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!

Sea Day Q&A: Answers

I pulled this list of question around 10am (ship's time) this morning. So, if you posted your question later, I'll address it on the next sea day (Thursday).

Here are the answers:

Most anticipated port and why?

This one's easy: Cairo. Why? It gets us onto another continent. And, we get to see the only remaining wonder of the ancient world. I should, however, note that I also think this could end up being the most disappointing port as well. I'm concerned about the “Mona Lisa phenomenon” in which standing in front the actual thing is less impressive / inspiring than what one might have anticipated. More on this concern later.

How much money have a lost in the casino?

$10 on about an hour's worth of video poker. If I play roulette, I'm sure I will lose more.

How long before our luggage showed up?

Our bags were in front of our stateroom by 2:30 in the afternoon. So, that's about two and a half hours from when we dropped them off at the pier. I wouldn't say this is typical (I know that bags were still being delivered when we left for dinner around 6pm. But, our experience has usually been very good.

How quickly do the spa treatment reservations fill up?

This one is tricky. I called the spa today, and I could get an appointment for most services at some time. That said, I couldn't get any service at any time. So, if you're looking for a special treatment at a particular time, I think you're wise to book ahead. Indeed, you're traveling with a couple thousand other people – it's always good to plan ahead and book early. For example, we switched our dining room table and made our specialty restaurant reservations upon embarkation. Required? Probably not. Stress free? Absolutely. If you know what/when you want something, arrange it early and then go party!

How are the healthy dining menu options?

It seems that each evening the main dining room offers “Vitality” options. These consist of a healthy starter, main, and dessert course. Yesterday's options included a fruit salad, salmon entrée, and (I believe) the low-fat blueberry/peach cobbler that I ate. The main menu also has a few of what I would call “healthy-ish” options. The one's we've had (on this cruise and others) have generally been good. That said, if you're looking for organic, all-natural, free-range whatever... just keep looking (and likely not on a mass market cruise line). Finally, the portion sizes on most of the dishes are generally pretty “modest” (my polite way of saying small)... in fact, some of the individual tapas items in Barcelona were actually larger portions. Thus, overeating is really an option., not a requirement.

Have I been to the “quarterdeck” or done other nautical things?

Sadly, Jack, the quarterdeck (bridge) is off limits for steerage-class swabs, like me. Modern safety and security regulations. But, I'm not sure you'd be impressed by the seamanship – no masts, no rigging, and “the wheel” is not a joystick. I have, though, participated when they ran out the guns... firing the food cannons at us. Now, that's my kind of broadside. Or is that broadening my backside?

Any musicals on the ship?

Jack, you musical aficionado, yes... as it happens tonight we'll be seeing a “Broadway / West End” style production entitled “Now and Forever.” It features selections from popular, contemporary musicals such as Mamma Mia, The Producers, Contact, The Fully Monty, etc. It's actually the second time we'll have seen this show, having been on Navigator of the Seas out of Florida with the entire family over Thanksgiving last November. We'll also have an evening of opera later in the cruise. More details to follow.

Did I notice a naughty room?

Sadly, I did not see the naughty room. But, I didn't carry any liquid contraband onto this cruise (though I did last summer without incident on NCL). I do, however, know the naughty room was in effect as I overheard another passenger whining about having lost his travel iron (and all of his clothing was wrinkled – the horror!). Experience tells me that they take safety hazards (such as irons) more seriously than revenue hazards (such as liquor). Indeed, in Barcelona, it's super simple to bring booze onto the boat. RCI doesn't scan the carry-on luggage and and the Spanish police/military/port authority hardly seem to be looking for booze. If you don't turn yourself in or look guilty, you shouldn't have a problem. Just keep the candles, irons, missile launchers, or other dangerous items at home.

Sea Day Q&A's -- Open for Questions

I'm thinking the best time to answer questions is during days at sea.

So, in advance of each sea day, I'm going to post an entry (like this one) inviting you to ask me questions. Last year, I got questions after I got off of the ship that I couldn't easily answer. But, they're pretty easy to find out here.

Want to know about the spa menu (just how many kinds of massage do they offer)? Care to know which beers are available (sadly, no wheat beers)? Curious about the cost of miniature golf (free) or the golf simulator ($25 for one hour, up to four people)?

Tell me what you want to know.

Go ahead. Make my day. Ask away.

Report on the Dept. of Annoyance and Inconvenience

Brilliance doesn't seem to offer Internet access in its cabins (unless, I suppose, your cabin is close enough to a WiFi hot spot). The “data” port on the desk exists only to taunt you. That sucks! So, I'll have to carry myself off to a public space to post to the blog. That pretty much means I'll be working in nightclubs for the next 11 days!

I'm typing this to a samba right now!

#$@%! me!!!

Day 1: Departing Barcelona

After lunch in the Windjammer Cafe, we headed to our cabin (#8504). It's an oceanview stateroom on Deck 8 toward the very front of the ship. The cabin is unusual for us in two ways.

First, it isn't the cabin we booked. It was an upgrade. Since we thought we might do two “big” vacations this year, we opted to “keep some of our powder dry” (sorry, I always start talking in semi-nautical metaphors at sea) and went with the inside (no window / no balcony stateroom) cabin. The price was right at the time we booked: about $1000/pp. for the 11-night journey. However, we were surprised by this upgrade a couple of weeks before sailing. It has a retail value (at the time of the upgrade) of nearly $2,000/pp. That makes this immediately a pretty good deal.



Second, the cabin is HUGE (as standard ship's cabins go anyway). It's basically the same size as a balcony cabin, if the balcony were air conditioned and inside the stateroom. So, while we lack the veranda, we have nearly 3-4 extra feet of length in the cabin. This makes for a lot of extra floor space, as such we're able to move around without having to dance around each other (if you've been on a cruise ship, you know exactly the “hey I'm getting dressed, while you're headed to the bathroom” jig I'm talking about).

Having basked in the luxury of our commodious accommodation, we proceeded to embark on our “time to check-out the ship ritual.” It has all of the usual amenities that one expects aboard a Royal Caribbean ship (e.g., multi-deck Centrum, Windjammer Cafe, rock climbing wall, spa/fitness center, specialty restaurants, vista-filled Viking Crown lounge, and the nautical Schooner Bar). Some items unique to this class of ship include self-leveling billiard tables, a bank of glass-enclosed and ocean-facing elevators, a really nice (if not politically-correct named) “Colony Club” lounge, and a pretty spectacular solarium (complete with glass-canopied pool and whirlpools). All in all, this is a very attractive ship.
That said, I haven't made up my mind up yet as to whether or not I prefer it to its larger siblings in the fleet, such as Navigator of the Seas. Before boarding, I assumed I'd prefer the small, less “populated” ship. At the moment, I'm not certain. More on this topic later.
We had dinner in the two-story main dining room tonight, named the Minstrel. Libby started with the prosciutto-wrapped melon and a spinach salad with thousand island dressing. I began with the onion tart and Caesar salad. Libby's main entrée was a shrimp ravioli in a vaguely southeast-Asian sauce (with coconut milk and lemon grass). I opted for the prime rib (ordered medium, but cooked well beyond) and a baked potato. Libby ended with chocolate ice cream; I finished with a “low-fat blueberry and peach cobbler” at our waiter's recommendation. Overall, the food was good. And, our waiters were very friendly and efficient.

Tonight we also attended the “Welcome Aboard” show. It consisted mostly of some introductory remarks by the Cruise Director, Gordon Whatman (who seemed promising), and the “comedy acrobatics” (yeah, that's what they called it) of a duo called Flash and Fever. It was amusing.

Libby's now off at the gym... likely getting in touch with her “inner hamster” on the treadmill. And, I'm here: typing and “resting my leg” (an effective excuse to avoid the aforementioned gym).

On the ship...

We left the hotel at 11:45. After a short taxi ride (15 euros), we
arrived at the port. Embarkation took maybe 10 minutes from leaving
the luggage to boarding the ship. It was perhaps the quickest
embarkation we've ever had... and most have been pretty seamless.

We quickly went to the dining room to check out our table. We were
assigned a table for 10. Rats! After a quick chat with the head
waiter, we were reassigned to a table for two. Score!

By 12:15, we were happily having lunch in the Windjammer Cafe. Good as
always, especially the salad croutons (no detail to small for this
intrepid correspondent).

Tapas & The City

Much like our last visit to Barcelona, we started out with a visit to the La Sagrada Familia this morning. This time we were able to have a proper visit, which allowed us to go inside and pay closer attention to the details of the facade. My original sense—that this is a striking example of Gaudi’s architectural and artistic prowess—still holds true. Of course, it's also been under construction since 1882... that's about the same pace as my building projects around the house.

Here's a photo of the construction inside La Sagrada Familia:

And, in case you're hungry (or thirsty) during church service:

After visiting the cathedral, we returned to the hotel and took a nap for a couple of hours.

In the later afternoon, we strolled around our neighborhood, the Eixample, for a couple of hours enjoying the Modernista architecture. We're really lucky because Gaudi's La Pedrera (below) is basically at the end of our street and many of the other important Modernista buildings (including the famed “Block of Discord”) are within a few blocks.

For dinner, we ate tapas at a popular local placed called Cerveceria Catalana. We arrived around 6:00 (very early for Barcelona) and the place was busy. By the time we left a little after 7:00, the place was absolutely packed. So, if you visit... go early. The food was fantastic. We ate fried baby calamari (a little expensive, but the best calamari we've ever eaten), patates braves (potatoes smothered in a spicy red sauce and alioli), ham and chicken croquetes, a baked eggplant/red pepper/goat cheese “terrine,”and a bacon/cheese/date “flauta” (think: sandwich, not enchilada).

And, finally, here's a snapshot of the tapas (calamari & patates):

Today was all about getting settled in, recovered from the travel, and reconnecting with Barcelona.

Tomorrow, we embark on the cruise...