John and Diane's Lucky Number 7

[tennisbeforewine]

Thursday, March 7, 2019

At Sea en route to Townsville, Australia

 

Oh my, how the weather has changed.  For the last two days (with the exception of a couple of hours yesterday), we had sunny skies, blue seas, and temperatures in excess of 85 degrees.  When I awoke this morning, I looked out into . . . nothing.  The fog was so thick that I couldn’t see more than 50 feet and the waves seemed almost non-existent.  By the time I had dressed for the gym, John looked out and commented on the rain.  Not only was it raining, but the water was just pouring down onto the outside couple of feet on the verandah.  Then, of course, we realized that we hadn’t taken our tennis shoes inside last night and discovered that, while they weren’t really wet, they were pretty much on the damp side from the earlier fog.

 

Walking into the Lido which leads to the gym from the indoor pool, we noticed a group of crew members very busy with mops and buckets and saw water pretty much just pouring in a stream from Deck 9.  By the time we had finished in the gym and begun breakfast, they seemed to be finished with both jobs:  mopping up the water and stopping the leak.  We do have to remember that this is a 19-year-old ship and when it rains, it sometimes pours in all the wrong places.  If one dog year equals seven human years, I wonder how many human years are in one cruise ship year.

 

One bit of excitement yesterday was the call over the PA system at 6:00 (sailing time) for a young lady who works in the spa.  We finally sailed at about 6:30 and found out this morning from Rene, the spa manager, that her young lady had gone to Manly Beach, taken the ferry back in plenty of time to get to the ship, and then booked a taxi whose driver had no idea where White Bay was and drove around harbors and docks for an hour before driving up to our dock as the ship was sailing away.  The captain has been very understanding and she’ll fly to Townsville to meet the ship there.

 

In looking over our “Where and When” daily schedule this morning, it occurred to me that we’re getting some very good movies this year.  If you watched the Academy Awards, you’d recognize those titles.  Today is “The Favourite,” which won best actress for Olivia Coleman, and we’ve already had “Bohemian Rapsody,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me,” “A Star is Born,” “The Wife,”  and others of that ilk.  Of course there are some that they’d have to pay me to watch, but for the most part the films are of excellent quality.  Today’s movie will be screened in the Queen’s Lounge, because with the top movies more and more people want to see them.  So many of these movies were shown at home before we left, but I was so busy getting ready that I didn’t get a chance to see them.  Hooray HAL.

 

After two days of busyness in Sydney, it’s pretty quiet around the ship today.  However, I think that this morning’s two speakers will have a pretty full audiences.  Ian, the EXC Guide (having taken over from Barbara Haeni, who retired), is speaking about Ned Kelly, the famous Australian outlaw who became a folk hero.  Our first exposure to Ned Kelly came in Hong Kong, of all places.  Several of us wanted to go out the first evening there for some casual food and music, and we went to “Ned Kelly’s Last Stand,” a great pub in the middle of Kowloon.  We’ve gone there pretty much every time we’ve been in Hong Kong and are disappointed that we’re not calling there this time (or next).  The other speaker’s topic is “World War II in the Pacific,” and I’d be willing to bet that the audience will be heavily male - but who knows?

 

We have no set plans for today or tomorrow except to keep up our usual schedule and 

get rested up for Townsville, a port that we’ve never before visited.  That just makes it more interesting and we’ll spend a bit of the next two days looking through the ship information to decide what to do there.  We’ve been told that it’s really hot, but we survived 90 degrees in Sydney, so I guess we’ll do just fine. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great report.

 

Many years ago we had a person who worked in the beauty salon miss the ship in St Thomas.  Our captain was not impressed with her -- when we got to Ft Lauderdale where she met up with the ship, he fired her.

[rafinmd]

KK, I'm surprised the Captain was able to do that, since the Spa people work for a contractor and are not employees of HAL. 

 

Pete and Judy, a question.  For the past year or so the chilled fruit soups have been missing from the HAL menus.  In about the last week they have come back quite regularly on the Prinsendam.  Is that happening on the Amsterdam as well or does it appear to be just one ship?

 

Thanks

Roy

Edited March 7, 2019 by rafinmd

[tennisbeforewine]

refined - I know your question was for Pete and Judy, but since we're here right now, I thought I'd jump right in.  As far as the WC is concerned, there is a chilled fruit soup every night.  Our friend Jane loves them, and generally orders it nightly.  I know that Grand Cruise menus can be somewhat different from regular cruises, but so far so good on that score.  

[rafinmd]

Opps, my mistake.  Are Pete and Judy even on the cruise?

 

Thanks

[tennisbeforewine]

Friday, March 8, 2019

At Sea en route to Townsville

 

If yesterday saw a change in the weather, today is proving it to be even different.  While yesterday was a bit rough, very rainy, and only cleared up a bit in the afternoon, today dawned beautifully blue with a few clouds (or as the daily schedule said, “Partly Sunny), and extremely warm.  I didn’t check the temperature, but when I left the gym this morning and walked into the Lido (with its roof open), I think it must have been about 90, with similar humidity.  It’s funny how many people go the whole day without going outside - it’s easy to do, I guess - but with today’s weather, I can understand the wish to do so.

 

That break in the rain yesterday afternoon found the pickleball players mopping up the court and getting in a few games.  John is definitely mended, and although he wraps his calf to provide extra support when he plays, he is certainly back in the mix.  They play each afternoon at 2:30, and lest you think it’s all men who play, it’s not.  A woman named Diane (not me) is generally agreed to be the best player on the ship, and none of the men can beat her.  I love it!

 

We picked up our new book, China Rich Girlfriend, today, and although I’ve already read it, having all three of Kevin Kwan’s trilogy on my Kindle, I’ll read it again so I can discuss it intelligently when the book club meets.  I imagine that the third book, Rich People Problems, will be on the list for next year, since we’re again calling in Singapore.  

I loved the first book, was OK on the second, and thought the third wrapped up the trilogy beautifully.  

 

Tonight is not a formal (gala) night, but the schedule says that it’s a “Rainbow Dinner” to celebrate life, healing, sunlight, nature, harmony, peace and spirit.  I’m not really sure what that all means, but while we were finishing dinner last night, the dining room stewards were hanging multi-colored paper lanterns from the ceiling.  I do love it when the dining room is decorated, especially when the decorations are easy to put up and take down and take little time from the dining room stewards.

 

Tomorrow is Townsville, a port which we’ve never visited.  According to Tripadvisor, it’s extremely walkable, and according to some people to whom we’ve spoken, it has an excellent aquarium.  The distinction of this particular aquarium is that it features only native Australian sea creatures rather than from all over the world.  In that respect, it reminds me of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, my personal favorite, which displays not only sea creatures from the bay, but has a wonderful two-story kelp forest, among which swim all kinds of fish.  Since we’re in port for a full day, I think we should be able to do both as well as find a great place for lunch.  

 

Now it’s time for Trivia, so I hope to tell you tomorrow that we’ve done better than we have recently.  

 

P. S.  We scored 12, with the winner having 13.  Oh well.

         Also, Pete and Judy aren't on this WC.  That's too bad, because we enjoyed their blog so much we'd like to meet them.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Opps, my mistake.  Are Pete and Judy even on the cruise?
 
Thanks

We will be back on 2020......


www.theinsidecabin.com

[tennisbeforewine]

Pete and Judy -

See you then!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad the weather has improved enough that you all can play pickleball.  And John can play as well.

 

Rainbow dinner sounds different.

 

Enjoying your reports.

[cccole]

I love when "we" are experiencing a port for the first time.  Townsville sounds pretty nice.  I agree about the Monterey Bay Aquarium's kelp forest.  I have experienced it several times and am always enthralled.  I wonder what the "Rainbow Dinner" is celebrating.  Or just another fun day on the WC.  Cherie 

[tennisbeforewine]

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Townsville, Australia

 

We’ve been to Cairns, Australia to explore the Great Barrier Reef and thought it was the nearest big city to do so, but today we discovered Townsville, We found that this lovely town is actually larger than Cairns and is the center of research of the Reef.  In fact, the city’s aquarium is the center of study of the Great Barrier Reef.  

 

Three years ago, the WC was supposed to call at a nearby port, but it was a tender port and the seas were too rough, so there was a search for another port with a dock - hence the discovery of Townsville by HAL.  Captain Jonathan tells us that the Amsterdam was the first cruise ship to call here, but now there are several.  I guess the populace decided that Cairns shouldn’t get ALL the income from cruise ships.  They’ve also now built a new warehouse-like structure to welcome visitors - and to allow locals to set up stalls.  The other nice thing that the locals do is provide a shuttle to the middle of town as well as a small white bus which takes tourists on a loop around the city with narration as well as frequent stops.  It’s rather like a small, free HOHO bus.

 

The day was hot, but the rain in the morning cooled it off - at least temporarily.  John had examined his court shoes and decided that they were a little “iffy” for pickleball, so our first job was to find new ones.  There was a nice little skateboard/sport shop that we discovered on Flinders Street, the “main drag.” After looking at several pair, he decided not on the pair that looked the coolest, but on the ones that fit the best and had good traction to avoid another injury.  

 

Next we found a cozy shop for cappuccino and a wonderfully flaky croissant and headed back down the other side of the street.  There were a couple of very good thrift stores, but I’m just not enough of a shopper, and then we found Woolworths, still alive and kicking in New Zealand and Australia.  Our first goal was granola bars to pack for India, but then we found the Tim Tam aisle.  If you’ve never tasted Australia’s favorite cookie, try to find a store which sells them.  They come in several different flavors, and we settled on three:  dark chocolate and sticky raspberry, chocolate malt and sticky caramel, and just plain old dark chocolate.  Finally, I scouted out a bag of Australian licorice.  I love licorice and the soft Aussie type is my favorite.  

 

In the sport store, the young men recommended two places for lunch, the brewery down the street or Longboard on The Strand at the beach.  We’re always up for beachfront places, so we hiked about half a mile until we found it - and found Rich and Ginni.  It’s a great casual restaurant which is somehow linked with the makers of Longboard Ale on the Big Island of Hawaii.  We ordered tacos, fish for John and pulled pork for me, but when we saw them being taken to other tables, we realized that each order was four quite large tacos - enough to share with a friend.  Rich and Ginni had been smart enough to just have one order, but we were stuck with two orders.  Leaving the tortillas behind, we barely ate three each, but they were nicely washed down with a Longboard Ale for John and a cider for me.  We ran into Bill and Mary Ann a few tables down and saw to our complete lack of surprise that they had ordered pizza (and a couple of beers).  When we saw them back on the ship for sailaway, they told us about a wonderful dessert they shared with a base of shaved pineapple, topped by three scoops of ice cream and frozen yogurt, and then topped with cut up fruit.  It sounded wonderful!

 

Back at the ship it was time for a nap.  While it was over 90 degrees outside, the AC inside was quite welcome and made it easy to sleep for an hour before the sailaway on the back deck.  We chatted with friends, watched the land move away, and now we’re on our way to Cairns tomorrow, for an adventure on the Great Barrier Reef.

 

 

 

[DFD1]

Your posts are great fun to read.  Wonderful writing and vivid descriptions of what you are seeing and doing. The pictures are an extra treat. Thank you for sharing your journey.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Townsville sounds like a great little town.

 

I know that I would be taking back to the ship a ton of those dark chocolate Tin Tam cookies.  They sound wonderful.

 

Glad that John got a new pair of shoes for pickleball and hopefully won't have another accident.

 

Great pictures.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the report.

Those cookies sound great.

Great pictures too!

[tennisbeforewine]

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Cairns, Australia

 

What a wonderful day we had in Cairns.  Following our “day late and dollar short” philosophy of shore excursions, we decided just two days ago to see if we could join Bill, Jane, Rich, and Ginni on their half-day excursion to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef.  Luckily for us, there were four seats left, so we joined right up.

 

Several years ago we read about all the things to do in or near Cairns and decided that our one-day stop just wouldn’t be enough time.  We therefore flew up from Sydney and spent three days enjoying activities numbers 1, 2, and 3 on Tripadvisor.  We went snorkling on the reef, took an outing to Daintree Rain Forest, and took the antique train up to Kuranda (and a gondola back down.)  This time we only had one day, so the Reef was our goal.

 

This snorkling expedition was different from our last one.  Instead of having a nice smooth 1-1/2 hour sail out to a huge platform for our reef exploration, we took the speedy way to get there - a boat which held 38 passengers and traveled at between 30 and 35 MPH over rough seas to our destination.  It was even more exciting than an E ride at Disneyland (if you know that reference).  There were stickers on posts around the boat which said, “Wild in the front; smoother in the back.”  Guess what?  When we got on, most of the seats were taken, so the front was the only option.  I’ve never had a rougher boat ride.  We would fly up in the air and then hit the water (hard!) once or twice, and then we’d do it all over again, laughing all the way.  There had been a warning on the website that people with bad backs shouldn’t go, but if I didn’t have a bad back before our day out, I certainly should have had one afterward.  Luckily, I didn’t.

 

I don’t know how they found “the spot,” but after a quick 45 minutes, we tied up and then were given safety information about snorkling.   A small glass-bottom boat was tied up semi-permanently, so that half of us could go for a boat ride while the others went directly into the water.  

Because of the danger of jellyfish, we wore “stinger suits” which covered everything except our faces.  I learned the proper way to put on my mask and snorkel, and then with my fins, I lowered myself into the water to check out what was below us.  I expected cold water, but it was surprisingly comfortable at about 83 or 84 degrees, even if it was pretty darned choppy.  

 

Our snorkling group had a leader, so we followed him while he told us what we were seeing below.  There were, of course, thousands of bright, colorful fish - even Nemo, or clownfish, and two-foot-long blue parrotfish.  The coral was in beautiful colors, but the most interesting thing to me were the giant clams.  They were about three feet long and just lay there open, waiting for food to come to them.  When our snorkel leader swam down and passed his hand near the shell (NOT inside), that clam snapped shut so fast it made our heads spin.  We found out that a couple of years ago a guide thought it would be a good idea to put his hand IN the clam, which snapped shut on it.  He very nearly drowned while he (successfully) worked at extricating his hand, but when they returned to dock, his employment was terminated.  I guess you call that “adding insult to injury.”  

What a wonderful natural treasure trove is down there, but it’s threatened by chemicals, plastic, and global warming (which has raised the temperature of the water).  We also saw large areas of dead coral which brought this threat home to us.  

 

Once our snorkel tour was over, it was our turn for the glass-bottom boat, and it was amazing how clear everything was through that glass.  We saw more coral, giant clams, and hundreds and thousands of fish, including a group of three clownfish.  We learned that the female clownfish is dominant in any group, and there is also a male and a couple of youngsters.  Interestingly enough, if the female dies, the male becomes a female and takes over the family group.  

 

We had noticed that the sea was getting a bit rougher as the day progressed, and that led to the return trip being even MORE fun than the ride out.  I held on like I was riding a mechanical bull and arrived back in Cairns wet but unscathed.  What a wonderful (and exciting) day.  Upon return to the ship (only 20 minutes before all-aboard), a warm shower felt ever so wonderful, sending all that salt water right down the drain.  All six of us were pretty tired at dinner, and I don’t think anyone from our table went to see the violinist’s show.  The upcoming three sea days on the way to Darwin will get us back to normal.

 

P. S.  If you want to see all of the company's photos of our day of snorkeling, go to Facebook.com/skedaddlecairns, click on photos, and be sure you're on Sunday, March 10.  

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds like you had a great snorkling day.

 

Love your pictures.

 

Don't belong to Facebook.

[tennisbeforewine]

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

At Sea en route to Darwin, Australia

Scenic Cruising of Torres Strait

 

I do love “scenic cruising” days, since in essence they’re just one more sea day.  Today we cruised the Torres Strait, a body of water which is inside several islands, including Wednesday and Thursday Islands.  Really!  The water depth, at about 30 feet, is way too shallow for most ships, but apparently we fit very nicely.

 

At about 7:30 this morning it was announced that we had entered the Strait, signaling that the Crow’s Nest now had coffee, OJ, and “Torres Strait Rolls.”  The interesting thing about these sweet rolls is that they are just like the Panama Canal rolls, the Suez Canal rolls and the Sydney Harbor rolls.  It’s rather an ongoing joke throughout the cruise, but I think they’re just delicious.  They’re light and sweet and are filled with either apricot jam or custard, depending on the chef.

 

Ian, our Port Lecturer, gave an interesting commentary from 8:00 until about 10:30, and that’s where I learned about Wednesday and Thursday Islands, which we sailed past.  He did comment that no one seemed to know what had happened to Friday and Saturday islands.  I guess that’s port lecturer humor.  His lecture was broadcast in the staterooms and over the public area PA system, as well as up in the Crow’s Nest where he was stationed.  We learned that the strait was “discovered” by Captain Cook as a passageway which would be easily sailed by the small ships of the day.  It seems that no matter where you go in the South Pacific, Cook was there.

 

Because it was called “scenic cruising,” Rich and Ginni thought it would be a good excuse for a brunch get-together on the balcony of their suite.  We all agreed and then found that there were a couple of problems.  We had planned to meet there between 10:00 and 10:30, and then found that cruising the actual strait would end at 10:00.  In addition, all the interesting sights were on the port side of the ship; we were on the starboard side.  Not letting small problems get in our way, we still met there for mimosas and other OJ beverages as well as four different dips and cheeses.  We enjoy each other’s company enough that, scenery or not, we had a good time.

 

This is a gala evening, so it’s time to dig out the glad rags and get ready to decide whether  surf and turf or rack of veal sounds better.  There’s also always a nice souffle for dessert, along with some other choices.  It’s just nice to see everyone dressed up, since on the WC it doesn’t seem to be the problem it is on shorter cruises.  We do enjoy dressing up, so we’re looking forward to it.  Our only question is “officer or no officer” at our table.  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.  

 

P. S.  In reference to the “Rainbow Dinner,” it just seemed to be a reason to put pretty multi-colored paper lanterns all around the dining room, line the dining room stairways with neon lights in different colors, and to celebrate peace, love, kindness and understanding.  

 

Also, you don't need to belong to Facebook to access the snorkeling photos.

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Nice get together you all had.  Makes for a nice brunch.

 

I will have to try that link later this morning.

[tennisbeforewine]

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

At Sea en route to Darwin, Australia

 

After our al fresco brunch yesterday (I do love the term “al fresco”), it should have been a nice quiet afternoon, but somehow it wasn’t.  John and Rich had agreed to play pickleball at 2:30, and since it makes me feel guilty to have John exercising while I’m not, I headed for the gym for a second session.  Later I felt like a nap, but by then it was just too late, so I just finished re-reading Crazy Rich Asians and began re-reading China Rich Girlfriend, this month’s Book Club selection.  Even though I’ve read the entire trilogy, I need to review them to be able to discuss them intelligently at the next meeting, which will be the day before Singapore.

 

Last night was a Gala Night, and when we arrived at our table we found it set for ten.  Our two guests for the evening were Pierre, who manages all the shops on board, and Kate, who’s on from Auckland to Singapore, as an expert on opals and pearls.  Pierre is from South Africa and this is his first stint on the Amsterdam.  Kate, originally from California,  lives half the year in Sydney and half the year in Long Beach.  She told us that her three children were all born and raised in Sydney and sound just like typical Aussies.  We introduced them to “cork forking” and there were about twenty minutes of laughter and fun until Rich actually sank that cork.  

 

The show last night featured Benjamin Makisi, a New Zealander of Maori descent, who sings like an angel.  The description in the “Where and When” daily program said he sang “from the world of popular classics, musical theatre, and traditional melodies from Polynesia.”  We really didn’t know what to expect, but found that he was a wonderful operatic tenor who sings at the Sydney Opera.  He began with a Maori welcome song and then launched into several familiar operatic arias, finishing with my favorite, “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot.  The standing ovation was well deserved, but we were disappointed to find out that he’ll be disembarking in Darwin tomorrow so is performing only one show.  We’re just glad we saw it.

 

We dock at Darwin tomorrow morning at 8:00, and since we’re to call our daughter’s family at 3:00 California time, we thought it was perfect timing, since we have to be ashore to use our Verizon Overseas plan.  However, last night we set the clocks back a half hour, so I had to email to let them know that it would be 3:30 instead.  Previously, I had thought that only India caused us to change our clocks a half hour, but I’ve now discovered at least one more.  In addition, since we’re taking an overland tour to India, Nepal, and Bhutan, we found out that Bhutan is actually 15 minutes different from Nepal and India.  India, although it’s an entire subcontinent, has only one time zone, and it’s thirty minutes from the next.  Worldwide time is an interesting study.

 

Now it’s off to Trivia, where we actually WON the day before yesterday.  Full disclosure, however:  we tied with three other teams for that honor.  Oh well, we’ll just keep on trying.  Who knew that a group of owls was called a parliament?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds like a busy exercise sea day.

 

We have encountered those 1/2 hour changes -- really screws up my DH.

 

Beautiful sunset.

 

Now I have learned something -- about a group of owls being called a parliament.

[tennisbeforewine]

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Darwin, Australia

 

If you’ve ever spent time in a sauna, you’d find that Darwin is quite familiar.  We’ve read before that anytime of the year, anyone who feels a need for hot weather should hie themselves to Darwin.  Yesterday was no exception.  The temperature rose to 93 degrees, which wouldn’t have been so bad, but with the humidity, the heat index was 105.  Oh my!  

 

Regardless of the temperature, we had been told by our friend Rene, the spa manager, that it was a nice walk into town, so instead of taking the shuttle, we wandered off for the mile or so.  Fortunately, much of it was shaded, but all of it was interesting.  The port commission has made a lot of improvements to the area near the harbor, with restaurants, pubs, shops and cafes.  We had been told that there was a good Irish pub on the way, and sure enough, there it was.  But since we were headed for the center of town, we just continued, passing the temptations along the way.  The route involved an elevator (here it’s a lift) which took us up five stories to a walkway which crossed the busy street below.  Then it was just a short walk to the visitor center and the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus.  Since we’d never been to Darwin, we decided that the HOHO was a good way to see not only the town but the surrounding areas.  

 

We drove through several exclusive harbor areas and past Charles Darwin Park, where we saw wallabies jumping across the grass in the distance.  One of the places we’ll stop next year was the museum featuring the history of Darwin during WW II (including a vrtual reality experience of the bombing during the war.)  The museum’s main feature, however, was the history of the flying ambulances, which began during the war and continue today.  Because of the huge expanses of lightly populated land in Australia, particularly the Northern Territories, these vehicles are essential in providing emergency service.

 

When we finished our 90-minute outing, we wandered through the pedestrian-only downtown area, picking up and mailing the postcard we send to our granddaughter from each port and wandering into and out of shops.  It didn’t really matter what they sold; the deciding factor was the air conditioning.  When we went into the Woolworth’s market, the AC was on high, and it felt just wonderful, especially in the refrigerated foods aisle.  

 

Returning, we ran into Rich and Ginni and, while they had a few errands, we decided to meet later and head to that Irish pub.  Since we had time, I found a cute little boutique where some navy blue shorts on the outdoor display just “spoke to me.”  Of course, what they said was, “Buy me,” and hating to disappoint anyone, I did.  

 

Then we met up, returned across the air bridge, and wandered into the pub, blissful at finding even more AC.  The bartender was jovial and was happy to provide us with advice about the three beers and my cider.  We ordered two platters of what was basically fish and chips for the four of us, but it was made with barramundi, and since this area of Australia is the home of barramundi fishing, it was delicious, some of the best I’ve had.  The “chips” were cooked to a lovely crisp, and overall it was a great lunch, even better for having shared it and not being stuffed afterward.

 

Returning to the ship was another delicious experience of AC, and while some of you may live in places where these weather conditions are common, those of us from California don’t really understand humidity and are just wimps when it comes to humid

 weather.  A nap was definitely called for.  

 

After dinner, we knew we had to go to the show, since it was Michelle Montuori’s second  appearance.  We’d skipped her first, but when we heard the glowing reports that she had a wonderful voice and was as funny as heck, we knew we’d get a second chance.  She was indeed a great combination of virtuoso singing and humor.  She wore a black, sequined “cat suit,” and started out her act telling us she’d asked the bass player if it made her look fat. According to Michelle, his answer was, “No, it’s your belly and your bum that make you look fat.”  It just continued from there.

 

We set our clocks and watches back another half hour last night, and now we have two wonderful sea days to catch up on rest and whatever.    

 

P. S.  Australia is famous for its snakes and spiders, so I thought I'd include a lovely photo from the museum which features an exhibit on them.  

[Krazy Kruizers]

Both of us are wimps with humidity.  Heat is one thing but we can't stand it when the humidity is high which is often the case.  We stay inside in the AC.  I know we would not have done all that walking that you did in that heat.

 

Having been bitten by a large snake many years ago, I no longer like them or ugly spiders.

 

Great pictures.

[tennisbeforewine]

Saturday, March 16, 2019

At Sea en route to Komodo Island

 

After a quiet and restful day, it was our turn for the Captain’s Dinner last evening.  During the world cruise, each passenger who is sailing the entire WC is invited to a dinner with the captain in the Pinnacle restaurant.  This year was a bit of a record, with more than a thousand passengers in that category.  That meant 15 Captain’s Dinners, each with more than 80 guests.  Since last night was the last, we only had about 65 people in attendance.  Many passengers love these dinners since every table has an officer and they get to meet new people.

 

Our experience has been the same on our three last world cruises.  I think because I’m pretty good friends with Karen, Captain Jonathan’s wife, we’ve been placed at the captain’s table, with me sitting next to Captain Jonathan and John next to Karen.  This year they skipped the long 14-person table in the back room and simply put six of us at a much smaller table.  We were pleased to meet new friends, Jenny and Don from Canton, Georgia.  Coincidentally, they live in the same over-55 community as our friends Woody and Susie.  They don’t know them yet, so Jenny told us she’s going to introduce herself to Susie when they get back home.  

 

The Captain is a very funny guy.  As he sat down, he sighed heavily and said, “The Last Supper - finally!”  I really don’t know how he manages to get through 15 of these, smiling and being charming, not only during dinner but for “photo ops” outside the restaurant as people enter.  The conversation we had about these events was quite interesting.  I guess the problem is not that Jonathan doesn’t enjoy them; the  real problem is the loss of revenue for The Pinnacle.  He said that the estimate is that these 15 dinners cost HAL $80,000 to 90,000 in lost revenue.  The suggestion is to have some kind of a grand and glorious event in the main dining room next year and call it The Captain’s Dinner.  I know this will make some passengers unhappy, but as we told the captain, we’d be perfectly happy with the new arrangement.  

 

The food and wine were, as usual, excellent.  We began with an dish called “avocado tartare,” which consisted of pureed avocado served alongside all kinds of tasty little things.  Next was a tomato bisque, my favorite dish.  We were given a bowl with what they called “tomato jam,” a lump of pureed tomato.  Over that was then poured cream of tomato soup and, when combined, it created a treat for the taste buds.  The fish course was seared ahi tuna, which I usually don’t care for, but it had so many things atop it that I thought it was actually pretty good.  

 

Then came the main course, small rounds of roasted veal and lamb served with little vegetables, tiny round potatoes, and a cute little slice of eggplant wrapped around something good.  The dessert, called chocolate mille feuille, looked wonderful.  There were two rectangles of dark chocolate layered with whipped white chocolate and decorated with berry gel.  It’s lent, so I don’t eat anything with sugar, but I really enjoyed my plate of strawberries and blueberries.  

 

Since dinner finished before 8:00, we headed to our regular table where our waiters added two chairs for us.  We stayed through their dinner, but we didn’t have any room for any more food.  The “hit” on the menu last night seemed to be lobster mac and cheese, and several people at the table enjoyed it.  We just chatted, had a glass of wine, and then enoyed “cork forking” at the end of the meal.  

 

Today it’s pouring out, so I’m sitting here in the library hardly able to see the ocean since the rain is pounding so heavily against the windows.  It should be a good day to just stay inside, take a nap, and enjoy life. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Your special dinner sounds wonderful.

 

Dessert looks delicious.

 

Great pictures.

[puppycanducruise]

Your dinner sounds wonderful, thanks for telling us about it.

I'm enjoying reading about your travels.  Lovely pictures.