If it is a Sunday at sea, then it is Sunday Brunch Sampler Day. When we went to breakfast, we found the dining room had been converted to a palm tree forest, with green and gold hanging mobiles throughout the room. The chair covers were on and ready for both the brunch and the special Tropical Paradise Dinner this evening. Although we don't do the brunch, we heard it was delightful.
Today was a good one for activities that kept folks inside the ship. It was pretty hot outside for most, so there was no lack of things to do. The new Maori Cultural Ambassadors have begun their series of talks to educate those of us that have not visited New Zealand before. They are experts at story-telling, dancing, and singing.
An Australian guest chef has arrived by the name of Bella Jakubiak. Her port to table cooking show took place today in the Wajang. We believe that the guest chefs are now taking the place of the America's Test Kitchen, which we have had on the ships for a few years now. Some of the passengers have expressed disappointment with the change, but then, nothing lasts forever.
Speaking of changes, we are wondering what is happening with the flowers, or the lack of flowers onboard. Three of the atrium's large vases on deck five have been emptied, with no replacements. The orchids that are on each table in the Lido have about lost every one of their blossoms. And in the dining room, we have the tiniest vases or bowls with three flowers in them. But the kind that do not last long. Someone made the remark that eventually every ship in the fleet will go "flowerless". Perhaps silk flowers would be better than nothing.
We spent part of the day baking out back, almost alone at times. Only the smokers were outside as long as we were. We did have a breeze at the back railing, and wetting a towel does help. And the pool was refreshing, and just the way we like it……cool and almost empty of swimmers.
Since tomorrow's port of Rarotonga takes New Zealand dollars, we bought some at the front desk. Now we hope we will be able to tender there, because many times there is a deep swell that makes the tender boats hard to access from the ship's platform. We seem to remember that we missed this port last year. Or was that Niue? Or both. One thing for sure, is that Captain Jonathan will never use that alternate narrow landing that caused boat # 9 to land on top of the coral. Barb stills laughs about her adventure, since she was one of the lucky ones to be on that boat. But then, she was the unlucky one when that same tender boat was being fixed right in front of her cabin for 6 weeks afterwards. Since it had sustained significant damage with holes in the fiberglass, they dropped a blue tarp over her window, turning the room blue. Anyway, we hope for good weather and smooth seas in this Cook Island.
After lunch, we took a walk on deck three, but it was still pretty warm and sticky. We ended up in a pow-wow with friends, ending the walk, which was really better. We are all wondering when the President of HAL will be boarding the ship, and will he announce any changes in our itinerary due to the spread of coronavirus. This has been the question of every day recently.
The Station Band had their day off, so the folks that usually go to the Crow's Nest, came down to the Ocean Bar. There were many more dancers there tonight, and some of the dance tunes were country/western. We like that for a change, as it is timeless.
At 7:30pm, we went to the beginning of the show in the Mainstage. The singer was Australian Annie Frances, a familiar name for sure. She has been performing on the world cruise off and on for many years. And can she sing? You bet, she had the audience in the palm of her hand within the first couple of minutes, as she belted out the song, Joy to the World, from the 70's. Several more tunes followed, but we had to get ready for dinner.
So the tropical dinner had some good choices. The most fun one was the tropical burger with fries. On a bun with breaded onion rings to boot. One of us had the barramundi, which was also delicious. Lamb chops grilled with molasses on the side was the next best choice. Most of us stayed until 10pm, but for a change, the decorations were not coming down around our heads this time.
Hope we make it to shore tomorrow. If not, there is always Tonga.
Bill & Mary Ann
Monday, February 24, 2020
Report # 109 Day at Sea February 23, 2020 Sunday Mostly sunny & 83 degrees
