It’s been a grand Grand Voyage

It’s another sea day today.  The sea day is an opportunity to begin the shift in time.  We did one hour (+1 hour) on Tuesday night, and I’m sure we’ll change the time by another hour tonight.  Chile is two hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.  So, sea days give you a chance to recover from long excursions and the loss of time.

One of the great things about a HAL “grand voyage” experience is the perks that come with the voyage.  I’ve received many gifts, and the ship has only been at sea for two weeks.  Each guest on the ship has received a universal electric adapter/surge suppressor with two USB charging ports, a passport/ID lanyard, two pieces of luggage (a day pack early in the trip and a carryon bag for my flight to Cuzco), and, last night, we received a scarf, gloves, and warm hat in preparation for our time in the cold waters of Chile and Antarctica.

The entertainment has been great, too.  Holland America flies in entertainers at various ports.  You never get bored with the shows and entertainers constantly change. It’s always a top notch show.  Last night the show was by Lee Bradley, an operatic tenor, from the UK.  He did some familiar opera pieces (Nessun Dorma from Turandot is one of my favorites arias; everyone has heard it at some point from a TV commercial or in an old cartoon).  He sang other favorites from the stage (“Phantom of the Opera”).  One piece that got a large crowd response from the crowd was the ballad “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You”.  He’s a big Elvis fan, and he put in a plug two recently released Elvis albums that includes Elvis’ voice track with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.  He says many Americas/Canadians don’t know about this release. 

Since the ship originates from a Dutch line, the flowers are constantly changing by the ship’s florists. 

I better log off now and get on with the day.  I’ve seen that the weather is snowy back home.

A side note:  Has anyone ever thought about collecting and making an album of the classical and opera pieces that were used in old cartoons (pre 1960’s)?  That would be a great album of classical music that we know from childhood.

I haven't seen any tulips ("Holland" America), but many tropical, local flowers.