Maasdam May 19 Part 3

[Gunters Oma]

Cruising the Sagueney…alrighty - we arrived here a tad earlier than brochure time. From the Daily: we enter the river at 5:40 AM, turn around at Baie Sainte Marguerite and exit the river at 9:20AM.

 

Our coffee and croissants arrived at 5:30AM. We are now 239.3 miles from Montreal. The winds are Force 3 (Moderate Breeze) the temp is 37.8 degrees. A quick peek out on "our veranda" to see the scenery and snap a few pics.

 

Back to cabin to bundle up - take the remaining coffee up to the Crow's Nest and watch the scenery hoping for a whale to appear! I've never seen a fjord - so I can't say for sure…but the Sagueney fjord is more like the Alaskan Inside Passage than any picture I have seen of Norway. None-the-less beautiful --- greenery, waterfalls, craggy rocks, shoals, quaint villages and solitary houses --- everything you could wish for minus a whale or two!

 

About 8:30 we head to the Lido - straight to the waffleman - yummy, yummy. DH has eggs/sausage and we lucked into a window table to continue our watch. We decide to head to the cabin to freshen up and then up to the Crow's Nest to check on the setup for the meet and greet.

 

DH is watching out our inside window (TV set to forward camera) and sees a ferry crossing - so we head out on the veranda to check it out. No sooner are we on the deck than there is an announcement from the Captain. Two whales on the starboard side. Sure enough, there they were --- now they didn't hang around long, but enough to count for a true whale sighting!

 

Back to the Crow's Nest - Chandler, the head bartender, was ready for us. He blocked off a center section and put up the private party sign. A little later he set out coffee, tea, water and several kinds of cookies. There were 18 people signed up.

 

Everyone one showed, but not everyone was there at the same time. A few folks left early to play team trivia and a couple, who forgot to set their clocks forward, were a little late. But it was fun…a very diverse group. We spoke of pre-cruise activities, excursion we were taking, and the Cruise Critic Board. We all picked Ken and Don's brain (the guys from Boston) for post-cruise advice.

 

Gunter was in his glory and enjoyed the attention as we told his story. (HammyBee- here we go.) Once upon a time DH and I were headed up to The Villages in central Florida. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for a bite. It is almost impossible to eat at a Cracker Barrel without walking the store. As we pass by the stuffed animal bin…there amongst the critters is the cutest little lion cub…"pick me, choose me, love me" no - wait…that's was Grey's Anatomy! In any event - he spoke to us and he was mine. He has traveled with us every since. We do not know his birthday…but we do celebrate Founder's Day - yep - the day he found us. His mission is to make people smile and he does it well. I can tell you maybe 20 or so people actually new our names…but countless folks knew Gunter. Passengers and staff alike would say "Hi Gunter!"

 

It was good fun talking with the CC group while enjoying the view. Too soon it was 11:30 and time to move along. Unfortunately only a few of us were left when we remember to take a picture.

 

DH and I were off to the Pinnacle for lunch. Excellent! We did not choose to spend $30/pp for dinner..but $15/pp for lunch seemed reasonable. Wow! The service was great. Again we had a seat by the window and were able to enjoy the view. The food was outstanding. DH had the scallops crème brulee and I had the shrimp brochette. We both order the blue cheese tenderloin - delicious. Of course, Chocolate decadence for dessert! We highly recommend the Pinnacle lunch.

 

As we were finishing up, the Hotel Manager - Douglas Hernandez, walked by. He said hello, how was our day, and who was the lion? He agreed to a picture with Gunter and sat with us for a chat. He was very friendly and quite charming! The next night, quite late in the evening, when DH and I were admiring a huge vase of fresh flowers, Mr. Hernandez walked by and stopped for a few minutes. He explained the origin of several of the flowers that grew in his hometown in Costa Rica. Pleasant way to spend a few minutes.

 

After lunch, even though I gave to checking out royal high tea - we decided to head to the cabin for a short snooze. Tonight was formal night and there was much to do! To sleep - perchance to dream! To dream - perchance to oversleep!!! Yikes! The Champagne Welcome Aboard Reception for the early seating was at 4:45PM. Two of us had to shower, but all three of us had to change clothes. DH and I do like formal nights. He in his dark suit - me in shiny, sparkling stuff and Gunter in his tux! We are ready. We are late. The good thing about being fashionably late is that no one is ahead of you waiting to have their picture taken with the Captain!! The Captain gives tuxified Gunter a big smile and agrees it is appropriate to include him in the picture.

 

After the picture, we proceed into the Rembrandt Lounge. They are serving white wine, red wine, champagne, and orange juice…also hot appetizers and bottles of mixed nuts - cashews, butternuts, almonds, all the good ones! Help yourself! The captain introduces the staff and we all raise our glasses for a safe voyage!

 

Our dinnertime is 6:15PM so we have a few minutes. I donate a few more coins to the bandits in the casino and we head over to the photographer's corner.

 

If you are inclined to select a photo as memento of your cruise - I have some advice from a well-traveled cruiser: Let them take your picture at every opportunity. The more photos you have, the greater the chance of finding one you like. So we go from one photo holder to another looking. It is easy to discard most of them! But we have two "possibles" and we put them together - to be hunted down another day,

 

We enter the dining room and smiled at the many awwws and chuckles directed at Gunter…all spiffy and formal and pretend not see the few people rolling their eyes! Most men had dark suits; a few tuxes; a kilt; no jeans. Almost all the ladies were glamorous; with a few formal gowns.

 

Dinner was superb. We both had shrimp cocktail (the only night it was available); DH had the crab legs; I had the filet mignon (again…twice in one day…what can I say? Except it was equally as tender and tasty as the one in the Pinnacle. I had to compare, right?) We both selected the double fudge adventure for dessert! Oh yum…I am having a chocolate fit as I type. Now that was great!

 

Nick McCullock, the Neil Diamond sound-alike, was the show for the evening. But we decided on the movie - The Queen. Excellent! Plus the seats in the theatre are comfortable. After the show - back to the Explorer Lounge - our waiter knows what we want - we relax with the music before turning in. Slightly predictable, no?

 

Because of the meet & greet and the leisurely lunch in the Pinnacle we missed several events. FYI - today's events included "Behind the Scenes Kitchen Tour, Pinnacle Grill Open House, Culinary Arts Demonstration, and the Royal Dutch High Tea.

 

More tomorrow

[sail7seas]

Another wonderful report. Thanks so much. GREAT Reading!!

 

[codyody]

I'm reading these backwards - starting with teh "old Folks" thread. I think I love you:o I feel we may have been separated at birth; the Grey's reference cinched it:D My DH and I also have a furry friend who has gotten a little too old to travel, so he watches the house while we travel. Thank you - I'm off to read parts 2 and 1.

[Love Cruises]

Thanks for the great report. We were on the msAMSTERDAM at the Saguenay Fjord this past October and it was really beautiful. The townfolk were so nice. They are hoping for many cruise ships to stop there (they built a beautiful ship terminal). Very quaint place!

[Gunters Oma]

For all the kind words on all three threads -- I thank you! I am glad you like it! I am touched! :)

 

May there be as much pleasure in the reading as there is in the writing.

 

Jayne

 

 

PS - I am posting this on all the threads - so if you get a sense of de ja vue...well...

[hammybee]

So Gunther chose you and DH to be his adoptive parents. I am thinking Gunther is one sharb cub. He might have been stuck with people who stuffed his chubby little legs into jeans, on formal night.

 

I think Gunther ( can you tell I am way into this?) likes to show off his family to the officers on cruise ships. He is one proud cub that can take his family anywhere.