First things first – Happy Birthday Ken (our son) who turns 48 today. Really, it is tomorrow, but who’s counting. Hope you have a super great day!
Well, here we are, enjoying another fine day at sea as we sail in a southwesterly direction. We seem to have dodged a bullet, as the Captain warned of a storm headed towards Tonga, that might affect the seas we are in right now. All through the evening, the ship was in motion with some rolling, but not extreme. By morning, the skies were clear and it appeared all was OK. How long this will last, we don’t know. We would find out more later in the day…..
There were two jobs to deal with today. The first one was getting a preliminary shipboard account statement, now that we are nearing the end of the first segment. Since we are obviously staying onward, our only homework was to make sure it was correct. We would have until 6pm today to fix it. There had been a few mistakes, but it was corrected in a timely manner.
The second job was to take the time to fill out the survey for the future Grand World Voyage in 2021, although we feel strongly that the itinerary has already been decided. Perhaps some of the ports can be added or deleted by popular request. Instead of receiving the four itineraries in paper form, it is all done on the computer or cell phone. It is on the Navigator homepage, which is a free site. No need to go online to do it anymore. The only route we did not care for was the one going eastbound. The last time that was done was in 2010, and we did not go that one time, choosing the South America Grand Voyage on the Prinsendam.
A big event for some folks is the Sunday Brunch at 11am in the dining room. Barb loves it since every item comes in a tiny serving….right up her alley. The only appetizer she prefers in a larger quantity, has to be anything with caviar. Today she went to the brunch a bit later, and they must have been running out of the caviar. She said her serving was almost invisible.
Talks went forward with what to see and do in Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Shore excursions has been sending flyers for tours that need to be filled. With a lot of these ports being repeats for many longtime guests, we are not sure if their buses have been full.
We spent a relaxing day at the Seaview Pool with about 10 other people. No kidding, the busiest place on the aft deck is the smoking section. The majority of the lounges have gone unfilled for most of this cruise. Now that we are going to New Zealand, we expect the temperatures to drop somewhat for a while.
Tonight was another gala evening. We stayed out on deck nine until 7:30pm to watch how the sunset would develop. Each and every one has been different for the past week, but the only difference we notice is that once that sun dips below the horizon, it is over. Must be the area we are in right now. So we ran off to change with a few minutes to spare. Phillip had not mentioned if we were to have hosts this evening, so we figured it would be the three of us. But as we entered the room, Phillip was there to ask if we would like two guests….the staff captain and the doctor. Of course, we gladly said yes, and he escorted us to our table with both of them. The last four years, we have seen Thomas, the Staff Captain, quite often, coming and going, but never meeting him. In fact, the last two years, he has had his wife and young daughter onboard for some segments. Lily, now 2 ½ years old, was the most precious child, enjoyed by many “grandmas and grandpas” onboard. We have watched her learn to walk on a moving ship, as well as learn to dance. Thomas reported that he recently moved his family to Spain from Holland, and Lilly will be starting day care soon. Doubt we see them onboard on this cruise.
During the dinner conversation, we asked about the possible rough sea conditions the Captain brought up in his PM talk today. Thomas confirmed that we will be feeling much deeper and higher swells during the evening. There is no avoiding it. He also added that the basic info they receive on all of the weather and sea conditions is computer generated. Sometimes they will prepare you for the worst possible scenario, just in case. If it turns out to be less, then it is fine. Most times, it is.
The doctor, we discovered, is a young lady by the name of Kristen, we believe. She hails from Cape Town, South Africa, and has been a doctor on many ships with HAL and other cruise lines as well. She was a wealth of information concerning the spread of germs around ships. Between the two of our guests, we talked and shared stories until well after 10pm. Thinking that the three of us would like to attend the show, we confessed that none of us go very often. Tonight the Soul Sisters of Motown were giving their final show, but we did sneak in a preview of their practice, so we think that counts, right?
And just like Thomas said, we were rocking and rolling by 11pm, hoping it doesn’t get worse. And we’ll end this report with a cool saying: Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.
Bill & Mary Ann
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Report #37 Day at Sea February 24, 2019 Sunday Partly sunny & 75 degrees
