Day two at sea began on a dreary note weather-wise. The skies were totally overcast blocking any chance of a sunrise. In fact, we just realized we have been missing the sunrises and sunsets due to the fact that the direction we are headed, the sun rises in the aft of the ship and sets on the starboard side forward. We have many days to capture some good Polynesian sunsets however, which will be coming up sometime next week.
It was a good day for bird watching and flying fish- catching by the birds. For a while in the morning, the clouds parted and we had some beautiful blue skies. That made a much better backdrop to film the action. It was almost warm while we walked the outside deck. This is the first world cruise that we have noticed so few people using the promenade deck. There are many teak lounges, but few customers. Probably when we get closer to French Polynesia, the folks will come back outside.
Today we had to fill out a form for the Chilean government saying we will comply with local regulations when going to Easter island, part of Chile. Specifically, it involves an agricultural and livestock affidavit stating that we will not be carrying vegetables and animal products off of the ship. We were given the choice of filling out the forms they provided or go online to fill them out. Marking the boxes "no", we signed the forms and will carry them with us when and if we go ashore.
The usual sea day activities took place today, with a few exceptions. One was an added potato buffet for the Lido lunch, described as a comforting feast for every potato lover. Now that's different. Canaletto was the pop-up venue in the Pinnacle Grill at the usual price of $25 plus gratuity. We recall when this dining venue was free when it was first introduced.
So a few days ago we promised you all a story, which we will call The Mysterious Saga of the Luggage. It began when we left the Zuiderdam's Grand World Voyage last May. We shipped a total of nine pieces of luggage using the ship's luggage service. Six of the bags were shipped complimentary, and three were paid for by us. For the first time we remember, they asked us to start putting our luggage outside the rooms a couple of days ahead of our final day. That would help the staff move the enormous amount without a lot of stress. So that's what we did, leaving three bags for the last evening. Every piece was labeled with at least two luggage tags as well as address labels on the insides. The UPS tags had gone missing by the luggage agent in Puerto Rico, so the official tags would be added later on. None of us were happy about this, but what choice did we have?
For some unknown reason, Bill said jokingly remarked that we will never see those last three pieces of luggage again. So we get home and a few days later, the luggage begins to arrive, a few pieces at a time. Some were damaged, and some were later than their promised delivery date. But three were still not delivered for a week after that. Then another week went by. After dozens of emails and phone calls describing the suitcases, one of the three showed up. Two more weeks went by….no luggage, and you may have guessed by now…..we never saw them again. By mid- summer, we were asked to put in a claim with the shipping company complete with a description of the missing items and as many receipts of purchase we could supply. It just so happened that without extra insurance coverage, only the suitcases were covered for loss….not the contents. Unfortunately, most of the lost items were formal clothing, custom-made by the Princeton Tailors from Hong Kong as well as many new sport coats, formal dresses and new dress shoes etc. We did get some compensation from other sources, but nowhere near the actual value lost.
We deliberately did not mention this until now because we did not want to freak out the world cruise folks that were in the process of shipping their things mid- December. In all of the years we have done world cruises, this is the first time we had this happen (and we hope the last). Our UPS fellow at home said that these things do happen all of the time, and when tracking the bags, they are not necessarily where they say there are. He added that chances are we will not ever see them again, but stranger things have happened.
Tonight was the second formal evening with the theme of Casino Royale. The dining room was decorated in both entrances with gambling items and red lights. The place settings had red napkins and some playing cards were scattered on the tables. The actual event was held in the Casino at 8:15pm to 9:30pm where complimentary gaming lessons, a free slot tournament, and fun table games like playing poker with some officers would occur. Raffle prizes would be held, although you had to be present to win. It's a night of Bond – style with glamour, games and entertainment. The only problem with us attending was that was our dinner time. Oh well……
Speaking of dinner, the menu was not the usual surf and turf. In fact there was no steak or lobster offered. Not even escargots, which is usually a formal night staple. We did order a very tasty Cobb salad with slices of tender tenderloin steak. Hold the bleu cheese please. Every day shrimp cocktails and mains of lamb chops and beef short ribs were quite good. Desserts were one slice of vanilla/chocolate cheesecake and a pecan pudding-filled donut which did satisfy our sweet tooth.
The entertainment in the World Stage was the Classical Trio from the Explorer's Lounge. A good choice since they seem to be most popular with many of the guests.
And so ends day two at sea.
Bill & Mary Ann
