Saturday, September 1, 2012

Tuesday, August 28th .....

We’re a bit odd in that we prefer to have our meals at a table for two rather than sit with strangers. It’s not a problem on some ships but, on others, it can be a difficult. On the Volendam, with all its good points, we finally gave up and ate more often at the buffet because there never seemed to be a table for two available at the time we wanted it. The Pacific Dawn is shaping up to be just as difficult.

On the advice of the waiter at the first lunch, we requested Table 82 at 6.15pm. We were assured that there would be no problem, that it would be booked for us at the same time each evening and, if we didn’t want it, just let them know and they would give it to someone else. To be sure, just confirm after each meal that we would like the same table he next night. OK, we can cope with that.

That evening, we fronted up, introduced ourselves and were taken to a large table where there were two spare seats. No, we said, we have a booking for Table 82. Sorry, there’s someone else sitting there. We stamped our foot and the Head Waiter had to be called. Reluctantly, we were given a table for four, with a guarantee that no one else would join us. At lunchtime, the next day, we were shown to a table with four young women. No, no, we said, we want to eat alone. No table was available. There’s one there, we said. Sorry, no waiter is allocated to that table. So we went to the buffet.

That night, after double-checking, we were shown to Table 82. Great, except that the two tables adjacent had groups of primary school-age children with no adults. Not a particularly peaceful meal! We know when we’re beaten so we’ve booked in to the specialty restaurants for two of the remaining nights and will use the buffet for the rest of the time.

We’ve been having a bit of a success at the Quizzes. After the debacle of the Music Quiz, we’ve focused on general topics and have surprised ourselves. We have been just one point off the winners a couple of times and actually won on Monday afternoon. Our prize was a P&O stubby holder each. We’ve formed a team with two other couples. The questions range from: what is the literal translation of karaoke? to what is the name of the monkey in the movie Aladdin? Today we tied with another team on 14 out of 20 points. In the tiebreaker, one member of each team was asked, into how many languages has Gone with the Wind been translated. Our representative said 46, the other said 15. The right answer was 26 and the other team won because they were under the correct figure. Go figure! Anyway, the prize was a P&O cap for everyone so not too disappointing.

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