A funny thing happened after we got back to our room after dinner last
night. Well, not really funny because it involved the hot water in the
bathroom which was running the color of cappuccino coffee. No kidding, not
only was it an ugly color but it wasn't hot. Perhaps lukewarm at best.
The cold water was clear. Even running the sinks and the tub did not help
clear water to return. It got a bit better in color, but it remained
cool. So it was a cool and quick shower tonight. We found it odd that we
had not gotten a notice or a phone call warning us of the water problem.
Usually an entire section of the ship is affected, but we did not know.
Maybe it was just our room. So this morning, there still was no hot water,
but the rusty color was about gone. We did phone the front desk and were
advised to let the water run for 15 minutes or more. They said the hot
water would be returning by 11am. And it did. We asked everyone we knew
that have rooms around us, and none of them had any problems like we did.
We noticed at breakfast time, that some of the regulars have been missing
the last couple of days. Then doing some research on Cruise Critic, we
learned that norovirus has hit the Zuiderdam. Exactly what we feared, now
we know the reason for the frequent warnings about hand washing and
sanitizing. When will the powers to be announce this event to the
passengers? Probably not until we reach a specific percentage of reported
cases. Those who do report symptoms will be quarantined, so many folks
never admit they are ill.
Also news-worthy was a note we all got concerning the internet service
onboard. We can expect a reduction in bandwidth due to governmental
restrictions between March 8th to March 20th. There may be a partial loss
of signal and temporary outages. We have been asked to reduce our use of
bandwidth-intensive services such as streaming or large downloads as much as
possible during this time frame. Last year we happened to be taking this
same route towards Africa, but we do not recall problems with the internet.
Our day was mostly spent working on the last few days of ports. It does
keep us busy. We took the time for a few walks today and found the weather
to be almost pleasant. Gone was the worst of the humidity and the
temperature was around 84 degrees or less. During his daily talk, Captain
Frank mentioned that the sea water was warmer than the air temps. With the
sea water around 89 degrees, it made for very hot conditions in the engine
room area of the ship. We have been down in this part of the ship while on
a tour on the Amsterdam years ago. The heat and noise gave us an
appreciation of the fellows that work down there. One of the guests, who
was dealing with the onset of diabetes, passed out from that heat and had to
be hauled back to the medical center. Ever since that happened, the tours
were shut down.
Now that we are sailing in the Bay of Bengal, the seas have remained calm
with a 5 foot swell and partly cloudy skies. The Captain expected no
significant changes in the next few days as we sail towards Sri Lanka. We
still have 587 nautical miles to get there.
Lunch was in the Lido, but our salad girl, Eve, has not been there for two
days. It appears that they have been re-assigning the wait staff to
different areas. At least our sandwich-maker is still at his post, and the
cute ice cream server is also in her area. She still seems to find some of
the good sugar cones for us every time we go there.
Wondering why we get some of the port talks on our TV and sometimes not, we
reported it to the front desk today. They said they would inform the IT
department. We heard nothing all day regarding this, but after dinner, we
tried it again, and guess what? It worked. We should have asked
sooner......
Dinner was good with some different items such as calamari fritti for an
appetizer. Mains were spaghetti Bolognese and a brisket meal, pretty much
both comfort food. Very good and just right portions. Desserts were one
panna cotta in a jar, and one scoop orange sorbet. While we were in
between courses, Captain Frank made a surprise visit, where we welcomed him
onboard for a change. He and his wife, Alexandra, were dining with guests
near the back windows. Nice of him to stop and greet us as well as our
buddy Don, another long time HAL customer like us.
The theme of the evening was Country with a Barn Dance Party held in both
the Rolling Stone Lounge and Billboard Onboard. Good places to practice the
boot scootin' boogeying and line dancing, which has been taught since the
beginning of the cruise. The parties began at 8:15pm, and there was other
entertainment tonight in the Ocean Bar and Explorer's Lounge. A movie was
shown in the World Stage which was Life of Pi (2012). We could smell the
popcorn when we finished our second walk at 7:30pm.
And finally we had one hour back on the clocks tonight. Great idea.
Bill & Mary Ann
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