We woke up to heavily overcast skies with a crisp breeze blowing across the decks. Still on the warm side, it was clear that we are no longer under the influence of the balmy seas surrounding the islands. Tomorrow, we may need to put on the sweat shirts when we go outside for our walks. At least it is not raining, although the port side gets a lot of sea spray, which drips off of the tender boats.
During breakfast, one of the friendliest headwaiters stopped by for a chat. Later this morning there will be the first of the Mariner Society’s reception and lunch. We had an invitation asking us to arrive at 11am to the Mainstage, deck 2, starboard side. We understand that over 300 Mariners have been invited to this ceremony, although, there are so many members on this cruise, there will be a repeat tomorrow. So we kept breakfast as light as we could, not always easy.
The suggested dress code was smart casual, which is the description for dinner time most evenings. However, when we joined the line to enter the show lounge, there were many gals and fellows in t-shirts and shorts, with no intentions of changing for a few hours. Not that we are clothes snobs, but we think it is nice to respect those that choose to follow the rules. Oh well, it did not matter, since no one in charge said a word, like they used to in the “old days”.
The receiving line consisted of Glenn Cowley, the hotel director, Erin, the cruise director, and Julie, one the nicest customer service reps. She has been most helpful dealing with our few situations, and continued today with escorting us to our saved seats in the front row on deck one. This show lounge is gigantic compared to the one on the Amsterdam. It covers three decks, and it most impressive. And cold. The air conditioning here is close to frigid.
We were offered drinks of our choice, which we declined. There are no tables in this lounge, like on the R-class ships, but only seating like you are in a typical movie theater. A drink holder pulls out of the seat’s armrest. So we had a ringside seat directly across from the medals to be awarded spread out on a table. Erin, the cruise director, began the ceremony with a short and sweet talk, then introduced the hotel director and the Captain, who did the honors. We counted close to 100 bronze medallions, 12 silver, and 5 gold. There were no platinum awardees today. And definitely, no President’s Club pins given. If all of the 100 day medallions were given out, we will end up here until after noontime. As it turned out, only half of the bronze folks were present, so it went quicker than we expected. A few of the very elderly couples decided this was a great time to converse with the Captain, but he smartly moved them along by suggesting they pose for the photo. One younger couple, upon getting their medallions, hooted all the way up the aisle, waking everyone up. One of us said loud enough for the Captain to hear…..boy, I wish I was drinking what she did. Captain Scott thought that was quite amusing, but agreed.
We were called last, and introduced as President’s Club members with over 2200 days. A photo was taken, and we should see it in our room by the end of the day. One other gentleman also was acknowledged as well.
When all the awards were done, we were escorted out of the lounge by a waiter, who attempted to lead us to the dining room, and a table reserved for the high number members. Since we were surrounded with folks going the same way, one wayward man stepped in between us, and ended up taking one of our seats at a large center table. That left only one chair, and obviously, no room for the two of us. Embarrassed, headwaiter Mega came running, and we asked to be seated at a table for two. He apologized, and led us to a window table, where we assumed no one else would be seated there. We were so sure, that we ended up drinking both glasses of champagne.
Oops, two nice ladies looking for seats asked to join us. Since there were no more places left, we said sure, but we were sorry to have finished off their champagne. The waiter did eventually bring them flutes of the bubbly with their lunch. Turned out these two gals, mom and daughter, looked familiar, and we discovered they had been on the Eurodam last year, and some of the same Hawaii cruises we did on the old Statendam. So lunch ended up being fun, and not stuffy with a large table of 10.
The menu was totally different from the Alaska Mariner lunch. We had a choice of a shrimp, mango, & cherry tomato salad, or a butternut squash & coconut lemon grass soup (really good by the way). A petite tenderloin with veggies, a salmon dish, or an eggplant vegetarian plate were the choices. Dessert was the best – Lilikoi & coconut tart, lemony and creamy. Tiles were handed out at the dining room entry when we left. We have to add that the food choices have been revised for every meal, at least on this ship. Given new names, there are few appetizers or entrees that are the same since we left our last cruise last May.
Walking off some of the calories after lunch was invigorating. It had cooled off even more. The folks that had been on the teak lounges earlier, were now covered up with their towels instead. By tomorrow, we think very few people will be out here on the promenade deck.
Before going up, we checked out the shops and the choices for spending the rest of our credit. We discovered that even more credit had been added, due to the Captain’s extra gift. We had assumed it was already factored into the balance. The particular sales fellow we dealt with in the beginning of the cruise was not there. So we decided to come back later. One thing we noticed different in the shop from last year, is that Oprah’s corner has gotten smaller, with far fewer items for sale.
Catching up on emails and watching some TV, the afternoon dissolved. Before we knew it, the sun was setting, and it was a fairly good one.
Dinner was in the dining room with some more different food choices. It has been fun trying some of the various soups and salads. The main for both of us was Rudi’s roasted chicken, the same as always. Barb….eat your heart out….they had sautéed calves liver with apples and pancetta tonight. Naturally, we thought of you.
The clocks went ahead one more hour tonight, leaving us one more hour to go before we are back in Vancouver.
Monday, October 15, 2018
Report #23 Day at Sea October 13, 2018 Saturday Partly cloudy & 80 degrees
