Barcelona and Transatlantic Cruise 2008 – Day 14 – Atlantic Crossing
December 9, 2008
Today was second sea day as part of the Atlantic. The weather remained nice being warm and mostly sunny. In the afternoon, we could see a storm ahead of us and on both sides, but we were still in the sun. The Captain pulled up close to the storm and slowed down as it was moving the same direction as us. It was kind of interesting to see the foul weather ahead of and on both sides of us but yet, we remained sunny. Tomorrow, depending on how the storm goes, we may actually enter into it.
The weather remained nice for shorts and a t-shirt as it stayed near 80 degrees with minimal wind and sun. The seas were also quite calm with still only 2 foot swells. The ocean floor sits more than 20,000 feet below us. The water is very deep blue and the wake of the boat has an aquamarine look to it.
This has been a wonderful cruise thus far but the time is slipping away from us. It’s hard to imagine we only have 3 sea days and one port of call in St Maartan before we arrive in San Juan and the cruise will come to a close. Where does the time go so fast? We have already begun talking about our next cruise but that’s another post for another time.
I spent a good portion of the morning sitting in the Revelations Lounge just sitting and staring at the water. For me, it’s so peaceful and relaxing just to be staring at the water. I like to alternate between our balcony, where you can hear and smell the water too, and the Revelations Lounge where you are a bit higher and at the very front of the boat. Savannah joined me for about 15 minutes, but no one usually does – they are too much on the go.
Suzanne was again running from trivia game to trivia game. She has been competing in the Battle of the Sexes trivia game which pits men against women in trivia across about 7 days. Yesterday was Savannah’s day to spend all day in the Fun Factory. She has been wanting this day all cruise. She gets one or two counselors to play video or board games with her all day. They don’t mind as they have to be there anyways despite only being 6 kids on board.
Sean spent a little time in the Fun Factory too, but this was really his day. In the afternoon, the Cruise Director was hosting a game show called Who Wants to be a Bazillionaire based on the TV show. Anyone, including Sean, who wanted to give the game show a try, put their name in a hat. As fate would have it, Sean’s name was the second one draw to compete. The “competition†was really geared for no one to lose. He surprised the Cruise Director and the audience by knowing a bunch of the questions right off. Coupled with the lifelines and help from the audience, Sean was able to make it all the way to the top and win the top prize. He received an assortment of trinkets including a cruise bag, pillow, t-shirt, passport holder, lanyard and other miscellaneous things. The rest of the day he was congratulated wherever he went on the ship.
But, he had to run pretty fast from the show as our British friends had managed to get him on the invite list for the bridge tour. He was also able to take a camera for some pictures. He said the bridge tour was cool as the 2nd Mater walked them around and explained the various instruments and how they were used for navigation or controlling the ship. He even managed to complete the tour without pushing any buttons! So, it was a pretty good day for Sean.
We spent some time in the afternoon at the Mast Bar near the pool enjoying the sun, the band and the company of Roy and Jennifer. After a couple of drinks we plotted our course for the night. It was British Invasion night in the Revelations Lounge and they were having a buffet of British Pub food. We decided to forego going to the restaurant tonight and eat the British Pub food instead. The highlight of the meal was the authentic English pub style fish and chips. They were very tasty.
I think the crew was unprepared for the turnout however. When we showed up, we ended up being about 50th in line for the food. The line moved a bit slowly and there wasn’t a lot of crew around to help out. There were three or four officers including the Hotel Director near the line who were busy talking on their phones trying to get more help. As we were eating our food, about a dozen new staff members arrived to help out and things moved a bit better. I heard the Hotel Director (who is British) talking to a group of British folks. They were telling him how good and authentic the food was. The Hotel Director apologized for the slow start saying that they didn’t expect this big a turnout and did not expect folks to make this their dinner for the night. They thought they might stop by for a quick snack before dinner and that there were only 50 or 60 Brits on the cruise so having 300 or 400 people show up was a surprise. They reacted pretty quickly to the situation though.
After dinner, we went to the theater for the Fred Klett comedy act. He was a nice family oriented comedian who didn’t swear once during his act and was very funny. The kids really enjoyed him too. They enjoyed his show so much that after the show, they pitched in together and bought a live comedy show DVD of his.
There was a bunch of other events going on late night on the ship, but everyone was a bit tuckered out from the busy day and cruise that we decided to turn in early for a change. We went back to the cabin and just relaxed while the kids watched their new comedy DVD. We went lights out a little before 11:00.
Tomorrow will be another day at sea and providing we can continue to avoid the storm, should even have some more warming and poolside time in store for us.
Barcelona and Transatlantic Cruise 2008 – Day 13 – Atlantic Crossing
December 8, 2008
Today was our first full sea day as part of the Atlantic Crossing having begun the journey yesterday upon leaving Las Palmas and the Canary Islands behind us. The weather immediately improved and the seas were cooperating.
Today was our first real chance to enjoy the pool and the outdoors for any length of time. The weather permitted shorts and a t-shirt as it warmed to near 80 degrees with minimal wind and sun. The seas were also quite calm with a mere 2 foot swells. The bridge crew also informed us that, while there were no guarantees, it was looking like we might could count on the same weather and sea state for the entire crossing – quite remarkable for a December crossing. The ocean floor sits about 18,000 feet below us.
The activities staff had a bunch of stuff planned for the passengers to keep them occupied during the day. Suzanne and the kids spend each night highlighting the activities they want to do on “the dailyâ€. Both kids planned much time in the Fun Factory while Suzanne attended a bunch of trivia game contests.
At 11:30 AM we attended the Senior Officers Cocktail Party which is for Select and Elite Captains Club members. It was a very well attended party and it was very pleasurable to actually see the Captain their greeting you at the door and shaking your hand. On most of our recent cruises, the Captain wouldn’t even shake your hand for fear of Norovirus. We enjoyed a couple glasses of champagne on Celebrity and mingled with some of the guests we had met on the cruise.
As the first day of the crossing, the ship was also having a huge brunch service in the main dining room vs a standard lunch service. They had an incredible amount of food from, of course, breakfast and lunch, including carving stations. Suzanne had arranged ahead of time to dine with about 10 other folks from the Cruise Critic group that was on the ship. It was enjoyable and some folks I hadn’t yet really spent any time with.
Normally, the Cruise Critic group gets a special reception thrown by the ship early in the cruise. As mentioned in an earlier post, that party was attended by 100 folks. The unofficial “leader†of the group has been hard at work though trying to arrange other activities for the group. This week she has now put together an additional party, a tour of the gallery and a special tour of the helipad on the bow of the ship. I am looking forward to getting on the helipad.
We also attended a wine tasting in the afternoon. It was a introductory type level wine tasting but still enjoyable to sample some wines. We sat with some folks from Wisconsin who weren’t really wine drinkers, so it was fun to help translate some of the stuff the sommelier was saying. We still have a special invitation Chardonnay blending seminar coming up later in the cruise that we are looking forward to.
After the wine tasting, we enjoyed some time poolside. I hung out at the mast bar with our British friends Roy and Jennifer while Suzanne and Sean spent some time in the hot tub and pool. Roy and Jennifer are Elite Captains Club members (we are Select though I think we make Elite after this cruise or the next) and they have been invited to a tour of the bridge. Jennifer has done this before and doesn’t want to go, so Roy is working to get permission to take Sean on the tour instead. He asked the Cruise Director who said sure, but he wants to check with the Captains Club folks first. Sean is pretty excited about the opportunity to see the bridge – heck, even I haven’t seen the bridge on a cruise ship yet. Call me a bit jealous.
Last night was also our second formal night of the cruise. After getting all dolled up in our tuxes and formal gowns, we enjoyed a pre-dinner glass of champagne in the Champagne Bar. For dinner, Savannah enjoyed a nicely prepared Rigatoni alla Amatriciana which is a wonderful Italian pasta dish. When in Rome on business, it’s my second favorite pasta dish only to Carbonarra. Sean, Suzanne and I all enjoyed a perfectly cooked Filet Mignon. Hats off to Celebrity for another fine meal.
Being a formal night, that meant another production show by the Celebrity Singers and Dancers after dinner. This show was entitled a Night of Stars. I have to say, once again, that I came away a bit disappointed in the show. It was still a pretty good show, just not as good as I have come accustomed to on Celebrity cruises. The singing was good but not memorable. The dancing was just ordinary. The choreography was actually a bit on the cheesy side with simple single or double turns and arm waving. I don’t know if the choreography was just not that good or if it was that way because the dancers aren’t really capable of more intricate dance moves. Even the kids and Suzanne agreed with me on this show. At the end of the production shows on Celebrity, the crowd usually gives them a standing ovation. At the end of this show, only one or two persons were standing, so I think most folks were in agreement too. It’s too bad too since we usually find the production numbers the highlight of the entertainment shows. The costumes, however, were still quite stunning. Suzanne had the camera and snapped some pictures, so hopefully that will come out when we get our photo album up after the cruise.
After the show, we moved to the Martini Bar to enjoy a nightcap with Roy and Jennifer. It was a nice peaceful way to close out a very fun first sea day on our Atlantic Crossing.
Tomorrow is sure to be fun once again, but sadly, the days have flown by too fast and there are not too many more days left.
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