We both slept in this morning but had received an invitation the night before to the Mariners' Brunch in the dining room at 11 am. Our clocks also went forward an hour. I got Amina up and we went to the brunch where I had the most delicious warm salmon on a salad. The braised beef short ribs were very good.
After brunch, Amina went off to meet some friends and I went to do a longer workout in the gym before my appointment for a deep tissue massage. I ran 5 miles on the treadmill but it took a really long time because I was trying to observe the 20 minute rule and kept taking breaks to make sure nobody was waiting to use the treadmills. I watched “Zero Dark Thirty” on my iPad as the tv monitor on several of the treadmills were broken, including mine. When I finally got done with my workout, it was about 1 pm and my massage appointment was at 2 so I checked in at the spa, was given a locker with a robe and slippers and went to take a shower. Unfortunately, there was no hair dryer or other bathroom products in the spa (eg lotion).
I went to the relaxation area and almost finished watching my movie when my massage therapist – a gentleman from Yugoslavia came to get me for my deep tissue massage. He was pleasant enough and had what sounded like a Russian accent. We talked for a bit before, during, and after my massage – he had previously worked on Carnival and found HAL to be a bit “boring” because of the older passengers on board. He did get a day off a week and had been on board for about 3 months. He was looking forward to the next cruise because they were changing their itinerary – the Veendam was also going to Hawaii soon. He did a reasonably good job with my massage but was mostly fairly light pressure for being a deep tissue massage. I passed him up on the product sales portion of the treatment and thanked him then returned to the cabin to get ready for dinner. We had a reservation at 6:45 in the MDR – it was our first formal night.
For dinner we had the prosciutto, genoa salami, melon and figs as an appetizer, the chicken and corn soup, and the filet of beef wellington. It was all pretty good but I did have to send my beef wellington back because the pastry was undercooked and there was still batter/dough on the inside even though the beef was well done. The 2nd plate I received was much better and I particularly enjoyed the duck foie gras that was sandwiched between the pastry and the beef. For dessert, the black forest cake was very good because I really love cherries.
I was so tired that night I decided to skip the show (some broadway like musical) and the movie (Safe Haven) to turn in a little bit early. This evening , we had a squid waiting in our cabin.
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