07 November 2017; At Sea, Day 07.

Before I roll into the current day, we had an interesting event by means of a visitor or a stowaway. Sitting on top of the Magrodome with an attitude as if it owned the ship was a big bird. A very bird. I thought it was a Heron but in England Herons are blue and this was definitely a brown one and a scruffy one as well. According to guests:  he/she had been observed by somebody flying around the ship and catching fish and then, shortly after a dive over the Lido Deck, he or she landed in the middle of the top curve of the Magrodome and stayed put.  I do not know anything about birds, so readers please, is there any ornithologist available to tell me what sort of bird this is.  One guest considered the bird to be a terrorist as it dive bombed. Exactly where this guest was standing and the dive bomb was accompanied by a white release………….   Pending corrections on my thinking, this does not look like a deep sea bird and thus was most likely blown off course, hence his/her scruffy appearance. Last night we were about 400 miles from the edge of the Bahamas and two days ago we were 400 miles south of Bermuda, so it might be a bird with a British or Bahamian Passport. He/She spent most of the time preening and getting everything in order for a future take off. This morning the bird was gone, maybe for good or to return later and catch a ride to Florida.

Our Hitch-hiker in total control of the Magrodome.

With the bird no longer overseeing the Lido Deck from its lofty perch, Housekeeping moved in, in the late evening. I have not seen this on any other Holland America Line ship yet, but they managed to turn the whole area round the pool into a menagerie with every animal variation (and a few more) that normally covers our beds every evening.  Sometimes the creation of the cabin steward is a bit hard to decipher but normally it is very clear as to what it is. For what you get in the cabin, you can buy a small booklet with how to do it at home.  But here creativity was taken to a much higher level. Mr. Hobben our Executive Housekeeper and his team really went to town. Crocodiles, centipedes you never hope to see, Orang Utans larger than in real life plus smaller creations which are not in the booklet and are thus most likely dreamt up by the Housekeeping Attendants themselves. Indonesians are in general very artistic and elaborating on an old idea with a few extra towels is not beyond their capabilities.

Towel animals everywhere. all the way around the pool. I assume all 100 housekeeping attendants were in attendance. Luckily we always carry enough towels on board, as each cabin had an animal as well.

Most guests saw it at breakfast and the ohh’s and ahh’s were heard all around the deck. They had even made a guardian to look over them during the night by means of a stuffed Hotel Directors uniform, so the wellbeing of the whole zoo was in the capable hands of the most senior hotel person.  Compliments to Housekeeping, this was really impressive and listening to the noise produced, the guests really enjoyed it, all the time and effort well spent. Impressive.

These ones we do not get on the bed, as they are too big.

Outside the ship there is still not much going on. The sun is shining; the seas are calm with only a very small swell running, and the guests have to make the difficult decision of lazing for the day or to start packing. This evening around 19.00 hrs. we will enter the Bahama Islands. Then we will sail between Abaco Island and Eleuthera Island. This area is called north –East Providence Channel, followed by North West Providence Channel. Then early tomorrow morning we will cross the Straits of Florida to aim for Port Everglades pilot station around 05.00 hrs. If all goes well then we will be docked by 05.45 hrs. at our regular location Hal Terminal 26.  Then the changeover circus will start an even a bigger circus than normal as this is our first call after a whole summer in Europe, so we will have all the inspections. More about that tomorrow.

My school class found the bird back later in the day ; it is now sitting outside the Officers Bar on Deck 4, probably waiting for somebody to buy him/her a drink. We will have check tomorrow to see if it has become a Floridian. The Nautical Excellence Class finished today with 5 very happy campers who in 14 days’ time were indoctrinated in most Holland America Line procedures. Some known, some secret but all of them very important. Tonight we will have a final dinner in the dining room and then real life will start for them. But my final lesson will be: how to properly open a wine bottle, check it, taste it and then share it.

The weather looks very nice for Ft. Lauderdale and thus the guests will have had a VERY GOOD Trans -Atlantic crossing with only one overcast/rainy day.