Sea Day #3

Day 9, Thursday, January 11, 2024, At sea, somewhere between Cozumel and Bimini

Today is our final sea day and tonight is the second and final Gala dinner. Jas and I had reservations for dining in the Canaletto (Italian) restaurant on Friday night, but I cancelled those in favor of one extra night with Hendra, A.A. and Dwinda.

This morning we went to the MDR for breakfast again, and were seated in A.A.'s section again. I had a wonderful bowl of steel cut Irish oatmeal with bananas, raisins, brown sugar, toasted almonds, and walnuts. Yum! Jas had buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup and a bowl of berries. We hurried back to the room afterwards to grab our masks and get to the World Stage to see the a multimedia presentation detailing what it takes to run a cruise ship.

"A City on the Sea" presented videos and live interviews with various crew members of the m.s. Rotterdam, as a representation of the entire fleet. It showed how each division functions. The engine room, the kitchen, the hotel, the bridge, and various functional areas within each division. So much interesting information.

I enjoyed this presentation very much and hope to see it again on our next cruise. Marilyn and I both admitted to having tears in our eyes at points. The people who work on this ship, for this company, are all extraordinary human beings. You never hear a complaint, except an occasional whispered "I'm tired." You never hear a raised voice or see a glum face. Every person who passes you in the hall—server, housekeeper, bartender, the person rolling the hand towels in one of the many public restrooms, the person wiping down the handrails along the hallway—wishes you a good day and smiles or nods to you. It's a magical place.

After that show, I went up to the Crow's Nest again to work on another jigsaw puzzle. Jas went to the therapy pool to run the jets on his shoulder and then to shower in one of the luxury-sized showers in the dressing room. We agreed to meet in the room at 12:30.

We had a lunch date in the Pinnacle Grill. This restaurant is an upcharge venue. While the ship is, effectively, an all-inclusive resort, the Pinnacle is an upscale steakhouse at sea. To eat lunch there costs $19.00 per person, plus an 18% service charge. To eat dinner there costs $46.00 plus an 18% service charge. When I booked this cruise through the CruisesOnly website, our incentives from CruisesOnly included two upcharge restaurant meals. We used those on the first night for our Pinnacle dinner. Then, this morning, I went to talk to our concierge about something and she said, "I've been trying to get ahold of you." She said she and her fellow concierge were giving us lunch in the Pinnacle Grill to thank us for how patient we had been during the first few days of the cruise when there was an odd odor in our bathroom. I was happily surprised, as was Jas. We didn't expect any "payment" for anything surrounding the bathroom problem. We just were happy that they were able to get the problem resolved. But this was a very nice treat.

Photos: 1) My appetizer crab cakes with spiral-shaved cucumber and sweet chili-mustard sauce. 2) Jas's Beefsteak Tomato and Basil with red onion, pesto, EVOO, and balsamic reduction. 3) My Shredded Chicken and Bibb Salad with hard-boiled egg, walnuts, orange segments, cucumber, avocado, scallions, cherry tomatoes, and Asian dressing. 4) They forgot to remove the little piece of tape telling the pantry chef to remember not to put scallions on my salad. 5) Warm Fudge Brownie with coffee sorbet and popcorn crunch. 6) Coconut Trifle with lime and pistachio. 7) Just another view of the desserts.

Jas's entrée was Broiled Lobster Tails—two 5-oz. lobster tails with roasted Parmesan potatoes and orange beurre blanc sauce. It was so beautiful, I forgot to take a picture. And then the server came up with a plate and cut the meat off the tails, removing the tails so the diner wouldn't have trouble eating the meat and the tail wouldn't end up on the carpet! I had a taste of his lobster and it was sweet and delicious.

After lunch we went to the World Stage again to see "The Caribbean Spirit: The Story of Rum," a presentation about the significance of rum to the Caribbbean. I found it very interesting. I'll tell you one thing about our Cruise Director: she is one hard-working woman! She's very skilled with a microphone, and is good at putting people at ease.

I went into the library on my way back to the cabin, and was amused by these book titles in the graphics on the wall of this very nice reading space with a great collection of books. Perfect for a library at sea.

Back in the cabin, spent an hour or so writing on the blog post and thank you notes to the our MDR team, then cocktails and dinner.

Photos: 1) My darling little salad was Roasted Beets and Orange Segments with pistachio and feta cheese. 2) Jas ordered French Onion Soup with gryère cheese crouton. 3) Three of us got the Ricotta and Spinach Tortellini with arrabiata sauce and grilled vegetables. 4) Jas's tiramisu. 5) The three cute little strawberry tarts. 6) Marilyn's Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with orange cream. 7) Mike's Dulce De Leche and Coconut Tart with vanilla ice cream.

After dinner, we went to the World Stage to listen to the steel drum band, but then changed our minds and went up to the Crow's Nest. Jas got a nightcap and I wandered around, wanting to work on the puzzle I was working on earlier, but it was no longer out on a table. Somebody had been very busy, or else gave up on it. And we went home.

Back in the room, a towel seal waiting for us, keeping guard over two chocolate squares.

G'night. Tomorrow we're going to explore Bimini and pack! I'm very happy to visit Bimini. I'm rather sad the cruise is ending.