Day 42, My Sweet Valentine

LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART

As I headed out of my room towards the staircase down to Deck 5 for Coffee Chat, I came across a group of men (and one woman) in the elevator lobby practicing a Barber Shop Quartet sounding tune – “Let me Call you Sweetheart”.  They were preparing to serenade women in their cabins on this Valentine’s Day as arranged for by their husbands.  Earlier in the week, the group organizer left notices in the men’s restrooms with details about their plan and how to sign up. 

As they were warming up, I was able to shoot a quick video and take some pictures before they headed off to visit their first cabin.  The Serenade was well received by the few guests that I witnessed before I headed down to Coffee Chat. 

DRUM DANCE

Every day at 9 AM, the Polynesian Cultural Ambassadors host a craft or cultural event near the Lido pool.  Today’s class was scheduled to be learning the Tahitian native drum dance.  Judy stopped by to check it out and take a few pictures.  I had expected there to be some sort of drumming involved, but they were teaching the dance without any musical accompaniment. 

COFFEE CHAT

Colleen and Jesse Kazemek were the guests this morning at Coffee Chat.  They give a great interview and shared how they met on cruise ships when they were both cast singers 13 years ago.  Jesse was so smitten that he proposed to Colleen after only three months and they were married shortly thereafter.  

Jesse has been a Beatles fan since he was four years old so when an opportunity came to do a show together Jesse approached his Cruise Director with his concept of a tribute to the Beatles.  The show was a great success and eventually they were able to perform it as guest entertainers themselves and have been doing so for years. 

VALENTINE’S DAY GREETINGS

The Photo Department advertised that from 11 AM to Noon, they would be taping Valentine’s messages from interested guests to be broadcast on the Mainstage prior to the 7:30 and 9:30 PM shows.  I went down and did a short Valentine’s Haiku/poem and was surprised that there was only a total of five guests who would eventually take advantage of this opportunity.  The Valentine’s Serenade group also went down and performed their serenade. 

CHOCOLATE SURPRISE

Most everyone on the ship took part in the Valentine’s day theme.  People wearing red or hearts or some combination of both were everywhere.  Around 1 PM there was a Chocolate Surprise on Decks 3, 5 and the Crow’s Nest where waiters walked about with trays of chocolate cakes and treats.  In the past the Chocolate Surprise took place during a Grand Party later in evening. 

In the afternoon, when we returned to our room, we discovered a large single rose and two heart shaped boxes of chocolates for our enjoyment along with a Valentine’s Day card from the Captain and Hotel Director. 

For last several days the crew has been sanding handrails in the aft staircase.  They block off one half the staircase while they sand the wood down and then apply a varnish. 

GALA NIGHT

Tonight was a Gala Night and the dining room was beautifully decorated in a Valentines theme.  Red hearts were hanging from the ceiling along with red and grey chair covers.  The waiters were wearing red sequined vests.  Joining us for dinner was Mary from Oklahoma, whom we had dined with earlier. 

We turned the tables on the ship’s photographer Gee – Check out those shoes!

Our table was hosted by Sea Cadet, Stefan, from the Netherlands.  Stefan will graduate this May and is hoping to gain full-time employment at sea afterwards. 

Judy and I continued our theme costumes with Valentines related head-wear.  She wore a headband decorated with two bouncy heart antennas.  I wore a headband that looked like a Cupid’s arrow was going through my head.  We always enjoy posing for the gala night photos. Here is one of favorites.

Before the 9:30 show they played the 5 clips that people recorded earlier. Here is a photo of my clip shown in the Mainstage

AMOUR

On the Mainstage this evening, the Holland America singers and dancers performed the show AMOUR.  Singing a collection of love songs that were popular over years starting with “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”, followed by other hits including:  “When A Man Loves a Woman”,  “1-2-3”,  and “Anything for You” before closing the show with an exciting rendition of the Jackie Wilson classic – “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher”. 

CROW’S NEST AFTER PARTY

After the show we headed up to the Crow’s Nest for the after party, which was already in full swing.  The Crow’s Nest was packed with guests and crew including the Captain and his senior officers.  

We arrived around 10:15 PM and stayed until the Station Band finished playing around midnight.  (It was actually 1 AM but we were rolling the clocks back tonight.)  The party was going strong until then but petered out after the band quit playing.  This was a busiest I’ve seen the Crow’s Nest in many cruises. 

Colleen and Jesse Kazemek were at the party and we enjoyed chatting with them, learning more about their experiences in Los Angeles as well as on cruise ships and performing in musical theater earlier in their careers. 

• HAL Singers and Dancers. Amour