We woke up to heavily overcast skies and cooler temps. At least it was not raining. The seas have been rather smooth as well as we head towards our first port of Juneau tomorrow.
Breakfast for us was in the Pinnacle Grill, but instead of 8am, breakfast was served at 7:30am in both dining rooms. Another wonderful surprise occurred when we entered the restaurant. We discovered that Endrian, a former head waiter on the Amsterdam, was the manager here. We have known him for many years, although it has been a while since we saw him last. Of course, he recognized us and greeted us with handshakes and hugs. We had expected there to be a line of folks waiting to enter the room, but there were only two guests so far. Unlike the Zuiderdam, the Pinnacle Grill is located on deck four with no outside windows. We figured the Neptune folks might prefer the windows in the Main Dining Room or room service. We did get our favorite "window" table, with a view of the hallway. And fresh-squeezed orange juice, mimosas, and Capuchinos are complimentary. We ordered the All-American breakfast, and they came perfectly cooked. The best was the Greek yogurt with large fresh berries. Endrian kept us company keeping us up-to-date on cruise news, and we did the same with guest news. Before we left, we decided it was a good time to make reservations for two dinners here before the week ends.
Back in our room, we had a gift of one canvas HAL tote with the 150 years of cruising printed on it. In addition, we had an invitation to a complimentary James Suckling's Great Wines of the Andes tasting. It started at 1:50pm, and we would have attended if we drank wines. Always nice to be invited however.
One of us took a long walk on the promenade deck, while the other got caught up with yesterday's blog. Some work was in progress on this deck with the removal of the old fluorescent light fixtures. They were being replaced with LED fixtures….much brighter and more efficient we suspect.
Looking for signs of wildlife, Bill and some others spotted a huge rare sunfish. It was close to the ship, right below the surface. Looking it up on Google, it said they can wonder up this far north due to slightly warmer sea temperatures. Of course, we looked all throughout the day, but never saw another one.
After finishing the blog, the job of stashing our stuff continued. In case anyone is curious, the magnetic hooks will work well on the ceiling, and both doors. Could not find any steel in the walls other than around the ocean view window. Another tidbit is about the remodeling of the bathrooms, at least on this Dolphin deck. The tubs are gone, and new glass-doored showers were installed. The counter and sink are new, as is the flooring. There is a motion light under the hallway cabinet at night, but there is no night light in the bathroom. We brought a small night light that plugs into the shaver outlet. Perfect.
The has been rather warm in our outside cabin with the temperature staying at 75 degrees. At least we have a tower fan to keep the air circulating. We really miss that veranda where we could pop outside for fresh air. However, we will be able to do that when the Tales of the South Pacific begins, because we will be moving to a room on deck six. In the meantime, we will be spending more time on the public outside decks.
When Bill came back, he finished the job of rearranging the desk area and adding the plug strip. We have a small refrigerator that was placed under the desk, leaving us a small space to sit at the desk. Moving it on top of the deck against the cabinet wall worked perfectly. While we are on the subject of changes, the safe here is operated with a card, such as an old hotel card, or anything with a strip on it. We were asked not to use the room key, as it might not work or may be erased.
Today we opted for a room service lunch of chicken Caesar salads and a shared club sandwich with fries. As much as we like them, we stayed away from the chocolate chip cookies, and ordered some red apples instead. Time for a walk outside, we found our way to deck nine aft and enjoyed some relaxing time on the lounges. The sun had peeked out and it was so nice. Looking down on the Seaview pool, we found that many more people were doing the same as us. Too cool for a swim, but perfect weather to use a blanket and relax. We followed that up with cups of hot chocolate with coffee in the Lido.
Today was full of activities – a mix of tai chi, pickleball, trivia, and lectures. The other half was promotions, which is great for the revenue. The one activity that interested us most was wildlife sightings at 4pm. We should have worn the arctic coats, but we did see several whale sightings with breaching, diving, and blowing. The best spot for us was forward on deck six, even better since we were the only ones there. Several types of seabirds were in the area, which can indicate the presence of humpback whales actively feeding. We were not disappointed, but when the chill sunk in, we left after 5pm.
Dinner this evening was 'dressy". And we are happy to say the majority of folks complied. There were no tuxes to be seen, but there were fellows in suits and sports coats and ladies in the sparkles. We only saw one couple that appeared at the entrance dressed in shorts, sweatshirts, and a baseball hat. After speaking to the head waiter, they turned around and left the room. We have no way of knowing if they were trying to get a table or just asking a question. But it is possible they were turned away. We have seen that happen in the past, but not so much recently.
Once again, the meal was excellent. We ordered a shrimp cocktail, mixed green salad, one tomato bisque soup, and mains of beef tenderloin (one with grilled shrimp). Conservative serving portions, but more than enough. We said no thanks to desserts of flourless chocolate cake, blueberry cheesecake, and apple pie a la mode. Humanity was the featured show on the World Stage, but since we have seen it more than once, we turned in early.
The best news was that the clocks went back one hour….more time to write and get to sleep before midnight.
Tomorrow's port will be Juneau, with a brief stop in Tracy Arm for a tour.
Bill & Mary Ann
