It's Sunday, a day at sea, so it must be brunch in the dining room from 10am to 1pm. Today it was titled Signature Bites Brunch. We're not exactly sure what that is, but it reminds us of the shot glass tastings they served some years ago when they first introduced a Sunday Brunch. We'll have to ask someone we know that attends these brunches.
As for our group, we showed up at 8am as usual and heard many stories of the two days we all spent in Bali. As for the weather, it was going to be a rainy day, off and on, and overcast. The high of the day was 82 degrees with 71% humidity and 11.4 mph winds. There was some swell, but not enough to mention it. The ship's speed was 18 knots, but we slowed down by noontime to almost 15 knots.
One job of the day was to pick up our passports in the atrium before 12pm. We just missed it by minutes, so had to get them at the front desk. Other folks were doing the same thing. Hoping to buy some Singapore money, we learned they will not be selling it.
There was a phone call from Jonah, our sweet front desk manager, who informed us our Singapore papers were completed, and she would be delivering them to us. She brought a surprise visitor to meet us….. her 12 year old son, who looks exactly like her. He is visiting here with his dad, who is in the beverage department and will stay onboard until Taiwan. He brought us a snack package of dried mangoes, which was very sweet. He also showed us the polite Filipino greeting of shaking hands then putting his head briefly on our hand. It is a sign of respect. Jonah and her husband have done a fine job of raising him despite working on the ships for months at a time. Certainly, there are extended family members that help. We couldn't thank her enough for her help and also meeting her pride and joy.
Crossing the Equator once again, there was another ceremony in the Lido Pool at 2pm. This was mainly for the guests that will be leaving in Singapore. That will end the official segment of 41 days from Santiago to Singapore. Normally, we only do one ceremony for the entire cruise, even if the Equator is crossed several times. King Neptune is asked to forgive our lack of the maritime ceremony when it is skipped. We all received the mini stickers of this crossing to put in the booklets we have yet to get.
On Deck for a Cause, the charity 5k walk, was held this morning. However, it rained enough that it kept all but a few walkers outside. The rest stayed in the atrium.
There was a Singapore port talk (we'll catch it on TV) and a lecture by guest speaker Brian Beck about Singapore and more. We kept busy with computer work, a promenade deck walk in the rain, and a visit to the Seaview Pool after the rain stopped. We had not seen bar server Ramon for a few days and wanted to check up on him. This is his first world cruise, and he is liking the different places he is seeing for the first time. He was there with our lemonade mugs within minutes, sharing his short time he got off of the ship.
Room service lunch was one salad, one sandwich, and one bowl of soup. Then one of us got another nice haircut in the Spa at 6pm. It was not crowded at that time which he prefers. Then it was time for another formal dinner in the dining room. This has been the pattern for these occasions when a segment ends. At least we knew better than to wear a t-shirt, shorts, and a baseball cap which an elderly man was wearing sitting down on deck four below us. Surprised he was let into the room, because we saw one similarly dressed man asked to leave last night on a casual night. The funny thing was that this fellow was sitting very close to where the Captain and his wife were hosting a table of President's Club members, most of whom we knew. Bet they noticed.
Anyway, we ordered one salad, and a bowl of tomato soup. The entrees we chose were lamb chops, and the tenderloin without the grilled shrimp. They were OK but not the quality of the Pinnacle Grill. The dinners were served on a very hot plate, which helped immensely. Desserts were one scoop of orange sorbet, and a slice of tres leches cake.
We asked our head waiter how many folks were leaving in Singapore and he said about 170. The same amount will be joining. At 8:30pm, there was the Captain's Ball with live music and a gala dance with the Volendam's officers and crew. It was to bid farewell to Captain Rens who will be leaving us in Singapore. Captain Frank Van Der Hoeven will take over all the way back to Ft. Lauderdale. We look forward to seeing both him and his lovely wife Alexandria.
No time changes, although an extra hour back would have been good.
Bill & Mary Ann
No Pictures
