Food, Wine, Exotic Islands – Life is Good in Indian Ocean

Day 69, 2025 Grand World Voyage

Friday, March 14, 2025; Indian Ocean, plus Maldives and Seychelles.

We certainly are eating well on this cruise. I dread our overnight stop in Cape Town, when I will step on the scale in the fitness center. The only accurate readings come when we are docked, and I try to check as soon as I get up in the morning.

Tonight, I nabbed the last available seat at the Cellar Master Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, the second one with wine pairings chosen by the World Wine Guys, who are with us for the Singapore to Cape Town segment. My servings alone could have fed the five of us who shared a table, especially the veal rack with a porcini mushroom crust.  

I used to pass on the special meals, reasoning I had already paid for a great meal in the dining room. Perhaps my friend Deb has been a bad influence – she compares the “upcharges” with taking a shore excursion. I’ve fully bought into that rationale. And sharing the dinner and wines with wonderful fellow cruisers makes it even more special.

Last night I was torn between Dinner Under the Stars and a showing of Wicked, the 2024 film nominated for the best picture Oscar (and winner for costumes and production design). The movie won out. The choice wasn’t even close, due to the fact that yesterday we were docked next to a tuna processing plant, and the foul odor descended on the dinner under the open Lido roof. I’m hoping for another Dinner Under the Stars.

We were in Victoria, capital of the Seychelles, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. Last year’s world cruise stayed here overnight, and I packed the two days with a tour of the mountainous island and a day of walking and sketching in town.

The Seychelles is known for its beautiful beaches, and in hindsight, I wished this year I had planned a trip to one of them. But the famous resorts and their beaches are mostly a distance from Victoria or on other islands. So, once getting a whiff of the tuna-processing plant odor, I decided to stay aboard, writing my last blog and working on a painting project.

I had my beach day on Monday in the Maldives, when I returned to the resort we visited last year. This time I saved $100 by booking a day pass online rather than through Holland America. But there was a tradeoff. The ship’s tour arrived first, and their group claimed all the recliners and many of the chairs in the shade. Once we landed, I headed straight to the beach, but could only find a chair near the bar rather than the beach. Our return boat also left an hour before the ship’s tour. Frankly, I was glad to see extra benefits for those who paid the higher shore excursion cost. And I had a fun day regardless.

While we waited for our high-speed boat to the island, I wandered through the fish and produce market in Malé, the capital of the Maldives. It’s a congested city confined to a small island – a world of difference from the surrounding resorts built on atolls.

We’ve crossed the equator for the third time on this cruise, and King Neptune demanded an audience with the pollywogs, or those who hadn’t crossed before. I’ve been to a number of these ceremonies, which involve lots of “slime” (colored meringue?), kissing of a fish and a dunk in the Lido pool. It’s next to impossible to get a good photograph if you haven’t staked out a front-row seat far in advance.

I’ve learned a great alternative is to wait in the Crow’s Nest, where the pollywogs gather for directions from the entertainment and cruise directors, all in costume.