Sunday, May 31, 2015

First sea day

My usual morning routine on a cruise ship is to wake early, get coffee and something to eat in the buffet when it starts serving hot food at 5.30 a.m, walk the empty decks taking photos and then meet Carol for breakfast #2 in Sabatini's at 9 a.m. Only suite passengers get to dine in Sabatini's in the morning so there are never many people in there (usually 4 to 6 others) and with 3 servers the service is excellent.



Italian opera songs or Neapolitan play quietly as you sip your first cappuccino of the day. Below is the wonderful machine that makes those when a waiter presses all the right buttons. With the cappuccino we'll also have iced water and perhaps a Mimosa, so the table will fill with cups and glasses while we look at the menu. Breads and pastries are offered and fresh orange juice glasses are refilled as often as you desire.


A favorite to start is the Granola Parfait with muesli, yogurt and raspberry preserves and a strawberry on top.
Delicious!



Carol likes the Belgian Waffles with sliced apple, fresh mint and a strawberry


Typical American breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs and  hash-browns formed in a patty


After a breakfast like that a nap in the Sanctuary might be a good idea or a walk on deck taking in the invigorating sea air.


We've been sailing for about 12 hours now so are about 240 miles from Houston
Now and then we see deep-sea oil rigs...


During sea days the Cruise Staff will have activities and demonstrations planned. People will be relaxing, reading their Kindles or books from the ship's library, playing board games, or organized trivia and bingo games, attending lectures on the ports of call, taking dancing classes.

I passed through the Piazza- the central hub of the ship




One of the demonstrations that some of the kitchen (galley) crew did was fruit and vegetable carving.
Here are some examples of the work they create in front of an audience.












Very creative selection

Back up on deck....


What all cruisers look for in a sea day-a calm sea and sunshine! For us and many passengers the temperature would be 50 degrees higher than that currently at home.


There's a 30 foot movie screen and another swimming pool in the distance. Above this pool there is a reggae band playing.


Further forward in a quieter area outside the Sanctuary there are many vacant sun loungers


We spent some quiet time in the Sanctuary which is open from 8 a.m to 5.30 pm
No doubt a short nap was enjoyed.

All that relaxing makes one work up an appetite and on sea days Princess ships feature a British Pub Lunch- Princess was once part of the British P and O group (even though it is an American Cruise Line) and is now part of the Carnival Corporation. The tradition of serving British pub dishes lives on and is very popular with passengers who, in the majority, are American and Canadian.

Served from 11.30 a.m until 2 p.m.
Here I am enjoying a very tasty Steak and Kidney pie with a cold glass of Guinness at the Pub Lunch


After lunch, while Carol returned to the Sanctuary to relax I took a walk up to the highest point on the ship which is called Skywalker's . It's a nightclub right at the stern-that row of blue windows. This design is something only seen on Princess ships.


Inside Skywalker's


Looking forward I could see a wedding taking place on a quiet deck


There is a small wedding chapel inside the ship but this couple took advantage of the great weather



To be continued...

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