The itinerary called today “a scenic view of Vancouver Island as you sail past it”. The program called it a Sea Day. What it actually turned out to be was a day so foggy you didn’t know where you were. There could have been an island or sea out there but I had to take someone’s word for it. But, scenic cruising or regular sea day – didn’t matter to me. I like sea days. You can do as much or as little as you want.
I did manage to sleep until about 6:00. I read until almost 7:00 and then got up to go to the Explorer’s Café for a latte for me and coffee for Chuck. I did sleep well and understand why Chuck likes the inside cabins so much. Very dark and very quiet. Only light was the light coming in from the hallway under the door.
However, because we are in an inside cabin and I didn’t turn the TV to the ship channel, I did not realize it was not going to be a “scenic” day until I was getting our coffees. The fog was so thick and swirling around. Then I heard the captain blow the fog horn for the first of many times today. It was an ear splitter.
We tried walking on the promenade which is one of our favorite activities. But I t was way too windy and cold so we only did one lap. Decided that breakfast in the dining room was a better option.
Shared a table with a gentleman for California and a couple from Tasmania, Australia. They were all very well traveled and were very enthusiastic about European river cruises. Might be nice to try one of them one day. They both agreed that the Budapest to Amsterdam trip is the one to go on if you think are only going to do one river cruise. I had the apricots and an eggs benedict along with my favorite – the raisin bun. Service was slightly slow but we were not in any hurry.
Typical activities for a sea day – art presentations, shopping, future cruise presentations, Microsoft workshops, slot tournaments, etc. People were even in the pools and hot tubs. You could see the steam rising from the pools and tubs. We spent most of the day people watching and talking with other people. I did go to Guest Services so they could log me into the Navigator account on my phone. I kept getting an error message when trying to register. I always forget that for some reason Holland America puts a space between the Mc and Cannon so I was not typing in my name “correctly.” I was also able to call the Pinnacle Grill and get our reservation changed from 5:00 tonight to 7:30 on the 31st.
I thought the oddest thing I saw today was a woman carrying what looked like a two foot Barbie-type doll with the hinged joints at the elbows, knees, and feet. However, that sight was topped by then seeing a man posing the doll (which was in a one piece bathing suit) in various poses along the edge of the pool and taking pictures with a professional type of camera. Selling on Ebay? Performance Art? Weirdo? I guess I will never know. Never did see the woman who had been carrying the doll again.
Had a salad for lunch, did some more people watching and the fog was beginning to lift some, and then decided that a nap was in order. Did I mention I like sea days?
Slept for about an hour and then got cleaned up. Tonight is one of the 3 Gala nights so you are supposed to step up your attire for dinner. Chuck looked very nice in his dress shirt, slacks, and sport coat. I wore one of my “former” work dresses. Since we flew in, we left the tux and the gowns at home. However, I saw several men in tuxes and the women in long gowns. Very elegant. Listened to the piano player in the Ocean’s Bar for about 30 minutes and then went to dinner. We passed on having our picture made.
Sat with 2 other couples both from California. One couple from San Diego have been traveling the United States in an RV since January. Their son is living in and taking care of their house. They said they are tired of California and were considering other states to live. They ruled out the South because of the humidity although they have a daughter who lives in Nashville. Idaho and Utah are their current favorites. I would want to stay a winter there before making final plans. I’ll take humidity over bitter cold any day. I had the shrimp cocktail, carrot soup, yellowfin sole filet with cheesecake for dessert. The service was fine up until the dessert which took forever to come out.
After dinner, Chuck played cards while I worked on this journal and then we went to the show – Variations – which was performed by the Zaandam singers and dancers. Not really sure what the theme of the show was but I thought they performed OK. I thought the men sang better than the women. Chuck said it all sounded the same to him.
The card table was full after the show so we decided to call it a night. We set the clock back one hour tonight so there is an extra hour of sleep. We are due to arrive in Ketchikan tomorrow at 8:00. No big plans for the day. The weather forecast is scattered showers but you never know. We might get lucky and it will just be cloudy.
Our towel animal tonight is a lobster.
Fondest Travel Memories 