Today started off on the right foot, so to speak, presenting us with a beautiful sunrise. It would be a day at sea to kick back and relax or be as busy as we wished.
There were new customers at breakfast, although, as usual, we were the first to show up after 8am. For some reason, both of us thought that the manager, Arsa, was leaving to go home in San Diego. Thinking ahead, we figured we should book some of our 10 complimentary dinners in here before he leaves. That's when he told us he will be leaving November 19th just like us. Well, that was good news as we did not know who would be his replacement. He pointed out the "pop-up" dinners so we can book around those, as we prefer the regular Pinnacle Grill dinner menu better. At one time, we were able to use our freebies for the Tamarind, but we are not sure that is still allowed. Arsa will find out for us.
As we may have mentioned yesterday, today is the start of the 56-day Tales of the South Pacific, as well as the 5-day coastal to San Diego. For the rest of the guests joining in San Diego, the cruise will be 51 days we think. And now that some readers have asked what makes a voyage Legendary, we shall look for the differences from the shorter trips to the Grands.
With today's "The Daily" newsletter we noticed it started out with a warning. You might expect a warning about health information and washings hands or informing the medical staff of any suspicious illnesses. Yes, that message was printed on a separate to-do list, but not in the Daily, where it appeared every single day while sailing on the Zuiderdam's world cruise this year. This warning was about pool etiquette with unoccupied lounges and chairs for over 30 minutes. If an attempt is made at saving lounges, your things will be removed and you will lose your spot. And yes, we have seen this happen on a few trips in the past. Only the pool towels provided are allowed, and your blue & white striped beach towels must be brought back to your room or their will be charges. And lastly, do not bring your bathroom towels from your stateroom. We have yet to visit either pool, since the weather has been cold in Alaska for the most part.
And a word about the Today's To Do List which was received on day one. The times for the emergency muster station for most everyone was printed first with instructions on where to go and how to run the complete drill on the room TV's. For those who do not have cell phones (that would be us), more directions would guide us to sign up for the internet, make restaurant reservations, and how and where to get assistance if you cannot figure it out. It was required to visit The Mix (bar) to purchase the Have-It-All package if you had not done so before leaving home. Any questions about dining, or room amenities could be handled at the front desk. But good luck, because upon boarding you may have a line a mile long with all sorts of guest problems. For instance, the time neither of our room keys worked. It took several replacement cards (possibly six) before we could leave the room or chance being locked out. Anyway, putting all of this info on one paper is a great idea.
We noticed that the cruise director, Clare Adams, had quite a busy day starting with coffee with the very nice Food & Beverage director, Murat at 9am. At 10am, Clare would join forces with Neil, the Executive Chef with cooking the BBQ salmon bowl. Then at 2pm, she would host the Sailor's Plunge at the Sea View Pool. At 3pm, Clare would have a dance class learning salsa. She is one very busy young lady for sure.
It appears that we may have a dedicated lecturer onboard by the name of Michael Adams with a talk on the Titanic with an Aussie Twist. There were five sessions of Water coloring with Forest, two in the Wajang and two in the Art Studio. And a knitters meetup was at 9:30am in the Crow's Nest and hosted. We shall try to find out if there are dedicated teachers for these classes, or are they using staff as they did even on the world cruise.
As for us, we had an invite to another wine tasting at 1:50pm, but did not attend. Catching up with two days of photos and reports filled most of our day. Lunch was Lido sandwiches custom made and fruit. Dinner was "dressy", and we can say most were "not dressy". Attendance in the dining room was still spotty, so we bet the Lido was overrun again. Captain Smit's welcome toast was tonight and the entertainer was a pretty young lady by the name of Tiffany Dissette, a singer who would sing it all.
Our dinner consisted of shrimp cocktails, which has been served in one form or another almost every day, salad, and hot chicken noodle soup once again. Both of us ordered the rack of lamb and were pleasantly surprised to find a total of 9 bones instead of four. Obviously, the cooks anticipated a bigger crowd, but it sure worked out good for us. And they were excellent, close to the taste and quality of the Pinnacle Grill chops. Dessert was a small bowl of vanilla ice cream and a plate of cantaloupe for a change. All good.
Looking forward to a similar day at sea tomorrow with temps in the low 60's, a strong wind of 35 knots with a10 foot swell. Yep, we will be rocking and rolling a lot like today.
Bill & Mary Ann
