The first full day at sea was a nice one. The weather was pleasant, although not too warm yet. The seas have been mostly smooth with occasional rolling, which we normally do not notice. Located five decks above our usual room, the motion of the ocean is much more pronounced. It does contribute to sleeping well, like being rocked in a cradle.
Breakfast was at table 179 in the lower dining room. It had been promised to us when we left the ship in June, following the tradition of the last several years. We were joined by two other couples that also shared these tables in this section during the 2019 world cruise. Nice to have familiar company and the service of a most popular waiter, Gan and his assistant.
Of course, we headed for the lower promenade deck for a morning walk. It did not last too long because it was quite chilly on the starboard side. At 10am, there was a Cruise Critic meeting in the Crow's Nest. Surprisingly, there was a pretty big crowd there today, which rivaled the size of the world voyage. The rules began with the announcement that this meeting would not be consumed with the private shared excursions. They could meet elsewhere for those. And we might add that no staff members or officers attended that we could see. They have long since adhered to that, with a few exceptions, mostly due to the fact that are too many groups these days. Cookies, coffee, and juices were still provided. We stayed a short time, because we had more jobs to do.
One of those jobs was to straighten out our shipboard account, which was not accessible on our computer. Somehow the information had been switched with our names. At the front desk, a new fellow attempted to help us, but when Cynthia came over, we were most happy to have her take charge. Now we are able to track our account again. The most important thing was that all of our credits had been posted correctly. And one nicer thing is that the tips have been included this time, due to a short-time promotion offered months ago.
Shipboard activities began in earnest today, with the highlights aimed at everything Hawaiian, naturally. Lei making, hula dancing, and ukulele lessons were on the program. By the way, the format has changed for the When & Where pamphlet. A tri-fold paper, it has a detailed itinerary of the day, with no ads. Dining and service hours are posted on the back, with a few ads back there as well. A separate narrow sheet is included with the ads of the day. Simplified and less paper, which seems to be the direction HAL is headed in the way of conservation.
Another 2 week planner pamphlet had daily entertainment in the Mainstage….yes, there still are shows happening here at 7:30 and 9:30pm. An interesting message was included saying that only one companion seat could be reserved before the show commenced. Another hint was that the early diners attend the late show, while the late eaters go early. Also the gala evenings (only four on this cruise) are marked on this calendar. The backside had four of the top officers onboard which is the Captain, Jeroen Schuchmann, the Hotel Director, Henk Mensink, the Chief Engineer, Pieter Jacob Engels, and the Cruise Director, Justin Ross Southard. The specialty restaurants are advertised, and we heard that the prices may have gone up. Will check that out.
After catching up on computer work, we went to lunch in the dining room. After all, they were serving meatballs and spaghetti, a favorite dish for one of us. It was salads, one with skewered lamb, and one plain. We noticed regular and raw sugar in bottles now, along with the packets of non-sugar sweeteners. Saving on paper again. And there were no vases of flowers on the tables, although that might be reserved for the grand voyages. In the evening, the little lamps are the decorations now.
During the first happy hour at 4pm, we took over the large chairs on the railing, and listened to the new band that joined yesterday. They were good, and drew a crowd. Also gave us a chance to meet up with more friends that have begun their long journey, combining three or more cruises, which will end in mid-May. And for those that would like to know, there was also another happy hour at 6:30pm. Not sure if the second drink was still $2, as it appears that all of the beverages have gone up a bit in price.
We had to wait until 6pm to pay a visit to the internet guru. There was a glitch with something, preventing signing in. It had something to do with being here this year on the grand cruise, and their system said someone else had our exact email address. Well yes, that was us. This has occurred before, but they are always capable of figuring it out. In the meantime, it gave one of us time to search out a few books to read from the library. No need to check any of them out, because there is no librarian that we could see.
Passing by the Pinnacle Grill, we encountered the manager, who is not Tina. She will be returning in January we were told. Anyway, we will need to come here to make our 10 reservations before the available dates are filled. She said there will be Sel De Mer, sommelier, and various specialty dinners taking place, so we will need to go in between those. Can't wait for the clothesline bacon! So good…….
Dinner time came right after we enjoyed watching an excellent sunset from the veranda. We do hope it is the beginning of many more to come. The entrees we ordered were prime rib and halibut. Both were delicious and portioned conservatively. We were raised with "clean your plate" syndrome, so less is better in our case. We did share a fruit sundae for dessert. Our table for two is nice, because we are finished in an hour or so. Among the several visitors to our table was Philip, who informed us that Presti will be coming back to the Amsterdam as the dining room manager for the world cruise. What great news. Ronald has returned to his favorite job as manager of the Lido.
The show in the Mainstage was guitarist Louie Shelton, but we passed. We would have an hour to stroll around, and figured hitting the hay earlier would be a better idea. Back in the room, we discovered we had been given one very useful HAL tote with a new design and waterproof fabric. On this year's world cruise, there were no totes gifted, at least where we lived. And the first of the towel animals appeared on the bed. Although we do like them, we wrote our room steward a note that he can pass on making them for us, freeing up some of his precious time.
Bill & Mary Ann
