Normally we would surrender our passports during check in, but that adds time to an already lengthy process.  Today was the day passports were collected, along with our yellow fever vaccination card and the reference numbers for NzETA and Australian ETA.  Everyone received a form last night to fill out the required information.  The forms, passports, and yellow fever cards would be collected by deck from 9 am to 10 am.  We are not scheduled to receive our passports until we reach Durban, South Africa, in March.  That means we will probably have to do a face-to-face check with South African Immigration.  The good news is we probably won’t have to do a face-to-face Immigration check in Australia, New Zealand, or any other earlier port.

People were waiting in line for 30- 45 minutes, depending on the deck.

Every Sunday at Sea, the Dining Room will have a special Sunday Brunch with a 3-course sampler menu.   You can find a copy of the menu HERE.

While reservations were suggested, and many people did make reservations, people were seated quickly and with little wait whether or not they had reservations.  Over 600 people enjoyed the special Brunch today.

Typical table setting for Sunday Brunch

Table 89 at Sunday Brunch. Susan and Pete were present but out of the picture

FIRST COURSE: COLD SAMPLER Fresh Fruit with Granola Parfait, Norwegian Smoked Salmon on Brioche, Devilled Egg, Black Tobiko|, South Italian Prosciutto, Speck and Coppa on Six Grains Baguette * Beecher’s and Brie Cheese

MAIN COURSE: HOT SAMPLER Vegetable Frittata Sauted Shrimp * Mini Beef Wellington * roasted sliced potato, steamed broccoli, Biscuit and Gravy,  Pancake Stack with Maple Syrup

DESSERT: SWEET ENDING SAMPLER Cream Caramel, Pecan Pie, Baked Apple Strudel

Tonight was a “Dressy” night instead of the more recent “Formal Night.”  There were only a handful of tuxedos tonight and not many suits or even coats and ties.

Table 89 Dressy Night

The Zuiderdam Cast performed their second show of the cruise:  Swing.  The four singers and four dancers performed on a backing track instead of a live band.  There weren’t any sets or stage decorations – simply various backgrounds displayed on screens.  As you can judge from the title, the music was from the swing era.  Here are a few of the songs they performed.

• At Last
• It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)
• L-O-V-E
• In The Mood
• Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Tomorrow is another sea day.