Our Maitre'D and Food and Beverage manager try very hard to meet
Laurie's modest needs in the dining room. The application of a little
palm grease the first night led to almost embarrassing service at
lunch yesterday. I was seated at a table for 8 awaiting Laurie's
return from a spa service. She arrived a little late and we had only
one half hour before we had to leave to get to duplicate bridge.
That's another story. The waiter had not taken the table's order
yet. To make a long story short (a real challenge for me) I was
finishing my dessert before our table mates had been served their meals.
We couldn't actually play duplicate because it would have cut into our
yoga session scheduled for later that afternoon so we played "social"
bridge with a couple instead. We are meeting some interesting folks
on board. We have not yet met anyone from our generation.
It is interesting how Princess marketed this cruise. In europe, it
was sold as a Vancouver to Beijing cruise, those folks didn't even
know it was going on to Bangkok. We were told 1000 passengers got off
in Whittier and 600 got on. The ship is comfortable but it is funny
how they are always looking for an extra buck. They charge for most
exercise classes, free classes are at undesirable times. I think they
charge as a way to limit participants. At the free stretch class, it
was packed, paid yoga had about 9 participants. If you want a
treadmill, be prepared to wait a long time. The "Princess Patter"
listed fruit smoothies at a particular bar at 11:30am. I planned to
meet Laurie there. I was in line as they served the first customer.
The server told her it was $3.50 and she told him she didn't want it
and the rest of the line disappeared. There is plenty of free food on
board.
I took a brisk walk on the deck which gave me a chance to use the coat
I had brought along, and use my handy anemometer.
I think the typhoon has been downgraded from a super typhoon and the
ride has been pleasant. We attended a lecture on Japanese history
which provided the opportunity for an excellent nap.
We're meeting a couple we met at temple in anchorage for lunch today.
By the way, we roll the clocks back an hour every night which is a
very good idea. Twenty five hour days should be standard. Makes it
easier to catch that 7:30 stretch class. Never take this cruise in
the other direction. We'll lose an entire day when we cross the
international date line but who would even notice unless it was your
birthday.
UPDATE
In typical Miller style, we closed the dining room. Movie time in
half an hour. Don't think popcorn is an option but I have other
snacks. The attentive service continues. The chef borrowed Laurie's
raw "cookbook" last night to see which dishes he has all the
ingredients for. They wanted to make her sweet potato sorbet (?!?)
but needed to add sugar which nixed the deal. Stevia would not be a
suitable substitute for reasons they tried to explain to me but I
could nor comprehend. Something about ice crystals.
Regards,
Steve & Laurie
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