Coming back to our room after breakfast, we were surprised to find that neither of our room keys worked. We went straight to the front desk, where they made new keys. One of the fellows followed us up and tried each card. Still did not work. We waited in our room until the second set was printed, and when the fellow tried them, they both worked again. No explanation other than they had lost their magnetic strip, We do know putting your key card in a purse with magnets for closures, can erase memory. That might apply to one of us, but not both at the same time. Sure hope this is not going to happen again.
During our morning walk, we saw the crew removing dozens of aluminum pouches from the tender boats overhead. Curiosity got the better of us, so we asked the workers what these were. They said Seven Oceans on them, and it turned out to be drinking water that is always stored in the boats in case of emergency. We assume they were dated and were being replaced. We always wondered how fresh water was stored in these boats, and now we know. You learn something new almost every day.
Currently, we have good friends traveling on the Zaandam on the East coast. We asked them if the day of the week was printed on their Daily program. Yes, it was, and she even sent us a photo of the front page. In fact, it was the largest printed word on the front of the newsletter. We took the computer down to show this to the hotel director, but he was not in his office. But Joyce, one of the officers of a different department was there. After hearing our story concerning the lack of the day being on the newsletter, she took a photo of it with her phone, and promised to show the person who is responsible for the printing. Now we highly doubt it will be added, but we did not like being told yesterday that it was not happening on any other HAL ship. Cannot fool us old-timers……
The weather was warmer today, and we had some sun on the veranda. However, while sitting outside, a close-by neighbor appeared to be ill with a constant nasty cough. We could not help but hear him telling someone that the doctor put him on antibiotics due to his advanced age. Good grief…..we hope this is not the start of the Covid virus. Come to think of it, more than once, our room steward has asked if we were feeling OK. Then in the dining room a few nights ago, after ordering a bowl of chicken noodle soup, the head waiter asked if we were feeling seasick or ill. Nope…one of us loves chicken noodle/spaghetti soup. Anyway, it is enough for us to continue being careful with handwashing and sanitizer use. And avoiding crowds.
For a change, we went up to deck nine aft right above the Seaview Pool. Enough sun was shining through the passing clouds, so we relaxed on the lounges for an hour. The outside speakers are working perfectly now, and when Captain Paul came on with his noon talk, we understood every single word. Valerie, the cruise director also spoke clearly and distinctly. Looking down below at the pool area, we can say that ½ of the lounges were occupied. Only a few folks were swimming in the clean cool water.
Lunch was our Dive-In usuals – burger and chicken sandwich to go. Getting the food at 2pm only takes 10 minutes at the most. The only other event was seeing the start of the flying fish…some huge but most medium-sized. Later in the afternoon, a couple of boobys appeared. It was most entertaining watching them perform for us with soaring and diving for the fish. We expect to see many more of these cool birds the further south we drop. Then by 3pm, it began to sprinkle off and on. Nothing big, but it sure cooled the air off in a hurry.
Dinner was German-themed. Now that is something new for the dining room. Lately, these special themed dinners have been served in the Lido, not in the dining room. Our salads were fairly simple, but the fried cheese was really tasty as was the beef soup with one dumpling. Our waiter is taking 30 seconds to heat the soup in the microwave and it has made a huge difference…so much better tasting. Mains were one Weiner schnitzel and the Club Orange special of Peruvian chicken. For no special reason, we have never ordered that meal, so tonight was a good time to try it. Of course it comes on a nice blue plaid plate. It was a half of a small chicken perhaps Cornish game hen and was seasoned nicely with a crispy skin. Very good. Desserts were one small fudge sundae and two tiny scoops of frozen strawberry yogurt. Yogurt has not been written in the menu, so we found out it is available every day.
The World Stage hosted Humanity by the Step One Dance Company…..again. We would have missed the beginning because our meal went well past 9pm.
Bill & Mary Ann
