Today was to be a day at sea with scenic cruising. Yesterday Captain Friso had mentioned that the weather can turn-on-a-dime in Alaska, and he was correct. We woke up to a gloomy, grey, and overcast morning with the rain eventually falling by 10am. On the other hand, we did spot some jumping porpoises while eating breakfast. If we had been a little earlier, we may have gotten seats at the window, but we were at a tiny table for two, same as last night. For sure, tomorrow we will be first in line when the doors open at 7:30am, and request a larger table.
After breakfast, we went to pay a visit to Shiv, our favorite Head of Housekeeping. His office is more spacious than the one he shared with his colleagues on the Amsterdam. They were deep into computer work, but took the time to welcome us. Feels more like being home knowing so many nice officers and crew members. Shiv mentioned that the HAL tote bags had arrived and would be sent to our room. We thanked him for the follow-up. Our next stop was to see Henk, but he was there one minute, then gone the next. He probably has one of the most demanding jobs on the ship. We shall hunt him down soon.....we know where he lives now on deck one.
The next job was to go to the front desk and inquire about the incorrect charges. There was no question that our Canaletto dinners were complimentary, and she promised to send that message to the accounting team.
It was such a drippy day, we skipped the promenade walk, and went back to the room to work on emails and the blog. We had a nice room service lunch of salads and sandwiches. Today the potato chips were not crumbs, like someone sat on the bag. Eventually, the rain let up and stopped.
The sun appeared around 3:30pm while we watched for wildlife. We had some eagle sightings while sailing the Inside Passage, and later on, there was a pod of porpoise swimming in circles as they fed on fish we assume. Then the parade of ships began. First was the Eurodam, which passed us going the opposite way. Next was the Celebrity Millennium, followed by the NCL, possibly the Sun. On closer look, it was the Bliss. They were all heading back to either Vancouver or Seattle, like horses going back to a barn.
This evening's dress code was "Dressy" or what we like to call "Gala", which used to be "Formal". We went formal, and did not feel out of place. The new passengers dressed accordingly, at least from where we could see from the upper dining room. A waiter we have known for many grand cruises, Heru, came over to say hi. He must have been at the back of the restaurant, and just got moved up where we are. He shared more info on his friends that left for other cruise lines. Many of them had no choice.
For dinner we had one salad, and one very hot French onion soup. Nice on a cool day. Then our mains were one stuffed ricotta cheese shells and lamb chops. Both were quite small servings, but adequate. Now for desserts, our waiter brought one of each....Baked Alaska, and two types of cakes. Good thing they were small portions, since we finished all three. On our way out of the dining room, we asked Johnnie, the head waiter, how many passengers were sailing on this 7 day voyage. He said 1700. From Vancouver to San Diego, there will be about 1000 (maybe more if they can market it), and 1600 on the Tales of the South Pacific. Those are all good numbers.
Best news of the day - the clocks went back one hour to be on Alaska time. Works for us.
After breakfast, we went to pay a visit to Shiv, our favorite Head of Housekeeping. His office is more spacious than the one he shared with his colleagues on the Amsterdam. They were deep into computer work, but took the time to welcome us. Feels more like being home knowing so many nice officers and crew members. Shiv mentioned that the HAL tote bags had arrived and would be sent to our room. We thanked him for the follow-up. Our next stop was to see Henk, but he was there one minute, then gone the next. He probably has one of the most demanding jobs on the ship. We shall hunt him down soon.....we know where he lives now on deck one.
The next job was to go to the front desk and inquire about the incorrect charges. There was no question that our Canaletto dinners were complimentary, and she promised to send that message to the accounting team.
It was such a drippy day, we skipped the promenade walk, and went back to the room to work on emails and the blog. We had a nice room service lunch of salads and sandwiches. Today the potato chips were not crumbs, like someone sat on the bag. Eventually, the rain let up and stopped.
The sun appeared around 3:30pm while we watched for wildlife. We had some eagle sightings while sailing the Inside Passage, and later on, there was a pod of porpoise swimming in circles as they fed on fish we assume. Then the parade of ships began. First was the Eurodam, which passed us going the opposite way. Next was the Celebrity Millennium, followed by the NCL, possibly the Sun. On closer look, it was the Bliss. They were all heading back to either Vancouver or Seattle, like horses going back to a barn.
This evening's dress code was "Dressy" or what we like to call "Gala", which used to be "Formal". We went formal, and did not feel out of place. The new passengers dressed accordingly, at least from where we could see from the upper dining room. A waiter we have known for many grand cruises, Heru, came over to say hi. He must have been at the back of the restaurant, and just got moved up where we are. He shared more info on his friends that left for other cruise lines. Many of them had no choice.
For dinner we had one salad, and one very hot French onion soup. Nice on a cool day. Then our mains were one stuffed ricotta cheese shells and lamb chops. Both were quite small servings, but adequate. Now for desserts, our waiter brought one of each....Baked Alaska, and two types of cakes. Good thing they were small portions, since we finished all three. On our way out of the dining room, we asked Johnnie, the head waiter, how many passengers were sailing on this 7 day voyage. He said 1700. From Vancouver to San Diego, there will be about 1000 (maybe more if they can market it), and 1600 on the Tales of the South Pacific. Those are all good numbers.
Best news of the day - the clocks went back one hour to be on Alaska time. Works for us.
Bill & Mary Ann
