It could not have been a lazier day for us, which is really nice. The hardest question of the day was trying to figure out the reason that the planned clocks ahead one hour was cancelled last night. According to the world time on our devices, there should be an hour difference from Recife to Rio. Even the GPS watch adjusted to the hour ahead, then later on, corrected itself. So we are wondering if Brazil has daylight savings time, and if so, is it spring ahead or fall back? If the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, then this might explain it. Henk even sent notes to everyone advising us to disregard the notice in the When & Where, adding that we need not worry as they'll do the worrying for us. OK with us.
At breakfast time, we asked Asep, one of the longtime supervisors, how many passengers were on the ship at the moment. He said 1212, but not all were full cruisers. A small number of folks are segment travelers, but those that disembark will never exceed 20. From what he said, this is unprecedented on a grand world cruise. Now we are hoping that the demand does not result in higher fares in the future.
The weather was most pleasant today, with a slight drop in the humidity. Hope this continues, as it makes the heat a lot more tolerable. Going to the aft pool, we discovered once again that there was a spattering of sun bathers outside. Sure it was breezy, but that kept us cooled off. The only thing we noticed was that someone made a mistake and put on some Christmas music. That is almost as bad as starting up the holiday music the day after Halloween.
Deciding on a Dive-In Grill lunch, we ordered our burgers and brought them down to our room. They really are good, and kept us from snacking later in the afternoon. Two lectures had taken place today, so we took the time to listen to both of them while eating. One was all about overland shore excursions, which we have done most of them on our own, or with our former travel group. After seeing the prices of some of these tours, we were so glad we had done them several years ago, when they were still affordable. The second talk was on Rio de Janeiro, which is coming up Sunday. We have visited this vibrant city several times, and have taken tours there. From what we gathered, some new construction around the pier area has made walking to town much easier, and hopefully….safer. Well, it may not be that new, but the last time we stopped here was in 2012. Much can change in 8 years, and probably for the better. We have not made definite plans for the two day stay there, but will play it by ear.
We recently had a question regarding dining on local cuisine in these countries. One of us has a serious food allergy, so if we are not sure of the ingredients, and if there is a language problem, we will not take any chances. If we do not recognize the dish or the food or sauces used in it, we will pass on it every time.
Greg has been attending the port to table demos in the Wajang Theater on sea days. At the moment, we have a Brazilian chef by the name of Leticia Moreinos. She will have a special dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, and also does the sip and savor in the Explorer's Lounge at 4:30pm with a $7 charge. When we had the America's Test Kitchen hostess, that activity became quite popular. By the way, we have also noticed that the Country Cooking shows are no longer on the TV. Now we are enjoying the Food Channel series of chefs. HGTV also amuses us, and is a nice change from the constant news.
Tonight's dinner in the dining room was Gold, Glitz & Gleam Gala. Mobiles of streaming gold foil decorated the ceiling. We're not sure why, but many folks like to take these decoration to their rooms. Yeah, we have done the same with some of the cuter things like the fish balloons from Under the Sea. Towards the end of the evening, some of the ladies were wearing the gold sequined table runners, and some were wearing the streamers in one fashion or another. We say…whatever floats your boat….
Our entrees were petrole sole, and one order of a pumpkin filled ravioli. Now that was different, but really good for a change. Vanilla soufflé was the most popular dessert, while one of us had the most delicious fresh pineapple slices.
We had just enough time to catch the last half of the show, which was a piano showman by the name of Tim Abel. Obviously from England, he played a mean piano. But the best had to be his rendition of a Liberace song, Chopsticks. That sure brought back memories for most everyone in the audience, especially one of us who began playing that tune on the piano when she was eight years old.
Gifts awaited us in our room. We received two pocket-sized external battery packs, Ten Four 20 by Origaudio, capable of charging three electronic devices at one time. And as with all of the gifts, the 2020 Grand World Voyage was printed on them.
One more day at sea, and we will be in Rio.
Bill & Mary Ann
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Report #72 Day at Sea January 17, 2020 Friday Mostly sunny & 78 degrees
