The sea swells have increased somewhat after leaving the Marquesas last night. The temperature today seemed a little cooler than yesterday, but that was only on the port side of the ship. Taking our morning walk, we discovered the starboard side was toasty. We are still heading in a southwesterly direction, but at a steeper angle now in layman's terms. The skies were mostly cloudy, but it did not rain today.
We got a run down of yesterday's Glamp Out from a breakfast buddy. Our friend had gone to the Lido for dinner around 6:30pm, and found there were few items left. Most of the dining room guests had opted to eat in the Lido and had cleaned out the buffet, then proceeded to fill the Lido pool area before 7pm. Figuring on locating a seat in the pool area, she found there wasn't even standing room. The lights had been dimmed to the point she could not find any friends. Trying to make the best of it, she searched for the appetizers only to find there were a few hot dog tid bits left over. In addition the music was loud, and not up her alley, so she left. Bet she ordered room service food for dinner. The way she described everything had the three of us laughing all through breakfast. The best part had to be seeing the hotel manager, Henk and a friend, rowing the canoe in the pool. Some more thought might have to go into the planning of such events.
We have not mentioned the laundry service yet, but so far, it has worked quite well. Yesterday we had turned in a bagful, and it was returned last night after dinner. Included was a note saying "We care for the clothes you wear. Thanks for letting us process your laundry." Isn't that a kick? Having complimentary service is such a wonderful perk. And this is the first world cruise we have done on this class of ship. The Amsterdam had a few self-service laundry rooms, where this ship has none. We believe this class of ship was designed for shorter cruises, where there was no demand for coin-operated washing machines and dryers. Sure don't miss those days when we did all of our laundry ourselves.
The usual activities took place today such as the Coffee Chat with Ian at 9am. Recently we had read that this chat time had been eliminated, but it is still happening in the Rolling Stone Lounge. We suspect that the Polynesian Cultural Ambassadors will be wrapping up their activities today and tomorrow. Once we hit Papeete, we will have several port days in a row, then head towards Tonga. Wonder if there will be a New Zealand Maori team boarding to take their place?
One of our friends had tested positive for Covid yesterday. He and his wife are the most cautious people we know with wearing masks, even when they were not mandated. Just goes to show you how contagious this virus can be. He is feeling better, and so far his wife is Covid-free, as they are tested daily. He has been quarantined in their room, but she is free to move around the ship. So far, we have not seen either of them, so she is sticking close to home. And we have noticed that more of the crew are putting their masks back on.
We tried some different items for dinner tonight. Italian wedding soup for one of us, and a frisée salad for the other. It has become quite obvious that the kitchen is running short of food items. One of those has to be the oranges for fresh-squeezed juice for breakfast. And the berries…..they are gone completely. And it just so happened that Stephen, the new head of restaurant operation stopped by our table tonight. He agreed that the orange juice was not up to the standards that it should be. To us, we would say it has been watered down, although Stephen says it is the quality of the fruit. With that said, starting tomorrow, there will be no more fresh orange juice for anyone. There may be a concentrate used, which would be 100% better. Or do like one of us did……order cranberry juice. Barb touched on the subject of the shrimp cocktail she ordered. It was actually tough, and another guest at our table said hers was watery and lacked flavor. He agreed that the quality may be inferior to what we are used to, but new deliveries will be arriving in Papeete, and he hopes to make up for the shortcomings. Stephen has a wonderful sense of humor and actually thanked us for our input. It is important that someone speaks up when it is a legitimate complaint. Like last night's cranberry sauce. It was suggested they purchase Ocean Spray cranberry sauce in cans, and he said that may be possible with Sydney's orders.
Anyway, we both ordered a very different version of tuna for our entrees. It was breaded and fried, then covered with a marinara sauce, served on a bed of rice and spinach. Very tasty, although one of us ordered it well done, it was still moist. Today happened to be one of our fellow President's Club member's birthday. Three years ago, he celebrated his 80th birthday while on the doomed 2020 world cruise. He had invited a group of friends that took over the lower center section of the dining room. When it came time for his cake, at least 100 waiters arrived to sing the special birthday song. A memorable occasion, it is something he will remember forever as we will too. Tonight, he was served his cake, which was supposed to be carrot cake, his favorite. He sent slices of red velvet cake to our table, but it wasn't quite the same. It's the thought that counts. And we guess the bakers ran out of carrots.
The clocks went back ½ hour this evening, putting us back to the full hour. One more day at sea, and we will be in Tahiti.
Bill & Mary Ann
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