A Day at Sea
Trip Start
Jun 27, 2011
1
6
7
Trip End
Jul 12, 2011
Anchorage, Alaska
Monday, July 4, 2011
Today's blog is by Rebecca
Today was our first full day on the Zaandam and we filled it with activities to suit our individual tastes. We started with a fairly lazy morning. Rich and I slept in until nearly 9:30 and then got a quick bite at the Lido Restaurant. We met Larry and Marcia back at the room at a little before 10:30 and all went together to take a tour behind the scenes in the kitchen on level 4. It was amazing to see the industrial kitchen that prepares 8000 meals a day including some very fancy food for the Pinnacle Grill. After the kitchen tour, we went to a demonstration in the Culinary Arts Center led by the party planner Paula, Chef Jerry, and Andy, his assistant as they prepared lobster salad and crème brulee from the original menu of La Cirque. They gave out little ramekins of the crème brulee for us to taste.
After the demo, we headed to the Lido deck for a salmon grill where we got delicious king crab legs, salmon steaks cooked on a grill and vegetables. During the day, Rich played brainteaser and team trivia and had a good time. Larry played bingo twice and came within one or two numbers of winning a big prize. Marcia, Larry and I went to Dutch high tea in the Rotterdam Dining Room where we had our choice of an assortment of scones and sweets along with a nice selection of teas. We sat with a retired 4th grade teacher and a CPA and his Russian wife.
In the evening we had our first formal dress night. The fellas were decked out in suits and ties and Marcia and I wore black pants and fancy tops. We had a great meal in the Rotterdam Dining Room and then went to the Captain's toast in the Mondriaan Theater. He introduced the ship’s officers and then everyone toasted with complimentary champagne. The toast was followed by entertainment—Love Broadway—by the Zaandam Singers and Dancers, a talented and energetic bunch of young people. The ship was lurching and rolling most of the day, but we could really see it in the show and were amazed at how the dancers could leap and do footwork on a moving set.
