Sea days are nice, lazy day that can be filled with all sorts of activities that you would never do at home (lots of talks, games fitness activities, etc.). I tend to be more laid back. Here is a sample of my activities for the first sea day:
I should note here that the fog remained all day — I wanted to re-enact one of the many Viking movies and shout “ODIN” form my balcony. The foghorn almost sounds like that. Let’s just say I may have gone “topside” to do just this!
It started with breakfast – and a nice man who made a custom omelet for me. Then, I headed to the Cruise Critics Meet-up reception. I love meeting people before we cruise by going to www.cruisecritic.com and joining the conversation for the ship and sailing date. This meet-up group was exceptionally active – some of us have been talking for over a year! We arranged private trips at various ports, shared hotel advice, packing tips and a number of handy travel tips. It was the largest and most active group I’ve been part of – over 200 people! We have had name tags custom-designed by one of the members of the group. Our meet-up was great. Not only did we get to meet each other in person, but the Captain of the ship came and gave his personal welcome to us. I highly recommend using Cruise Critics groups for anyone who is going on a cruise. I’ve meet a lot of people this way and you usually get a cool party!
One of the members of our cruise critic group set up a “Slot pull” at the casino. Basically, each person who wants to play puts in $15 in the Wheel of Fortune machine and you hit the Max Bet 5 times. Whatever you win, stays in the machine until everyone has played. At the end, you divide the winnings amongst all who played – with the highest scorer getting a little bit extra. We were not a very winning bunch, but 56 of us played and we walked away with $11.00 (I won the group $40.00 on my turn which included a spin of the wheel). It was a lot of fun!
Then I headed to the Spa for a massage – traveling really made my back very stiff and I did not want to be in pain for the entirety of the trip. Of course, that led to a nice nap before dinner.
This was also our first formal night – and I think a cat tried to come with me as my black dress had to be “de-linted” from cat fur (and I was SO careful about not letting them near the luggage while I packed this time). But, once I was free from lint, it was down to the Martini Bar. This time, I tried a Pomegranate Martini and loved it – so I had 2! Dinner consisted of Beef Carpaccio, a salmon salad, beef medallions and Cherries Jubilee.
Tonight was also the Captain’s Toast and we got to meet the ship’s executive officers. This ship has two firsts: the youngest captain on a Celebrity ship (this is only his second cruise as Captain) and Celebrity’s first female Executive Chef. This was followed by entertainment from the ship’s production crew. The show ended at midnight and, because the next day would be long, I headed to bed.
Travel, Photography, and Tarot 