Sunday, July 24, 2022
I really was ready to relax. After we ate lunch, I laid down on the bed “just for a minute” but woke up only just in time to see the sail-away at 4:30. I found Chuck on the Sea View deck. He said he spent time on the balcony watching the street scenes and then went to the deck. He said I was napping so hard I was snoring. (I knew he was kidding because I don’t snore.)
I was glad I didn’t miss the sail-away as we passed under two bridges with very little clearance. Reminded me of when we sail out of Tampa and go under the Sunshine Bridge and the smokestacks just barely make it.
Dinner tonight for me was sweet potato soup, a salad, and swordfish. Chuck had the steak.
After dinner, we played some slots and then went to the piano bar lounge to listen to the singer. We had not been there until now. She had a good voice, played expertly, and bantered well with the guests. You could tell the ones in the audience that have come here frequently. A piano bar used to be a staple on the HAL ships and had quite the following. Now on most of the HAL ships, they have moved to a two piano/two singer – dueling piano – format. I think the reviews have been mixed.
We went to see the main stage show – Saxophonist Akos Laki. He played a number of instruments, but you could tell he loved the saxophone and clarinet the most. He played classical, rock, and New Orleans jazz. He was backed up by the Ocean Bar band and the classical pianist performer (Filip Wojciechowski) even came out and joined him in some jazz numbers. We thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
We listened to the Ocean Bar band’s one set of the night and called it an evening.
Woke up at 7:30 and made my way to the Coffee Bar at 8:00. Sat on the balcony watching the sea go by. It was a little foggy, but I could tell the air was getting warmer as we sailed south toward the Netherlands. Neither of us were hungry, so we opted for another coffee from the Coffee Bar and continued to watch the sea.
The program advertised that the shops were having a sale today. For this cruise, we had a lot of onboard credit that we needed to spend or lose. Normally, we will use it to help pay the daily crew gratuities, but gratuities were included on this trip. If we are driving to/from the port, we will purchase the duty-free liquor, but we flew this trip. I had already purchased the excursions we wanted so we just decided to see what the shops had to offer.
Chuck found a very nice jacket for 60% off. I found a sweatshirt I liked but it wasn’t on sale. However, as part of our mariner benefits, we get 15% off HAL clothing so I got it. Chuck also got his mariner discount on top of the sale price, so he was very happy.
After a nice Lido lunch, we spent most of the day enjoying the balcony. I did get some of my photos transferred from the camera to my laptop, and we played some slots. A very lazy sea day – my favorite.
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