A new group of Hawaiian Ambassadors have joined the ship, replacing the group from Mexico. They will be teaching hula, and possibly have ukulele classes, like we had on the Tales of the South Pacific. Gets all in the mood for tropical palm trees and umbrella drinks.
Although we did not go to the promised sail away reception in the Lido Pool area at 4:30pm yesterday, we assumed it was a rerun of the party we had when we left Ft. Lauderdale. At that time, we were served an abundance of champagne, wine, or mimosas. Elegant appetizers were passed around to the guests, while the officers and staff member circulated throughout the crowds. Guess this did not happen, because this afternoon, we received a letter of apology and an explanation that the affair was not done due to safety-related reasons. Some passengers are obviously closely watching the itinerary information that we received prior to the cruise. As we had brought that booklet with us, we looked it up, and they were correct. An identical party was supposed to happen again in San Diego, even though only 87 new guests boarded. Now, this complimentary party has been rescheduled for our departure from Hilo on January 25th. And some folks will hold them to it………
Lunch for us was in the dining room with Barb. We had the best entrée of ginger pork served on a bed of rice. We noticed that the bread and butter has returned to the tables for all to share. Perhaps we are out of the woods in regards to the bad virus. Sure hope so, as full service is a lot of work for the waiters.
We spent some of the afternoon watching the events tied to the Presidential inauguration today. Glad we have access to watch this historical event. What an exhausting day for those involved. In between events, we walked on the almost empty promenade deck, passing by the warning signs on the windows of the exit doors. We have seen it much worse outside, although we remained careful.
There was a surprise for us this evening……..Henk M, our hotel director, joined us all for dinner tonight. Except for Barb, who was celebrating a birthday for one of her buddies. Recently he had promised to address our growing list of changes we have noticed since boarding. With this cruise beginning, Henk has had his hands full with many other details, so we hesitated to drop off this list just yet. On the contrary, he feels it will give him a chance to put things as right as he can.
Henk kindly supplied the wines, and opened the door for many more questions concerning this cruise so far. We got on the subject of the disembarking procedures yesterday, and how much better it worked compared to other stops here. Of course, it was not the end of the cruise, so with only a small amount of passengers leaving and arriving, it was much simpler. Another subject came up involving the dry docking of the Amsterdam in 2018. Henk indicted that among other things, continued re-modeling will happen on decks six and seven. Specifically, updating bathrooms and room amenities, like newer TV's and furnishings. Sure wish this could be extended to the rest of the passenger decks, since they are in need of updating big time, in our opinion. As always, there is a lack of time and money to do a thorough job. Once again, the time flew and we were the last to leave the dining room.
The ship continued to roll into the late evening. Guess it could be worse. Henk mentioned that some guests were so concerned about the rough seas, that they left the ship in San Diego, and will be flying to Honolulu in six days to re-join the cruise. Now that's what we call extreme measures. A funny thing happened in the elevator last night. After dinner, we were on our way back to our room on deck one, when an elderly gentleman joined us to get off on deck two. He remarked that the more you "pay", the more you "sway"…….referring to the fact that the lower decks are the best place to be on a rocking and rolling ship. We agree.
Bill & Mary Ann
