Days at sea aren’t all spent resting … although we aren’t morning people and tend to get up later than many folks aboard. We usually have a late breakfast in the Lido, a self-serve cafeteria-style restaurant. You can get just about anything in the Lido, including Eggs Benedict, omelets, Belgian waffles, and muesli. Our big commitment after breakfast is Team Challenge Trivia at noon – very well attended, with serious teams formed before setting sail. We don’t usually do too well, but one memorable day we actually won! It was a shock to us and others, and made the usual winners check us out! After trivia, we need a quick lunch at the Lido before 1:00 water color classes for beginners, designed for success. Then we often swim, or more accurately float, in one of the ship’s two pools, the Sea View on the back deck, totally open to the elements, or the Lido pool, which can be covered with a movable glass roof. From swimming we sometimes go to the Thermal Suite, to soak in the mineral spa and nap on the heated ceramic lounges.
We’ve also met some wonderful folks on board who enjoy playing cards and have spent some enjoyable afternoons in games of Hands and Feet (a great card game!).
Our dinner is at 8:00, in the upper main dining room, at a lovely window table with four wonderful tablemates, a couple from Columbus, Ohio, who previously lived in Philadelphia, and a couple from Australia. They are all lively conversationalists, and we’re usually the last table to leave the dining room. There are many “theme nights” like the recent “Dutch Night,” with Dutch food and stylish hats for all the passengers.
Every evening the ship has a show; we’ve seen movies, comedians, singers, jugglers, a flautist, a pianist and dancers. On shorter cruises there’s usually one troupe of singers/dancers assigned to the ship to perform a few times a week, but on this long haul, we have already had two different “casts” and there will be several more. As on land, some acts are better than others! After the show, it’s time for bed.
For the last few days we've turned the clock back an hour every night; there is always a note on our pillows, and the clock in our room is changed automatically, usually at 2:00 am. We’ve learned a bit about geography; the fact that Easter Island is in the same time zone as the East Coast was a shock to most of us on board, but a quick check of the globe in the library showed how far east of North America, South America is! The library surrounds a lovely coffee and snack bar, and is very heavily used at all hours. it’s truly outstanding (and co-sponsored by the New York Times)!
There are many other activities on board. Every morning at 9:30 the cruise director does a live TV show which you can attend in person or watch on your cabin TV. During sea days, there are lecturers on every imaginable topic, and a port consultant discusses each port before we get there. (We also get maps and information sheets on each port.) There are computer classes sponsored by Microsoft on photography, camera classes, arts and crafts (rather rudimentary, unfortunately), cooking classes, and cooking demonstrations almost every sea day. Here’s Judy in a “chocolate mousse three ways” (baked, frozen and regular) class, taught by Meg Galus, who has just won an award as one of the top new pastry chefs in the US. The other photo is a plate of strawberry jelly candy made in a second Meg Galus class; they were delicious!
There are also bridge classes, and bridge games for players at all levels, dance classes with professional (paid) dance partners, and two daily bingo games. The library is fantastic and lends books, DVDs, games, etc. For more active cruisers, there’s stretching, qui gong, yoga, tai chi, shuffleboard, ping pong, tennis, basketball and of course a well-stocked gym with personal trainers available. There’s also a full spa on board, with hairdressers, manicurists, masseuses, an acupuncturist, and teeth whitening services.
Formal nights seem to roll around about every 5 days or so, far too many of them for us. But most folks on board seem to enjoy them immensely, and the tuxes and gowns do get quite a workout. Makes bringing them worthwhile. There are ever-present photographers and videographers to record the cruise, and shops which sell all kinds of things, from liquor and snack food, to clothing, to jewelry, to expensive collectibles like Faberge eggs.
At sea days truly have something for everyone!
You look lovely in your Dutch girl cap. Thanks for posting all of these great photos and travel logs. We are following you along the way. Paula
ReplyDeleteHearing about the professional dance partners makes me think of the movie Dirty Dancing. I hope you get to dance with a Patrick Swayze.
ReplyDeleteSo much to do on board. It must be hard when you wake up to decide which active to take advantage of. Love all your pictures. Have you try to take over the library yet??
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