Remember when we had a few specials of the day in the dining room for breakfast? Well, that little notice was on our table his morning with a choice of a breakfast burrito or two Belgium waffles with special toppings. The daily menu is fixed, so it's nice to have some options. We have continued to enjoy the mimosas and cappuccinos.
During our morning walk, dolphins were spotted once again, but on the starboard side. Of course, we did not have the camera. Making another stop in the new library, one of us picked up an exchange book. That section had tripled in a few days, because many guests bring books with them. On the way to the elevators, we ran into a couple from Canada that we had met a year ago while on the Caribbean cruises. At that time, they had recognized us from our blog, and we chatted for a while. Turns out we have lots in common starting with knee problems and a shared interest in the outdoors and animals. What a combination. We will surely cross paths many times on this long trip.
We took a walk to the Seaview pool where we noticed a new ramp was created for walkers and wheelchairs. It ended at the two jacuzzis making it ADA compliant. This must have been added during the recent dry docking. Sitting nearby, were Barb and Greg. We joined them poolside and sipped ice cold lemonade. The tables were filling quickly because it was close to noon time and the folks were coming out with Lido food. Barb and Greg were meeting Heo in the dining room, where they share the same table on sea days.
Back at our room, we had a notice that we would be crossing the Equator today bringing us into the Southern Hemisphere. The actual King Neptune Ceremony will happen in March, when we cross it again. We have all been pardoned until then. Hmmmm, the last time we did that on the Tales of the South Pacific, we had nothing but driving rain most of the way back to San Diego. King Neptune was not so forgiving back then.
We had another small notice that a prorated credit had been applied to our shipboard accounts for the diminished internet during our 8 day crossing. We had discovered the credit yesterday, and felt it was fair. Other than losing the TV reception this morning, the internet was not completely gone. Trying the TV around 3pm, we found it had returned.
After lunch, we took another walk and returned the card with our next President's Club benefit of sodas. We get this every two weeks, which works out nicely. Also, we requested to have our air vent filters replaced. You would be surprised how much dust can collect in them. And this room has two of these vents. After dinner, we found a note saying the work had been done. That was quick.
This evening was the first "formal" evening for dinner. In fact it was named the "Captain's Dinner". A special menu was given and some of the larger tables were hosted by officers or staff. We had the pleasure of the company of the first electrical officer, Ben. Wine was provided for all, except those of us that requested diet Cokes instead. This is the first menu where we saw a charge if you ordered an extra entrée of surf and turf. If you preferred to have two orders, the charge was $7.50. We have seen guests order numerous lobster tails, so this was designed to stop that habit.
One of us ordered the salmon plate, while the other had tortellini with a filet mignon on the side. There was no charge for doing that. Crème brulee was on the dessert menu, but it turned out to be a small tart with a crust. Not exactly what we expected. We also shared a small slice of chocolate cheesecake, the better choice in our opinion.
Following dinner was the Zuiderdam Ball, which was done differently. It was not held in the Mainstage, but on the Music Walk on deck two. It spanned the Rolling Stone Lounge, Billboard Onboard, and the Ocean Bar. That began at 9pm and would last an hour where the dancing continued in the Rolling Stone Lounge. Since we were still eating dinner, we missed most of that activity as we usually always do.
Back in the room, we had two gifts of diaries for the world cruise as well as a towel animal, even though we did not ask for one. They are amusing. The better gift was setting the clocks back another hour, putting us on West Coast time we believe.
Bill & Mary Ann
No Pictures
