We had brekky downstairs then went
back up to kill time until 11. We found AFL footy on TV and got carried away
watching Fremantle make very heavy weather of beating Gold Coast (without
Ablett). Centrebet were having an off day too and were paying $4.50 for Gold
Coast while they were leading half way through the final quarter. I would have
had some of that if we could get the bet on (just as well).
We left for the port at 11.30 and
absolutely sailed through. We dropped the 2 big bags then simply walked into
the departure hall and marched straight up to one of 15 officers waiting for a
client. We ran hand luggage through Xray and walked aboard. They whisked us straight up to the buffet
until the rooms were ready at 1.15. The buffet was huge – far more variety than
Norwegian – but how much can you eat?
The cabin is great –
notwithstanding the picture in the website, our bed is next to the French
windows so we can lie in bed and look out to sea. We are on deck 9, well above
the lifeboats. We got into the gym after the lifeboat drill and then went into
first session dinner at 6.15. We had managed to swap from the second session
this afternoon, which worked very well for us. We chose to have a private table
so that we didn’t have to wait for anybody else and will not feel obliged to
have set dinner if there is something else we would rather do.
Dinner was very good – we both
chose crabmeat (the real stuff) on avocado, mushroom soup and coq au vin, which
was very nicely done. We had never before been offered the choice of butter,
cream cheese or homus to spread on our rolls. There are meals nearly 24 hours
here (which is bad) and they have sushi from 5.30 till 9. Pizza and pasta is
free all afternoon, as is icecream.
There was the usual introduction by
the Cruise Director and a bit of a song and dance session. The dancers were
very snappy and they also sent up some aerial gymnasts hanging from a ring and
an a capella quartet, who were excellent. Interestingly, Dan the Sax (from S
America) will be joining the band next month. We also discovered yesterday that
Sam and Colin from Oasis are going back to Africa and Danny (the Sleaze ;) is taking over! The
opening quiz was very poorly attended and we won by 4 points with an American
couple The prizes were Celebrity pens. The St Kilda – Hawthorn game was showing
on TV around the room.
There will be 5 trivia during the
day tomorrow but we will miss them all while we are visiting Pompei and
Heraklion. The evening program is quite attractive and we want to make a point of
getting into the spa tomorrow evening sometime before 11. There is a huge sunroom with pools and spas
in it. There and elsewhere around the boat there are delightful and welcoming hammocks
and large beds with scatter cushions, some enclosed in tents or behind shrouds.
They simply demand to be sprawled in. This would be a fantastic boat for a
Transatlantic crossing. We have so many port days that we may not really get to
use the facilities. The design is quite breathtaking in many ways and defies
description. We will have to walk the video camera through some of those areas
and try to capture them that way. There is a 7 storey atrium with open voids
onto it from upper floors, and glass lifts around the edges, as well as a 2
storey library.
This is the hideaway- it is in a nook and the suspended eggs have seating inside - has the feel of a treehouse - funky room
No comments:
Post a Comment