Our first full day at sea was a gift in more ways than one. Having slept well last night, we managed to secure our table on the railing for breakfast and lunch as well. Since there is seldom a crush for the dining room breakfast, Phillip always cuts us a deal. We are not alone, as many of our buddies have done the same. Even better, the most fun waiter we had last year, was back again, but with a different assistant…..equally as nice. Between the breakfast and lunch meals, they will see a lot of us and Barb too. And the meal was perfect, just as we ordered.
We recognized a couple of folks that sat behind us two years ago. The wife had had a bad fall while on a tour, breaking her wrist, and she still is having problems with it. Thinking they might not return, we were happy to see them back. The bad thing about missing a year of the world cruise is that they lost their table to another couple of gals that took it over last year, also friends of ours. See it pays to come back year after year.
Almost forgot about the first Cruise Critic meeting, which began at 9:30am in the Crow’s Nest. But first, we had to go on a search for our missing duffel that never arrived yesterday. You think someone would have called to inform us that it had been set aside with 130 other pieces of luggage, since security spotted something they needed to see. The duffel was locked and they are not allowed to open it without us being present. Luckily we ran into Shiv, the head of housekeeping, who led us down to Deck A to find it. As we expected, it was a small pouch with a few tools. Instead of unloading it down there, they agreed to deliver it to our room, where we could open it there. The security officer inspected the small assorted mini-screwdriver set, and decided all was OK for us to keep it. Informing him that we have brought these on every HAL cruise and never had a problem, he apologized and left us to unpack the last of our stuff. Later in the day, we heard of many people that had things confiscated such as plug strips, alcohol, and the like. Annoying, but we suppose they are doing what they are hired to do.
So then, we were off to the meeting, where we found the Crow’s Nest loaded with people. Nametags and envelopes with specially-made pens were gifted to all members. Talking to the leaders, we found out that over 230 people were in this group. Wow, that is impressive. They did have a coffee and cookie table set up for the group, but there was no sign of any staff member or officers. These days we understand there are so many groups that the staff has bowed out of attending any of them. Seems that they have many activities planned, and more meetings coming up. Good place to connect with old friends and meet new ones. In addition, this seems to be the place to arrange group tours too, much to the dismay of the shore excursion folks onboard. As long as they do it discreetly, it works better for some passengers.
The rest of the day was seriously unpacking, and setting up everything we needed to make it home. Neat and functional we hope. As much as we brought, there seemed to be plenty of room to store it, and mostly out-of-sight. Perhaps we have finally paired everything down to “just enough”. The final project will be adding the memory foam mattress to our bed. But it will have to be tomorrow.
Taking a break for lunch, we waited for Barb, who went to the first game of Trivia. She has the same partners, and we hope they will be masters of the game once again. Not that you win anything big, you do gain respect from the competing crowd. Did we mention the cruise director, Hamish, is not onboard? Guess he had some medical issues, and has to be cleared from the doctor in order to return. In the meantime, the person who stepped into Barbara H’s shoes as port lecturer, Ian, has taken on the job as temporary cruise director too. He must be Superman!
Glad we mostly finished the room project, because the seas have been rough, with deep swells and high winds. One of us began to feel the motion, so we took a walk outside, finding the sun peeking out between the clouds for some brief moments. It was not cold, but very blustery. The winds were picking up the pool water, soaking the decks. Bet it will be a few days before we get some typical Caribbean weather….or not? We were somewhere near Cuba today, and it was really rolling. We could not see the island, since it was raining according to Captain Mercer.
We were invited to our first cocktail party in the Explorers Lounge this evening at 7pm. Guests from the Pinnacle and Neptune Suites were mixed with the 50 or so President’s Club members onboard this trip. Captain Mercer, Henk M, the hotel director, and Ian, the duel CD and port lecturer greeting us as we wandered into the lounge. All great guys.
There is a special spot at a high table where we always gather with the same group of friends. Barb, of course, Don MacD, and the two of us headed for that table. None of us care to sit down in the lounge as we don’t like feeling trapped. Drinks to order were served, while Phillip, our favorite former dining room manager, joined us. For years, Peter, the purser, was our guest officer, but he has retired. He was really missed by all of us. Karen, the Captain’s wife, came last and stayed for most of the cocktail hour. Since she knows all of us, we caught up on cruise news. Seems that Captain Mercer has been asked to come back on the 2020 world cruise, and he gladly accepted the offer. Good news to everyone.
Dinnertime arrived quickly, so off we went (carefully)….the ship was really rocking by now. Or maybe it was the drinks? Once again, we were served hot-hot-hot food and great entrees. Has anyone mentioned that you can order Maine lobster for an added $20 in the main dining room? We have heard of other cruise lines doing this years ago, but never thought it would happen here. Must be popular, and we heard that the lobster is excellent.
By the way, the Captain mentioned to us that if these winds keep up, there may be a problem with docking at the first port of Santa Marta. Sure hope not…..
Back in our room, we found the first gifts of the cruise, two black messenger bags, suitable for a computer bag among other things. Along with a towel animal of a sting ray, there was the first good night note with a neat saying: I would gladly live out of a suitcase if it meant I could see the world. Anonymous. So true. But we have to remember to tell our room stewards we will pass on the animals, since we have seen them all and if it saves them precious time, they can pass us up. Just don’t forget those pillow candies!
Bill & Mary Ann
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Report #6 Day at Sea January 23, 2019 Wednesday Partly cloudy, plenty windy & 68 degrees
