Transatlantic Journal – A Typical “At Sea” Day

Transatlantic Journal – A Typical “At Sea” Day

This trip features the most number of “at sea” days we’ve experienced: eight out of seventeen days. Now, that’s even more than the classic transatlantic sailing, which is six days from Southampton to New York. In the 1950s the United States Lines used to advertised “Only 5 Gay Days to Europe!”. That was back in the era when more people traveled transatlantic by ship rather than by plane. The ships were built to be about 10 knots per hour faster. Cunard had a huge success running the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth on alternating weekly schedules. But, as Allan has pointed out, what would we do at sea for five solid days? (Bleh! – Allan)

Today (Monday, September 5, 2011, Labor Day in the U.S.) is the first of a pair of “at sea” days as we make our way from Iceland to Greenland. I thought it might be fun to just focus on a typical example of what we do.

Morning

Amazingly, on these days, Allan’s the first one to rise. That ol’ nicotine habit is just aching to be satisfied. He goes out on our balcony, smokes, and plays either Bejeweled or Angry Birds on his iPhone. I sort of get it together, brush my teeth, and by the time he comes back in, we’re ready for breakfast.

Since days in port are usually under tight schedules, we usually eat breakfast in the Horizon Court Buffet (a/k/a “The Trough”). But on these more leisurely days, we stroll down to the Da Vinci Dining Room and enjoy a relaxed experience. Most of the working staff in the restaurants consist of Filipinos (very few women – mostly guys), eastern Europeans (Bulgarian and Slovenian), and Indians. This morning our very delightful waiter was Jack, from India. When I asked him how he sported that name, he said that his father was a big fan of our President Kennedy. How relieved I am that my father wasn’t fan of Eisenhower.

While the breakfast menu is basically unchanged from day to day, there is always a special something and special compote of sort. Today’s special something was a James Beard recipe of French Toast coated in crushed cornflakes. I have to say, it was quite yummy. Allan prefers eggs over hard, which forces the kitchen to actually cook these to order. That guarantees piping hot food as well.

A server is always walking around with a tray of jams, which jiggle in orange and purple lumpy mounds on a silver tray. Another server proffers a tray full of baked goods, including small croissants, pain au chocolat, and other delectable breads. On the table there is a small silver bowl of pats of butter on ice. We skip the jams, but I usually have one small croissant and Allan has a croissant and a pain au chocolat. We also enjoy the Tuscan Melon that seems ever present on this ship – very tasty.

Coffee is offered and poured at regular intervals (my mother would have loved that). Juice comes in 6 oz. glasses, ice cold. We usually sit at a table for two, but also have enjoyed sitting at a larger table and meeting other people, mostly from Britain and the U.S. The invariable question is, “Who are you and where are you from?”. When we say we’re from Seattle it usually gets pleasant words of praise from people who’ve visited.

The breakfast is delivered from the kitchen next door, usually in a stack of six or eight for nearby tables. It’s simply presented simply and not as ornate as a dinner entree. It’s also in a portion size that’s appropriate, rather than the usual big-enough-for-two-or-three-persons as served in American diners.

After breakfast I’m usually ready for some movement and fresh air. We head up to the Promenade Deck and … promenade. Or as I say in my most affected Jane Austen-inspired English accent, “Let’s take a turn about the deck, shall we (Miss Dashwood)?”. Allan finds another opportunity for a smoke, and I enjoy the fresh sea air. It’s one of my favorite things about being at sea, even if the winds are blowing and the ship is tossing about (as happened earlier this cruise). If the conditions are really bad out, access to the outside deck areas is usually blocked off.

Before heading back to our stateroom, we usually look in the same shops around the Piazza that we’ve been looking at since Day 1. Most of it is overpriced, although Allan did manage to buy a lovely lightweight Nautica jacket early on. On this cruise one of the shops is featuring its Jacqueline Kennedy line of jewelry… meh.

We also take this time to peruse the photo gallery. The photo gallery features racks and racks of photos of our fellow passengers in both formal mode (very nice individual shots were done at table on the first Formal Night), and informal mode (yesterday’s assault by faux-Vikings on the pier at Reykjavik – we laughed them off and told them to grow real facial hair). Anyway, it provides a pretty good look at the cross-section of passengers. As I’ve said before, lots of old white people, but every now and then we see a cutie or two.

Back to our stateroom, where Julius has quickly put everything back to rights. Then we undo his hard work by mussing up the bathroom (this is when we usually take our showers) and laze about for a while.

Mid-day

Sometimes we watch movies on TV – they seem to run a movie endlessly for a day on each of two channels (these can also be seen on the treadmills and elliptical trainers in the gym). One day it was “Pillow Talk”, another day “Roman Holiday”, and yesterday it was the Kiera Knightly version of “Pride & Prejudice” (speaking of Jane Austen). Today it’s “Inception”. So far, the track record is good.

At some point I head to the gym and do either a 5K run or spend 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Let me tell you that doing a run on a treadmill on a rolling ship is a bit of a challenge. The gym facilities are very nice, if limited due to space. Still, there are plenty of treadmills and quite a few ellipticals to keep people moving. There’s also a small space with free weights and benches, and a few Nautilus-type workout machines.

But most of this part of the ship is taken up with the Lotus Spa. Lotus Spa is the translation for “You spend lots of money and get up-sold at every turn”. Princess is no worse than other lines in this respect, and I always enjoy talking to the staff. But the sales pressure is quite a turn-off.

Once I’m done with my workout I call Allan and he meet me in the Men’s Locker Room, where we change into bathing suits and, wearing light-cotton robes, head over to the Thermal Spa.

Allan enjoys the “stone benches” (as stated earlier), chaises that tiled and heated. You just lie there and soak up the heat … like a reptile. There are also several varieties of showers (Fog Shower, Mist Shower), as well as several varieties of steam rooms (Gentle Mist, Mint-scented). All of this is very relaxing…and on this cruise, often very busy.

After showering and dressing, it’s time to (wait for it) eat again. We enjoy eating our lunches at the International Café, which is on the bottom floor of the Piazza. They have a quiche of the day, as well as nice sandwiches and a heavenly assortment of desserts. You get your food and look for someplace to sit. We usually head next door to the coffee bar where Allan gets a latte and I an iced tea.

Unless there’s something very special going on (like a wine tasting), we head back to the cabin and nap. We’re catching up on a lot of sleep this trip.

Evening

Most days, at 5:30 in the Wheelhouse Bar, there is the LGBT gathering. A regular gaggle of six of us shows up and we chat and drink for a good hour or so. It’s fun listening to everyone share their experiences in port, and it’s a nice group. Most of the guys are on First Seating and are better dressed than us.

After drinks we kill some time back in the room (watching a portion of one of the aforementioned movies again) before heading to dinner.

We’ve chosen to forego fixed dining times and do “Anytime Dining”. That means you don’t have an assigned time, or table, or waiter. But after the first few nights, we’ve been showing up around 8:00 or 8:15 in the Michelangelo Dining Room and asking for a table in either Juan’s or Jordan’s section (they’re next to one another). One time we were seated with a larger group, which was enjoyable, but most nights it’s just us.

Since the waiters and their assistants have gotten to know us, meals usually involved a lot of fun bantering back and forth. If we order a bottle of wine, we make it last through two dinners over a few nights. The first bottle was a Cuvaison Chardonnay , another was a red we’ve yet to finish. The restaurant is happy to store the bottle until you want to drink it again. Jordan once threatened to store the bottle in his room…

Baked goods are my downfall. And they do them well here. I’ve tried limiting myself to one hard roll and one breadstick. But it’s a challenge.

Each night has a different themed dinner: Italian, Pan-Asian, French, etc. Princess does Italian food quite well, especially their Fettuccine Alfredo. I’ll usually skip the appetizer, although Allan likes his Shrimp Cocktail. The soup choices have been interesting, including several cold fruit soups that I’ve enjoyed, although serving them in a parfait glass with a straw seems a bit strange. The salads are fairly standard with a choice of dressings (although you have to decide beforehand, which means it’s over-applied and results in soggy lettuce). I think I prefer how Celebrity does (or did) it, where the choices are made after the salad is in front of you and done by the waiter or the assistant.

The main courses have been surprisingly good this trip, with a consistently tasty and well-cooked beef tenderloin available at every dinner. There was a spaghetti carbonara that I enjoyed one night, as well as a turkey pot pie that Allan enjoyed another night. Vegetables are plentiful, perfectly cooked, and nicely presented. Potatoes have been hit or miss…mostly miss.

Dessert selections are plentiful, although most too rich and too heavy for this late in the evening. Princess always makes available their Love Boat Dream, which is dark chocolate mousse atop a heart-shaped layer of chocolate cake, as well as ice cream sundaes. I’ve skipped both, usually to choose a lighter, fluffier dessert.

After dinner, it’s the same routine as after breakfast: back up for a bit of fresh air and leg stretching on the promenade deck. We rarely, if ever, go to the shows in the Princess Theater, or attend any of the shows in any of the other lounges or clubs (and there are quite a few). Who knows why….lack of interest, I suppose.

Back to the cabin, where Julius has turned down the bed, lowered the lights, closed the curtains, and left some chocolates on the pillows (which we save as snacks for days in port). My favorite item this cruise has been the little printed notice that says, “Please turn your clocks back an hour tonight”. As we’ve been heading westbound now for the past week, it’s a way of getting a little extra sleep.

Then it’s off to our comfortable queen-sized bed and a sound night being rocked to sleep by the gentle motion of the ship…