We figured that the Pinnacle grill filled up at breakfast quickly due to the clocks being rolled back one hour last night. That makes three time changes in about 5 days. However, that was only half the answer. Typically, Brunch in the dining room has been on a Sunday, but since our first Hawaiian port is tomorrow, we assume brunch was moved to today, a Saturday. The entire staff in this venue take it with ease on these busy mornings from what we noticed.
Another "warning message" appeared on the front page of the "Daily" today. This was an environmental notice concerning the natural wonder of the places we will be sailing. So…..do not feed the wildlife, especially the birds. And once again, please secure all loose items to prevent them from going air born. In addition, in order to protect the sea birds, all external lights will need to be kept off as well. Expect a phone call if you forgot to turn off your veranda light.
There has been an ongoing problem with the TV reception since we left San Diego. Trying to get a "real" answer to why the signal has been so spotty, has been impossible. No one will admit that every TV on the ship has been affected, as you are led to believe it is only our set. Finally, a nice gal at the front desk admitted that many guests are reporting the problem, and they are trying to fix it. They have the power to re-set your signal, but it does not seem to help in the long run. Perhaps a miracle will occur when we reach the port of Nawiliwili. We shall see…….
Captain Smit's talk was short and sweet. The Zaandam was 285 nautical miles off the coast of Maui, and we will be slowing down during the evening to arrive to the dock in Nawilwili around 8am. We can expect light showers in the morning, which he hopes clears early on. The temperature will be the same as today, in the low 80's. We happened to be at the Sea View Pool during this talk. The regular lounges around the pool had been removed to make room for individual golf putting greens. People were invited to have some free play time until 3:30pm, when there was going to be a golf putting challenge. We have never seen this before, but we sure know of one world cruise friend of ours that would ace this game. There was one problem however, with the placement of these "greens". They became an obstacle course for the guests who are accustomed to making their way to the back railing to enjoy their ice cream cones. One elderly man almost took a header because he did not see the raised greens before tripping on them. Perhaps the staff should have cordoned them off with orange cones and twine. As one might expect, this legendary cruise crowd is at least a decade older than the Alaska cruisers. Maybe two decades.
Taking our morning walk, we did see some flying fish, mostly small ones, but not one booby in sight. Last year, while on this exact same route, we did see the masked boobies diving for the fish. So far, there have been none in the last five days at sea. Now there is one lone unidentifiable bird that has hitched a ride from San Diego. It happened to make a couple of loops around the ship this morning while we were sitting on the veranda. It's not a pigeon, but something different. Hope it will be welcomed to the island of Kauai.
We're not sure how many folks went to the brunch today, but the Lido was full of customers at noontime. When we went for our salads and pizza, there were plenty of diners there lining all the window seats. One thing for sure, this crowd seems to like their meals, and they are in the right place to enjoy it all.
The sunsets are getting better every evening. That's a good time for a promenade walk since most folks are eating dinner around the 6 o'clock hour. So far the horizon and surrounding skies have been riddled with clouds. They do take on the changing colors of the sunset, but end up blocking the actual sun dipping below the horizon. Now tomorrow will be a sunset to watch for. We have witnessed some of the most stunning displays of the setting sun while docked in Nawiliwili. Although we will be leaving an hour prior to sunset, it is possible to catch the entire sky lighting up no matter where we look.
Dinnertime found the dining room about empty downstairs. Could it be that the three time changes in five days has taken its toll on the cruisers? Of course, after 5 days at sea, we think most folks are anxious to step on land tomorrow. Our waiter said the crush of guests started at 6:15pm, and eased up close to 7:30pm, when we arrive. Anyway, one of us tried a different style of the bay shrimp appetizer which was Creole. He liked it. One of us had the arancini with Bolognese sauce, also excellent. One chicken noodle soup and a frisee salad was followed by chicken parmigiana. The chicken portion was so large, it took up most of the plate which also had a bed of olive oiled spaghetti. Very nice for a change. We shared one dessert of a cake that was called a pudding with a Hawaiian name. Haloumi we think it was called.
Looking forward to our first stop in Hawaii tomorrow. Sure hope it doesn't rain much.
Bill & Mary Ann
