at Sea
Lot of ships in this area both to our left and to our right. Container ships and tankers. This is vey busy shipping area. I did see an oil drilling platform also.
Seas are calm and it is very hot and humid. We did some walking on the promenade. Not many folks walking or even sitting. No muffins. Why bother?
We received a notice about a $500 a piece credit on our account for visas and excursion changes due to the major change in the itinerary. That goes with the 15% credit we received on our total bill toward another cruise. We decided to do a cruise from Boston to Greenland and Iceland and back in the Summer of 2025. Booking a cruise on the ship always has extras attached to it. Usually on board credit or upgraded room. We chose to do the Lanai room which has a door to the promenade deck. Only a few ships have this option. We will be on the Volendam. One of the smaller ships. The Voyage of the Vikings is the most popular cruise that HAL offers. Stops in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Ireland. 45 days long. We opted for the cruise with the identical itinerary minus Norway and Ireland. We have already done numerous stops in Norway and have been to Ireland 3 times. This cruise is 35 days.
We have been noticing that the ship seems to be empty. We did hear a rumor about people leaving in Hawaii because of the itinerary change. Maybe this is the reason. The Red Sea area and middle east problems won’t be going away in the near future. Future world cruises are scheduled to bypass this area.
Afternoon trivia. Which northeastern state has cities with the names Peru, Mexico, Madrid, Palermo? Which sport did the movie Kansas City Bomber feature? Which nation has the longest school year? Which asian gave up divinity status in 1945? Which Country did SkyLab fall on? Which 2 people are in the Baseball Hall of Fame and have nothing to do with baseball? Which sport are the clean and jerk and squat a part of?
Joe and Ann invited us to dinner in the Pinnacle. It is a nice upgrade to the dining room. A bit more quaint and a few more items on the menu. We shared stories about all of our stops. They are doing the Voyage of the Vikings this year. It is on the same ship we are on.
The evening entertainment was Sharene – “Star of the Pocket Piano”. Sharene is from Malaysia and plays the harmonica. Great musician. She started with an arrangement of simple gifts and then flight of the bumble bee. She played an arrangement of the Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel that broke into a rock tune. She did some pop tunes by the Carpenters and then the Turkish March by Mozart. Great show. Great musician. 10!
…