We had two uneventful sea days after our departure from Bermuda. Our British friends were happy because the sun finally came out and the temperature was warmer. They love the sun and they were out around the pool in force. We did the usual sea day things. We played Name that Tune and lost badly (we need some people younger than 50- 0r maybe 60). Our trivia team finished ten points behind the winners but we got prizes too. I had some nice dinners with friends, many of whom left today in Miami. It’s always sad to say goodbye, but hopefully we’ll meet again on another cruise.
Yesterday four of my friends and I had a special treat. We were given a tour by the Provision Master of the ship’s stores, not places you shop but where everything consumed on the ship is kept. This ship carries a maximum of 600 passengers and a crew of about 350. The Provision Master is a very engaging half Bosnian, half German man who told us to call him Harry (his name is Har…. something). He’s also quite handsome. We went down to Deck 3 and were shown around the various storage areas where everything from toilet paper to caviar consumed on the ship are stored. The last opportunity to resupply was in Lisbon, eleven days before, but the produce including berries and lettuce looked like it left the store today.
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| Just a few rolls |
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| Some spirits to keep our spirits up |
I can’t remember all the statistics he told us but one did stick with me; between Lisbon and Bermuda we used 27,000 rolls of toilet paper! What does that say about all of us here on the ship? Seabourn includes all beverages except for some premium wines and liquors. I’ve heard people complaining that the wines included are “rubbish” as a couple of the Brits here have said. Frankly, I’m not enough of a connoisseur to know; I just know if something tastes good or doesn’t to me. There was a shortage of a wine I like and I offered to go buy some at a Costco in Miami if the ship would send me since I know they carry it. Harry assured me they would get some.
The Provision Master has a staff of 5 working with him. He keeps a running inventory and sends orders in daily so that at various ports we can pick up needed goods. The refrigerated rooms are operated at different temperatures depending on the optimum temperature for storing the items. One room had nothing but ingredients to make ice cream and sorbets. All of those are made daily on the ship. One funny thing had to do with French fries. Seabourn has a reputation for having fabulous French fries at its patio. A while ago posts started appearing on Seabourn forums that they no longer had the delicious coated fries. Harry explained that they get them from two places – one in the US and one in Europe. For a time both suppliers were out of them. When they became available again Harry bought 1000 kilos just to make sure he doesn’t run out. There was one refrigerated case just for those.
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| Some citrus fruits |
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| This was the frozen seafood locker |
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| Just a few eggs |
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| Christmas is coming and these are lebkuchen to be used for the gingerbread villages which appear around the ship |
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| These potatoes are for every other potato dish, not for the wonderful fries |
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| Harry and his crew |
On the last evening before Miami I went up to the Observation Bar to say goodbye to some friends getting off. Barry and Merle, the wonderful duo playing up there, played great dance music so some of us decided to dance up there instead of down in the club. I think we all had a lovely time!
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| Pearl, one of mt favorite fellow dancers |
