Something was different when we went to breakfast this morning. The entrance to the lower dining room was decked out Indonesian-style. Our waiters yesterday mentioned that the menu was Indonesian Rijsttafel, but what we did not realize, it was going to be similar to the sea day Sunday buffets on the world cruise. In other words, every item would be served in small portions from the extensive menu. The dining room chairs were festively dressed with dark red and white chair covers, and matching runners were added to each table after breakfast was over. Denise and Howie did attend the lunch and said it was wonderful. All of the waiters dressed in their native clothing for this special one hour meal. If they repeat it, we will go. If not on this cruise, then perhaps the next one.
Around 10:30am, the Lido Pool was turned into a Marketplace with drink specials, music, booths, towel folding demos, raffles and sales, of course. Bargains started at $10 and up, which seems to bring the wise shoppers out. The good thing about these affair are that they draw people away from the Seaview pool. For that reason, there were fewer folks baking their hides out there today. We also figured that many of yesterday's sunbathers got too much sun, and stayed out of it today. What they missed were a few bouts of sprinkles, which actually felt good. Normally, when you see a few drops, you need to gather your things and run for cover. Rain can turn torrential in seconds. Today, the navigation crew steered around the worst of it, and we escaped getting soaked. The nice thing is that we had more of a breeze today…most welcomed.
Port talks are already on Fiji, followed with the shore excursions desk opened for booking tours. No need to stand in line at the desk to book these organized trips now, as you can fill out a form and put it in their box, or do it with the Navigator site on your computer or cell phone.
We had been gifted two $25 beverage cards from our travel agency, so we have been buying bottles of Vitamin water at the Explorations Café. Today we used the last of the balance, but still had a little left. The girl behind the counter said since nothing cost $1.40, we could not buy anything else. So we asked to add one more bottle of water, and we would put the balance on our shipboard account. Made sense to us, but she could not do it, saying that our card had the discount attached to it, and she could not do that. In her mind, we would lose that amount. Yes, it was not a lot of money, but there had to be a way to utilize the entire amount. And there was….. We were already on our way to the Ocean Bar to listen to the band, which just happened to be the 6:30pm Happy Hour. We asked the waitress if we could order two sodas in cans (unopened), and use the card along with the shipboard card. Of course, she said with a smile. And it did work just fine. She even brought us a jar of peanuts. So it pays to ask.
Dinner was good again. One of the seafood entrees was monkfish, something neither of us has ever tried. Denise had looked it up online, and when she found a photo of the actual fish, it was more than off-putting. What a strange-looking creature. So when we asked our waiter, Tama, if he recommended it, he shook his head and reported that it might not be the best choice. That was enough for us, so it was salmon and chicken cordon bleu. Both were excellent, but the chicken was the best. It was not the "I wonder if this is frozen?" chicken, but made in the kitchen from scratch chicken cordon bleu. Dining room manager, Hadi admitted it was a new recipe, and once again, it was a winner. Good thing we will be in a port tomorrow to get more exercise walking to burn off these calories.
The clocks went back one hour tonight, and we think that Friday, the 15th, will not exist, since we will be observing the crossing of the international dateline.
Bill & Mary Ann
