Or as TE6 are now calling it, “A shot Across the Bow.”
It went something like
this the night before.
“Lets all meet for our First Breakfast of the New Year at 10:30AM in
the Main Dining room and then make it a Beach Day by the pool.”
Simple enough right?
So Sunday morning, everyone
heads to the Main dining room on deck 4 except for Chucky who has to run back to the
cabin for something.
Once all are assembled,
they wait… seems a bit of wait staff confusion, which, any other time would not
have raised alarm, but after yesterday’s lunch debacle, the warning systems of
TE6 are on full alert.
Finally orders are taken
and our hearty crew settle in and wait.
And Wait.
Still waiting…
Finally coffee and juice
arrive, a bit staggered but it’s served.
Still waiting on entrees,
which finally arrive, well most of them… some still missing and now the waiter can't
tell which of the two Omelets that Illy and Ellen had ordered had the cheese.
Now the waiters and a
supervisor huddle. By now TE6 is at the
table approaching an hour and a half with still incorrect, incomplete and
missing orders.
Ellen announces she has
had enough, pushes away from the table and walks out, chased by the headwaiter
who gets “the HAND” as she is headed to the door.
Lenny and Chuck still haven't
gotten their orders and now the rest of the group decides to head to the Winjammer
on deck 11.
Lenny, in the meantime is
giving the Headwaiter and earful, who just stammers about while offering to do
something, but just what he can do he has no clue, which of course is too late.
Waiting on an elevator was
the usual frustrating exercise and when they finally arrived at the Windjammer…
it’s closed for breakfast and won't reopen until 1:30PM for lunch!
Now what? Tempers are
rising and the only place left open is the Latitudes where you have to pay for
a ridiculously limited menu.
Lenny is beside himself
and then remembers he has Mustafa’s Card, [told ya Mustafa was going to regret
handing them around]. Finding a house
phone he makes THE CALL and by the look on Lenny’s face and the tone of the conversation,
Mustafa will soon be on the way as TE6 is now milling about on Deck 5 waiting
for the next shoe, or whatevah to drop.
Soon, here comes Mustafa
with the Executive Chef in tow. As Lenny and everyone begin pounce on them to voice an opinion, Chuck and Illy jump
in and try to put the morning’s happenings in perspective as best they could before it could turn out ugly.
Mustafa and the Chef can only offer what have now become empty platitudes.
Now, since the only thing open at the time is
Giovanni’s for lunch, Mustafa coaxes the group to join him there for lunch
which they accept as now everyone is starving and Windjammer is still half an
hour from opening.
Once in Giovanni’s, they
are introduced to Lotfi the manager who assures them that they will be well
taken care of. We'll see, is the common thread from the group.
Mustafa appears again,
this time with his boss, Stany Dias the Food & Beverage Director in tow,
who continues the apology tour and as a make up for this and future breakfasts, he invites TE6 to come to Giovanni’s for breakfast, for the rest of the cruise, which
is only open for Pinnacle Level Cruisers.
Of course Giovanni’s is only open from 7-9AM but hey, it’s an upgrade… supposedly. Time will tell, and so will they, you can
count on THAT.
The Hearty “Lunch” that
followed finally concluded around 2PM and by then everyone was stuffed and the planned
“Beach Day” was a bust. They all decided
to retire to their respective cabins to relax before dressing for happy hour @
6PM.
Dinner was lovely, no
hitches accept for Steve’s “warm apple tart” which was ice cold. A small detail in the scheme of things.
F&B Director Stany
made it a point to stop by the table to check on how Giovanni’s was for lunch
and to assure them that they will have lovely breakfasts going forward. And if there was anything he could do, don’t hesitate,
blah, blah, blah… Of course Chuck asked for his card which he tendered with a nervous
grin, expressing his apprehension considering what has transpired since Mustafa
handed out his.
Night caps in the casino
for an early night as L&D & C&I had the “Cacao Trails and Chocolate
Museum tour” early in the morning.
What’s Next for this
feisty bunch… we'll you'll just have to circle back later to see how Monday went
and if any more “Calls” are made.
Ciao 4 Now
Uncle Chuck & The
So Over the Drama,
Dragon Lady
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