Monday, November 7 – Another Quiet Day at Sea

The most exciting but least pleasant part of the day was setting the clocks ahead still another hour, so we are now six hours of the East Coast.  That means that Wednesday morning for us will coincide with the closing of the polls on the West Coast Tuesday and the election results will be real news for a change.  We will be able to read all about the aftermath on the NYT website Wednesday morning.

We followed the sea day routine [substituting afternoon tea for lunch] so instead of recapping it yet again, let’s talk about laundry.  Frequent fliers, so to speak, are called Mariners on HAL.  The more you sail, the higher the category or more stars you accumulate.  Four and Five Star Mariners get free laundry and pressing service during the voyage, a not-insignificant perk which can affect what one packs for the trip.

Since we qualify for this service, we take full advantage of it and send clothes out almost every day.  We used to cram as much as we could in the laundry bag, but now we don’t care.  Our cabin stewards took a few days to catch on to our routine and bring new bags and lists whenever we left a laundry bag on the bed.

We presumed that turnaround would take a day or even two.  Although the ship is not full, approximately 30% of the passengers are eligible for free laundry, a number which could create a backlog.  It hasn’t happened yet.  Our clean clothes are returned to us in less than 24 hours and often reappear the same day they are sent out.  And they are dry which hasn’t always been the case before.

TOMORROW – Malaga, Spain