SIX SEA DAYS -

THREE TIME CHANGES!

THIRD TIME ACROSS THE EQUATOR!

Thursday, April 3, 2025, 6 AM, Temperature 72 Degrees, 82% Humidity, W – NNW @ 10.2 mph

We have been traveling Northwest and changed time zones for the third time in 6 days! It’s not too bad when the changes are a little further apart but when they’re this close, John continues to wake up about 2 changes back - this morning he got up at 3 AM, but fortunately, he eventually came back to bed until 5:30 AM. We’re currently 3 hours from Eastern Standard Time, but soon we’ll be entering the Med and the time will go the other way, and we’ll lose sleep (but it won’t really matter, John marches to his own internal clock)!

Lots of special activities are available on the World Cruise, including watercolor and drawing classes, dancing classes, arts and crafts, bridge and mahjong, and cooking classes - too many to list. You could be scheduled every hour if that’s your thing. John went to Creative Writing for a while until the teacher got off in Sidney. There are guest lecturers who come on for each segment (between embarkation points – Sydney, Singapore, Cape Town, Athens, and Barcelona). Most have been very good, although we attended several by a lecturer who managed to make very exciting topics - The Lost Dutchman and another about Scott & Shackleton in Antarctica sound boring (hard to do that), so we dropped out with him.

Here are the special evening activities this week. We haven’t learned to have our phones or cameras with us at all times! There were a couple of missed photo ops, like the Biergarten Fest!

March 29, BIERGARTEN FEST – There were Beer Carts and guys serving dressed in shorts, a tee-shirt printed to look like the suspenders of lederhosen, and blue Tyrolian caps - they looked very cute. HAL seems to have costumes for every event! This is when we should have taken a camera, but we didn’t expect the costumes. Lots of German food – schnitzel, sausages, sauerbraten, sauerkraut, spaetzle – so good (do all German dished start with “S”?). We had a delicious apple strudel and ice cream that probably wasn’t low-calorie.

March 30, The Grand Ball – They always serve Surf and Turf on Gala Nights. There are many other choices, but it’s the only night they offer lobster with no upcharge, which is always a good option. There were two Gala Balls – the one we attended was at 7:30 PM in the Crow’s Nest on the 10th level. The people who had been taking dancing lessons on the cruise led off the dancing with a Promenade. – They did a great job. The dance instructor, Matt, performed a short dance with our Cruise Director, Kimberly, who, as I’ve mentioned before, has danced on Broadway. Matt was a firefighter in a previous life. He’s very personable, involved in many shipboard activities, and does a great job as a dance instructor. He wore a beautiful dark green tuxedo jacket with a grid pattern accented by rhinestones and a green velvet collar, along with a huge rhinestone brooch – wonder what his fellow firefighters would think of that outfit? But he looked great! The Captain officially opened the Ball and danced with his wife (who lives with him on board during the World Cruise). They met at a dance club, and both obviously love to dance! Unfortunately, the “mood lighting” made it hard to get good pictures, but you get the idea. There was a second Gala Ball that started at 9:00 in the Rolling Stones Lounge; no place is large enough to accommodate everyone! Same Promenade from the dancing class and Capt.’s remarks. Fun to see everyone dressed up – John wore his kilt again. He always gets a great reaction from the ladies! I was reluctant to include pictures of us the first time he wore it to a Gala, but I’m more daring now so, our picture is included.

April 1 (April Fool's Day) – We enjoyed a variety of fun activities throughout the day. When we returned from Breakfast, our cabin had been cleaned, but there was a suspicious lump in the bed. When we pulled back the covers, there was a towel animal and an April Fool’s Day note. There was an announcement from the Bridge about a Mermaid sighting on the Starboard side, and some people rushed to look. The Captain also made an announcement when we were about to cross the Equator, admonishing everyone to look out for the Red Line marking the line in the ocean. There was a Scavenger Hunt and an April Fool’s Day Bar Hop. The dinner Menu had special artwork and fake prices! Of course, the food is really free. The Dining Room crew got into the spirit and wore the uniforms of another shipboard department – many Engineering Department coveralls were in evidence—later that evening, a Costume Party and Dance Contest.

April 2, Once Upon a Time - A fairy tale-themed party with an original story about the Tales of Zuidy (from the Zuiderdam). The Daily said “delicious fairy treats” and magical experiences. Finest Fairy Tale attire or sleepwear was suggested. We passed and enjoyed the evening on the Ocean View open deck on the 9thDeck. We just crossed the Equator yesterday (again), and it’s very pleasant outside.

April 3, Burrito Fiesta - No costumes involved today, just good eating. I had a delicious Breakfast Burrito this morning in the dining room, and lunch time in the Casual Dining Lido offers a variety of made-to-order Burritos and Mexican fare.

In port tomorrow, and “At the Hop” when we’re back at sea on April 6th!