Today from 8am to 12 noon, we sailed through the Torres Strait with intermittent commentary with Ian, but only in the Crow’s Nest, the outside decks, and also on TV. For those who decided to get up early, there were Torres Strait Rolls served in the atrium and Crow’s Nest as well.
Our breakfast time is always around 8:30am on sea days, for at least an hour, so we missed much of the commentary. But from what we saw outside the dining room windows, it looked much the same as yesterday’s sailing. But the good news, is that a tray full of the delectable rolls were being passed around all of the tables. Usually we decline the sweet rolls, but not the Panama Rolls. At least the bakers are keeping the filling the same, and not substituting something like bean curd. They did that once when we sailed into Hong Kong, and few folks ate them. The crew members were happy since they loved them.
We should remember to read the daily newsletter early in the day, because we missed the unveiling and sale of the 2019 Grand World Voyage t-shirts and caps. These are the shirts that have the ports of call printed on the back. Really, they should have been in the shops when we boarded, but they were not. Nor were they promised to arrive at any time during this trip. So it was a surprise to us when we found out that most all of the men’s t-shirts were sold out. In fact we heard that people lined up all the way down the hallway to wait for the store to open. The general consensus was that the women’s sizes were much too small, but the men’s were a better fit for both men and women. We did inquire late in the day, and were told more might come in further into the cruise.
It was going to be another warm and sticky day, so we went to the Seaview Pool, only to find that the crew were netting it. Eventually, we noticed that it was being drained. Either someone got sick in there, or perhaps there was another problem. Oh well, there were always the showers back here to use to cool off. A few hours later, a crew of three workers came with cell phones, and took pictures of the ladder area. Turns out there was a leak big enough that the pool may be closed for a while, although we sure hope not.
After lunch we had a job to do……use our complimentary $50 gift card at the Explorers Café. That should buy us 19 cans of soda, but the girl only had 7 on hand. No problem, as we could always get the rest tomorrow. Well, when she brought out the sodas, we found them outdated by a lot. Like Dec 2018 and January 2019……more than two months old. And we thought this only happened when they delivered us cases to our room that were outdated too. And yes, you can taste the difference when they expire. The nice girl immediately apologized and located two cases of sodas in the Ocean Bar with dates in April. We bought all of them, and paid the difference. The funny thing is that with a drink card, you do not get the Mariner discount. The bargain is already built into that card, because the cost was $40, but it had a value of $50. Fair deal. The extra sodas were ½ off for us, as long as we bought them here, or through room service.
Tonight’s dinner was gala with a theme of Under the Sea. One of our favorite evenings, the decorations were blue and turquoise with centerpieces of seashell-filled vases with little “candles” in them. The seat covers were green and turquoise with matching napkins. When helium balloons were allowed, the decorations were a variety of fish, and most colorful. Back then, everyone walked away with the balloons to use in their rooms or decorating their hallway doors. Can’t say we miss that. All of that has been banned these days.
Anyway, we had the company of one of the navigation officers, a young fellow from the Netherlands. He brought the wine, and the three of us added the conversation. Barb was happy because she was in “caviar” heaven with several servings for one appetizer. This special treat has been barely seen on the menus so far. One of us had the surf and turf, minus the lobster. The other had chicken Caesar salad, with the alternate shrimp cocktail. But the surprise dessert was the best…..Slam had located the Hokey Pokey ice cream, and served all four of us a glass full. The officer, Casper, really liked the New Zealand treat.
The clocks went back ½ hour tonight, the first of the unusual time zones we will encounter as we circle the globe.
Bill & Mary Ann
