Friday 25 May 2012 At sea

We are at sea all day today. The ride is remarkably smooth. This ship is only two years old, so it is bigger than some many of the older ships and has the latest stabilizing technology. It helps that the water is very calm. All you can feel is a bit of vibration from the engines.

Celeste slept in a bit this morning, so we went for breakfast at 10. We then went to a lecture about getting maximum value when booking your next cruise. We’ll see. We sat in the deck chairs for a while and had a light lunch at 1. At 2:30 we went to another lecture, this time about what to expect in the ports we will visit in the next few days. Celeste had a nap while I read my book and lined up internet service. Not cheap! And, apparently kind of slow. Tonight was a formal night in the dining room. Celeste had a spinach in filo appetizer, strawberry soup (very good - like melted ice cream), Alaska king crab legs, and Crème Brule.  I had a shrimp appetizer, carrot and ginger soup, duck breast a l’orange, and chocolate torte. After dinner, we listened to the string quartet for a while and then went to the Showroom for the Captain’s toast and a glass of free champagne. As the MC joked, “Enjoy it, it’s the last free drink you will get!” The toast was followed by the four man singing group Cantare. They were very, very good, singing a wide range of music from various styles, including many popular songs of the last forty years. The grey hairs ate it up. What do you mean…?

As I write this, we are enjoying an encore performance, as our room is directly above the Showroom. A harbinger of much entertainment to come!

Weather: warm and sunny with a light wind