AT SEA, THE CALM CARIBBEAN!

Saturday, January 21, 2017, 2017                                            86 F / sunny / calm seas

Passing near Venezuela

TK and I have decided that this ship is sort of unremarkable. It does not have the glitz of a Carnival ship nor the grand atrium of a Princess ship. There are sculptures and art features, but they are understated. We have not been on Holland America for a while. We are having a very fine cruise, but the passengers are keeping to themselves just as we are. I do not think our cruise buddies would like this cruise line as much at Princess, NCL, or Carnival—as TK said there are no pool parties or barbecues on deck, no “White Hot” nights. Tonight is formal night and the ladies are beautifully dressed, but not glitzy, only understated. Thankfully we enjoy each other’s company—TK is a pretty funny guy!

The crew is very friendly. We did ask our cabin stewards today how many cabins they must clean twice a day—28. I think that is more than any other ship has required of two cabin stewards. In the morning they come in and clean the bathroom, change towels, straighten up and vacuum the room, refill the ice bucket, clean the balcony and put the cushions out.  Sheets are changed 3 times on a 14 day cruise.  In the evening they turn down the bed, make the nightly towel animal, clean the bathroom, change towels if needed, and bring the balcony cushions in. They probably do more than I am aware of too. I won’t go into my housekeeping schedule, but one might imagine I don’t do those things quite as often. Plus, I do not make towel animals for TK’s amusement.

We decided to go to the shopping presentation for Curacao and Aruba. Our ship will be in Curacao from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., an unusually long time for a port stop, especially on a Sunday when shops are open for only 4 hours, by government regulation.  Michael, the “Port Shopping Ambassador,” said that most ports welcome about 40,000 cruise passengers per week. One has to ponder how much the tourism industry impacts the Caribbean!! Tonight when I ran into Michael at the Guest Services desk, he let me try on a Crown of Light diamond ring valued at $500,000. I am sure there are skeptics out there, but he said that at least one such ring is sold on Aruba each week. Sadly, TK refuses to buy it for me.

I read my book about George Rogers Clark on the balcony for the rest of the afternoon in the shade. TK swam enjoyed the pool and tried out the slots tournament with no luck. Actually, I won an Effy gemstone necklace and earrings at the shopping talk. I also won an Effy keychain (jeweled leopard) in St. Thomas at the ship’s drawing.

We have had virtually no news from home since a week ago Friday. I hope everyone is fine and that the weather is not too bad. TV on ships is limited and there is a “world news newspaper” each day, but no Erie or Jamestown news!

For formal dinner tonight I had filet mignon with lobster ravioli and TK had Alaskan King crab and filet mignon. Tasty, but I truly like simpler meals—TK might feel differently.

TK’s Takes: I can’t believe it takes our cabin stewards so long to clean the rooms. I asked him for more and he kindly said, “I’m not writing your blog for you.”  Then we talked for a moment about how overworked the cabin stewards are on this ship. 

Adding four images tonight took about 15 minutes, so I will wait to add more! Note to B1: How is the photo class?