So far, we have been looking for a day at sea with nothing to do. There have been a few of those, but not enough. Today was not one of those lazy days. A few days ago, we all got a notice concerning a FULL passenger emergency muster drill. This is required on all cruises every 30 days. Perhaps arriving to Antarctica also has something to do with it. The directions as to how to re-act and proceed were spelled out in the notice. However, it was surprising how many people did just the opposite of what was asked of them.
For starters, the crew did not want anyone on the promenade deck prior to the drill. We were requested to stay inside and only proceed to the muster stations when instructed to do so. What did some passengers do? They went to the outside deck and proceeded to sit in the lounges which were being propped up along the back wall. The rest of us had to use the stairs to get to deck three, unless we absolutely needed the elevators. All we needed were our room keys to be scanned by our boat commanders.
Then we waited and waited. Our group for boat station # 6 were all present, however, 38 guests were missing. We wondered how this drill worked with the Sunday Brunch, which began at 10am? Maybe people had just gotten their food, then had to leave it. Bad timing….. At the very least, we will not have to do this full drill for another month.
It was breakfast as usual for us and many others in the Pinnacle Grill. After the drill, we went to the Seaview pool to catch some sun as the weather was simply beautiful. It was warm, but not too warm with a nice breeze. As we head further south, we expect to feel the coolness of the Antarctic breeze, especially in the Falkland's. We did notice a kind of foggy haze on the horizon which contributed to the higher humidity. There were a few dedicated sunbathers back there, but no one in the pool. Salvador, the deck waiter, knows we like ice water, and he was there soon after we sat down.
We kept busy catching up with photos and our exploits of the last two ports. We had salads and split mini burgers along with half of our birthday dessert from last night.
A couple of days ago, we had an invite from the Captain and Hotel Manager to a special dinner in the King's Room this evening. It was an exclusive event for 20 of the President's Club members and about 7 of the officers. The suggested attire was "dressy". Pre-dinner drinks were in the back end of the Explorer's Lounge where we sat with Amy and the environmental officer for 45 minutes. Nice canapies were passed around. Then we were summoned to the King's Room at 6pm, where we were seated around the massive table in there. Name tags were at each place setting, which happened to be plateware from Versace. Very elegant. As luck had it, one of us was placed next to Captain Rens. He had many lively stories to share with all of us. One such story was about a visit to Antarctica where the ship approached one gigantic iceberg. By the time they reached it, fog had covered the entire berg. The bow had been opened for those who wished to see this monster up close and personal. Suddenly the giant calved, sending ice all over the bow deck. The Captain and Florin had photos of this event on their cell phones. Now if we heard this correctly, Captain Rens arranged to have the song from Titanic playing at the same time. Must have been a memorable moment, maybe a bit over the top for some folks at the time. He vowed to have a repeat performance when we reach that area. Time will tell……
The menu had fancy courses beginning with foie gras, followed by a sunchoke soup, then poached lobster. One of us does not like lobster, so prawns were substituted even though I said I did not need a substitute. If Tina had been here, she would have taken the liberty to create a vegetarian course in place of the lobster. A palate cleanser was the next course of frozen rosewater and raspberry snow. The main entree was a blackened beef tenderloin with slivers of carrots and asparagus with a dollop of mashed potatoes. Each course was served with wine, which we did not have by choice. At one point, the Captain forcefully put down his red wine glass and the stem shattered. We jokingly told him this dinner was a murder mystery and he was the victim. With that, he got up and switched jackets with the staff Captain saying he could take over the ship. Later in the evening, we realized some of the "acts" were pre-rehearsed.
For the wine aficionados among us, here is the list. Nicolas Feuillatte champagne began with the first course, followed by Julia's Dazzle Rose Walla-Walla Washington. Pascal Jolivet Sancerre from France was served with the lobster, then Long Shadow Sequel Syrah also from Washington went with the tenderloin. A Nutty Irishman finished the ample meal along with sweet dessert.
Eventually, dessert was served which was called a chocolate parfait of pear, coconut streusel and hazelnut ice cream. A small glass of Kahlua, Bailey's, and Frangelico was served with the dessert. As if this wasn't enough, a tray of chocolate sweets were brought for everyone. The party broke up by 8:45pm with the parade of chefs and cooks taking a bow. Long evening, but good food.
And we know this story is getting old, but the leak in our floor had re-appeared before we left for dinner. Will this never end? We reported it our room steward and also informed Florin. When we returned from dinner, the dreaded fan was in place and blowing a gale. The saga goes on……
Bill & Mary Ann
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