The last day at sea—hard to believe it has been 8 days (actually 196 hours, but who’s counting?). Now we continue on to 8 ports. The weather is warming and the skies clearing as we get closer to Portugal and I sit out on the Observation Deck for a while to enjoy the sunshine and warmth.
Promenade Deck
Saturday Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill
I carry my gift bottle of HAL 135th Anniversary CMS Wine (combination of cabernet, merlot, and shiraz) to the Pinnacle Grille. There is usually a $20 service charge for dining here, but two dinners are covered by the wine package I purchased before sailing. The Grill has specialty breads (Italian flatbreads and olive breads) and a choice of menu items not served in the other dining venues. The portions are larger too—excessively large, in fact:
• Amusé bouche of eggplant fritter in sweet and sour sauce
• Arugula salad with warm bacon dressing, garnished with hard cooked egg, red onion, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes
• New York strip steak with béarnaise sauce, marinated mushrooms, and creamy scalloped potatoes
• Lemon sorbet and decaf
I am sorely tempted by the chocolate soufflé and the volcano cake, but I just can’t manage another bite (I couldn’t even finish my steak).
Sunday Afternoon
The afternoon begins with the special Mariner’s Brunch for those folk who are return cruisers on Holland America (which has the highest rate of return passengers in the cruise industry). I share a table with guests from Florida (who formerly ran a cattle ranch near Madison, VA), and Nashville, TN (music producers). Ian Page, the travel director, also joins the table. He has been providing a series of lectures about the ports, and when the timing is right (not too early in the morning or late at night) scenic commentary as we sail in and out. He will give his first commentary tomorrow evening as we leave Lisbon. He will also be on the tour to Obidos that I am taking from Lisbon. And so the question of the day is: will he remember the negative comments about his snide sense of humor that I wrote up in the evaluation at the end of last year’s cruise?
After brunch I attend another cooking demonstration presented by the head chefs of the three specialty restaurants (Thai, Italian, American) and a backstage tour of the Mainstage Theatre, during which we meet the cast and see the cramped working space they must endure.
My first load of laundry is returned carefully folded and presented in tissue paper and a wicker box (T shirts, underwear, and socks), and I send off a second load (shirts and slacks).
I’m really excited about landing tomorrow—Lisbon is one of my favorite places. And the blogs should certainly get more interesting when I have the sights and sounds of travel to describe and not just the food and laundry.
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