Monday, October 23 – Wednesday, October 25 --  More of the same

And, indeed, it was.  We followed the usual sea-day routine of breakfast in the MDR [with Roy practically hovering over us], reading and trivia.  One change which has been instituted is that the start time for trivia is different from any cruise we have taken.  Going back to at least 2009, the team trivia has been before lunch.  In fact, we played at 10:30 on Saturday.  Now, however, the competition begins a 1:00 which makes it nigh onto impossible to eat in the MDR and still get to the Crow’s Nest on time.  Another couple with whom we have been talking at trivia missed the game today for that very reason.  Because lunch is important to them, we may never see them again. 

For us, it means eating lunch in the Lido buffet at 1:30 or so which is no big deal.  If we get breakfast around 9, an early lunch is too much – we are still remembering breakfast – so the later lunch is actually better for us.  It certainly improved our game today; we were 12 for 17, just 2 points behind the winners.  In the woulda/shoulda/coulda world of trivia, we would have tied for first place honors.  And that’s all one wins now, no more mugs, maglites or umbrellas.  At least they are not bogging folks down with leftover HAL pins this year, but there is not as much motivation to do well.

After lunch, we read in what is left of the library until nap time.  There was a time when HAL was known for its onboard libraries [and librarians].  Those days are going, going, gone.  There is still a library space on the Veendam, but the shelves are barer than we have ever seen and the librarians are completely gone.  Since there is no one to check out books and keep an inventory, we think that the books are being checked out permanently.  There is talk that the newer ships have electronic libraries but that would presume that passengers have e-readers.  Since we don’t plan on sailing on any of the newer ships, we may never know.

Tuesday and Wednesday trivia was not much different.  We were that close to first place honors today and we knew the tie-breaker which the other 2 teams did not [How many symphonies did Mozart write?]  After quick sandwiches in the Lido, we moved cautiously to the showroom for what became a boring lecture on the history of Catalonia and Barcelona and architect Antonio Gaudi.  The importance of the history of Catalonia is important considering the current unrest regarding Catalonia’s independence.  As far as we know, our overnight stay in Barcelona is not currently in jeopardy, but we have been on-again/off-again in Egypt twice, so we are not taking anything for granted.  We have no tours planned and, thus, there is no stress or pressure.

We have yet to attend any of the evening entertainment.  We chose to boycott the juggler, the clarinetist [clarineticist?] and some singing group.  Morpheus awaits despite our daily SCANs.  Maybe the offerings will improve and entice us later in the cruise.  On the other hand, we have made it to the MDR for breakfast each morning.  JoJo, the dining room host, now knows our name and cabin number and always saves us a table with Roy.  That we arrive close to closing helps, too.

Speaking of breakfast, MA’s omelet was late arriving at the table.  Another waiter picked it up by mistake and delivered it to a different table.  The passenger noticed right away that it was not the omelet he/she had ordered but liked it enough to finish it all.  We are considering putting the egg white/basil/goat cheese omelet on the menu in tape and calling it The Basil Lady special.

The captain announced today that seas will even bumpier tomorrow as we continue to Horta.  This is no surprise to us because we have missed this speck of dust in the Atlantic on three previous cruises due to rough seas.  Stay tuned.

TOMORROW – Heading to Horta