Today began heavily overcast with slight seas, a gentle swell, and rain predicted. The temperature was 84 degrees at 11 am, but would eventually cool down due to passing squalls. We even had some thunder and lightning on this special day of crossing the Equator at the Prime Meridian or 0 degrees North 0 degrees East. But more on that later.
The King Neptune Ceremony took place at 10am in the Lido poolside with many onlookers. A maritime tradition, those in charge had skipped this event the first time the Zuiderdam crossed the line back on January 16th. The usual shenanigans took place, but as always, it was the crew members only used as the pollywogs and the shellbacks. And not to be missed was the "kiss the fish" penalty with the ugliest fish that could be found. Within an hour after the event, we received personalized certificates proving we did it…….once again.
The more interesting fact about this event today was that we would also be crossing the Prime Meridian at the exact same point as the Equator. Try as we might, we could not locate the Ocean Data Acquisition System Weather Buoy, which is named the "Soul". It is supposed to be permanently anchored at those co-ordinates, but we never spotted it. Captain Frank reached these precise co-ordinates at 11:14am then he blew the horn. Now just for fun, we suspect, he stopped the ship and turned until we reached a four corners situation. He was able to position the ship where it was in four difference zones at the same time. This was quite a trick to get the portside on the west side of the Prime Meridian, and the starboard side on the east side of it. In addition, the bow of the ship was in the Northern Hemisphere, above the Equator, while the aft section was in the Southern Hemisphere, below the Equator. When the numbers were exact, he blew the horn again. How cool was that?
Perhaps the excitement in the Captain's activities today will help lift the heavy mood that has descended among the troops (the guests). The more we talk to many of our long- time fellow cruisers, the more we are hearing the disappointment with their comments regarding the changes with this world cruise. The general consensus is that the heart and soul of the experience has been taken out of the equation. With the recent health issues affecting so many people, the mood has dropped even more. We agree with everyone that the wonderful crew has been over-the-top with their attempt to please everyone, but they can only do so much. It's not their responsibility to carry the load. Perhaps being on a different ship has some of the longtime guests feeling off as this particular class of ships is not as conductive to seeing people as being on the Amsterdam, for instance. It's a hard thing to put your finger on all of the reasons, we just know that many folks are not coming back to next year's grand voyage. HAL has come out with more voyages that are of a longer duration, and that is appealing to many of these seasoned cruisers.
Despite the fact that the dining service has returned to normal (more or less), more guests are becoming ill. We are hearing many conflicting stories about the source of this illness, which was originally explained as a derivative of the Noro-virus. Now the scuttlebutt has it that the bug is bacterial, such as a type of food poisoning. At least three of our close friends have been treated with different antibiotics to combat the symptoms. Something like E-coli comes to mind, God forbid. For the first time ever, we all got a notice tonight that some of the ships fresh fruits and vegetables have been reduced (or eliminated) in an abundance of caution for the health and well-being of all onboard. Are they saying we have been sickened by eating local produce that was tainted when received in some of the last ports? That would not be the first time this happened on a cruise ship. Princess comes to mind over 20 years ago, when contaminated lettuce was the culprit. And the source happened to be the Imperial Valley in California.
So we will have to do without some of the usual fare until we reach the southern part of Europe at the beginning of April. Of course, we are to continue with the compliance with the health and safety protocols……..washing hands and sanitizing frequently. Don't have to tell us twice.
Both Greg and Heo were at dinner tonight, as were the rest of us including Susie, Woody, and Barb. Heo had been ill for six days, and Greg 5 days. It was nice having them back, but they are still being quite careful with any community food such as the crudites and rolls. For dinner tonight, one of us ordered the salad made with kos, a different type of lettuce. It came with romaine, not kos. Hmmmm, wonder if that was one of the contaminants? They will never tell us. Mains were fish for both of us…one everyday salmon and one hake with mussels and clams on the side. Both were good as Nik our waiter said they would be. No bones, no smell….that's all we ask. Now that the fresh fruit has dwindled down to slices of mango and melon, we both ordered the lemon jello. By the way, there were even fewer diners this evening, but then they may have over-done it at the Lido Seafood Lunch today. Greg and Heo said it was really nice for a change.
The entertainer this evening was Naomi Tagg, the violinist, performing a brand new show. Only the guys were going tonight as they have missed this favorite activity of theirs.
Tomorrow's port is Takoradi, Ghana, a new one for us and many others.
Bill & Mary Ann
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