Finally, a day at sea to relax or was it? During the late evening, the going got rough and we may have been experiencing the 8 foot seas the Captain had mentioned. By the way, we forgot to mention that shortly before the Volendam pulled away from the dock in Halong Bay, a drone appeared in the sky passing back and forth on the port side of the ship. It was a bit unnerving knowing we were being filmed by an unknown entity. Not sure that flying these contraptions around a cruise ship is legal. But we have to remind ourselves we are not in the United States anymore.
It was fun at breakfast where several friends shared their day's activities in Halong Bay. We all did something different and agreed it was a very interesting and fun visit there. We have yet to hear how the trips to Hanoi went.
One notice we got a few days ago was about Starlink outages that may occur around Hong Kong and Taiwan. Limited by government restrictions, we may not have strong satellite coverage from April 1st to the 5th. There may be slower browsing, partial loss of signal, and temporary outages. For this reason, we have been asked to reduce our use of bandwidth intense services. Thinking back to last year, we believe we had this same message. However we do not think it came to fruition, or was very temporary.
A walk for one of us on the promenade deck was good, while the other worked on labeling photos. While we are on the subject of the promenade deck, we all got a letter notifying everyone that NO jogging or running is allowed on that deck. Deck two right under deck three has cabins, and it can sound like a herd of elephants running over your roof. We know….we have been in those rooms in the past. If you need to jog, the deck nine is your option. And furthermore, we are all requested to walk counterclockwise to avoid accidents. So that tells us there have been some of those accidents when the walkers cut the corners too close. Some folks do not like other walkers on their heels, so they choose to walk opposite the traffic. Not a good idea.
A third notice was printed in today's "The Daily" newsletter. This was concerning our transit of the Qiongzhou Strait, which happens to be a Chinese military zone. So between the hours of 9am and 3pm, we were asked that all forms of photography and video were strictly prohibited during this time. We were told the area was under close surveillance by the Chinese authorities, which we learned from Captain Frank at dinner that a security vessel did pass by the Volendam a few times during that period. Our cooperation was highly appreciated. However, not everyone got the message and during his walk, Bill saw several people with cell phones holding them up from the lounges and snapping pictures. Geez….sometimes we think we're on a ship with defiant little kids.
The Princeton Tailors from Hong Kong boarded the ship a few days ago to sell custom-made garments to both men and women. They have been onboard most every year ever since the Amsterdam took over the world cruises. And it was back then that one of us had a tuxedo made, along with a matching vest and bowtie in silk brocade. A white dinner jacket was also ordered well as two dress wing tip shirts. Following that, he had more vests and ties made every time we sailed the world as long we stopped in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, in 2023 Luggage Forward lost three of our suitcases while shipping them to our home. One was located, but the two that were never found had all of his formalwear, brand new dress shoes, and much of my stuff too. We did get some compensation, but not nearly as much as the clothing was worth. Lesson learned: get the extra insurance before shipping. It is quite affordable, especially when you may be getting some luggage shipped free.
So now we had the perfect opportunity to replace the tuxedo jacket and slacks, a silk brocade full vest with a matching bowtie, and one white wing-tip tuxedo shirt. The new order should be delivered to our room by 2pm on April 2nd and even better, we could charge it to our shipboard account and use some of the "use it or lose it" credit. Now we hope it fits…….The tailor took numerous measurements, and it was done right outside the Ocean Bar. Going to him at 5pm, there were no customers and he had lots of time to get it right.
We snacked on crackers and cheese in our room instead of having a real lunch, since we had a special early dinner planned for this evening. A few days ago we received an invitation from the Captain and Florin for an exclusive President's Club Event today, March 31st. Pre-dinner drinks were held in the Explorer's Lounge at 5:30pm, although most of our group were already seated well before that. Dinner followed in the Pinnacle Grill at 6:15pm. And the dress code was "dressy" although everyone else onboard was casual. Much better and more comfortable than formal we think.
Tables for four were set up in the back end of the Explorers Lounge and friends Cathy & Mike joined us. As well as sailing on many world voyages together, they were also on the 2002 Asia Pacific Explorer cruise where we experienced those 55-foot seas near Dutch Harbor. We still have memories from that near-disaster trip. In all of the cruises we sailed, we never had the chance to meet until now. We were served beverages of our choice along with some very tasty hors d'oeuvres. The time flew by, and soon we were escorted a few at a time to the Pinnacle Grill. We were the last to be taken with Gayle and Marty and brought to the back room where we dined with Captain Frank and his lovely wife Alexandra. Instead of being seated at the long table, they were split up into two tables of six. It was much easier to have a good visit because we could all hear each other talk. Having sailed with the Captain and his wife ever since 2023, we were all at ease with the conversation, which was non-stop. We enjoyed getting to know Marty and Gayle better as well.
The menu was unlike any meal we have had in the Pinnacle Grill , created by the top chefs in the kitchen. The starters were scallops in a strawberry jelly and colossal crab mini pillows. Only one of us had these appetizers, due to the shellfish allergy. Goat cheese and a potato and zucchini tempura was substituted…..thank you Lelik. A Javanese-style oxtail soup followed with a shaved truffle over the top. Tasty and different. A palate cleanser was served next which had conflicting tastes. Glad it was a mini serving. The entrée was a beef ribeye with a nice gravy with the finale being a tiny chocolate box of coffee mousse. All of us had been seated by 6:30pm, and the meal went to almost 9:30pm. And we have to mention that wines were served with every course, except the palate cleanser. They came from France, New Zealand, Oregon, California, and an Evening Amber liqueur with dessert. Only the Captain and his wife indulged since the four of us do not drink the wine. And come to think of it, Captain Frank prefers beer, which he had instead of the several wines.
After dinner was over, the chefs and their assistants came through the dining rooms for a parade among the guests, who gave them a very loud applause. On or way out, we stopped and thanked Florin for arranging this evening for our group. Normally we only have one of these special dinners and that is when the new inductees are getting their pins. Florin said we will do another one when that time comes later in the cruise.
There was a show this evening on the World Stage with a saxophonist by the name of Ian Jacinto with funky soul and sultry jazz and more. We'll have to catch it the next time he is on stage.
So much for the relaxing day at sea.
Bill & Mary Ann
