Instead of improving, it seemed that the sea conditions got increasingly worse. By this morning, we were really rocking and rolling. And it was only 6am, or was it? Turning on the navigation channel on the TV, we learned that it was 5am, because the clocks went back last night, and no one told us. If it was in the Captain’s PM talk, we must have missed it. And our new room steward had not left the reminder card on our bed last night. Lesson learned. All we had to do was check today’s When & Where to find the time change listed right below the sunrise/sunset section. The only good thing was not having to get up yet.
There were far fewer regulars in the dining room for breakfast. Understandable, since it was hard even walking here. No kidding, the seas were choppy with waves as high as 20 feet. At one point during the day, we checked the navigational channel once again to find that we were experiencing a force 9 on the Beaufort scale. Speaking of that scale, the Beaufort is a numbering system for wind velocity. Devised in 1805 by Sir Francis Beaufort, a hydrographer in Britain’s Royal Navy, the 12 velocities became known as the “force” on the Beaufort scale. In 1874, it was accepted internationally as the official means of recording wind velocity. So when we saw a force 11 appear, we knew that was 64-73 mph winds – a violent storm, extremely high waves, froth and foam, and poor visibility. Hope to never see a force with 73 plus winds, with hurricanes, huge waves, thundering white spray, and visibility nil.
This was the first day we did not attempt a walk outside, mostly due to the spray coming off of the waves and landing on the promenade deck windows. After getting some emails done, it was time for lunch with Barb. We all felt bad for the waiters, who were having a hard time keeping the glasses and plate ware from falling off their station counters. Serving people was also a challenge, but the fellows all did well. We stayed long enough to hear the Captain report that theses swells would continue until midnight, making tonight’s festivities a bit more challenging.
There was a Mariner Society cocktail reception this evening, with the first one at 4:15pm in the Mainstage. Ours was at 6:30pm, where we were invited along with our fellow President’s Club members to enter the lounge, stage left. Going through the receiving line with the Captain, Hamish, Christel and Henk, we were seated in the center section of the lounge. So much better than where we were situated last year in the corner section. Each of us had a tower of special appetizers, and a flute of pink champagne. It could have been called Tattinger’s. A bartender offered us drinks, which have always been delivered. However, tonight, one of us could not get the name brand scotch always given without question. The waiter (unknown to us) had not talked to the beverage managers, but once we had a conversation with the beverage manager, the cocktail arrived within seconds. Other than that, this awards show was handled way better than in the past. It has been stream-lined to make things fit into the time slot of one hour. Every awardee received their new medal ahead of time in their room, then during the ceremony, they had their names called one after the other. They lined up for photos with the Captain and hotel director. It went much quicker and smoother.
We were all present for the final gala dinner, and also has a host, Timothy, the officer of food and beverage safety. Although he happened to be our very first host on this cruise back in January, we learned much more about the job he does on the ship. A newly-created position, Tim has come from Carnival Cruise Lines to HAL to keep every department on their toes in regards to safety with food, etc. During the course of the evening, we all gave him plenty of hints about what we all have witnessed with violations of food and health safety on this ship. Since it is his job to keep everyone healthy, he welcomed all the scenarios we presented to him.
The show tonight featured a sassy humorist pianist by the name of Judy Carmichael. A familiar face, we have seen her on other world cruises in the recent past. She is most talented, drawing a big crowd.
And for the final time this cruise, we put the clocks back one more hour. Now we are on Eastern time, the same as Florida. And the seas remained rough even at 11 pm this evening.
Bill & Mary Ann
