Today was Chinese New Year, the year of the rooster. However, we would not have realized it, because the holiday was not celebrated with a special dining room feast tonight. This affair was moved to the Lido Market instead. Chinese lanterns and dragons were going up in the Lido after 2pm for the buffet dinner from 5:30 to 8pm. No fair…..we always celebrated Chinese New Year with a gala night with the dining room decorated with flair… lots of red lanterns and dragons. Even the wait staff dressed the part. Perhaps this will happen when the Amsterdam gets closer to the Asian ports. So if you had cravings for Chinese cuisine, the only place to find it was at the buffet.
This morning we attended the second Cruise Critic meeting in the Crow's Nest. A few more members joined recently, and today they were welcomed onboard. Many of the members were looking to hook up with tour groups that have been offered well before this cruise began. Jane, our leader, reminded the new folks that we do not discuss tour plans at this meeting. It had to be done elsewhere. Once again, coffee, tea and cookies were served while everyone mingled.
We encountered some interruptions with the internet today. It is possible it is due to where we are located at the moment. Or there are mechanical problems. Yesterday, we did spot a crew of workers in unusual uniforms up on deck nine, near the equipment. During the day, we heard that several of the sports stations were gone on the TV. For a lot of folks, that is tragic.
Spending the afternoon at the Seaview Pool, turned out to be fruitful. Around 2:30pm, one of the bar staff came out with insulated soda/beer zippered bags with a strap. It should hold a 6 pack. He passed them around to most everyone sitting around the pool. Now that was nice, and we are sure to find a good use for them.
Back at our room, we found a new delivery of President's Club amenities. We got a fresh bouquet of flowers, and 14 Zero vitamin water bottles. Barb told us later on that she had asked for Makers Mark, but was told they were out of it. How strange is that? She is willing to pay the difference from the $40 allowance, but if it is gone, then she will have to switch to something else. Last year, they ran out of Jack Daniels and even Jim Beam. That must have been a huge oversight, leaving many serious whiskey drinkers quite unhappy.
At 3pm, we had a room service lunch. Curious if we could order a regular cheeseburger (not a Dive In burger), we were told no. They are no longer available on the room service menu. Only the Dive In burgers will be delivered for a price of $4.95. We also asked if they have potato salad for a side, and we were told no, they stopped making it at the beginning of this cruise. We really do not care for the scoop of coleslaw. It is full of mayonnaise, and runs all over the plate, soaking the sandwich. So from now on, we will order our sandwiches without the coleslaw. We still have to inquire if we can order room service lunch items from the dining room during their service hours from 12 to 1pm. And we are not sure you can still get something off of the dinner menu during their serving time, 5 to 9pm. With so many changes taking place, it is hard to keep up with them.
The dining room was about empty at 8pm this evening. Most everyone had gone to the Chinese buffet instead. So we had our table for 8 (Martha was visiting elsewhere). There were no customers around us at all. Even at that, we ended up talking until 10pm.
Bobby Brooks Wilson was the entertainer this evening. We remember his show that featured music from the Motown years. The only one going was Scoop, so we will depend on his opinion whether it was thumbs up or thumbs down. That is….if he stays long enough.
Another day at sea tomorrow….hope it finds the internet working better……….
Bill & Mary Ann
New bouquet of flowers – thanks to Eddy and Calista, our expert florists
Our garden grows
Our room stewards are excellent, and……..
Getting used to our buddy