As the Amsterdam gets closer to the island of Reunion, the sea swells and winds have both picked up. It was noticeable when we woke up this morning, and felt the ship pitching and rolling. Nothing like we had back in Tasmania, but enough to make walking a little difficult at times. During his PM talk, Captain Jonathon mentioned that it has been raining in Reunion the last couple of days, so perhaps we are getting some residual waves from it.
Doing our morning walk, we thought we were going through some isolated rain showers. Odd since the skies were mostly blue and the sun was shining. Turned out it was extreme deck and window cleaning starting from deck nine all the way down to deck three. People sitting in the teak lounges were not happy about it. Nor have they been pleased with the week’s-worth of sanding and painting on the lower promenade deck. Yes, this is always an ongoing project, but right now it seems that the entire ship has been scoured more than usual. Good reason……the “big” guys are coming tomorrow. The top head honchos from Seattle that is. Every nook and cranny has been polished and dusted, so the ship appears to sparkle. We can only hope it remains that way for the rest of the voyage.
A few days ago, we got a reminder to sign up for reservations for the Easter Sunday Brunch. So far, 700 passengers have put their names on the list. We remember when Easter Brunch was a fabulous display in the center of the lower dining room, where trays of food were displayed in a most artistic way. Ice sculptures were centerpieces to trays of prawns, lobsters, sliced prime rib, lamb chops, etc. In the mix were carved melons, veggies “animals”, and the best creations made from bread. There were platters of fruit with a flowing chocolate fountain, and desserts to die for. Chocolate Easter eggs, bunnies, and highly decorated cakes finished the meal. Those days are gone forever. Shut down by safety measures and regulations that could not be fixed on the ship. So now, it is Sunday brunch, also nice for those who like it. With such a huge reservation list, we think a “monster” has been created.
At breakfast this morning, we asked Asep, one of the head waiters, if he knew how many folks will be going overland out of Mozambique. He only knew the HAL guests on overland tours. That number was 150 guests. That does not count the travel agencies that have groups, or the independents like us. Asep promised to find out and give us that total tomorrow. He also added that 22 people left for African overlands in the Seychelles. They will be coming back in Cape Town.
Back at our room, we found an invitation to a Mariner Appreciation Cocktail Party designed just for the folks that will be missing the special events while they are off of the ship after March 31st. Orlando Ashford will host this party at 4:30pm and also at 7pm on Wednesday the 28th. Since this affair was not on the original list, we feel enough people have asked about it, and it was graciously added.
Spending the afternoon at the Seaview Pool was pleasant, even more so since the temps had fallen somewhat. What we did not anticipate were the winds. You had to secure the towels or they would be overboard. The heat and humidity have dropped a bit since we are heading due south now, and further away from the Equator. Suits us just fine.
Lunch was Dive In burgers, which we ate while watching Barbara H’s talk on Reunion. It would be so nice if her talks were rerun on one station only. No, they are mixed with the lecturer talks. So if you miss it, it is a 2 hour wait. We had missed it all morning. Since we have been here before, we knew there may be shuttles. We learned that there will be some buses to take the folks to St. Denis, the capital. Last time, we were taken south to one of the beaches. We are not certain what we are doing, since the Captain mentioned it might rain all day tomorrow. In fact, the newsletter for tomorrow mentioned the chance of rain was 90%. Guess we have been lucky with little rain during this voyage, so we shouldn’t complain.
The dress code was gala tonight. Most dressed for it, some did not. We had company tonight with John (aka copperjohn on Cruise Critic) the head security officer. He joined the ship in Singapore, and already hosted our table once. However, we were in the Pinnacle Grill with Barb that evening, and missed him. We asked Philip, our dining room manager, to send him back, if John wished, and he did. We also invited him a couple of days ago when we finally ran into him on the Lido. We all enjoyed his many stories he shared of his career with the police department and also working on the ships. There are so many things that none of us know that goes on behind the scenes. Especially in the area of security with the pirate areas of the world. John said we will be in relatively safe waters now, but once we head up the west coast of Africa, the preventative measures will probably go back into effect.
Colleen Williamson was the performer in the Queen’s Lounge tonight. A versatile voice, she sang her interpretation of classic pop, film favorites, and hits from Broadway.
Tomorrow, a little taste of France.
Bill & Mary Ann
