Monday, January 17, 2002 -- At Sea

The best thing about sea days is that there is nowhere to go and nothing to do.  So we went nowhere and did almost nothing.  We followed our usual sea day routine today by having breakfast in the MDR.  When we returned to the cabin, MA rearranged her clothes so she could find things while D went to the front desk to ask questions.  She then caught up on Facebook while D sat on the verandah [a fancy word for porch] and read.  MA joined him after a while and there we stayed until returning to the MDR for a light lunch.

There was a classical music presentation scheduled for 2 pm, so MA read some more while D was getting cultured.  He admitted upon his return that he had explored the casino before the concert; he found no interesting slot machines but did play a little one-on-one blackjack.  Despite telling the dealer that he was there to lose his 20 dollars, he left with $35 after tipping the dealer $3.  A tour of the ship led him to the Explorations Cafe in the Crow's Nest where he bought iced cappuccinos as a surprise for MA.

After more rest and reading [and writing], it was time for trivia.  We are teaming with Ken and Lois as HAL 9000, our team monicker for more trips than we can remember.  We were supposed to have a 5th member, but Ginger limped out for surgery.  The trivia venue was packed with players.  Luckily, Ken and Lois went early and commandeered a table for us. Under the COVID protocols, teams scored their own papers, but since there are no longer prizes awarded to the winners, there was no incentive to cheat.  And, yes, cheating is common in team trivia.  We answered 12 of 18 correctly for second place to a team which got 14 points.  We were not unhappy.  If Ginger had been there, though....

Tonight was the first of 3 Gala Nights on this leg of the trip.  There will be 3 more on the return.  There was a time when the dress code included casual, semi-formal and formal.  On formal nights, women wore cocktail dresses and the men word tuxedos.  Now, there are smart casual and gala nights, but almost anything is allowed except shorts and jeans.  No one enforces the suggested dress code; it is another indication of the direction HAL and cruising itself are taking.  MA was shimmering in blue and D wore his tuxedo with blue cummerbund and tie.

Our favorite ship of all time is the Prinsendam [or was, since she has been sold off].  The Pdam held only 900 passengers and had quirky cabins.  No doors actually faced the hallway and each cabin had a walk-in closet.  We always booked ocean-view cabins because the interior ones were only 129 square feet, so small that the beds could not he placed side-by-side.  On other ships, even on long cruises, we had interior cabins.

Why bring this up?  Because we splurged, on HAL's credit from the canceled 2020 trip, and booked a balcony cabin at the rear of the Zuiderdam.  We can sit and read or just stare at the wake without any noticeable wind compared to those with verandahs on the sides of the ships [or on the open deck].  Even MA, who is height averse, is enjoying it.  

The view from the verandah

On the other hand, there are aspects of this cabin which annoy us.  The most significant problem is that there is no make-up mirror at the vanity; it is the first HAL ship we have sailed [out of 12?] which does not have a lighted magnifying mirror.  There is no longer hand soap, just dispensers for liquid soap at the sink and in the tub/shower. [It's also the first time in 20 years that we have had a bathtub, a mixed blessing]. And can we talk about storage?  There are the three standard closets which sit in perpetual shadow when their doors are open; we use the flashlight app on D's phone to see inside.  There are no drawers or other really usable space; the storage area by the desk is taken up with a hair dryer and extra glasses and the vanity has no center [or any other] drawer for make-up.

The good news is that there are USB ports by the beds as well as at the vanity.  Combined with the power strip, all of our electronic needs are taken care of.  What did we bring that needs so much power?  The laptop, 2 tablets, a cell phone, a night light, MA's hearing aid charger, a camera and a bluetooth speaker.  An army may travel on its stomach but we now travel on our electronics [Our grandchildren would be proud of us].

By our standards, the Covid-dam is huge.  Living at one end of the ship makes every place far away.  While we on Deck 7 are directly above the MDR [Decks 2/3] and below the Lido [Deck 9] at the stern, the showroom and other venues like the casino and trivia, are at the pointy end of the ship, seemingly a half mile away.  It's no wonder MA's back is torturing her.

Tomorrow -- Another Sea Day