Another day at sea, and a very pleasant one at that. Temperatures have remained comfortable, and we have enjoyed a steady breeze as the ship sailed south near the coast of Yemen. Just knowing we are so close to such a turbulent country is disturbing. However, there were many ships in the area….some freighters, Saudi naval vessels, and even an Arabic yacht, the size of a small cruise ship. We are not alone. And the watch continued with security guards stationed on deck three day and night.
Since we usually do not participate in the walking marathons, ship games, or even trivia, we have not made it a habit to collect Grand Dollars. Years ago, there was a program where you got a booklet stamped for eating healthy, as well as stamps for participation in ship activities. Prizes (small useful trinkets) were awarded at the end of the cruise, even if it was a short one. The prizes were simple, such as key rings, book marks, or luggage tags. Fun stuff. Then later, came the Dam Dollars, which we did get for doing our morning and afternoon walk. At that time, we saved enough for a nice heavy DAM sweatshirt. Now we understand the prizes are supplied by Amazon……suitable for the computer geeks among us. Well, that takes in everyone now….almost. As far as we know, this program has been a success for the world cruisers. But……
Today, we got letters from Henk, the hotel director, asking us to take a survey concerning the Grand Dollar Activities. It begins by saying that the program is intended to engage guests in a limited range of competitive/sportive activities. It is good for physical, mental, and social stimulation while at sea. The Grand Dollars and subsequent prizes will only be awarded individually and in a harmless way at the end of such activities. Not sure why this had to be defined, but the questions following this were if you participate, would you like to participate, and would we like to see this program continue. Finally, we were asked for our program preferences. The bottom line is it is being decided whether or not the program will continue on future Grand Voyages. Something tells us that it has already been decided, although we may be wrong. Obviously, there are flaws with this variety of activities, and something has sparked the action to take a vote. Take trivia for instance. In the distant past, it was fun. Now we hear of some folks cheating, others arguing over the fact that some answers are not correct, and complaints about the prizes offered. Then again, if they eliminate the games, they can eliminate a crew member who has to conduct these games. Take away the competitive nature of the games, and people will not be fighting with each other and the staff. We feel the games and prizes should stay, because that makes the day for a lot of passengers, who might never leave their rooms except for meals. Will keep you all updated.
Today was our delivery day for the President's Club amenities. Beautiful flowers arrived, followed by 17 Coke Zeros. Both are always accompanied by cards from Orlando Ashford. The only other person entering our room was an uninvited one……a bar staff girl who was checking our mini-bar, which we do not have. Normally we don't care who checks, but this time the girl simply walked into our room without knocking first. That could have been awkward if we were changing into our swimsuits. Guess we have to use the do not disturb sign more often.
We did spend some down time at the pool, which by the way, was cleaned and re-filled. For the first time in a long while, the water was deep blue and very clean. We got to thinking that our sunbathing time is beginning to run out. Once we pass through the Suez Canal, we will enter the Mediterranean Sea and much cooler temperatures. It certainly will not be as chilly as Japan and China, but too cool for swimming for sure.
Tonight was gala with the theme being the White Dinner, suggesting that wearing all-white clothing symbolized purity and elegance. Really? Wonder who writes these Daily Navigators??? Anyway, one of us looked quite smashing in a white tuxedo dinner jacket and a silky white brocade vest and bowtie. As for me? I do not do much white, as I am a magnet for drips and drops of whatever stains white. Murphy's Law. So I wore my newly-purchased light turquoise bejeweled saree from Little India in Singapore. Wrapped tight and belted, a few extra safety pins held it together. Don't know how the ladies in Mumbai wear these things every day, as they are so warm and tend to move all over the place. Probably, when I get home, I will re-make the saree into something with zippers that I know will stay in place without one hundred pins. For a few hours, it was fun. And my new blue sequined shoes from Mumbai were a perfect match.
Dinner was good and so was the company of a third officer by the name of Steven. He is from England and admitted to being 32 years old. He seemed comfortable talking with everyone, which is good, as sometimes these young fellows are ill-at-ease. However, mixing with the passengers occasionally is part of their job. How bad can it be, since they do not always have access to lobster, beef wellington, or savory lamb chops. To make it better, we were all served on the old plates tonight. The food was hot, and looked so much nicer on the blue-rimmed plates. We kidded with our waiter that we were going to take the plates to our room, wash them, and keep them for tomorrow night, and every evening thereafter. He promised that they have more, and we would continue to enjoy the special service. Lucky us.
At 9:30pm, there was a White Chocolate Surprise, held throughout decks 4, 5 and the Crow's Nest. We are not sure exactly what it was, but we will never find out. Most of us ended up staying at our table until after 10pm, so we passed on the white chocolate. Truthfully, we don't even like it, so we missed nothing.
Also missed the entertainment of Graffiti Classics, 16 strings, 8 dancing feet, and 4 voices. We did sneak into their practice, and heard enough to remember them from last year's world cruise.
Two surprises awaited us at the room. One hour back on the clock, always nice, and gifts. We both got a portable power bank, small devices used to charge computers, perhaps cell phones or tablets, we think. These will be most useful while traveling or even at home.
Bill & Mary Ann
This is a private yacht, not a cruise ship
New flower arrangement
A President's Club gift
Orchids and roses