It sure came as a surprise to us that sometime during the evening, the ship had to turn around and head back to Aruba. Apparently, one seriously ill passenger was disembarked. This was announced during breakfast in Club Orange, where we had trouble hearing it. Why is it that when an announcement comes on, people decide to talk or push their chairs out making a huge racket? Anyway, the Captain repeated the message, because their PA system had failed. The story was that due to the detour, our arrival to Ft. Lauderdale would be delayed by several hours. Not a problem for us, but definitely one for those with early flights and other related plans. We would learn more details later this morning.
The next job of the day was to show up for another Covid test in the Half Moon Room on deck one at 9:30am. The line snaked around the atrium sculpture, whatever that may be. For the size of this ship, the conservative atrium piece of art cannot compare to the Astrolabe we enjoyed on the Amsterdam. We had two favorite armchairs across from that Astrolabe, and spent hours while listening to the Ocean Bar band, trying to figure out how it worked. Truthfully, we never did, since it was so complicated.
Anyway, the test today was the least intrusive with the swabbing, and there was no follow up phone call in our room later on. All good news. Did we mention that there are over 260 in transit guests? The largest number yet.
We were good to go to the next invite – the Mariner's Recognition Event at 11am at the Billboard Onboard. In the receiving line, we saw a familiar face (despite her mask). It was Michelle from the front desk crew (guest relations), who has sailed on many of our cruises over the years. So nice she remembered us. She told us this is her first assignment since 2020, and was quite happy to be back to work. The next greeter was Rene, the hotel director, who told us that sadly, the new President's Club inductees had been sent home yesterday while we were in the port of Aruba, but it was not related to Covid.
After the medals were awarded and photos were taken, Rene joined our smaller PC group, along with a nice trivia friend of Howard and Gyl's. Howard had brought his bags of popcorn once again, since none was brought onto the ship again. We all sure got a big laugh out of that one. We did thank Rene for returning the pillow chocolates to us nightly. Anyway, Rene was most forth-coming with the details of yesterday's detour. The decision to turn around was made at 10pm, and by then, the ship had sailed for 5 hours towards Ft. Lauderdale. By the time the transfer was made in Aruba with the ill guest, it was 4:30am or so. Now we need to make up that time that was lost, which really is not totally possible. Our arrival was estimated at 11am on Sunday, but only if we can pull in the stabilizers and maintain a speed of 22 knots. Having the current in our favor wouldn't hurt. No doubt, we are feeling the motion of the ocean as we head back.
And the details of a later arrival will be complicated with the loading of provisions, as well as the bunkering of fuel. That takes time, and will be a factor as to how late we will leave the port on Sunday. We do have two sea days to get to St. Maarten, so that is a plus.
Rene had some funny stories, one of which took the cake. While working on a smaller cruise ship, a favorite captain we both know was sailing in a remote but hot part of the world. He came upon a lone sailboat, and someone made a decision to surprise the people with a bottle of champagne. So getting into a skiff, they dressed up and took the bottle with a napkin to serve the beverage. Little did they know when they approached the sailboat, two people popped up totally naked. The surprise was on them! Not sure how the story ended, but it sure got a roaring laugh from all of us.
Back in or room, we had two more Delft tiles, more keepsakes of sailing on the N. Statendam.
Spending most of the day inside, we were not able to use our veranda or walk on the promenade deck. Going so fast, the spray from the waves along with the wind and passing showers, kept everything dripping wet. Checking out the shops onboard, we found nothing new had been added since we boarded in December. The guests have begun shopping now since there is only today and tomorrow to do so.
The casino looked busy, especially the gaming tables, which are located off of the beaten path. These are the high rollers that have booked as a group on special fares according to what we heard. It is possible that they are having good luck, and signed up for the following cruise.
This evening was the final gala night with the special menu. Every evening, we have a standing order of crudites, which includes sliced carrots, celery, and cucumbers. On the side are artichoke hearts, green olives, and hearts of palm. Those are ALL mine, as Bill does not care for them. So our veggie requirements are taken care of for the day. Shrimp cocktails with the red sauce, and salad and soup were our appetizers. Both of us ordered the prawns and tenderloin, all quite tasty. Desserts were chocolate chip and vanilla ice cream.
One more sea day, and we will be back in Florida…..just later than originally planned.
Bill & Mary Ann
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Report # 87 At Sea Enroute to Ft .Lauderdale, Florida Monday - March 14, 2022 Light rain With Periods Of Sun Shine 79 degrees
