Today breakfast was at 8am in the Pinnacle Grill, but 10am for the special brunch in the dining room. For a change, many more folks showed up to dine in this nice restaurant. They have missed out on a good meal doing other things these last six days we assume. This cruise has been different because it appears that the guests are doing everything they can squeezed into 7 days. The shows, bars, lounges, and especially the food venues have been most busy. For the following 56 -day trip, we asked Endrian if he could take reservations for 10 dinners and he said of course. There will be pop-up special dinners throughout the longer cruise, but since we do not do the wine pairings or the Tamarind, we chose days that are the regular Pinnacle Grill dinner. Yes, we are going to miss Endrian as he has been one of the best PG managers ever. Back in our room, we had two more HAL tiles with a note of gratitude for our loyalty.
We did have some rough sailing last night, but the motion ceased when the Captain took the ship into the channels between islands. He announced early in the day that we would try to avoid Queen Charlotte Sound because it was extremely windy, raining, with rolling seas. We feel like the horses that are galloping back to the barn at a high speed. The winds were blowing strong enough for the crew to close off the promenade deck once again. All of the teak lounges and pads were tied down like last week. We did sneak under the rope, but we could only walk on one side due to the driving rain. Others were doing the same. By the way, when we travel inside the island route, we lose TV reception. The internet has remained working, so that is a plus.
We were invited to the Mariner Recognition Event at 11:30am in the Crow's Nest. There was a total of 14 guests, including us, but there were no medallion awardees once again. Captain Whitaker was busy navigating our course through the islands, so he was a no- show. Today, none of our names or days sailed were announced. It appears that this tradition of recognition is going to be something of the past in our humble opinion. We were welcomed by Glenn, the Cruise Director, who took the place of the Captain. Francois and a few other officers were present but did not visit with the guests like they did last week. Francois and Glenn will be leaving the Volendam tomorrow and heading home. They will be missed also, but we could tell they are ready for a vacation. We met with Jennifer when the small gathering was over. She went over the information we needed for our room change that will take place tomorrow. In the letter we got yesterday, it suggested we pack our loose belongings in the morning, and leave the rest for the room stewards to move. Good thing we did not wait until tomorrow, because it took more time than we thought. Well, that meant everything in the drawers had to be packed and everything from the bathroom as well as our collection of toiletries. Our valuables such as computer, prescriptions, and jewelry, etc. would need to be hand-packed by us once the new room was cleaned and ready. Hopefully that will be before 9am. Housekeeping will move the rest, which will be four suitcases and the clothes hanging in the closet. Tomorrow will be the normal "zero clearance" morning, so we will need to leave around 9:30am and be able to spend the short day enjoying Vancouver, even if it rains like predicted. All aboard will be 3pm, but we will need to go through customs and immigrations, so that happens at 2pm.
By the time we finished re-packing, it was 3pm. So one of us went to the Dive-In to get one cannonball burger and a hot dog….fries too. It stays hot when we get it ourselves. The pool had been emptied and was being scrubbed. The hot tubs remained running but had no customers. Very few folks were laying on the lounges, and the decks were in the process of being power- scrubbed as well. There may be Canadian inspections tomorrow, and they always have to be prepared. And that is why this ship gets high marks every time.
Instead of walking outside, we went to check out the shops. There was one Mary Frances purse that one of us had an eye on, but it was sold. In its place was even a nicer one – a white and pink beaded bag with the Eiffel Tower on it. The name is Paris, of course. It will join the growing collection at home. The shop salesman handed us tickets for a drawing, but the time came and went and we forgot. Oh well…
Spotting our room attendants, we informed them that we were all packed and the bags and clothes were ready to go tomorrow morning. They actually thanked us for being so neat for these three weeks, leading us to think that not all of the guests are so considerate. They said they will miss us. The same goes for us….they have been very prompt with their service and kept us quite comfortable. Not a day went by that Imam asked what more he could do for us.
Dinner was in the dining room with starters of a breaded shrimp mixed salads. It was the Culinary Council menu and was limited to what we really like. We keep forgetting to request "hot" food, so when the halibut arrived, it was warm at best. The rigatoni with a meat sauce was the better choice tonight. At least it was warmer when served. Desserts of a chocolate- filled craqulin? like a donut made us happy and quite full. An amusing comment was made while riding the elevator today. One lady said she can't wait to get home and stop eating. How funny is that? We get it.
Tomorrow will be another busy turn-around day, so it's off to bed for us.
Bill & Mary Ann
