Much to our disappointment, we did not see one item of green commemorating St. Paddy's Day this morning upon entering the dining room for breakfast. We have always come into the entryway that was filled with shiny green shamrocks, and a huge pot of gold coins. Did we get the date wrong? No, it seems if you want to see the festive display, you had to wait until this evening, and go to the party held in the Crow's Nest at 9pm instead. A couple of days ago, there was a sign-up list for the St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl beginning at 8:30pm from the Sports Bar. Well, these two activities rule out the late seating guests. We have always felt that these special activities are geared to the early dinner seating crowd, which includes the anytime diners. They are in the majority these days, so eating late has a price to it. Personally, we don't attend these drinking bouts….it's fine for others, just not us.
During his pm talk, the Captain mentioned that we can expect to be late in arriving to Mumbai, due to tidal fluctuations. Instead of an 8am arrival, it will now be 10am. Another change will be that we have been bumped by a larger cruise ship that will be debarking and embarking passengers all day. Not sure what that has to do with our berth, but we lost it. The Amsterdam will be moved to another container port, further away from the Green Gate, that we are not allowed to walk to anyway. Now this is where we got a really mixed message, as the Captain said they were working on getting shuttle buses that would perhaps take us to town. Now wouldn't that be nice? That has NEVER happened here in Mumbai. Always have been told that the taxi union would prohibit any shuttle bus, except for a ride to the Green Gate. Well, we waited for a retraction, but it did not come. Gene followed with his usual talk, and that was that. OK, we all wondered if the information would show up on tomorrow's Daily Navigator. We would have to wait until 6 or 7pm to find out.
Most of the seasoned travelers we know also do not understand the complimentary shuttle situation (or the lack of) in the ports. Some other cruise lines provide them, because we believe the cruise line pays for them. Many instances, the larger malls will pay for them as well. We suspect that is the case with HAL, as it is made perfectly clear that they assume no responsibility for their scheduling or the fact that they may or may not get you back to the ship on time. Our feeling is that if the taxi union is that powerful, like in India, then why will they allow dozens of tour buses to take hundreds of folks on shore excursions? We have been in some places where the taxi drivers actually blockaded the main road, where none of these buses on tour could get out of the port. It took the police and the military to remove the blockades for us to get through. At that point, we all wonder why we were even there? Not tourist friendly for sure.
We have made the suggestion that HAL could pay for a shuttle to town, even if they passed down a small fee to the passengers. The answer we got, is that we could work on that, as it was a possible solution. The local businesses, malls, and shops have figured out that if you get the people to come, they will spend money….a win-win for all. Guess what…..nothing has happened yet. Surprised….no. But let down once again.
So we spent another lovely afternoon at the pool, roasting in the sun. No rain clouds today. There was a strong breeze blowing, which was fine. That is, until a new sound sprung up from the ship's exhaust stacks. We are guessing a new fan was being tested that sounded like an engine of a plane. Within seconds, white smoke bellowed straight down across the aft deck that smelled awful. Noxious is the best way to describe it. If they were trying to kill us all, they were doing a fine job of it. Normally, we think the crew waits until the winds are blowing to the starboard or the port, where it would be taken away from the ship. Or it is done late at night, not in the mid-afternoon. We had little choice but to pack it up, and leave, as the rest of the sunbathers did.
It was lunchtime anyway, so after ordering some salads, we phoned the front desk to report the incident. According to a phone call we received an hour later, someone actually went from the office to the aft deck to investigate the cause. Finding nothing, she called and asked if we could call from the pool immediately if it happens again. Strangely enough, no one from the bar staff admitted to the exhaust fumes. Hope it never happens again, but if nobody speaks up, it will. The bad thing is so many people have this cold and deep cough, that it could make it worse breathing toxic fumes.
Tonight we were invited to the third cocktail party hosted by our travel agency. For the second time, we had to miss it, since one of us is still under the weather. Feeling better during the day, the symptoms seem to reappear around 6pm every evening. No sense passing it on to others, we thought it best to stay home, so to speak. In fact, we did take a walk on the promenade deck to get some fresh air this time. We can always count on friends Jack and Shirley to still be there, waiting for the sunset. They must have each read 100 books by now, since they have been on this ship since last September, sailing back-to-back voyages all the way to Florida at the end of April. They are always a pleasure to visit with, since they are well-traveled for their young ages (we figure close to our ages…..39 plus ha-ha). Love hearing their travel adventures, which included a lot more than just cruising. Today's subject was South Africa, which we could go on forever listening to stories, as well as sharing ours.
Back at our room, the Daily Navigator for tomorrow had no good news regarding the shuttles as we had hoped. The Captain was indeed wrong, and the bus will go only to the Green Gate only. Nothing different. And there is a curfew, because the port shuttle stops running between midnight to 6am. During those hours, the Green Gate is locked and no access will be allowed back into the port and the ship.
Dinner for us was a table for two in the Pinnacle Grill ay 8pm. Tina had promised us veal chops, and had remembered. Made our day, we have to admit. Starters were Caesar salads, a vegetable soup for a muse, and the best grilled veal chop ever. We added the smallest baked potatoes and shared a bowl of mushrooms. Left just enough room for cherry Garcia ice cream. Excellent dinner and service as well.
The show this evening was held one time at 7:15pm. It featured a combo of Buzz Sutherland and Peter Mehtab, both with brand new shows.
Tomorrow we will need to be seen by Indian Immigration Officials, but instead of 8am, it will now be 10:30am. Bet that messes up the tours in Mumbai for tomorrow. At least everyone can sleep in later.
Bill & MaryAnn
