Wishing everyone a very Happy Veteran's Day. In remembrance, we were given a poppy to wear as a lapel decoration to commemorate the Armed Forces Community.
Last night at 11:30pm, we heard a ship wide emergency call for the medical team that was needed for a passenger in the room next to us. Strange how people living around us can come and go, and we seldom if ever, see them. What impressed us was the speed and quietness of the medical team to arrive. It took maybe five minutes, and they were so quiet, if we had not heard the public address, we never would have known there was a problem. Of course, one of us peeked out the door hole, and did see an number of people in the hallway. But nothing more. They were all gone within 20 minutes. We sure hope all will be well with the guests.
The weather changed somewhat as we had cloudy skies this morning, cooling things off. The most noticeable difference was a welcomed drop in the thermometer by 10 degrees. It was 80 degrees on the veranda most of the day. Comfortable.
And during his noon talk, the Captain said the Zuiderdam had crossed the Equator before 9am this morning, and we are now sailing in the Northern Hemisphere. As we have primarily been sailing in a northerly direction , the clocks have not changed yet. We are currently 1 ½ hours ahead of Pacific Time.
And at 2pm, there was a King Neptune Ceremony held in the Lido pool area. Most everyone knows this is an old custom of turning Landlubbers into the order of Shellbacks. Many years ago, the passengers would volunteer to participate in the madness, but these days, only crew members can do this. We have seen dozens of these extravaganzas, but with Covid still a factor on the ship, we do not want to take any chances of catching it and going home sick. Not even to get a few photos from deck 10, where you have to jockey to get a spot at the railing. The serious folks get up there an hour earlier……but what else is new? Later in the evening, we all got signed certificates of the event. However, their choice of script was not the best for the majority of us that have problems reading the printing. It's the thought that counts….
The usual ship activities filled the afternoon, but the advertising was heavy on sales in the Shops. We will need to do this soon, since we have shipboard credit to spend.
Dinner was back in the dining room, where both maitre'd's asked where we have been. It's nice to know someone missed us, since we were gone for two days. Many various items have popped up on the menu. One of us tried the bean soup , which was similar to dos frijoles. Good and hot too. Sesame chicken strips were tasty with the sweet and sour sauce on them. Barramundi on a bed of hot risotto was nice, and the crispy fried chicken or KFC with mashed potatoes was equally good. Comfort food we call it. We were going to skip the carrot cake for dessert, but when we heard lemon sorbet, we each had one scoop. Several of the surrounding tables were empty, due to the Tamarind pop-up in the Pinnacle Grill we suspect. For that reason, we were done with our meals by 9pm, which was fine with us.
The entertainment tonight was a performance of the Jukebox Rogues, the Frankie Valle type of music. These fellows dined near us in the Pinnacle Grill a couple of nights ago, and we had to chuckle at how young they look, which they are. Or maybe we are getting older? Nah…..
The clocks went forward a full hour tonight, and now we only have the ½ hour to go.
Bill & Mary Ann
