Last night, we all received another letter stating that the Covid cases are on the rise on the ship. However, the masks are not required inside the ship, only recommended. Now we are concerned about the upcoming ports in Fiji and Tonga, as the letter indicated that each destination may require additional health protocols. One sentence buried in this healthy advisory said any one of us may be required to undergo testing for Covid at any time during this voyage. In our opinion, if one is tested, then we all should be tested. At 11am, Captain Frank came on the speakers stressing the importance of this entire warning.
It was really warm during our promenade deck walk this morning. Checking the veranda thermometer at 7:30am, it read 92 degrees. By 11 am, it was 94 degrees. The ship is doing a steady 10 knots with little winds. If anything, the winds are following us, making it uncomfortable. It has been nice stopping in the Ocean Bar for cokes to cool off. We are learning mixology tricks by watching bartender Ray mixing some complicated beverages. Especially the blended ones.
For a change, we attempted to order burgers from the dining room lunch menu. Since it was only 12:40pm, we understood that we could do this during the serving time. Well, it was a good idea, but when we phoned, we were put on hold……for 15 minutes. By the time we placed an order (if they ever answered the phone), the serving time would be over. So we gave up. If there is a trick to placing this kind of order, we sure do not know what it is. We ended up with our room service lunch at 2:30pm.
Captain Frank came on the general speakers once again after 5pm. But this time, it was an announcement that there is a medical emergency requiring a debark in Suva, Fiji. We had noticed that the ship had sped up, and we were doing 19 knots now. If we heard this correctly, we will be arriving to Suva tomorrow by 3pm, but anchoring. There is another ship docked there right now. Then at some point, the ship will be docked around 8pm. We are not sure if the Zuiderdam will be cleared for other guests to go off, but that late at night, we know that we would not go off.
In addition, we had been invited to a special President's Club cocktail party on Saturday in the Explorers Lounge at 5pm. Then by the afternoon, the time and location had changed. It will now be on deck 11 at the Retreat, but at 6pm. With all of the changes arriving early to the Suva port, we wonder if this party will still happen, since it involves many of the top officers.
Taking a late afternoon walk, we stayed on the promenade deck until the sun went down. It wasn't spectacular, but still nice. And it was still warm outside. As we were about to go back inside, a younger couple recognized us from the blog. They asked if we were the ones that have been doing that blog, and we said yes. Sure is nice to meet people this way, especially when they got some good hints for stashing stuff in their the room.
Dinner was a hard choice tonight. We had one marlin dish, which was good, and one lamb entrée that was so-so. The best part were the scalloped potatoes. Dessert was nice with an almond cake and a side of vanilla ice cream. No, the better part was finding out the clocks went back one hour tonight. This might be the last time we "go back".
So tomorrow will be mostly a sea day, with an overnight in Suva.
Bill & Mary Ann
