January 12, 2013 (Sea Day)

Today was a fairly quiet sea day but the time just seemed to fly by. We have not been sitting around bored wondering what to do next. We try to do a walk around the deck each day to burn a few calories. The temperature was much cooler today and the humidity was much lower making for a much more pleasant day out on deck.

Travel guide, Barbara, discussed what to see and do in the port of General San Martin coming up in a few days. Jon Bailey’s presentation was on the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” where he explores a father’s need to honor tradition and still respect his teenage kids. He also discussed how the Jewish life came to the stage. Barbara Geisler spoke and showed photos taken from both the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The theme for formal dinner this evening was black and silver. The entire dining room was decorated from top to bottom. Every table and chair in the dining room had a slip cover in black or white, fabric was hanging from the two story dining room ceiling and black and silver party decorations were extensively hung from every possible surface in the dining room. The dinner menu included lobsters, filet mignon, rack of veal and other delectable items.

After dinner instead of a show there was a Black and Silver Ball in the Queen’s Lounge, which is the main showroom. The room was transformed similar to the dining room with all black and silver décor, and a large dance floor in the middle of the room. The orchestra was playing dancing music, the men mostly in tuxedos and the ladies dressed to the nine’s in black and silver made for a festive evening.

Each night when you return to your cabin you discover your bed turned down, a chocolate on your pillow and a note from the captain wishing you a pleasant nights sleep. Many nights you also find atop your bed a delightful animal created by your cabin steward from towels. We have had a lobster, elephant, dinosaur and a puppy so far. On formal night you each have an added surprise as there is a gift awaiting you on your bed as well. The first formal night we received purple colored Holland America travel bags suitable for taking ashore with a towel, umbrella, sunscreen, etc., along with an emergency medical kit and ID card holder.  On this night we each received a set of luggage tags and a beautiful journal for documenting your world cruise adventure.