DAY 63 Mar 16 - South Atlantic Ocean

As you can see in this picture we are now firmly back in the good old Atlantic Ocean. The sea's a lovely colour of bluey green and there is a welcoming fresh breeze in the air.

The sun was already up when I came up on deck to have my coffee and an 'eggbeater' omelet.

Yes I was a little late this morning not due to any time change but because we attended the traditional Filipino Crew Show that lasted until half past midnight.

It would take something special to keep us up that late and it was special.

An additional reason not to miss the show was because so many of our good crew friends were participating and how could we have faced them if we had missed their show?

During the evening nicely presented programmes for the gig were scattered round the bars and handed out to guests as they went into dinner. The Filipino crew were certainly working the crowds to ensure a full house.

The theatre was full by 11.00 pm when the show was scheduled to begin and it eventually got under way a little later.

Some of the acts were extremely impressive and very professionally performed. In particular the Kappa Malong Malong (Muslim Dance) and the Singkil (Bamboo Dance) were delivered with great passion and style.

It is probably wrong to single out individual acts as they were all wonderful to watch.

In addition to the above we also watched the Ifugao Dance, a male trio singing Pananalig (Faith), a Contemporary Dance performed by six males led by our friend and bar steward Richard.

Two of the lovely girls from the Front Desk entertained us with a Filipino duet and later accompanied two of their male colleagues in singing a Filipino love song.

This was followed by two of the resident dancers on board the ship, with Filipino connections, performing a very well received Contemporary Dance routine.

The finale was a grand affair with the stage full of crew from all parts of the ship. Officers and crew alike were there all singing a local folklore song.

They were then all introduced individually to great applause from a very appre-ciative audience.

These young men and women must have put in a serious amount of time and effort in preparing for this show.

This was all done in their own time and for the benefit of us the passengers.

Well done the wonderful Filipino staff on the ms Prinsendam.

The sun was reflecting brightly across the sea as I brought a slightly later than usual breakfast down for Maria. It was going to be another lazy day as we would remain at sea today with Devil's Island our next port of call tomorrow.

Although a lazy day was our intention we did have two social engagements to attend.

Firstly, in late morning there was a final Cruise Critic get together in the Crow’s Nest. Then at 12.45 we had been invited by the Captain and Hotel Manager to attend a Mariners Society Luncheon in the La Fontaine Dining Room.

Our first appoin-tment was attended by about a dozen or so of us. Others may have been involved in another ship Mariners’ event that was scheduled around the same time, thus keeping the numbers down.

We exchanged some information about our next two and last ports of call and reflected on some of the fun moments from the last two months on board the ms Prinsendam.

As usual Roger, our attentive Beverage Manager, ensured that there was a supply of orange juice, coffee, pastries and sandwiches available to us.

Here he is pictured sharing a thought with Maria at our morning get together.

You’ll have to take my word that we went to the Mariners’ lunch as there are no photos, I’m afraid. Yes I forgot to put the battery in the camera. …again!

Nevertheless it was very pleasant and we met two other interesting couples at our table.

Outside it has hotted up with today’s lunchtime temperature recorded at 88F, a pleasant change from Brazil’s soaring temperatures of the last few weeks.

It is on these Mariner lunch days that passengers receive recognition for days cruised with HAL.

For example if someone has sailed for 700 days they receive a ‘platinum’ coloured medallion on a ribbon.

Even the various Captains we have heard over the years who present these awards make a bit of a joke of it as the ‘medals’ are just tin or aluminium (what ever is cheaper) and should not, in their view, be taken too seriously.

Having said that many of the passengers receiving the ‘award’ proudly wear them round their necks showing how important they have become!! It is, however, usually a certain type of individual involved in this somewhat embarrassing display.

The lunch itself was fine with a good selection of wine available.

As a result of the mid-day meal Maria has decided that we will dine in the Lido restaurant tonight thus avoiding the four or five courses available elsewhere.