Day 80 - Saturday March 18 at sea day 3

Sea Day 3 photos

position at 8:00am: N6 0.56 latitude E79 55.12 longitude
(about 390 miles SE of Cochin, India, our next port on Mar 19)
temperature: 80F, 96% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 26,134 miles

The seas were calm again overnight and the ship made its turns to avoid the collision course with Sri Lanka that we had been maintaining. Overnight, we skirted by very close to the south of Sri Lanka and it was still visible off the starboard side this morning. We are in very busy shipping channels now, so there have been lots of other boats and ships to be seen. Clay had some intestinal distress overnight and continues to suffer this morning. Debbie is fine, so it is not clear what this is in reaction to.

Today is the much anticipated special-ordered stuffed french toast for Debbie. It is Saturday and our last sea day in this series of sea days. Debbie has been desperately longing for a familiar dish and this one is so simple. We spoke to Patrick's 2nd in charge of the Compass Rose about this at lunchtime on Thursday (Martin) and he took notes about how to prepare the dish. He agreed it was very simple and all the ingredients are always in the kitchen and it is no more involved than preparing their regular french toast which is always available and it would not be a problem. Just give our suite number to any waiter on Saturday morning and it would be served. (The dish as ordered was to use 2 pieces of the white sliced bread that is served for morning toast and lunch sandwiches. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on each. Stick the 2 cream cheese sides together and carry on as if making regular french toast. Soak it in the same egg mix, and fry it, etc. Serve hot with maple syrup. Regulars here may remember how we both dislike the regular french toast served onboard. They use a special egg bread with golden raisins in it that is sliced very thickly and it is always served gooey in the center. It is more like a pudding or a custard without the obligatory crispness of the fried edges that we desire.) This was to be a special treat and celebration today for Debbie. This weekend marks the 2/3 milestone for our World Cruise, but tomorrow begins our time in India.

Well, you knew it could NOT go that painlessly, if at all, and it didn't. We arrived at Compass Rose minutes after 8am when it opened. There were only about a dozen people in there when we arrived and fewer than 2 dozen when we left an hour later, so it wasn't too busy today. We told our waiter about the special order for Debbie and then ordered the rest of what we wanted today. We got our juices and Debbie's bowl of raspberries and her cappuchino. Then, we heard as well as everyone else sitting between the 2 waiter's stations, about what was going on with the special french toast. Everyone's service suffered while the debate went on and on with every possible person working in the dining room involved. You would have thought she had ordered something gold-plated flown in from half-way around the world and delivered in the middle of the ocean from the carrying on that happened. Of course, she did not ever get her dish, just a huge serving a public humiliation while others waited for their normal food and listened and watched the 3 stooges act surrounding the "special french toast" fiasco. Live and learn. Clay got his breakfast after about a half-hour. This was after being asked if he would like it sent back to the kitchen while we waited for Debbie's. NO. It should not have been any harder to do this than to custom cook fried eggs to order for him. He ate his while Debbie continued to wait. Two of the headwaiters made special trips to the kitchen to scare out the "special order french toast". By 8:40am there was a regular meeting at our waiter's station with both headwaiters and a person from the kitchen involved as well. They were all studying what had finally arrived. They finally decided to bring it over although the consensus among them was that it was probably not what she had ordered. Big surprise. At 8:45am, they brought her a plate with 2 extra double-wide pieces of the french toast and a side ball of cream cheese. They explained that there was cream cheese in the middle now, but it was if she wanted extra. No one brought any cream cheese. Clay immediately complained that this was not what was ordered. Debbie shushed him, because it was pointless. It had been apparent for a good 30 minutes that it would not be what she ordered and now she had 15 minutes to get to exercise class and the moment had passed. Let it go. A headwaiter came over. What was wrong? If only we had placed the order in advance, we would not have had this kind of problem that we had caused this morning. Well, he was informed that instead of the very simple order which we placed on THURSDAY. We had gotten an extra gummy serving of already-fried french toast with a ball of cream cheese slapped in the center and we had waited 2 days and 45 minutes for it. He reiterated what we had ordered and that this was not it and was not in fact very appetizing-looking and that we had waited far too long for it, BUT that if we would wait he would take this away and bring what she asked for. NO. She told him she wanted to go to exercise class in 12 minutes now and if he could just get her some maple syrup she would eat it as is and be on her way. More discussion and debate at the waitstation. Finally, an assistant waiter gets the syrup and the headwaiter brings it over and pours it. He offers to replace the dish again. NO. It was not edible. So after trying a few bites from different sections, she gave it up and we headed out for her class and for Clay to get his computer while waiting to get back in the cabin. The headwaiter was talking to the man who had taken the order on Thursday as we walked out. The British guy who always wears white and had taken and understood and written down our order on Thursday fled as we approached. The headwaiter stopped us and apologized again. Debbie told him to forget about it, she had. It was over. He would not let it go. He wrote the directions down again about how to make it, commented on how simple it was and insisted again that they be given a 2nd chance tomorrow. Debbie refused again. He said, no, it is too simple. We must be allowed. Tomorrow. Debbie asked him again to just let it go, but Clay said, it is Sunday. We will come back and try again tomorrow. Debbie agreed and we left. Debbie pointed out to Clay that he did not have to skip breakfast today and that we have to be on a tour at 9am on Sunday. We would not make it in time now. We would never try for a big breakfast on an early tour day normally. She pointed out that she would have to spend 6 hours in Cochin on an empty stomach now, because they wanted redemption, and she did not care about it anymore. Clay said, too late, you're having it now. Geez.

We went by the cabin and Mishiel had not been there in the hour and 20 minutes we had been gone. Clay got his computer and found a vacant chair in the library area. Debbie headed out to the restroom and class. When she arrived there was a sign on the door stating that classes were cancelled today due to illness. Jacquie is sick? She taught all through her bout with the sore throat/chest cold. No one that was milling about seemed to know what was wrong or have any idea when classes might resume. Oh, well. Debbie was able to catch the 9am Vords of Visdom. The captain said that there is a lot of activity in this area. He said ships as well as dolphins, whales, flying fish and sea turtles and we should keep a half-an-eye on the ocean all day no matter what else we did. We did see flying fish and jellyfish as well as land and lots of boats and ships when we went up top to check things out before breakfast this morning. During the time she sat in CR waiting and staring out the window, Debbie saw something big and odd out the window and could not imagine what it was if not a whale. Clay thought she was imagining Moby Dick, but maybe it was a whale in light of the Captain's comments. Clay watched for a while from the balcony but did not see anything new.

They were having a 50% off sale of Radisson and harp logo merchandise at the boutique today, so we went by. They only had t-shirts out. Very few had Radisson on them and many did not even have a harp logo. Clay bought one with a fish and the words Seven Seas Voyager on it for $8.

Today they are having a Fruehschoppen on the Pool Deck for lunch. We enjoyed this special grilled sausages lunch the last time they had it. They also had special big pretzels and a keg of Warsteiner on tap. Today they say the are having spatzle and Kassler in Bread Dough. We may have to eat outside at lunch again today.

Back from lunch and we did go to the Pool Deck. We walked out on the starboard side where they usually have the buffet set up and got in the line. Debbie went ahead to scout things out. She came back shaking her head and told Clay to go ahead and she would try to find a table in the shade on the other, non-smoking side. She said it was a seafood extravaganza and it was. They did have 2 kinds of brats but all the rest was seafood. They had hot seafood, seafood stew, cold seafood, caviar, foie gras seared to order at a separate station. As Debbie walked around the other side, she found a little short section of buffet line right around the port corner. There she filled a plate. They had beef goulash, spatzle, big pretzels, potato salad, sauerkraut (hot and cold), and some weird little fried cake-like things, that even after eating we could not identify. Debbie first thought it was a potato pancake. But, there was no potato. It was kind of sweet tasting and definitely made with white bread flour. It had some onions and green herbs in it as well as little pieces of bacon. It was sharing a chaving dish with a pan of hot sauerkraut with ham. Clay went back up to check it out and asked Antonio, one of the headwaiters, what it was. Antonio said it was a potato and pumpkin pancake. Sorry, Antonio, but no it wasn't. Potato and pumpkin are 2 of the things we know were not it there. It was good but it is still a mystery.

This afternoon we gave each other haircuts again out on the balcony. The seas have gotten rougher this afternoon. After we turned towards the north past Sri Lanka we got a 50 to 60 kmh steady headwind. We seem to have some swells now as well as lots of whitecaps showing some of the choppiness. We napped and watched TV some. We saw parts of Roger's comments on India and we saw parts of the recorded talent show from last night.

It is Formal tonight and we have not decided where to eat yet. They are serving an American BBQ on the Pool Deck tonight from 6:30pm to 8:30pm to the first 30 people who are seated. We do not know what the difference is between European BBQ and American BBQ. We will probably not find out. Clay is arguing for not dressing up but Debbie has liked to go to the Seven Seas Society parties to learn who has most days and what is news. Though the last time we went, no one spoke to us. Gudrun usually hosts this and she was off the ship for a few days for a family emergency and was not onboard for the party. The captain did not come either and they showed the video with the people with the most days, but there was no speaker and no news. Clay is using that as an argument against going tonight. Debbie points out that Gudrun is back onboard now. We'll see.

We did go to the SSS cocktail party. Some people had bumped up over 400 to 500 nights and some from 500 to 600 nights and one guy showed up in the over 500 night category that we had never seen before so he must have just boarded on this segment. We left after 30 minutes without any ship's personnel speaking. The bulk of people did not show up en masse in CR until 7:15pm, so maybe someone spoke after we left. We did not overhear any conversation at dinner about it if so and are guessing that no big news was announced in there this evening. After the Captain made the announcement in there about dropping Phuket weeks before any other mention of it was made on the ship, we always want to get the newest news at the SSS parties now. But, guess the new big itinerary change of dropping Tripoli has already been publicized. Dinner tonight was a French dinner. So, onion soup and escargot. They also had Sevruga caviar, which has been the caviar that they have served for the last several times it has been available. Prior to that it was beluga, not that we eat it, but for those following who might be interested. Clay had his best meal yet. He ordered the Salade Nicoise and got it this time (last time he ordered it, he got mixed greens with no comment). He ordered the herb-crusted rack of lamb and got 3 bones which is a much bigger serving than usual off the degustation menu. It was the best meal he has had for all the cruise.

The only surprise on our bed tonight was a small white box tied with a black satin ribbon on each of our pillows. No time change tonight! Hooray! The boxes contained 2 dark chocolate-covered flat toffee wafers. Clay ate one box full.

Sea Day 3 photos