Day 2 - Thu 12/06/18 - At Sea to Cartegena

Jet lag continues to be an issue for me and I was wide awake at 3am. The ship has been amazingly smooth and quiet even in this 10th floor forward SPA cabin.  

Breakfast in the LIDO was quite nice. The lines were short and I got my eggs cooked to order (over broken). On this ship the accompanying mushrooms and English Bacon are at another station so I'll need to readjust my routine.

Our Cruise Critic gathering at 10am was well attended by around 100 people out of 200 who signed up. It was a good chance to put screennames and faces together.

Our first lecture was delayed by 1/2 hour due to technical difficulties hooking up the presenter's MAC. Eventually a PC was used to save the day. I'm sure the technical staff will get this sorted out. The first speaker was a radio host who spoke about the various people he had interviewed. Jet lag got in the way of enjoying this lecture.

After a very nice sushi lunch in the LIDO, Orlando Ashford, President of HAL spoke on the changes to HAL over the four years he's been at the helm. His multimedia presentations were effective and presented the three ways he wants HAL to be known by: Exploration, Extraordinary Food, and Live Music. He shared changes in the art vendor, photo gallery, and music emphasis. All of these changes are meant to get the passenger more engaged with their cruise experience and be less of a model of 'hawking stuff' (his words). Afterwards, he fielded questions and solicited feedback, and encouraged us to stop him in the hall. He noted that he reads most of the comments submitted in the surveys and that some nights are a two glasses of wine night.

Three of the questions asked of him are worth noting here. The first was regarding the demise of the library which on this ship is a set of shelves in the Crow's Nest approximately 8 feet long and 6-7 feet high with access on both sides. It probably holds 1,000 to 1,500 titles. There's much passion about this topic. His answer to the question was that HAL loses about $2.5 million a year in lost books. A few readers of my Cruise Critic postings noted that a $2.5 million loss divided by 15 ships and an average book price of $50 is a loss of 3,300 books. All the ships I've sailed on don't have 3300 books and they haven't lost half of them. I agree that something doesn't seem right about his numbers, and I'll attempt to chat with him about them. Personally, I don't care if the library goes away as I bring my own reading materials with me both in electronic and paper forms. Furthermore, my opinion is that the demise of the library really revolves around the notion that the library is not a direct revenue generating venue. That being said, I do like having atlas' and dictionaries available. There are lots of quiet areas around the ship to sit in and read.

The second questions revolved around getting free internet. His main response was that they are very aware of how cheap it is to get internet on land based travel and the high guest expectation to have that same expectation on a sea based travel experience. But he said the technology is just not there yet to provide free internet. I would add that at least on this ship and the Maasdam that the internet access is not sold by the minute of access. I've been reasonably satisfied with the internet here and on the Maasdam, and I have been very critical of the pay by the minute plan and didn't purchase it except for a couple of times for the past 6 years.

The third question concerned getting more voyages to Africa. While the world cruise goes there, he said it's a matter of lack of demand. If there is sufficient demand, HAL will sail there. He mentioned that Turkey is now going to be resumed as a destination.

The Lincoln Center Stage was relocated to share the stage area with the BB King nightclub. I think it was a brilliant move and the new venue is much more visually appealing with two levels of audience access. We attended the inaugural matinee set there of the all female string quartet. It was really good and the set ended with a wonderful rendition of the Bohemian Rhapsody.

The second lecture of the day was one on the sea history of the area. The presenter essentially read the slide show comments although periodically he would look up from those notes and speak quite eloquently extemporaneously. The history period covered the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Afterwards, we walked a mile around the Promenade where I photographed a number of colorful or uniquely shaped engineering items.

We ate dinner in the Main Dining Room for Gala night. There was an anaestheseologist, a sculptur and his wife, and a retired teacher at our table and the conversation was enthusiastic. Dinner was served in under two hours so we were able to make Lance's World Stage 7pm port talk on Cartegena. This was followed by a local guitar quartet, the Spanish Rumba Kings who were quite good.

Back at the room, I noted we had received three bottles of vitamin water (free) and a Bose Bluetooth speaker. Earlier in the day we received a pair of Lounge slippers and a HAL tote bag. I ended my day by watching the funeral train ride of President George HW Bush, while Angela watched the movie in the Lido pool area.

There's lots to do, eat, and enjoy around the ship. My story is only one of 2300ish, but I hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for tomorrow's story when we dock in Cartegena.