"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #12 Day at Sea January 11, 2018 Thursday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees 57 Pictures

Today marks the one week mark since we joined the ship in Ft. Lauderdale. As always, the time has flown by. The one job left is to hang the sticky hooks in the closets, a convenient way to utilize any space we can find for small stuff. Works well for light weight purses for instance. We have also used the hooks to put up calendars and a clock, but used masking tape to hang a large world map. Once again, we used the multi hook hangars on the side wall hooks for jackets and hats. Also useful for the hair dryer and extension cord. One shoe bag with 24 pockets holds all the little stuff like pens, scissors, note cards, tape,nail polishes, bandaids, etc. An earring pouch holds up to 66 pairs of earrings, although only 2/3 of it is used. Have to save space for possible additions. Single over the door hooks work well for necklaces.

There was a notice that from noon until 3pm yesterday, the hot water would be turned off ship wide. The evidence of that appeared in the tub this morning, with the water coming out of the faucet a brown, rusty color. It was to be expected, but it still is strange to see. It was recommended that we let the water run for a few minutes to clear the pipes. It was reported as periodic maintenance. We had also requested our filter to be changed in the ceiling, since we had been sneezing since we boarded. That job was done today when we were out. They have been very good about responding to trouble calls.

We have been welcomed to have the same table every day in the dining room for breakfast and lunch. This is nice, because once the waiters get to know us, ordering is easy. And since the bulk of the guests dine in the Lido, those of us in the dining room are well attended. In a word…..spoiled. We have only been to lunch once so far, and if the weather cooperates, we spend the morning and early PM outside or at the pool.

And that is what we did today. We were in for a treat, as two of our favorite types of seabirds tagged along with the ship. The usual suspects in this part of the world are the masked boobys. There were a few that were skimming the waters and diving for flying fish. As we head south, their numbers have increased, and so have the sightings of the birds. So fun to watch them diving. What we did not expect was the presence of the red billed tropicbirds. A small number of them escorted us most of the day. They are most graceful flyers with tail feathers longer than their bodies. Needless to say, they were well-documented by the bird watchers onboard. It was worth the trouble to get the good camera and take a few photos.

The Polynesian team boarded the ship yesterday in Panama. Led by the big guy, Kainoa, this group includes a couple of dancing ladies and a ukulele instructor. They have been on every longer South Seas voyage we have taken the last several years. They should entertain the folks for these upcoming nine days at sea.

The rest of the activities involved sales of clothing, jewelry, watches, and spa treatments. Speaking of the spa, one of us that has a birthday this month received a $50 credit for a treatment or service in the spa. It will expire at the end of the month. Not sure if it applies to a haircut, or a more expensive treatment, but we will find out. This was gifted by the hotel director, Henk.

Walk a mile, 10 pin bowling, team trivia, and a basketball shootout earned everyone one grand activity coupon (10 cents). We shall continue with the daily itinerary tomorrow. By the way, we were invited to a complimentary sommelier suite wine tasting at 11am. For the wine lovers among our group, it is a great way to pick your favorites from the wine packages available onboard. Attending many of these over the years, we enjoy the talks, but prefer the cheese plate more. So, we passed.

To answer a few questions, we did not bring our window garden supplies this year. The new mattress topper took the room of the garden supplies. We figured we would purchase a potted plant or two while in Hong Kong. We have not introduced our tablemates to cork-forking, except for a brief demonstration.

We got so busy with photos, we forgot to have lunch. A few room snacks were good enough to tide us over until dinner time. Actually, we enjoyed dinner more being hungry. The soup was hot–hot-hot and the salad fresh and crisp. We both ordered the chicken kiev entree with a side of pasta to share. Desserts were a tiny serving of bread pudding, and fudge tracks ice cream. All good.

Oddly enough, there was another comedian on stage tonight. His name was Martin Beaumont, a new entertainer for the Amsterdam. The only comment we heard about last night’s comedian was that he, the entertainer, was the only one that thought he was funny.

No presents tonight, but a note was left from Henk concerning the fresh berries. Seems that the initial delivery was short in Florida, so we are running low. This is the first time we have ever gotten such a formal excuse. Anyway, the next big delivery will be in Tahiti, so we may have a long wait. We will survive.

Bill & Mary Ann

A red billed tropicbird