October 20, 2024 Sea Day #9

There are just two more sea days until Koningsdam docks in Vancouver. This morning the sun was bright when the curtains were opened. There were just a few thin clouds in the sky. The temperature was a cooler 16°C, the waves were about two to three meters but only an occasional whitecap. Later in the day the waves were higher and the wind was stronger.

Rather than having Sunday brunch this week, Monday is scheduled for a Hawaiian theme brunch in the main dining room on Deck 2. We tried the New York Deli & Pizza on Deck 10 for their breakfast. The breakfast bagel with a fried egg, ham, American cheese and lettuce was quite good. To our surprise when we looked down at the pool there were towel creatures hanging from the ceiling, lining the pool’s edge, on the tables and loungers and decorated the floor. It was called Zoordam (there is a ship named Noordam)

The 9 a.m. lecture by Dr. Robert Hitt was about voyages within the Milky Way, our galaxy, and beyond. It would take tens of thousands of light years to get to the next closest star. The Hubble telescope flies an orbit 325 miles above the earth and is a visible light telescope. The Webb telescope in a radio wave telescope stationed half way between Earth and the moon.

It can analyze the atmosphere of moons, plants and stars.

Alex hosted the 10 a.m. documentary A City at Sea, which visited behind the scenes areas of the ship including the engine room. Propulsion is by two azipods which each can turn 360° and be controlled by the bridge or in the engine room. Potable water is distilled from sea water. The heat from the engines help the evaporation process and heating the hot water. There are enormous amounts of food to feed 2,900 guests and over 1,000 crew. There is a tailor on board as part of the laundry team. Laundry is busy 24/7 washing tablecloths, napkins, sheets and towels and guest laundry. The cost for guest laundry is $25 US per bag, which is the size of a large shoe bag. You can stuff several shirts, pants, t-shirts etc but just need to be able to close the drawstring on the bag. The clothes come back within 48 hours either folded or on hangars, whichever you have requested. As Four-Star Mariners, this is a complimentary perk for us. Up on the bridge the ship is controlled by computer and a joystick. There are several kitchens on the ship staffed with 150 cooks. There is the main dining room and six specialty restaurants plus the pizza restaurant, the Lido Market (buffet), the Grand Dutch Cafe and the burger and hot dog snack bar. At the end over 150 members of the crew paraded onto the stage to a standing ovation of the full World Stage theatre.

Dr. Virginia Stibolt’s 11 a.m. lecture was about the history of grapes. Evidence of green grapes, which make white wines, was found in King Tut’s tomb from 1,500 B.C. Red grapes are older than green grapes. Manitoba has native wild grapes. The Inflorescence or clusters are unique to grapes. The European grape was officially named in 1753. It is a self pollinator. Wine grapes are smaller, have thicker skins, larger seeds and are sweeter than grapes used for food. Grapes moisture level is 75% while dried to become raisins the moisture is just 19%. These are generally Thompson grapes in North America. Sulphur Hydroxide is used before grapes are dried to create golden raisins. In eastern Canada there is a “wine train” from Halifax to Montreal which we will investigate when we return home. The maximum amount of alcohol using natural fermentation is 14%. Higher than that and the yeast dies. The Cork Oak is the source of cork, but it is only on the third harvest of its bark that is used to make cork stoppers. That process can take 30 to 50 years. To produce naturally fermented Balsamic Vinegar takes 25 years.

We just had a salad up in Lido Market for lunch. Most of the exits to the exterior promenade deck and the Deck 11 Jogging Track were blocked by caution tape due to the waves and wind. The captain’s announcement came on just as we were taking our food to a table so I missed most of his navigational information. There are 612 nautical miles to Vancouver. The temperature was 15°C, the wind was 34 knots (50 km/hr) or 8 on the Beaufort scale and the waves were more than three meters high. After lunch we walked stem to bow and back from Deck 8 to 3 taking the stairs between floors to get some steps. We added about 3,200 steps.

Dr. Virginia Stibolt was the guest host for the 1 p.m. Trivia game. The 16 questions were based on her lectures during the cruise. One of the questions was “What three organisms make up Lichen?”

We stopped at Future Cruises and booked another cruise - for the fall of 2026. Montreal roundtrip to St. John’s, Nfld., including ports in Quebec, PEI and St. Pierre-et-Miquelon. Then got our afternoon Americano and Cappuccino and returned to the stateroom to read. The NFL channel is back on the TV channel selection.

The cruise and travel director, Alex, held an information event about disembarking in Vancouver and what to do in Vancouver. There were only a couple of dozen people attending, probably because more than half of the passengers are from Vancouver or B.C.’s lower mainland.

We danced for 15 minutes before joining Suzanne, Graham, Jo and Mike in the dining room. The slight rolling motion of the ship was noticeable in the dining room and on the dance floor. When we had finished dinner, our waiter, Sandi, showed us the menu for tomorrow’s Hawaiian Brunch from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the main dining room. None of us saw anything that looked interesting.

Tonight’s World Stage theatre entertainment was a second show by the Birdwatchers trio. We walked to the other end of the ship to the Grand Dutch Café to order an Americano and a Cappuccino to take back to the stateroom.

The three organisms that make up Lichen are Fungus, Algae and Bacteria.

11,325 steps