NIEUW STATENDAM

This morning we noticed another cruise ship heading in the opposite direction as we sailed east of Puerto Rico.  I zoomed in with binoculars and saw this was the Nieuw Statendam heading back to Fort Lauderdale at the end of her 21-day round-trip Southern Caribbean Cruise.

COFFEE CHAT

Hotel General Manager Henk Mensink was the guest at Coffee Chat.  He announced that the Brazilian Visa was no longer required and discussed various topics.

CRUISE CRITIC ROLL CALL

Our Cruise Critic Roll Call – which started over two years ago – was a place for people to meet online and share tips, get advice on various topics, and provide a forum to share plans for shore excursions and more.  Over 300 people participated in the Roll Call, and 280 requested a nametag to attend our face-to-face meet and greet this morning at 10 am.

MEET AND GREET

Kim and Shelly, along with other volunteers, met in the Arts and Crafts room, immediately aft of the Crow’s Nest on the port side to pass out name tags to arriving guests.

We started a few minutes after 10 am, acknowledging Kathy for creating the wonderful photo book that shared photos and information about fellow cruisers.  Another big thanks to Kim for gathering all the information for the name tags, printing them and getting them stuffed and distributed.

Bonita talked about the passenger-led fitness class that she is organizing and plans for Mahjong.

Betsy discussed the classical book club she is organizing and announced the following books and meeting dates.

Feb 2: JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte.

April 12: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

May 5 :  Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie

I talked about the Community Events bulletin board on the starboard side of the Crow’s Nest, where you can post information about special interest activities to help find other interested passengers.

After some other general announcements, we wrapped up around 10:30

ACCOUNTING CHANGE

On previous world cruises, credit cards weren’t charged until the end of the cruise.  We received a letter HERE that announced that our account balance would be charged to our credit card about once a month.

CRAFT PROJECT

Group A met today for the first Arts & Crafts project of the cruise.

WORLD STAGE

Chris Ritchie was a featured entertainer this evening.  He was a big hit – singing popular songs from a variety of artists, including Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Elvis.  There was a nice-sized crowd for the 9:30 show, and Chris received an enthusiastic standing ovation at the conclusion.