When we went to breakfast, we found that the staff had decided to do a special "Sunday-style" brunch from 11am to 1pm. So the center of the dining room was closed to the guests. We were relocated in the back, but did not have our usual waiters. Sometimes it takes a change like this to realize how quickly we have been spoiled. Not that the new waiters are not good, they just don't know what we like. There were no yogurts and blueberries waiting on the side counter. Actually most all the blueberries are gone now, unless the waiter knows you, and you order blueberry pancakes with 30 berries on the side. Otherwise, they say no berries for you. We are trying to order bacon not so crispy/almost burned. We tried for medium-cooked, but it still came crunchy to brittle. Perhaps tomorrow, we will ask for limpy, and see what comes.
After breakfast, we ran into Ian, the staff engineer, who was conducting some of his crew members on some work being done on the lower promenade deck. He confirmed that all of the narrow panels in the ceiling on both side are going to be discarded. All the pipes that have been hidden, will be fixed or replaced, and insulated and painted white. It looks better already. This should have been done a long time ago.
The aft deck was almost crowded today with new sunbathers trying to get a little color before disembarking. Even though it was cooler, the sun could still burn you. Very deceiving when the breeze is blowing.
The guest speakers are on their final talks, while sales were taking place around the ship. The photo department is pushing their photos, but we have no idea of the price of the pictures. It is not posted anywhere that we could see. Gift watches were the hot item, and the Le Vian collection was available in the ship's shop. Park West held their final art auction in the Ocean Bar. Since we are outside most of the day, we miss all of this. Maybe avoid is a better word.
Also in the mail this morning were everyone's shipboard account bills. We have not exceeded our credit, and we even were surprised to find an additional $50 plus tacked on to the account. Seems we were due a refund on some more port taxes. We are certain the passengers were happy about that.
We spent some afternoon time packing one suitcase, writing comments on the new let us know cards, and figuring out some extra tips for waiters and room stewards. Now all we have left are two more suitcases, and we will be ready to go.
Before dinner, we went to deck three for a quick walk to see how far the sun had gone down. It was fairly windy, and one of us did not realize that one earring had fallen off accidently. From there, we headed up to deck nine, where the wind was howling. That's when we noticed the earring was missing. Thinking it was lost up there, we back-tracked, but came up with nothing. Not that it was an expensive set, it was more like a keepsake from Brazil many years ago. Convinced it was gone forever, we went back down to deck three to talk to Shiv, in case we did not see him tomorrow. Just then, a woman that we have never seen before, stopped us and asked where the dining room was that had a view of the water at the front of the ship. Obviously, she was confused. She admitted that every time she leaves her room, she gets lost. While we were chatting, she suddenly said she had my earring. No way. Funny thing…..I was just about ready to take the other earring off before we saw her. She had found it in the gutter on deck three and was on her way to the front desk with it. With over 1000 passengers on this ship, what are the odds we would connect at the time we did. Shiv said it was kharma. By the way, we brought the lady into his office, and he seemed to know where she was trying to find. It was La Fontaine dining room on deck four. Only it is located in the aft, not the front. She was most happy that she found the owner, as was I.
Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill. Something we need to remember is that lots of folks book dinner in there towards the end of the trip. It was the most crowded we have ever seen it, even at 8pm. Something told us that it was over-booked as we had to wait almost 20 minutes for a table to be set. Perhaps they are understaffed in this restaurant too. Once we were seated, we waited even longer, but once our order was taken, our meal arrived at a steady pace. It was worth the wait for the delicious Caesar salads and the bone-in ribeye steaks. We savored every bite all the way from the start to the desserts of a soufflé and cherry Garcia ice cream.
The entertainment were the singers and dancers of the Amsterdam. The theme was Love Crazy, promising to be an uplifting and heartfelt experience. And it was……..
Bill & Mary Ann
The second to last possibility for a good sunset
And it looks promising
A few scattered clouds
Different levels of clouds
We are going to lose the sun behind the cloudy horizon
Slipping behind clouds
The upper sky got nicer
Darker by 5:24pm
That's about it
The after glow
As seen from deck nine aft
Interesting cloud formations
Taking on the color
Deeper the later it got
Even better
No rain today
The best it got
Fading
But still good
The stacks still show the classic ship design
Pretty dark by 6:15pm
The last flower left
Saved the good champagne until last
