Remember when we all complained about the extreme heat and high humidity we experienced in places like Angola and The Gambia? Well, here we are at the other end of the spectrum with temperatures in the 40's. Not only cold, we are in an area that has produced passing showers, winds at 45 knots, and up to 16 foot sea swells.
During his noontime talk, Captain Frank gave us all of the details of why the port of Brest, France had to be cancelled. He reiterated that due to the conditions we are having now, it would not be safe to access the coast of France. He also apologized for the rolling and pitching of the ship, which may be causing some folks to be seasick. He did promise that going the speed we are going (16 knots), he is providing the most comfortable sailing possible. The plans are still in place to anchor off of the port of Weymouth, England tomorrow afternoon, then wait until a berth is available to dock the ship. Currently, we heard that there is a cargo ship in our spot, and we have to wait until it is unloaded.
We went down to deck three to take our sea day walk. However, every exit was roped off. Obviously, it is considered dangerous to walk outside, although we did not hear that announced. From the moment we got out of the elevator, we noticed there was not a single person in the lounges, the shops, or even the library. All of the salespeople in the stores were standing around visiting with each other. No customers to be seen.
Our big event of the day was room service lunch with some items from the dining room menu. Then we watched a good two-hour movie, Where the Crawdads Sing. For a change, it was most entertaining right to the very end. Now we have to search for more of the up-to-date movies which we were told have been added to the old grid.
Tonight's attire was formal. We figured there are few sea days left to have this dress code, and it appears many of the guests are glad about that. Most all of the larger tables are hosted by officers or staff members on these occasions. We had been told last night that Rene the spa manager was going to host our table. It did not happen since she was tied up with work. Previously, we had asked for a specific officer, but we did not get him. The fellow we had as a host was barely old enough to drink legally. Not that he wasn't pleasant, we are not always comfortable with strangers. Having someone new douses the normal conversation almost completely. For that reason, we may skip the next formal evening if there is one. All of us were curious as to what the gift will be tonight, since they only show up on formal nights.
The dinner menu offered the usual formal suspects. We both had the beef skewer with lingonberry sauce. Mains were a fish plate, and one pasta plate with a side of lamb chops. The fish was full of bones, but the chops and pasta were good. It's the luck of the draw these days. We still laugh at the tiny size of the ramekins that they serve salad dressings, sauces, gravies, catsup and mustard. They hold 2 tablespoons of product at the most. The portion control using these ramekins has to be saving the company a lot of money fleetwide. Of course, we are free to order more than one.
There was a comedian on stage tonight, but also there was an event called Casino Royale. From 7 to 11pm, there was a select complimentary games of roulette, dice, black jack, and slot machines. You could spin the wheel for discounted cocktails, which are 50% off anyway. Finally the Gallery Bar had a Murder Mystery at 9pm.
The better news of the evening was that the clocks went back one hour. That is, until we reach France the next day, and the clocks go forward once again. So confusing……
And the gift we got? Nothing. We had heard the gift would be a small collapsible suitcase, but where was it? Now we wonder if the delivery of these suitcases was in the containers that got left behind in Senegal? We'll never see them if that was the case.
Bill & Mary Ann
No Pictures
