Day one at sea found the sun shining and the temperatures in the low 80's. Eventually that rose to a sticky 90 degrees on our veranda. How long this will last, who knows?
Pinnacle Grill breakfast will be at 8am every day now until we leave. Except sometimes the staff will open the doors early, and those who arrive on time will not get their usual table. Not that we have assigned seating, but it seems that some folks do. The only tables we do not prefer are the tables for two. There is barely room for the plates and cups, let alone all of the extras.
There was a Mariner Event for a medium-sized number of guests who received their gold (500 days) medallions and also the platinum (700 days) medallions. As expected, there are several more folks on this longer trip that have more days sailed compared to a 7 day cruise in Alaska. The gathering was held in the Rolling Stones Lounge (formerly BB King's) at 10:30am. Greeted by Captain Frank, Henk M. and Ian, the President's Club people were seated in the booths on the upper level. Howard joined us as he usually does. Fancy canapes and beverages arrived instantly.
Starting with gold medal awardees (sounds like the bag of flour), each person or couple were draped with the medallions, but not by the Captain or Henk. Michelle and Melissa from guest relations did the honors, but remained masked. The white-ribboned platinum people were next, and there were more than we usually see. Ian kind of accidently called some folks out of order, due to his notes being stapled incorrectly. Anyway the platinum medallion was a big level, since now they are halfway there to the highest level. Then all fourteen of the President's Club members were introduced according to their number of pure sea days, beginning with 1400 days. We were last with the most days sailed. But who's counting? At this point, it really doesn't matter. The perks are the same and well worth the long wait to get them. Everyone had their photos taken as they always do.
We heard there were two more sessions….one at 1pm and the final one at 6:30pm. That is a lot of folks earning those medallions and pins as well.
Here is an amusing story regarding our session with the medallions. Knowing that it was a fancier affair, we changed to suitable clothing, like what we wear for casual dinner. After all, we would get another photo, and this time we didn't want to be in shorts. Well, one single very elderly man came dressed in black and white polka dot boxer shorts or perhaps a swimsuit. Polka dots? Isn't that something a woman would wear? He was also wearing a baseball cap, as we have seen him going to dinner in the dining room that way at night. We watched Henk's face to see if he reacted with this fellow standing between him and the Captain, actually draping his arms over their shoulders no less. Lucky for him, Henk could keep from laughing. Just last night at the special dinner, we had brought up the subject with Henk concerning the dress code, or the lack of. Henk agreed there are some folks that don't get it, but that might change. At least for the upcoming grand world voyage. There will be formal, dressy, and casual evenings in an attempt to get back to the tradition that used to make cruising special. We do hope that happens, and for the most part, the long-time cruisers tend to go that way.
We worked on downloading photos and catching up on reports like all morning. Then we took a needed break for a walk outside. The regulars were back on the promenade lounges enjoying the nice breeze. Some were trying the wi-fi, but we are not sure it was working well yet. It has been spotty and slow, but better than nothing.
Time for drinks in the Ocean Bar, we visited with a nice young couple from Canada. We got into a conversation regarding the dress code, and they agreed about the lack of respect with some folks. They also like the dressy nights, since most of us do not do this at home.
Yesterday, we were given paper Mache orange poppies to wear for Veteran's Day tomorrow. In the past, the poppies were in a pin form, but these are nice too. In addition, in today's program, there was a Happy Birthday message to the Marine Corp.
We had failed to read the program this morning, so we missed picking up our passports on our floor at 10am. Later in the day, one of us went with the passport receipts to the front desk and picked them up. Many others had done the same thing, so there was a line.
A few days ago, we had changed a Pinnacle dinner date with tonight, since it was a Tamarind pop-up. The change of date was verbal, but somehow it did not get recorded. When we appeared at 8pm, we could tell by the look on the manager's face, that something had fallen through the cracks. However, they had a nice booth in the corner, and seated us immediately apologizing all the way. Not a problem, we like the booth for a change.
Our meal was excellent and hot. Warm breads were served along with our favorite wedge salads. One of us ordered the halibut, and the other had the lamb chops. The fish was flaky and moist, and the chops were the best ever. Ordering one dessert, our waitress Trusty brought a plate with 2 scoops just in case we want to share. She was right, we shared.
Around 9pm, we saw a parade of waiters going down the hallway with trays of chocolate goodies. It was the Chocolate Surprise that lasted for ½ hour. We were surprised to see how many people lined the hallway to grab the chocolate treats as the waiters passed by. The chocolate disappeared in an instant. We both like chocolate, but one of us has a problem sleeping at night if consuming too much of the dark chocolate…the best kind.
Another ending of a nice day at sea.
Bill & Mary Ann
