Today was day 5 on our long journey towards San Diego. It was noticeably cooler today, but what we noticed first was the fact that the high humidity was missing. Not that we're complaining, but we sure do miss the heat from the sun.
After breakfast and our morning walk, we headed back to the room with the intentions of packing more. Somehow we got distracted with phone calls which we can make from our computer. Took us a while to figure it out, but once it worked well, we made some family calls and also calls to check our air plans for Wednesday. Since the world voyage is approaching quickly, we needed to contact the luggage shipping company and arrange to have our bags picked up at our home. Also there was a deadline on that call, we decided to do it from the ship to get the ball rolling. We had a credit with the company from previous problems with the 2023 GWV, so it helped to keep costs down. We do get some luggage sent complimentary as well. We have learned to live with a lot less than previous years. Having complimentary laundry service really makes a difference in the amount of stuff you have to bring.
At 1pm, we were invited with five other President's Club members to a tour of the Volendam's engine control room. All of us were present at the meeting point at the front desk. The chief engineer directed us to deck A where we followed him through the swinging doors of the unseen working deck of the ship. We entered the door of the control room, and stayed behind the area where all of the instruments were located. Once again, there were a series of panels, gauges, lights, and TV screens where cameras provide the controllers continuous photos of every area of the ship's engines and everything that makes it run smoothly.
Of course, we all had some questions, especially our friend Bill, who is a retired pilot from the Air Force as well as a commercial pilot. Most of the questions regarded the fact that this ship is considered "old" compared to the newer vessels these days. Things have changed quite a bit since the early days. Some for the good, most of the time. Anyway, the chief engineer spoke about a recent problem in the laundry room, where one of the huge dryers stalled and started a brief fire. We had read that story on one of the blog sites, but never knew it had happened here for real. It did not sound as dramatic as the news made out, but still could have been problematic had it not been detected and fixed immediately. Perhaps it did cause some smoke, but there may have not been a fire like we know and see fires on TV news.
We did take some time to catch the sun at the Seaview Pool when it appeared between the drifting clouds. Today's temperature was recorded at 68 degrees, a far cry from the 80's we have been having. The wind was still strong, but the currents we seemed to be fighting have subsided. The end result is that the ship was not pitching like it was. That sure it is big help when it comes to packing in the staterooms. We figured by 4pm, we would have some sun on the veranda, and headed back there for the remainder of the afternoon. The sun was setting earlier this evening, and by the time it went past the horizon, the skies were almost clear. Still there was no green flash.
Tonight's dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill, our final one for this 56 day cruise. We had a drink voucher given to us by the previous Captain Whitaker and hotel director, Francois. We almost forgot we had it, since we seldom have cocktails before dinner. So Evelyn took care of that and had two drinks brought to our table. Our meal was the "usual" wedge salads, clothes line bacon, warm rolls, and extra salad dressings. Both of us had the filet mignon and skinny fries (that term always cracks us up). The food and the plates were so hot, just the way we like it. Desserts were orange sorbet and a chocolate souffle. It had been another busy night for this venue, since many folks had waited until the final days to make reservations here. Lucky for us, the majority of guests dined earlier.
As far as we know, there are no more events happening tomorrow, so it will be time to finish the packing. So far, so good.
Bill & Mary Ann
