It has taken us this long to remember we dubbed "Sunday" as mimosa day in the Pinnacle Grill at breakfast. As a matter of fact, fresh-squeezed orange juice, mimosas, cappuccinos and espresso coffees are complimentary every day. They are not necessarily promoted like they were when we traveled on the Nieuw Statendam two years ago, but these items are on the menu for those who wish to order them. Actually, one of us had the poinsettia version which is cranberry juice and champagne.
And that leads us to Sunday Brunch, which used to be a venue every couple of weeks while on last year's world cruise. So far, we have not seen that happen on this trip. But close to it, we discovered there was a Spot of Brunch in the Lido Market from 11am to 2pm where waffles, pancakes, and eggs Benedict were being served along with many other items. The regular dining room breakfast was still an option, as was the regular lunch menu in the Lido. This probably works better for everyone.
The biggest subject of the day had to be weather we encountered last night. Captain Frank had predicted a very windy and possibly rough evening as we entered an area of a system along the coastline. By midnight, it became apparent that his prediction was obviously right on. The winds reached 45mph and combined with deep sea swells, it made for one really rough evening….extreme at times to wake one of us up all night long. Thank goodness, by the morning, the conditions improved leaving only wet decks outside. During his noon update today, the Captain said last night's episode was a phenomenon which we hope would not be repeated. The system that caused the ship to roll and pitch was far behind us now.
But there would be something to brighten our day…….the sightings of dolphins and whales. Taking a walk on the promenade deck around 9:30am, we saw some spouting whales in the distance. Not quite the same as humpback whale blows, but definitely something big. Then we saw the giant splash from one of the breaching whales. Some friends who were also on the deck, said they may be fin whales. They had brought up a picture of one on their phone and it sure looked the same to us. At that point, we did not have our camera, so we headed back to the room to whale-spot from our veranda. And we did get some shots of them as well as some dolphins. Naturally we kept watch for an hour, and may have seen some more whales but far in the distance.
We went to the Sea View Pool and had to pull chairs over to the poolside. The tables had been pulled under the overhang while going through that bad weather, but not put back. We have been finding that the wait staff back at this pool is about non-existent. If there are a few waiters, they seem to bus tables more than anything else. We find this most unusual as on other world cruises, these fellows or gals have been very attentive. While we were sitting there, the Captain announced dolphins were seen on both sides of the ship. Going to the side railing, we did see at least three of them swimming under the surface, but never jumping.
Most of our afternoon was spent watching both football games. The first game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens went about as expected. The second game between the SF 49ers and the Detroit Lions was not going well, and we had to leave for dinner right after half time. What a surprise to learn that the 49ers won that game as they were down by a lot from the very beginning. Looking forward to Super Bowl Sunday next month. It should be a good game.
Dressy was the code for tonight's dinner. We have only had one of those in the entire month. Anyway the menu was really leaning to the formal cuisine with escargots, ½ Dover sole, with the most requested entrée being liver and onions. Really. We opted for shrimp cocktails, salads, and mains of lasagna and everyday chicken. A small slice of lemon torte finished our meal.
A vocalist by the name of DJ Bucciarelli did the Neil Sedaka Songbook. We are sure he was good but we really wanted to get back to see who won the football game.
We do not arrive to the port of Manzanillo until noontime tomorrow. It will be a good place to stretch our legs and take a long walk through town. Hope it will not be too hot.
Bill & Mary Ann
