"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #110 Transatlantic - Day at Sea # 1 April 19, 2017 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 72 degrees 59 Pictures

Well, here we are, sailing Transatlantic towards Ft. Lauderdale. In a matter of days, we will have gone around the globe, ending up where we began about 4 months ago. It bears repeating, but it seems to go by faster every time we have done this. We have added an incredible amount of new memories to share once again, and have enjoyed the company of old and new friends. We are truly lucky.

The dining room was busier than ever this morning, because we believe that some passengers have never tried eating here, staying in the Lido. We commented this morning that this will change when the Panama cruise begins April 26th, and we get mostly all new cruisers who will try everything. They only have two weeks to experience every part of the cruise, so time is precious.

The weather had cooled off a bit since yesterday, but it was still pleasant walking outside. The only thing that has been a constant pain is the work continuing on the lower promenade deck. Every railing has been removed a little at a time, and deep paint-chipping and grinding has been done. The railings have been taken section by section down below for re-finishing, then returned once the metals railing have been rust-proofed and re-painted also. Added to that work, every outside wooden door has been scraped clean of old varnish, sanded, and re-varnished. We believe the smell of paint has been over-whelming at times, driving folks away from the lounges. Like we have said before, this ship will be looking great for the Panama cruise. Sure does not feel like a "grand" voyage this year for many reasons….this being one of them.

The rep for the luggage shipment is onboard, Sarah. She is the one to see for getting our stuff home, as well as adding extra pieces and covering it all with some extra insurance. A few days ago, we all received packets with our Fed Ex luggage tags for those bags that most of us get delivered complimentary. We have three suitcases that we do not want to carry home, so we will pay to ship those as well. This year, they will go off with us in San Francisco, with ground delivery to our home. Thanks to communications with our kids and a most kind neighbor, we learned that our road has been temporarily deemed safe enough for one way traffic. The plan is for an alternate road to be put in, while the slide is repaired on the main road. That may take months, we understand.

Lunch was in the dining room, although we kept it light. Agung said that the half-portion burger has to be the tiniest burger in the world. We tend to agree, but we like it for the fries that fill the plate. Rice pudding and coffee fudge ice cream was quite good.

This afternoon, there was a special show performed by our Indonesian crew…….standing room only on both decks four and five. We got our usual spots at the back counter, where we could get some good photos. When we picked up the program this morning, we saw that our room steward, Ratno, was the master of ceremonies, and his assistant, Three, was in the angklung orchestra. So many of our favorite waiters were in this show, we had to go. It was so nice to see the guys and gals having so much fun showing off their talents. Some were musicians, singers, dancers, or actors. One of the best acts was the first performance of a Canaletto waitress named Yani. Her costume was beautiful, as was her Balinese dance. Anyway, we think you will enjoy the photos to follow. The crowd loved it, showing that with a standing ovation at the end.

Dinner for our entire table plus one guest was in the Pinnacle Grill at 7:30pm. Although the service was excellent, we feel that serving nine of us is not the same as serving just the two of us. The food was not really hot as it usually is. For the first time that we can remember, the soup was so overly salty, that three of us could not eat it. First time we ever had to send something back. Even though we did not ask for a substitute, the chef tried to thin it out with cream, we think. Despite the effort, it is impossible to remove the extra salt, and we still only ate half of it. The tempura shrimp and the crispy spring rolls were most delicious. Entrees we had were steak and lamb, both good, but not up to the usual hot food we get. French fries kind of made up for it. Dessert was our usual Cherry Garcia ice cream.

We heard the show last night was good with Ian Finkel, who was on last year's world cruise with his brother, Elliot, the pianist, and his dad, Fivish Finkel, an actor from Picket Fences, among other things. Ian plays the xylophone like no one else we have ever seen. Too bad we got out of dinner too late to see his performance. Certainly, he will be on stage again before we reach Florida. Wonder if his brother and dad are onboard? Sure hope so…..

Tonight's entertainer is Fogwell Flax, a comedian, impressionist, and a singer.

There was also another time change tonight…..one hour back again. That's two days in a row, with more to come.

Bill & Mary Ann

Photos of the Indonesian show……

Indonesian Show – 2017 world cruise