Day At Sea

Today we (I) woke to a beautiful sunrise off the bow so we must still be still heading south westerly which is great to see! I say the “we” cautiously as the curtains in this cabin that cover the balcony and the front window over the port side of the bow above the sofa are both electronically controlled. So if I want to see outside, I need to press a button to open them. That makes a noise and it is NOT quiet – more of a squeal type of sound. Well poor Andrew jumped out of sleep when I did that this morning as he was not used to the noise! He quickly went back to sleep though so not much of a disturbance. Here is the picture over the bow of the sunrise –

Today (which I neglected to take a picture of) breakfast arrived CORRECTLY! Wahoo! Nothing like a strong start to the day! I got what I ordered and especially Andrew got the number of things he ordered (we now figured out that a 1 for whole wheat toast means 1 piece of bread not for 1 person) so we now need to enter a 2 for the bread category! Also the cutlery, jam and butter showed up this time too which was nice. Nothing like an all inclusive breakfast! Tomorrow I will try for a picture!

While on the subject of food – there are some changes that I have observed since we last cruised with Holland America and also that seem to be happening in the cruise industry in general. First, Holland America offers a “Have it All” package, which we got at a fairly discounted price as we booked this cruise about 2 years out. For a cruise over 21 days, it includes for each of us, the Elite Beverage package (15 drinks a day priced under $15), 3 shore excursions up to $100 each, and dining in 3 specialty restaurants on the ship during our cruise. On top of that, as we booked during a Labour Day Sale, the crew gratuities are also included. So, for Andrew and I, the Elite Beverage package we are definitely not going to make full use of – I generally do not drink and as Coke Zero costs $2.95 I am WAY below the $15 cap on each drink. Drinking 15 Coke Zero in a day also would be outrageous! It is nice for Andrew though as he can try different types of wine with dinner – there are two different Beverage packages – one is for drinks under $11 and ours is for under $15 so there are a couple more wines available for Andrew to choose from which is great.

The challenge that cruise ships are facing with these “Beverage” packages is that BOTH people in the cabin must have the same beverage package. Now, following the 80/20 rule, that probably works out most of the time, 80% of the population would either both have a Beverage package or not. However sometimes people cannot drink (or choose not to drink) and for one spouse or partner that could be an issue. I do not know what the answer to this is, however it is becoming standard on all cruise lines – which is different from when Andrew and I first started cruising – all occupants in a suite (legal drinking age of course) need to have the same Beverage package. Gone are the days where Andrew could have the Beverage package and I have the Soda package! It is interesting observing the controversy on this both online and the discussions happening on the ship – people abusing the privilege vs the wishes for some people not to drink!

Moving onto less controversial subjects now, Andrew successfully went for his walk on the Promenade deck today with just his shorts and t-shirt which was a success! He did 9 or 10 laps – he lost count. I will have to go look at the plaque which indicates how many laps equals a kilometre or mile and report back! I am still averaging 10,000 steps a day walking the ship and will, once my pain evens out in my legs, start walking on the deck too. I just cannot keep up with Andrew long stride!

I enjoyed a calligraphy class today where the teacher, when she saw I could already do letters and was struggling with the paintbrush style pens that they had, gave me a calligraphy (felt) pen, I was off to the races! I had so much fun writing the alphabet again! That class flew by! I am not going to show you what I did as it is a work in progress…and a Christmas present!

The next class was a watercolour class. I did not pay attention and started painting early and so I missed a REALLY important step on how to do dry vs. wet painting! This student was chatting with her neighbour too much about knitting. So my jellyfish got a bit out of control, however in the end worked out okay! I will need to take the class again it looks like to practice what the instructor was intending me to do – the next class is mushrooms (Dad I am going to spare you that pun) and I will try and do better next time! I have included my picture above.

Next was lunch – no pictures today – I had a clear chicken and leek soup with a bagel with provolone cheese on it. Andrew had a really good looking lunch of 2 salmon tacos! I wish I had taken a picture of them as they looked exquisite! They were in a wheat tortilla, however only half a large wheat tortilla was used for each taco – which made the meal less bread like and have more nutritional value!

Andrew and I sat in one of the lounges for a while in the afternoon looking out at the sea – I did a Sudoku puzzle (the ship has a new one every day) while he kept up on the sports and news happening around the world. We also had picked up the “Canadian” news summary that is provided in the Library each day (along with the Sudoku, New York Times and American news summary).

Back in the room we relaxed and I caught up on some Estate work to be done for our arrival in Japan, prior to our 7pm dinner reservation in the Pinnacle Restaurant on the Noordam. This is my second food observation – I like the ability to try out the specialty dining restaurants on board the ships – we have several both paid and included reservations booked for our cruise, however I am noticing a reduction in both the quantity and higher end offerings in these restaurants, with often what we experienced in 2022 on the Niew Statendam is now an up-charge in the restaurants. Such as the lobster or crab items I could order on the last cruise and this time they cost between $10 and $19 each. Not a big deal – it is just an observation. Also, the portion sizes, which I LIKE are more reasonable! On previous cruises it used to drive me nutty with the amount of food that I was served – especially gluten free bread – often 3-4 slices at dinner. I would ask for only 1 slice and the next night – 3-4 slices would show up, which I would not eat. Now I get 1 slice or a couple of fingers of gluten free baguettes. Much better! The dinner portions in the Main Dining room are also much better too! Let’s just say they have taken the “Supersize” out of the meals which is great to see!

We arrived at the Pinnacle Grill and had a lovely table for two which was situated near the lobby instead of the outside of the ship. It was a nice and open area and not claustrophobic! Andrew had the pleasure of reading the menu and choosing what he wanted to eat. I had read the menu the night before and written down what I wanted to eat so that they could prepare it for me gluten free – there is only one allergen kitchen on the boat so my meal needed to come from the allergen kitchen and not the kitchen for the Pinnacle Grill. Thus they need advance warning 🙂

I had selected the Coconut Seafood Chowder with Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops with the backup of Lobster Bisque if they could not make the Chowder. For the Main I selected the Glazed Chilean Sea Bass with Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes and for Dessert, the Chocolate Souffle! I was pleasantly surprised, for the 2nd time in my life, to receive on Holland America a Lobster Bisque! It was superb and delicious! Such as luxury to be able to be served such fine food where other restaurants do not go to these lengths to please their guests. The Chilean sea bass was very flaky and delicate in texture however as always, the Chocolate Souffle made the night! So light and airy with the chocolate sauce! Oh la la! They served us Macaroons to “snack” on while we waited for my Chocolate Souffle to rise!

Andrew also had the Lobster Bisque – which was a deeper red brown colour than mine so we knew they were different. He had prime rib and a key lime pie for dessert! All met his palate needs very well and he was quite pleased with his dinner too!

After that dining adventure we had to cool off! So we came back to the stateroom and watched a movie about penguins in the South Pole – it was narrated by Morgan Freeman and his DEEP voice – it was a really interesting movie to see how the penguins survive in such a cold and unforgiving climate!

All for now – see you all tomorrow for another day at sea and hopefully a balcony visit!

Today we woke up to a smooth sea, however it was a bit cloudy and no sunrise! As we are now heading south west-ish and we are on the port (left) side of the ship (boat for my dad just to tease him) it was kind of strange to experience no sunrise! All good though! Up bright and early as we are now 1 hour behind PST and does our body know that? NOPE! Wide awake before sunrise! Currently Honolulu where we are headed is 3 hours behind PST so I expect we will go back and hour every 2 nights so our arrival in Honolulu will be on Hawaiian Time.

Today, breakfast in the room was a bit of a disaster. I normally pre-order my breakfast as I have the same thing everyday. Then when Andrew figures out at night what he wants to have the next morning, we put it on the Room Service door hanger and add to please send my pre-ordered meal. Somehow the wires got crossed in the kitchen and they sent a double meal to me which was quite amusing – so I had two frittatas (one that I had ordered and one regular one with onions and chili flakes I do not care for), two bowls of cottage cheese and two bowls of fruit! I dislike getting extra food as it goes to waste! I really like the frittata on Holland America – it is an egg with spinach and asparagus and a little bit of goat cheese! The one good thing is that we moved from the little fruit plate and tiny square (about 1 tsp) of cottage cheese to now a small bowl of each – about 1/2 cup which is exactly what I like and I was able to tell the waiter that amount was perfect – but just one serving of each please!

Now, it was off to some arts and crafts for me and Andrew was going for his walk. The weather has warmed up a degree or two, however we have still not entered the “warm” zone yet. As we are traveling to warmer climates Andrew did not bring his sweatshirt with him so his thin rain jacket is all he has to protect him from the wind.

The crafts on deck for this morning are: Origami, crochet and then doodling! Then lunch and relaxing and some computer work this afternoon. Today is the day of the butterfly. So we did a butterfly Origami (mine really did not work out very well), and then we moved onto basic crochet. The class was VERY full – over 40 ladies attended! The instructor ran out of balls of yarn and had to scramble to find some left overs to share. Luckily there were about 10 people in the class like myself who knew how to crochet, so we were paired with at least one other new to crochet person as this class was to learn the fundamental stitches of chain, single and half double crochet. I helped a lady named Rose to learn how to crochet! We had lots of fun! Then the class area was turned over to a new instructor named Mailyn and she was in charge of Doodling. As it was butterfly day, we doodled a butterfly! She provided some examples on the overheard to start (I have never been to this kind of class before but know how to doodle), so I drew out one of the shapes and started. Then she sat down and drew a different shape and most of the class followed her and her design. I was on my own at that point! I have not completed my doodle as there was only time to do one wing (Mailyn’s had a butterfly at rest with just one wing displayed) were my butterfly was in flight with both wings open! It is a work in progress. I was unprepared for both the crochet and doodle classes as there was a problem with the Navigator app in the morning and the classes I had signed up for got switched to tomorrow and the ones that I had planned to take tomorrow ended up being today – so my crochet hooks and pens were down in the cabin and not with me. I can catch up later 🙂

We had a nice quick lunch in the Dining Room and met some new waiters who were lovely and well versed on serving someone with Celiac Disease. I must say that Holland America has the ordering and production of the meals as smooth process now and I am not that concerned about cross contamination as every time I ask a question, they get back to me with what I deem is a valid answer.

After lunch we took it easy and as it was cloudy out, we decided to check out the movies available on the nice 40 or larger TV in our stateroom. What better movie to play? Top Gun! Nothing like watching some planes land on air craft carriers at sea, similar to where we are presently cruising (no pun intended there)! We then started watching the sequel – Top Gun – Mavrick, however as tonight is a Formal(ish) night on the ship, we had to also get ready for dinner, so we put the end on pause and went to dinner first! Also tonight was the introduction of the key managers on the ship in the World Theatre,, which towers 3 decks high, below us in the bow of the ship. The Cruise Director is on the left and that is the Captain speaking, with his 2nd in command next to the Cruise Director and then the Hotel/Guest Manager, Chief Engineer and Environmental Officer. Lastly is the Future Cruise Specialists who wants us to all book another cruise with him! The Captain was fairly funny, joking around on stage. There are actually 800 staff on board from over 35 countries! He thought they should all join us in the theatre until the Cruise Director pointed out that some had pretty important jobs such as currently steering the ship and serving the guests!

Here is a sample of the food that I ate today – the GF “Farmers” soup at lunch with my bagel with provolone cheese was EXCELLENT! We each had a jumbo shrimp cocktail for dinner and then I had chicken and crème brûlée for dessert. My dessert was nothing to write home about as it was a salted caramel and I do not particularly like salted food, however Andrew partook in dessert too and ordered the GF Chocolate Ganache cake and it was WONDERFUL! I did not get a picture of it though!

Back in our stateroom we arrived to be greeted with our first towel animal – a pig or a dog – not sure which! It was really cute and had two Lindt chocolates at its hoofs/paws. We then watched the rest of the Top Gun – Maverick movie, filled out our Room Service card and hoped for a smooth breakfast service in the morning!

The seas tonight were quite calm and getting to sleep was very easy – too easy actually! We also set our clocks back another hour, so at 2am tomorrow morning, we will now be 2 hours earlier than Vancouver Daylight Savings time. Honolulu is currently 3 hours ahead of Vancouver Daylight Savings time. So it looks like we have another hour to go back yet before we arrive in Hawaii!

Catch you all tomorrow!

Today is Thanksgiving Day and we started the morning with both a beautiful sunrise off the port side (which gave me an indication of the direction we were traveling) and an announcement from the Cruise Director whose is Mexican however signs off every announcement with ciao, ciao! like he is Italian! Quite interesting in this multicultural city at sea.

We had what I would call light to medium swells night at sea, which was confirmed by the captain at noon when he told us we were heading into 2.5 to 3 metre seas and trying to avoid a storm by heading west first and then more south to Hawaii to avoid a storm. We are currently cruising at 13 knots during the day however it is our impression that he puts the throttle up at notch at night!

Today I set out early to get my manicure and pedicure done while Andrew walked around the deck a couple of times which he found cold and blustery (he normally walks each day at home to Jericho Beach). Then we met for lunch and at 2pm I hosted a “Meet at Greet” on the ship for those who belong to the online group called “Cruise Critics”. We met all the people we had been chatting with over the last 18 months! I also, with another lady, ran a little trivia game with Canadian prizes (it was Thanksgiving after all) and it seems a good time was had by all! I had booked space for 40 people, had enough name tags for 50 people and 38 people showed up! Only minor issue is that someone on Holland America did not READ the meeting request properly and set the space up for 14 people! So we were a bit squished in the area. However we were in the Crows Nest on the 10th deck facing the bow so the view was great! I was amazed how many Canadians and people from the UK were on board!

After the Meet and Greet, there was supposed to be a Ukulele show on the Lido deck, which I found to be a family affair! A mother was talking about the origins of the ukulele and then playing it, while her daughter then did some hula dances. It was quite nice, although I was disappointed that they were not offering ukulele lessons like on our previous voyage to Hawaii.

After that cultural experience, which I really like that Holland America brings these Cultural Ambassadors on board the ship for this part of the crossing, we had some time in our stateroom where I fought with my new yarn and trying to get it nicely into a ball (was not successful) and then we went to Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a casual night tonight and while I did wear a nice skirt, I wore my Canad EH ian t-shirt which did not impress Andrew! I thought it was appropriate attire for the evening! Cruise ships have become way less formal for dinner these days and no one blinked an eye – in fact lots of people liked my shirt!

Dinner was awesome, aside from the cold berry soup. I like berries but decided that I do not like cold berry soup for an appetizer! Oh well, something tried for sure! The turkey dinner was unbelievable – the turkey I could cut with the side of my fork it was so tender! While this plate shows only a TINY square of cranberry sauce and gravy – two more soon arrived which made my evening! The fact that I got a double serving of petite chou’s (brussel sprouts) also made my night! Of course I adopted Andrew’s as well as he had turkey dinner too. Dessert was a coconut rice pudding – light and small – just perfect end to the meal!

After a fairly active day of walking (over 10,000 steps for me) we called it a night, filled out the room service menu for the next morning to have breakfast in the room and went to bed! The nice thing that happened in the evening, which the captain promised earlier in the day, was that the seas did calm down and we started heading south. So hopefully less tossing around tonight at sea for those who do not like the slight bumps! For me, bring them on! 🙂