved for our group
Tom is in the middle
Henk M, Luciana, Gene, and Captain Fred
Cheers!
A fishy appetizer
Lamb wellington
Key lime pie
Tom, our host, and Mary Ann
