Going back to yesterday, we forgot to mention the perks we found in our room. There were two flower arrangements, the larger vase coming from the Mariner Society. Two bottles of champagne (one was sparkling wine) were on ice. We did manage to polish off the best bottle that was gifted from Orlando A. Don't know if our timing was good, since we drank this before the muster drill. Going down two flights of stairs was a little dicey. Several tiny envelopes held more messages for various shipboard credits applied to our account. Will have to figure this all out tomorrow, as it was too much info, especially after the champagne. We think there were a couple of invites for wine tasting and a future American Test Kitchen demo where we had priority sign-up privileges.
Last evening, we did receive one Alaska tote bag….only one again. Don't get the reasoning for that, since there are two of us. This seems to be consistent on all of the HAL ships. Our room stewardess had left the towel animal on the bed as always. We will remind her today that she does not need to do this daily. We have seen them all, and if this saves her some time, it is fine with us.
One thing we noticed about the room, is that we could hear doors banging loudly at all hours. It had to be coming from either the verandas or the hallway doors. Woke one of us up from a sound sleep. We are always aware of the veranda door, so try to hold it from slamming. Funny, we blame the "Explore4" program for the excess noise. Fifteen drinks per person per day is a bit much, we think. And it appears that many folks are imbibing while on their balconies.
OK, it was difficult getting up this morning, since the bed was so comfortable. But we did want to make it to the dining room, which opened at 8am. We were greeted by name by Mega, a head dining room manager we just saw while on the Amsterdam. That makes about 8 fellows that we have recognized so far. Nice to know they remembered us, and by name no less. Breakfast was perfect and the service right on. The dining room is really pretty with darker colors than the Amsterdam. We saw little wear-and-tear with the furnishings and carpets. But then, this ship is only 11 years old, and has obviously been well-maintained. What ruined the scenery this morning was the lady who appeared in the dining room dressed in the ship's bathrobe. Boy, did she get some stares from the guests. By the way, we did wear our jeans (not stressed ones) to dinner last night. We were still dressed more acceptable compared to the group that came wearing shorts and t-shirts. They were not turned away either.
We had some work to do, such as making a visit to the front desk, and inquiring about our shipboard account. What exactly was use-or-lose credits, and what was cashable. Most of the credit had to be spent onboard, we discovered and had expected to hear. However, if we don't use it all, it should carry over to the following trip. But wait, the girl behind the desk was not entirely sure how the back-to-back cruises work. Also, we added our name to their list for a newspaper delivery to our room daily. She said consider it done…..no problem. Once again, we shall see if it works tomorrow morning.
Then we went to find the shops onboard. They are located on deck three, and it looked like coming into a department store. Instead of separate little shops, all of the areas are incorporated into one open area. Since we had credit to burn, one of us found a silk jacket suitable for gala evenings. And because this is the final run to Alaska, most everything was on sale. We suspect that all of their merchandise has to be sold now, and when the next cruise begins, the shops will fill up with new stuff suitable to that area. So that will work in our favor, except that we may have to purchase an extra suitcase to haul it home.
To use up some of that credit, we booked one tour in Juneau tomorrow. It is the shorter whale quest for 4 hours. The only bus involved is a ride to the 100 person two deck viewing boat. Hopefully it won't be raining too bad, since this was a fun tour the first time we did it several years ago.
It was too damp to do much walking outside on the promenade deck. There were some teak lounges set up under the lifeboats, but no takers today. There was a mix of blankets and dark blue towels available to use. Come to think of it, we did not find the new blue and white striped beach towels in our room. Perhaps these will appear for the Hawaii run.
The daily "When & Where' newsletter was full of activities today to fill in for the day at sea. Church services, exercise, card games, and team trivia were happening. Sales and promotions were offered in the Shops and Casino, while ship services had talks on their treatments. The Digital Workshop and America's Test Kitchen offered classes. To different movies were shown: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Lies and Going In Style. No need to be bored here, even if it was too cold for swimming or sunbathing.
Lunch for us was in the dining room, but with the smallest ½ order of burgers. With a little dessert. We had a window seat at the aft, and found that it may be hopeful for some dolphin sightings. It did happen later when we were sitting on our veranda. Many groups of the smaller dal porpoise barely broke the surface while spouting along the way. No whales yet, although we did hear a couple talking about seeing the blows in the distance this morning.
We did attend the complimentary wine tasting at 2pm. It was well presented and well attended. The serious sippers pilfered filled wine glasses at the empty seats. Guess they were thirsty? Not necessarily wine drinkers, we did enjoy the presentation, and are always open to learning about the culture of such a popular pastime.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent exploring the public spaces of the ship. We really had to go out of our way to find the Crow's Nest, library, and Explorations Café. Like we stated, the ship's motion was pronounced up that high. We also found out that the Tamarind Restaurant was not accessible from the Crow's Nest. You can only get there by going up the central set of elevators. So on our way to go there, we were side-tracked at the Ocean Bar where a gal by the name of Kelly was playing the piano and also singing some good tunes. This spot is labeled the Postmodern Jukebox, a new concept for us. Apparently it began in 2009 as a weekly video, and has morphed into a mix of current and throwback pop music. We enjoyed the performance so much, we forgot to seek out Tamarind. We will find it tomorrow, since we have dinner reservations there.
While relaxing across from the atrium ceiling structure, we remembered our friend Bob had sked us to check it out. He question was for us to give him our interpretation of what it is. OK…..here is our take. The fixture is lie a stalagtite column in cave, consisting of opaque round flowers that resemble poppies. Lights under the glass change colors subtly, giving us the impression of the Aurora Borealis. Guessing it could be Murano glass, it probably cost a small fortune.
One other thing we went in search of were flower arrangements we are used to seeing in the public areas on the Amsterdam. We found none. What we did see were sculptures made from painted twigs, filled with caladmium leaves and a few orchids in little individual water holders. The only bouquets of flowers happen to be in our room.
Later on, we cleared up the confusion about our complimentary soda delivery for President's Club. Wanting to utilize some more shipboard credit, we ordered 12 bottles of vitamin water from room service. It arrived personally delivered by one of the beverage department heads. They are certainly taking good care of us.
As we were just about to get ready for our first gala dinner, there was a knock on the door by the assistant head housekeeper. He was double-checking to see if all is well with us. Yep, life is good, we told him.
There was a welcome toast given by the Captain in the Mainstage show lounge at 7:45pm. However, due to so many visitors, we missed it. Dinner was good at our table for two on the upper railing. Most interesting was watching some guests arrive in way less formalwear, like jeans and t-shirts. The majority of guests looked terrific, dressed in sparkles and suits or tuxes. The gentleman sitting next to us congratulated us on our outfits, and added that perhaps we are a dying breed. Hate to admit it, but he is correct. Hate to see these traditions bite the dust. Right before our meal was served, the Hotel Director stopped by and introduced himself. His name escapes us, but for certain, he is Dutch. Again, he offered to make sure our trip was perfect. Seems to be a nice fellow.
Dinner was good, and we were finished by 9:30pm. We are liking the simplicity of quiet dining for this shorter cruise with a table for two. Our waiters have been so attentive. One nice thing we noticed is the fact that the coffee served has been by the cup. Just like the French-pressed coffee you get in the Pinnacle Grill. Every cup is consistently flavorful and very hot. Just the way we like it.
The show was Off The Charts, performed by the ship's singers. The tunes were Elvis to Beyonce hits. Every seat in the lounge had a clear view for a change. A larger stage and more performers, this venue gets a higher grade in our humble opinion.
Tomorrow, we will be in Juneau, and that means a time change(one hour back) this evening. The reminder card left from the turn down service has been reduced to a business card size. Almost did not see it.
Bill & Mary Ann
