August 23, 2023 Sea Day #14

      The clocks were put back 30 minutes overnight to be the correct time for the stop in Halifax tomorrow. Sea Day #14 started with a mainly cloudy sky, temperature 16°C.

 and a wind NNW 14 km/hour. The ship was cruising south east of the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. By noon the sun was shining and it had warmed to 18° C. Walking on Deck 3 we encountered some wind, but did not need jackets for the first time in nearly two weeks.

    After breakfast we heard the last 15 minutes of Coffee with Tjalling which had five female officers from different departments answering questions about their duties. Ask the Captain at 10 a.m. was held in the World Stage with almost a full house. Passengers asked the captain questions including if he had ever experienced green water while on board a ship. The answer was yes. More than two decades ago on a cargo ship in a bad storm when a giant waves crashed over the ship. He said it was not pleasant.

   There were almost two dozen people walking on Deck 3. It takes three laps to walk one mile. Today there were two Mariner lunches. We attended the three star and four star lunch in the dining room. After greetings from the captain and hotel manager, the guests were served red or white wine, a choice of one of two starters and three entrées plus a crème brûlée tart. As guests left the restaurant, each person was given a Holland America 150^th Anniversary porcelain tile. 

    There was a movie showing in the World Stage but we played cards in the afternoon. The attire for dinner this evening was dressy. The ship’s photographers were in the dining room asking if people wished to have their picture taken. Neither we nor Cee Kay and Brad were photographed.

   The Ballroom Dance Hour this evening was from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. We finished dinner in time for the final 30 minutes. When we arrived in the Rolling Stone Lounge the music was playing but no one was dancing. We had the dance floor to ourselves. Then one or two other couples danced as they liked the music. There were about 20 people listening to the music but not dancing.

     When we returned to the stateroom we checked the onboard account and found that we each had another credit for Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses Adjustment equivalent to about 20% of the original amount that we paid when we booked the cruise. It was a nice surprise. To celebrate the windfall, we climbed up the nine flights of stairs to the Exploration Central Crow’s Nest Café for cappuccinos and to play some games of Five Crowns as we watched the orange/pink sunset.

    Later in the evening, a woman from Ohio approached us, when we were listening to the Third Avenue West band in the Ocean Bar. She asked if we would pose for her so she could brag about us on her Facebook page. We posed for her and after chatted with her and her partner. They were looking forward to their excursion to Peggy’s Cove tomorrow.

    Steps 13,478