There were some games happening such as party bridge, mahjong, or chess playing. For the more active, there was a ping pong tournament. Trivia occurs twice……once at 1pm, and later at 7pm. That has to be the most popular activity for many of the guests. Table games and jigsaw puzzles are available in the Crow's Nest.
We went to the dining room breakfast this morning, and found a line all the way down the hall to the elevators. First time that we have encountered such a long wait. Take that back, when trying to order a room service lunch later, we found that no one answered the phone for over 15 minutes. We gave up, and went in search of pizza and salads, which was even better than what room service offers.
There was a Navigator Wine Tasting, like the one we attended last week. That would be at 2pm, but we did not go this time.
But we did go to a Cruise Critic meeting in the Crow's Nest this morning. It wasn't a huge group like on the world cruise, but a more intimate one with about 10 folks. We met some very nice people, a few that knew of our blogging. Many questions later, we talked until almost noontime. Always nice to meet new people, especially those that are CC members. They seem to be more in tune with what is going on, not only with HAL, but other lines as well.
Speaking of familiar faces, we discovered that one of the bartenders in the Crow's Nest was Jerry, who we met in 2009, and also again, on this year's world cruise. He remembered us by name, even though we have not spent a lot of time in the Crow's Nest. Later in the day, we went back and had a drink before dinner. It was not crowded, so we had a chance to catch up on cruise news with him.
Just noticed that there was a guest speaker talking about oceans as being the lungs of the world. The speaker, Ginny Stibolt, probably filled the Mainstage lounge.
It did warm up slightly today. The seas were rolling, and we did notice the motion, especially on the highest deck. And we are so accustomed to being on deck one, that deck five is far different. The dining room manager told us that this will last for a couple of days, then the Captain expects the seas to level out. We have seen a lot worse.
Having some down time, we began watching the Game of Thrones series. It is so different from most series, we will be hooked, we're afraid. It was a good way to pass the time while down-loading photos. Later on, we headed for the office to try going online to catch up on overdue emails. We shall see if the internet connection will be better there. Also, we needed to sort out mistakes on our current bill. We have our doubts that the staff deals with President Club members very often. They seem to be in the fog when it comes to the perks. Good thing we have it all in writing, so it can be verified. Nice that there is a section of seating, because this process took 40 minutes. We waited in comfort.
Checking your onboard account is as easy as going to their free website. Or, there is a kiosk across from the front desk, that can be scanned with a room key. Sounds easy, right? It is, but that is when the kiosk is working. We have been here at least a dozen times, and it was working perhaps 50% of the time.
Dinner for us this gala evening was in the Pinnacle Grill. We had nice seats in the Captain's corner and two different waiters. They were most attentive, just like we are used to on the Amsterdam. We both enjoyed the lamb chops for our entrees, as well as the other items. After our first visit here (Sel de Mer), we had turned in a guest relations comment card letting them know we were less than pleased with the food and service that evening. Something tells us with the increased attention to us, that they got that message. Yes, we will come back here.
With gala night, comes the Captain's welcome toast…..a whole 15 minutes of it held in the Mainstage at 7:45pm. The show was Off the Charts, the singers and dancers of the Eurodam. The lounge was full of folks, most of whom were dressed in formal gear. We did see some guests in the Pinnacle Grill tonight in short sleeve golf shirts and tennis shoes. We always thought that was suitable in the Lido, but not in the other venues on gala night. Guess we're wrong.
On the way back to our room, we passed by Lincoln Center Stage where a group of musicians were performing masterworks by Dvorak, classical music. The room was full to capacity. The over-flow of guests lined the hallway, and just about blocked the people trying to walk on by. This is one of the differences you will experience by joining a larger ship with almost double the guest population.
By the way, there is no dance floor in the Crow's Nest, and no band playing there late at night. We were told that the only dance floor was in the Ocean Bar. Gosh, there is no more merry-go-round tunes like we listen to in the Amsterdam's Ocean Bar. Eventually, things may change on her too.
The clocks went back one hour this evening. We like that.
Bill & Mary Ann
A beautiful sunset tonight
As seen from our veranda
Many clouds, but no rain
Clouds help make the sunset colorful
