Day #2: At Sea

We awoke to an overcast sky, rain, and cool temperatures this morning. We had a buffet breakfast in the Windjammer Cafe this morning. Actually, we ate out of doors under the canopy at the stern of this ship. Despite the weather, this was preferable as the Windjammer (which seems to lack adequate seating normally) was chock-a-block due to the weather. In fact, the crew kept making announcements to the effect of “Did you enjoy your breakfast? Good. Now please leave to allow others to do the same.” I've never seen this before on a cruise, and I'm of two minds with respect to what I think of it.

Today was also “lecture and demonstration” day for us. We attended sessions on port excursions and shopping – both mildly amusing and semi-informative. The “port lecturer” (I think I missed my calling... though I'm about 50-60 years too young based on our experiences with these folks) talked about the Norman history of Sicily for an hour. Sadly, some of his audience fell asleep (a few of which I was concerned might have passed away, but thankfully following a nudge from travel companions they manged shuffle out after it was over). Anyway, it was interesting but not especially memorable. It had something to do with a couple of guys named Roger, a few popes, and a tooth. I don't know. Look up the details for yourself.

In other news, we sailed past Sardinia this afternoon. That's one of the torments of cruising. Sometimes you just sail past interesting places without stopping. Had this been a highway and had I been driving, I would have definitely taken the “Sardinia” exit for a minor detour. Alas, that was not to be.

But, I was able to get a few pictures of the island as the sky had cleared:


Tonight is “formal night” for dinner and the Captain's Cocktail Reception, both of which we're going to skip. We will, however, see the production show at 9pm.

Then it's Palermo, Sicily tomorrow!