No doubt about it, when we woke up, it was still rough and getting worse as the day advanced. The seas turned choppy with "white horses" as Captain Friso would say, and the winds took the sea spray all the way past our deck. By 6pm, there was a coating of salt on deck three portside, as well as our veranda. The mist had turned the veranda glass opaque. And speaking of verandas, when we were on the Volendam last fall, every veranda on each deck got hosed down at once a week, or every two weeks. The partitions were unlocked and the fellows went from one end to the other. Then a follow-up team came and wiped down the windows, chairs, and tables. On this ship, the room attendants do it all. The glass on the veranda gets wiped off almost daily, and the floor gets vacuumed, but seldom washed. Never hosed. The one difference we see is that when the hoses are used, the lower decks get soaked. If you happen to be at the railing when cleaning is happening, you might get a surprise shower.
The first Sunday Brunch Sampler took place this morning at 11am to 1pm in the lower dining room. What was different was that regular breakfast time still happened 7:30am to 9am. For some reason, the Pinnacle Grill filled up with some new guests who chose today to try it. What they did not expect was the number of us who visit among the tables as we have since day one. It will be interesting to see if they return again.
On the way back to our room, we noticed the tables for the passport collection had been set up. Spotting Rene, the spa manager, we went directly to her and got our passports returned for inspections the morning we arrive to Kona. We expect the process to go smoothly since several agents come onboard to handle many guests and crew as well.
We did take a morning walk, but we were among only a few that did it. The temperature was cool at 69 degrees or so, not counting the wind chill. If we did not know better, we would say there was a chance of a storm arriving. Despite the high dark clouds, it never did rain.
Wanting to be able to hear the Captain talk after the noon whistle, we stayed in the room. The speaker in the room works better than the TV, but the volume is still too low to catch it all. We had to laugh yesterday when Captain Frank began his talk by saying we were in the middle of nowhere. That's reassuring. The Pacific is huge and we are sure we were not anywhere near land or islands. Even the few birds we had following us were gone. Or blew away. Captain Frank did admit that the swells were going to increase and the winds were going to be worse. And he was right.
It was another good day for reading and watching news. We even took in a movie to pass the time. A Dive-In lunch with burgers was plenty, followed by a difficult walk on the promenade deck. There were three or four of us on that deck, so one mile was enough. While on the Volendam in Alaska, the decks were roped off for half of the wind we had today.
Dinner had a few favorites with Thai beef tataki, arancini, Caesar salads, and mains of honey-mustard parmesan-crusted chicken and meatballs and spaghetti. A favorite for one of us. During the course of the meal, we hit some very deep swells, causing covered entrees, plates, and glassware to drop all over the floors of the serving stations. There must have been a big mess, since we saw waiters running with brooms and dustpans. We finished our ice cream and a tres leche caramel flan, then called it a night, carefully making our way back to deck six bouncing off of the walls all the way down the hallway.
There was a show with a comedian, Jose Sarduy, but we are not sure how many folks would attend when the seas got so much rougher. We do know one thing…..a Zuiderdam bar hop for $25 gathered a good-size crowd in the Ocean Bar. It must have originated in the Crow's Nest at 8pm and by 9:30pm, the group was hooting and hollering just fine.
Good time for another hour back on the clocks. Now we will be set for Hawaii time. Sure hope the seas level out tomorrow or sooner. Might be time for meclizine.
Bill & Mary Ann
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