Today started out much the same way as yesterday. Although, breakfast was a half hour earlier due to the clocks being put back last night. Not one person complained, especially the waiters. They appreciate every minute that they can get, and most times, they wisely use it to sleep a bit longer.
At breakfast, we had the chance to ask Oscar, one of our favorite head waiters, about the absence of "formal" ice carvings that were always present in the entrances to both the lower and upper dining rooms. Cannot believe it took us so long to discover this, but while watching TV ship commercials on the new Koningsdam, beautiful ice sculptures were shown for their "gala" evenings. Oscar confirmed our suspicions that the ice carver from the Philippines was no longer traveling on the world cruise, as these niceties have been eliminated thus far. Since we had missed eight days during the Mariner Appreciation Days, we were certain there may have been at least one night with the usually fabulous lit-up sculptures. Nope, Oscar said no. Even further information from him, revealed that even the crew that creates the vegetable and fruit carvings have been reduced. Also, artists trained in the Philippines. That is such a disappointment, and for whatever it is worth, we will write another as-you-go card, perhaps requesting their return on the four grand voyages at the very least. Another reminder, as Bill & Leta said is that the Signature of Excellence logo has bit the dust, replacing it with Savor the Journey. Does that mean that it is all about the destination, and not the niceties we have come to know and love on the HAL vessels?
Spending some quality time at the aft pool, we were lucky to spot some whale spouts in the far, far distance towards the shoreline of Sri Lanka. Thought we were seeing things for a minute, because we were the only ones to see this display. All the other sunbathers were sleeping or reading, so we kept quiet.
Many clouds were out today, and some of those were rain clouds. It did begin to rain heavily, but since we could see blue sky a couple of minutes ahead of us, we simply covered our heads and stayed in it. The waterproof pool bag we pack is great for storing books, so nothing got wet. Just us, and enough for it to be wonderfully cooling. The decks and the two of us were dry within minutes, once the sun came back out.
Listening to the Captain's pm talk, he said the plan for tonight was to get to the pick-up point for the Sri Lankan pilot at 10pm. Then we would proceed to the docking at Colombo, arriving several hours earlier than planned. A few groups will be going on four day, three night overland tours from Colombo to India. Some booked with HAL, while other are going with travel agency tours and independent groups. Guess their only flights to take tomorrow, will be at the ungodly hours in the early morning. We are guessing 2am? Further information, included that once the ship is cleared with customs and immigrations, any passenger who wishes to go ashore with the proper documents will be allowed off the ship. That will NOT be us, thank you.
We enjoyed a room service lunch, salads only. One of us was feeling under the weather, and towards the evening, it was apparent we would not be going to our dinner table. Hoping to feel better, we took a walk on the lower promenade deck at 4pm, to see more whales spouting closer to shore. You needed a good camera and lens to capture the moment, which was, of course, in our room. This time, many folks were enjoying the unexpected sight, some with cameras and others with binoculars. The walk did not help with the cold, darn.
Finding Ratno, we asked him to turn down the room. No problem. It was done right away., while we took a walk. While out on the deck, we watch a lightening show in the sky over the shoreline of Sri Lanka. Rain began to fall steadily by 7pm.
We were not sure if we could order items from the dinner menu, as we could not find it printed in the new Orange Book in our room. A call to the room service staff settled that, as they said yes, indeed, we could order whatever we wished as long as it was before 9pm. Good thing, because split pea soup was on the menu, along with the carne asada beef entrée. It arrived in less than 30 minutes, with one order of what used to be called Grandma's chicken noodle soup with crackers and dinner rolls with butter. It was perfect, and not too much.
Hoping a good night's sleep will help get rid of this cold. By the way, since all of our tablemates had already gone to the Crow's Nest by 7pm, we placed a call to the front desk, asking if they could inform the dining room manager, Philip, that we would be absent tonight. Sure do hope they follow through.
Who were we missing in the Queen's Lounge tonight? Comedian, Buzz Sutherland, who we have seen many times on this ship. We are positive, he was the one behind us in the money changer line in the shopping mall in Klang. Hope someone goes to see him, because we know he will use the line he gave us while waiting to get money. You know….the cigarettes and chewing gum in the lost luggage story. Got to admit, it is plausible…..
Bill & Mary Ann
