AT SEA –

AFRICAN SAFARI

Monday, March 24, 6:00 AM, Temperature 70 Degrees, 91% Humidity, W – E 24.9 mph

We didn’t have to travel far for our African Safari – we just had to go up two decks to the Lido Pool area! Our talented room stewards created a whole menagerie of animals around the pool. We are accustomed to having a towel animal waiting for us on our bed after a Gala Night, but this took towel animals to a whole new level!

Our steward, Hendra, led the parade when the housekeeping staff did a “victory” lap around the pool. He and our other steward, Eko, created the bull – very impressive! Eko couldn’t join the parade; he had to stay behind and work on getting the cabins in order. We decided that the stewards are the hardest-working crew on the ship (although everyone works long hours with minimal breaks and always smiles while doing so). Hendra and Eko have 35 cabins to maintain, with twice-daily service. When we leave for breakfast, they clean the cabin and bath, vacuum, fill the ice bucket, make the bed, and pick up old towels. When we go to dinner, they fold down the bed and leave chocolates on the pillow. They also do a second pickup in the bathroom. They change the sheets at least twice a week and perform a monthly “deep clean” by turning the bed upside down to vacuum underneath. The service is always great on HAL. When John reported that our showerhead was leaking, it was replaced before we were back from breakfast. When our electronic doorknob “died,” the Safety Officer was making his rounds and opened the door with a special old-time key. The locksmith arrived within an hour.

I was surprised that there were any clean towels left for the cabins that day, as many had been used to create the many animals! How clever, such fun!