Sunrise should have been around 6:10am, but it was already up by that time. Perhaps the changing of the clocks threw off the estimate. Today was # 6 sea day, and the last one for a while now. The time has flown by as they always do, even being at sea. And there are so many activities to keep everyone occupied, there is no down time unless you make it so.
There was an environmental notice heading off the Daily newsletter stating to please not feed the birds or other wildlife. And secure all loose articles before going outside to prevent them from blowing overboard. That applies to those who have verandas as well. The external lights on the ship, specifically the promenade and sports decks, will be reduced while in Hawaiian waters. And we are asked to switch off all balcony lights at nighttime. Many times, we have seen some of the birds land on the outside decks, attracted by these lights.
We took our morning walk like we always do and did see a lot of flying fish and one white bird that was different. Getting some shots of it, we determined it was one of our favorite birds…..a tropic bird. It was unlike those we see in other parts of the world, but that long tail feather or feathers give the identity away. This bird was diving far from the ship and disappeared from sight in a few minutes. The only other incident was a call for the medical stretcher team to go to the Seaview Bar area immediately. That is one call we hate to hear and sad to say, there have been many of those calls since we joined the ship in Vancouver.
During his "voice from the bridge" noontime talk, Captain Smit confirmed the air temperature to be 77 degrees F and the sea temps 79 degrees F. The wind speed was low and the sea swells no more than 6 feet. The Zaandam has 271 nautical miles to reach Kona, and we have gone 1983 nautical miles from San Diego. The sea depth is 16,000 feet, over our heads. And there was no news of any wildlife spotted, with the exception of all of us onboard. And the owl? Probably gone too. We will be at anchor tomorrow off of Kona, and the Captain expects the tenders to begin operation shortly after 8am. The last tender back to the ship will be 4:30pm.
Later in the afternoon, there was an announcement we did not see coming. Due to the shutdown of the US government, none of the National Parks on the island of Hawaii will be opened. That includes one that has a tour out of Kona tomorrow. The guests who booked it had the chance to cancel without penalty. Now we are wondering if that will apply to every Hawaiian island we visit? We are lucky to have seen most all of these sites over the years, but for those who never have been here, we felt bad. That will also affect those guests who have made independent plans as well.
We had a job of the day which we should have addressed sooner. Our vista suite includes a jetted tub, which we have tried to operate, but it does not work. We kept forgetting to report it until this morning. After breakfast, we went to the front desk and Kumar, our rep, spotted us and came right out to see what he could help us with. He said he would report it immediately, and we said fine, thinking it might be an easy fix.
Back at our room, we informed or room stewards that we had reported the problem, and they said the jacuzzis are supposed to be checked at the beginning of every voyage as it is important to circulate the water in the system. Guess ours was skipped. So they reported it as well. But no one showed up, even though Ron, our room steward had filled the tub up with water and tried the button. Even the red light under the button was off. No power. Kumar called us later in the afternoon and asked if the tub was working, as he had gotten a notice that the plumbing team had been here. Nope, no one showed up, and we were here for most all of the day. Maybe tomorrow……..
We have made a habit of going out to deck six forward to catch a possible stunning sunset. This time we headed out earlier in case the timing was off. Joining us was Eddie and eventually his lovely wife Susie, who have sailed with us on a couple of world cruises several years ago. They are traveling with Rosie and Randy (brother of Susie) and we see them often. It's always a pleasure to compare notes while taking photos of the sunset.
Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill at 8pm where we decided to try some different items. Starters were wedge salads, which is always the best way to begin the meal for us. There is a Hawaiian list on the side now as we sail in the South Pacific. On that list was a chicken taco appetizer, which we have not tried yet. It comes with two small soft tacos filled with the best marinated and grilled chicken pieces. That was an easy starter to share. Then for our entrees, we had one pork belly dish and the short ribs (boneless) with fun noodles. There is always room for fun noodles. The pork belly was the winner this time. It was meaty and coated with a BBQ-like sauce that was delicious. Also, it was much different from what has been served in the dining room for dinner. Dessert was the pineapple coconut special, which we also shared. The cuisine was excellent and the service beyond expectations.
On the stage tonight was the World Stage Cast with a show called Crossroads with rhythm, roots, and rhymes…..soulful and foot-stomping. And there is always a movie shown in the Wajang Theater. Tonight's film was Jurassic Park Rebirth.
Tomorrow……Kona – here we come.
Bill & Mary Ann
