Sea Day #1 - Sailing Up the Western Coast

Good morning, Sea Day!

I was awake before Bob and...as quietly as possible...made a cup of coffee in the small coffeemaker provided in our cabin. Once he was awake, we went up to Deck 11 and crossed through the outdoor pool area to reach the buffet on Deck 11 aft. With the cool weather on this cruise we quickly learned that it was better to walk to the back of the ship on our deck (Deck 9) and THEN go up the two flights to the buffet. The walk seemed longer down the long hallway, but we avoided going outside that way. Back and up...not up and back.

At breakfast each morning there were actually two buffet areas...on separate sides of the ship. A more extensive buffet was available in the Garden Cafe on the starboard side and a smaller version billed as a "Deluxe Continental Buffet" on the port side in the Moderno speciality restaurant. On this first morning, not as many people had discovered the smaller venue and we were able to find a table much easier there. Kent joined us shortly after we sat down, but Laurel had stayed back in the cabin.

When the two guys left to go to the cardio dance class in Dazzles Lounge, I ventured off on my own. I stopped by the library and picked up a copy of the sudoku puzzle, crossword puzzle and trivia sheet that were available each morning and worked on them in the Windjammer Lounge until it was time for the craft class to begin.

Our project...a crepe paper flower...seemed to be more of a kindergarten project than a craft. I went to multiple craft classes on our Hawaiian cruise and came away with some projects that were fun...and useful, but this one...not really fun and certainly not useful.

Laurel caught up with me as I was finishing my flower. She had gone to the dance class with the guys, but left when they moved on to the gym to work out. I went with her to the library so she could get some puzzle sheets and we moved up to the Las Ramblas bar to wait on the Cruise Critic "Meet & Greet" that was planned for 10:00.

The online roll call thread for this cruise on the Cruise Critic message boards had been very active for the last few months. A large number had indicated interest in attending the meet & greet so the crew must have realized that the designated bar was not going to be large enough. A sign was posted outside the door saying the gathering had been moved to the larger Observation Lounge at the very front of the ship on Deck 12.

The turnout for the get-together was good...I imagine well over 100 attended. Unfortunately the size and layout of the lounge made it hard to do any "meeting or greeting". A number of senior officers were in attendance and the staff had provided coffee, cookies and juice. Bob and Kent showed up just as the meeting was getting started. (Note...the cookies were delicious and for the rest of the cruise I was on the lookout for them!)

Lunch was back at the buffet and the highlight was warm bread pudding with caramel sauce for dessert that I found hiding next to the ice cream counter! From lunch we went directly to Dazzles lounge for a Q & A session called "How to Run a Floating Hotel" which was interesting. Kent made sure to voice his concern over only having one electrical outlet in the cabin!

Bob and Kent had planned to walk on the promenade deck afterwards, but Bob was starting to feel a little seasick. He usually isn't bothered, but he said the combination of working out in the gym (which was on an upper deck) and the extreme ship movement just got to him.

Bob went back to the cabin and took one of the motion sickness pills I brought...but the medication was well past the expiration date. I have been carrying the same pills on every cruise for many years and since we have never needed any I didn't think it was worth investing in a new package.

While he rested, I spent time figuring out how to log on to the internet and also downloading my photos from San Francisco onto my laptop.

I think he was lying, but Bob said he felt well enough to go to our dinner at Teppenyaki at 5:00 pm. Besides the four of us, there were eight others seated around the grill.

Here is our menu for the night:

Miso Soup

Bob, Kent & I all ordered "Asuka", a combination of filet mignon and jumbo shrimp. Laurel ordered "Yamato" with chicken and shrimp. Each meal was served with fried rice.

The chefs put on quite a show as they cooked...serenading us with their singing and swinging around their knives.

Bob and I both ordered the Green Tea Cake for dessert which came with green tea ice cream, but I was not a fan. I think the fruit would have been a better choice.

After dinner Kent and Laurel went to a cha-cha dance class, but we returned to the cabin. Bob started feeling sick again so later I left him in bed watching a movie and went to the evening show with Kent and Laurel. The entertainment was a group from the UK called Tenors of Rock...sort of classic rock music sung by a barbershop quartet!

Kent & Laurel came back to our cabin after the show so we could discuss plans for the next day. Bob was still in bed, but never moved while they were there. As soon as they left, he got up to get undressed and that was it...good-bye Teppenyaki dinner.