Sometime this afternoon, the Zuiderdam crossed the International Date Line. And we can prove it because we all received a certificate saying as much. At dinner this evening, we all agreed that we own enough of these documents to wallpaper a room in our homes. How lucky is that?
The day began rather bleak with overcast skies and rain at 7am. At breakfast, Captain Friso made a sweep through the upper dining room, chatting with the guests. We brought up the fact that the weather was so warm and muggy, that rain might be a good thing. He added that the extra high humidity was testing the air-conditioning system on the ship. Then we inquired about the recent flooding in Auckland, where we will be headed on February 2nd. We heard through the grapevine that the Noordam had ropes snapped from the extreme winds. He did admit that one of the ropes broke, but the ship was OK. Hope the weather improves as we would hate to miss that port.
During our morning stroll about the ship, we did spot one tropic bird. It must have been lost, because it disappeared within minutes. We kept watch for another sighting, but it never happened. Normally our veranda is cooler, but today with the following winds, we about melted out there. The day was saved when the rains began around 1pm, cooling the temperature about 10 degrees or more. Eventually the skies cleared the rest of the day was dry. Eventually, a few more birds appeared but they looked like shearwaters. They were so high and far away it was difficult to identify them.
The usual activities took place, especially promotional ones. Besides the Shops, there were deals to be found in the Fitness Center, Explorers Lounge, and the photo department. Did we mention that the Photo Gallery has gone back to the old way of displaying the pictures? Most of the desks that had the touch screen computers were removed during the dry dock in December. For the first time ever, we had one of the photographers taking shots of guests walking the promenade deck. He may have had a few takers, but that is not the place we consider ourselves looking the best. Especially today when we were sweating bullets.
Room service lunch included items from the noontime dining room lunch menu, as well as some from their regular menu. Their chicken noodle soup remains the best. Instead of a tablespoon of ingredients in the bottom of the bowl, their soup is loaded with diced veggies and plenty of spaghetti or vermicelli. And served hot as can be.
One of us ordered the chicken cordon bleu and one ordered the trout plate at dinner time. We'll have to remember to have the pork chop next time because even Barb ate the whole thing, unusual for her. Of course we teased her that unless she cleaned her plate, there would be no dessert. Boy, do we remember that from our childhood days or what? That must have been when the "clean your plate" syndrome was cemented in our heads.
We should be arriving to Tonga early tomorrow. Perhaps we will run into our fellow President's Club friend, Roselle again. We heard that she was on this cruise, but did not see her until we were in Papeete. She loves to walk in the port cities like we do, and credits her good tennis shoes that give her the ability to do it…even at 90 plus years old. The cute thing about the shoes is that they have to match the outfit of the day. And they sure do.
Bill & Mary Ann
