We think it was already 79 degrees when we went out on the lower promenade deck at 9:30am right after breakfast this morning. And was it muggy or what? Of course, we are heading south, and once again getting closer to the Equator. It sure would have helped to have a breeze, but there was barely one stirring. Perhaps it has turned into a following breeze, not one that we like. At least there was no rain in today’s forecast.
This morning’s daily update talk at 9:20am is normally given by the cruise director, Hamish. However, we think he has been under the weather with a cold, making his talks even more difficult to understand, due to his unusual accent (Jamaican, we heard). So the event manager, Mark, has taken over that spot. So much better we think. Many others agreed. Speaking of illness, Barbara H, or port lecturer has been missing her talks, with someone else doing her job in the Queen’s Lounge at 10am. We figured out why today, when she came back on stage with a very bad throat problem this morning. Sore throat or a bad virus…who knows? But it sure sounded to us like she needed a few more days of recovery, or else she might be stressing the vocals cords a bit much. Worse-case scenario is that we hope it is nothing extremely contagious.
Last night, we had a note reminding us that we had put our name on a list to buy the Grand World Voyage t-shirt and baseball cap. Way back in January, the shop had sold every one they had in stock. They had arrived and were ready for pick-up. So we went to pick it up and found it was the incorrect size. Never know how well these t-shirts will launder, so it is always better to go a size up. The sales gal only had one in the correct size to exchange with us. The extras were all small. Now how many “small” people do you think are traveling on this ship? Very, very few, we say.
Today we received a log of the cruise for the last 7 days. This unadvertised segment was for the trip from Hong Kong to Singapore. That was a total of 1556 nautical miles. Hardly worth flying overseas for such a short trip, but OK for the local Asians who we suspect were most of the new guests.
We spent the day at the pool, visiting with friends, but mostly with Barb, until she could not take the heat anymore. This is her “ice cream” time. It was so warm today that she had to eat it quickly before it totally melted. It did look good, so we will have to get one ourselves later on.
Maxing out our sun time at the pool by 2pm, we headed off for a light lunch in the Lido. The sandwich-maker is doing a better job at keeping the makings full and neat. We always end up sitting on the side where arts and crafts are taking place. Today the group was working on creating greeting cards. Always takes us by surprise to see a few men in the group. Even when they were making earrings. Whatever floats your boat, we say. And after we finished our sandwiches, we headed off to the ice cream corner for one scoop in a cone….one for each of us.
Did we mention that Rudi Sodamin boarded the ship in Hong Kong? He is here to host the beginning of the new Sel de Mer specialty dinner in the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant. This venue has been developed to replace the Le Cirque cuisine. Gone are the whimsical plates with the monkey on them. Now they serve the meal on plates of blue and white shades resembling water themes. The charger plates were even more comical with food becoming the design of faces in the center. Anyway we had reservations at 8pm to try it out.
The other jobs we had today involved filling out arrival and departure cards for Thailand and Sri Lanka. It was also necessary to pick up our passports at the front desk. Lastly, we needed some Singapore dollars before we arrived tomorrow. This trip seems to be flying by all too quickly now.
At our spot on deck five outside the Ocean Bar, we had reclaimed our chairs that have been blocked for the Princeton tailors display and desk. Besides listening to the music of the Ocean Bar’s band, we can also watch three decks of people traffic. We spotted a long-time President’s Club member, Ann-Marie, who happens to be the partner of Rudi. She saw us and came over for a visit. It has been at least four years since she last sailed a segment of the world cruise, so we were surprised she remembered us. Actually, she was thrilled to see some of the regulars, as the majority of passengers were new to her. Telling the truth, she was sad to see some of the older regulars that need the assistance of walkers and scooters now, a reminder that all of us are getting up there in age. She is among the group that is sad to see the traditions that surrounded the HAL brand going away. She was on her way to join the crowd in the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. Saying goodbye for now, we said we would see her there later.
Dinnertime came and we were right on time at the entrance to the Pinnacle Grill at 8pm. This was almost considered a grand opening, since Henk M was greeting the guests, with Rudi there checking on the customers. This event had to be sold out, and there were still many guests lingering well past their dining time. Our usual table was occupied by guests who had arrived at 5:30pm and were still there. Funny thing…..we had predicted this would happen. Tina said if she could, she would put a firecracker under their table to get them moving if she could. We have to add that Henk, our most friendly hotel director, offered to buy us a cocktail while we were waiting. We thanked him, but declined his offer. Expecting the wait to be no more than 10 minutes, we waited by the mini wine bar outside the Wajang Theater. Noelle, the marketing manager, stopped and chatted for ten minutes until we were summoned inside. We were seated at a better table, without the window, where other guests passing by, stop and check out the meal we are having. Anyway, we had finally gotten our table by 8:25pm at that point
To begin, we recently dined at this venue while on the Eurodam last fall. So we knew what to expect. What we did not expect was for Rudi and Ann-Marie, to send the wine steward over to offer us wine with our meal. We thanked him, but declined since we do not drink wine. Nice surprise though. The first course was a platter with small dips, tapanades, and olives. A skinny loaf of sliced French bread goes with that. Then a muse arrived, which only one of us could eat. It was the scallop. A substitute was offered for one of us in its place, but that was not necessary. At this point, we surmised that the staff was stressed with so many full tables. We did not want to add to that delay, since our service was slow to begin already.
Next we ordered salad nicose with ahi tuna. One of us ordered it without the tuna. Later we learned from Tina, the manager, that we could have had the tuna cooked all the way through, and not raw. Never developed a taste for the raw fish. Both of us had ordered the rack of lamb, and it was cooked perfectly. Seasoned on the outside, it was pink and tender on the inside. The only comment we could make was that the entrée was served not on a flat plate, but in more of a soup bowl dish. The grilled vegetables, and a goat cheese/potato square were buried under the meat. Not the best presentation, but the quality and flavor was pleasing. We added one order of skinny French fries to share. The most fun part of the meal.
Dessert was the best – profiteroles. A stack of five creampuffs, one filled with vanilla ice cream was served. Our waitress drizzled the cup of chocolate sauce over the top. Delicious. We were full to the brim.
On the way out, we stopped to thank Rudi and our friend for the offer of wine. When asked how we liked the special wine, we had to admit that we declined since we do not drink wine. The look of total disbelief was what we saw on their faces. Everyone likes wine, except us, we guess. With many people it is like drinking water. For us, we prefer the water. And thanked them again for the generous gesture.
Needing to take a walk for a few minutes, we went outside on deck three. It was like walking into a sauna, even at 10pm at night. Captain Mercer mentioned in his talk that tomorrow’s temps will be high, but there is also a threat of thunderstorms and heavy rain showers. We have leaned never to go out in Singapore without umbrellas. “When it rains, it pours”, applies in this part of the world.
Here are the answers to a few recent blog questions. Although we did not get to the backside of Hong Kong Island, we heard from Barbara H that few, if any people live in the sampans or similar houseboats anymore. They may have been out-lawed. We have visited Lantau Island twice in past trips, but not this time. And no, we do not have a cat to board at home. A few years ago, we had a wild (feral) cat adopt us, and we purchased an automated feeder to supply meals for him. However, over the last year, he seems to have moved on, perhaps to kitty heaven, as we think he was an older cat.
Bill & Mary Ann
