Birthday at Sea

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On our final “Sea Day” we again made our way to the Vista Dining Room for breakfast where an “Italiano Frittata” was calling for me. Do I have to elaborate on the lack of culinary imagination of my travelling companions? Again, with the American breakfast, eggs well scrambled and bacon well done. At least in the dining room it’s the dining room stewards that get to deal with my mother who has suddenly become quite vocal in telling people exactly how she wants things. It has been an amazing transformation to watch in less than two weeks.

Today’s itinerary offered us one final chance to win at bingo, this time enticing us with a possible $25,000 jackpot if we get bingo on the last card in 46 calls or less. Today is my mother’s birthday, the whole reason for our being on this particular cruise, was to enjoy this time with her and celebrate her 85th birthday in a special way. Sharon suggested that my mother should decide who gets which card. She noticed a “3”, “6” and “53” on the first set of sheets, and handed it to Sharon, as her lucky card. All she could offer me was a “54”… sigh. This left her with the final sheets of three cards for each of four games. Prior to the first bingo game they did the “Win A Cruise” raffle drawing, and the man sitting a few seats in front of us and to our left was the lucky winner. He was thrilled, and to top it off, he let us all know that it was also his birthday! Cass observed, “On behalf of Holland America, I’d like to congratulate you on your birthday and offer you a Free 7-Day Caribbean Cruise.” I urged my mother to raise her hand and let Cass know that it was her birthday as well, and her 85th birthday should trump that blokes 43rd birthday… I’m just saying. On this final “Bingo Day” we got a chance to play one regular Bingo (first time on this cruise) consisting of one straight line, up-and-down, across or diagonally (so obviously, we were allowed to use the Free Space). My mother was very close to winning that first game, getting to stand, but that guy that just one the free cruise called out “Bingo”. He really is having a good birthday. In the second game Cass had us playing for “The Small-x”. It wasn’t too many calls into this game, before that same guy in the front whose birthday it is stood up, needing just one number. Okay, enough is enough already. Two calls later Sharon found herself standing, and then incredibly calling “Bingo”, with you guessed it, number “53”. She won $220. The third game was the “Crazy-T” and my mother came close in the final blackout game. She needed just two numbers when someone else called “Bingo”.

For today’s Team Trivia we were again joined by Carol who had joined us around the third Team Trivia. It was just the three of us taking on the rest of the Crow’s Nest trivia aficionados. Simon started with “What is a group of hummingbirds called?” I wrote down on my note sheet the first thing that popped into my head “Flutter”. This is probably the same wrong thing that popped into my head on the Mediterranean where we got this same question wrong. Sharon scowls at me with that “That’s the same wrong answer you came up with last time” look. It’s almost as bad as the Shirley smirk. So I cross it out, and write down “Charm”. “That’s it”, Sharon exclaimed; so, Carol wrote it down for our answer. “What are the little dots on dominos called?” Well, if he was asking about dice, we’ve had that question before; so, I reckon they must be the same thing: “Pips”. Now our British Cruise Director Simon, who is in the process of moving from his longtime home in Canada back to the United Kingdom because it’s just too expensive living in Canada, decided he’d ask us a “London Question”. I’m just saying, this is from the guy who didn’t know that London Bridge had been moved to Arizona. He wanted to know what building Big Ben sits atop. Our answer was Parliament, which was acceptable; although, the proper answer was the House of Westminster. Simon then came up with an altogether original trivia question, even noting that his introductory remarks could also be a trivia question. “Salamanders do not have lungs. What is it that salamanders must keep wet in order to breath?” We chose “Tail”. Carol wanted “Body” (which might have actually been acceptable). The answer Simon was looking for was “Skin”. Simon his us again with another new question: “What country has ‘The Lat’ as its currency?” Are you thinking what I’m thinking… “Latvia”? If you are, then we both get the point! Can it really be three new questions in a row? “What do ‘arctophiles’ collect?” Okay, this one stumped us! Who collects Teddy Bears anyway? Sharon knew what the “P-Word” was that chefs use to refer to 1/8 of one teaspoon of seasoning: a pinch. And we found that it is handy to have a medical professional on your team when Simon proffered, “What are the three different types of vertebrae in the spine?” Carol, a retired nurse, wrote down our winning response of “Thoracic, Lumbar and Cervical”. We beat out two other teams, both who had 17, by just one point. And for this final Team Trivia win, we not only got some more Panama Canal pins; but, drinks were on Simon! Thank-you very much, Simon! They were probably wasted on our team: one Sprite, on Coca-Cola and one gin and tonic.

With the cruise approaching its conclusion, we had to deal with the tedious tasks of moving clothing from the closets and drawers back into the suitcases, remembering to set aside clothing that we would need for tonight and the morning when we get off. We had reservations in the Pinnacle for mom’s birthday. We showed up a bit early and we were seated at the same table that we’d had on the first day of the cruise. There just aren’t that many tables for three. Ours was a round table in the center of the middle dining room, away from the exterior view tables. The Indonesian dining room steward who had served us previously, greeted us, even remembering that I’d ordered the San Pellegrino (with ice) on our first visit. Tonight I was sticking with just the regular table ice water and a glass of Cabernet. After reviewing the menu, we were ready to order; although, I don’t think there was ever any doubt about what my mother and Sharon were going to have. The dining room steward who had seated us originally came and took our orders, and he brought to the table his pronounced French accented English (and attitude). My mom ordered the medium petite filet, with a baked potato and just the French Onion soup as an appetizer. Sharon skipped the appetizers ordered the petite filet, medium, pink is okay but not red. “Oui, that is medium, madam.” My mother chimed in that is how she wanted her steak, as well. She only got a curt “Oui”. “And you Monsieur?” I started with the lobster bisque and then asked for the jumbo shrimp cocktail with the cocktail sauce on the side. Then I pressed my luck, and asked for some raw horseradish on the side as well. He actually rolled his eyes at this imposition. “Monsieur, it comes with cocktail sauce,” and then he emphasized in slow monosyllable English, “ON-THE-SIDE”. And I continued that thought for him, “…and I’d like some horseradish.” “Vell! I vill see vhut I can do!” I wasn’t holding out much hope, and then I really crossed the line, “And I would also like to order a salad.” He cocked his head at this latest transgression, as if my culinary faux pas of wanting to modify the strength of the Pinnacle Grille’s cocktail sauce, I was now trying to order a third appetizer. It was too much for him. “Monsieur, YOU are permitted just TWO appetizers!” Well there wasn’t much wiggle room in that definitive statement, so I gave him my best “You’ve got to be kidding look” (I know I don’t have that Shirley smirk going for me) and then chided him “Well, then give me the salad that my wife forgot to order for me.” “Monsieur?” he objected. I mean, she hadn’t ordered any appetizers… I’m just saying. I pushed my chair back, and told him, “Just forget about it then.” Any other place and time, I would have just left. But it was my mother’s birthday, and today was supposed to be about celebrating her 85th one at that, and I dismissed him with a wave of my hand. “No.” he objected again. “It is too late. I’ve already written it down.” And I’m thinking; well, that takes care of that then. There is nothing like dining out in a fancy restaurant and having the waiter tell you that you’re being a pig in front of you wife and mother. I also ordered the petite filet; but, medium rare… with Brussels Sprouts. And off he went. He must have said something to someone, because very quickly the Indonesian steward appeared, all smiles, making sure that everything was okay, and assuring us if there is anything that we wanted or needed, he was there to make that happen. We made a point to note his name on his name tag; although, it caused me to take a double-take. Yudy returned with our amuse-bouche which was a lobster mousse on a crispy wafer. I urged my mother to try, and to my surprise and to her credit, she did. But she made an awful face, and Yudy came over to see what was wrong, and she sheepishly had to admit that she didn’t much care for the amuse-bouche. He just grinned and his sympathetic gesture seemed to say that “It’s an acquired taste.” My mom acknowledged that it was her birthday and she was trying something new. Yudy didn’t seem to believe that she was 85. It was much better eating in the Pinnacle without the imposition of the Code-Red condition that had overshadowed our first visit. The bread was placed on the table for us to eat as we desired; rather, than selecting from the steward the one or two pieces that you wanted. And my shrimp cocktail came, and as I’d suspected, there was no horseradish on the side. I asked Yudy if it would be possible to get some, and he assured me that that would not be a problem, and I guess it wasn’t a problem at all because he had an ample side-dish of horseradish by my appetizer in less than thirty seconds. My mom and I both enjoyed our soups. And the steaks were very good; except, that in the distraction of trying to place the order I’d forgotten to ask for the French-fries. I’ll bet that first steward isn’t even French! Mother had the Vanilla Grand Marnier Souffle, Sharon her Very Cherry Berry Garcia Baked Alaska (she couldn’t trick my mother into ordering that again) and I had the Chocolate Lava Cake. We all wished they’d go back to the Chocolate Soufflé that they used to feature; although, I guess they want to leave that as something special for the Main Dining Rooms on the first Gala Nights of the cruise.

The Show that night featured a reprise of the guest acts on the cruise. I decided to skip this and try my luck in the Casino. My mother wanted to see the show, but she wanted to rest a bit in the cabin before the show. Sharon played some in the Casino and then we had a bit of miscommunication. I thought that Sharon was going to go back to the cabin to get my mother and then go to the Show. But as she recalls it, I was supposed to go to the cabin and take my mother to the Show Room, where Sharon would be saving one seat for my mother. Well, I’m not sure how I was supposed to be doing that if I’m playing blackjack. As 9:00 PM was approaching Sharon was sitting in the Showroom shooing away people who were coveting my mother’s seat. As the throngs crowded in, it had become infeasible to go and get my mother. Fortunately, my mother figured out that something was snafu, and she managed her way down the hallway of deck one, past about half-a-dozen other cabins to the front of the ship on Deck One, and then into the left-side Show Room entrance. She found Sharon with just a few minutes to spare before the show started. They both said that the show was very good. And as things turned out in the casino, I would have been better off joining them for that final performance.

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