Still at Sea

December 16^th, 2023

We had a time change overnight, so by the time we were up and ready for the day we had missed breakfast. We went to the Crema Café for coffee and pastries. Well, Brian had yogurt like a good fellow. The café was packed and we were lucky to find a seat. Obviously there were others who had overslept as well. This is a great place for good coffee and people watching. The Lobby bar is also a great people watching place. What I love about this ship is that there are several small places to hang out, it usually doesn’t feel crowded. Today was an exception.

We spent the morning catching up with work in the Explora Lounge. The sea is as rough as ever, and the wind is strong. The pools remain empty. Some Caribbean cruise.

Can you believe it? Yet again I missed going out on deck to see if the noon whistle was blown. My last chance will be our sea day before Ocean Cay, unless of course the storm means we miss more ports.

In the afternoon came the treat I had been looking forward to. We had signed up for a cooking class. Not cheap, it’s about 150 Euros each, but I thought it would be great to try out the chef’s kitchen.

There were 5 of us students – our friends Eliot and Hilary, ourselves, and a charming Italian lady who had to leave early due to a severe case of sea sickness which was not compatible with slaving over a hot stove.

We signed waivers (that seemed strange), and were given aprons, hats and tea towels – and off we headed into the chef’s kitchen.

We had chosen this session as the menu was plant based foods. I love my steak as much as the next person, but I thought maybe I should learn some vegetarian skills.

When we went into the kitchen it felt just like being on Top Chef – all our implements of destruction and ingredients were laid out before us. Let the cooking begin!

It was good to know that even if we made a mess we would not be thrown off the program, and we were the ones to sample the food at the end rather than the picky, snooty, judges.

It took us over an hour and a half to prepare our meal, but it was tremendous fun, and best of all, we had an assistant who ran around removing our dirty pots and pans and dishes. I need someone like that at home.

Finally it was time to plate our creations, and then sit down watching the angry sea below us and consume our masterpieces along with some amazing wines.

Just as we finished first dinner, it was time to go to the Med Yacht Club to meet up with friends for second dinner. We have met a really lovely group of people on this cruise, and we have such fun having dinner together. It seems strange, but I know I will really miss them when we disembark.

After dinner one of the resident artistes, Lydia, was performing an experience called Divas in the Journey’s Lounge. She did a very nice job I think, and we all ended up dancing, which is a good sign.

The entertainment certainly isn’t as good as what we have experienced on other cruises, but for our purposes it is fine. I am quite happy with sitting in a comfy chair,  listening to a singer after dinner. Production shows and acrobats are great, but not necessary. And Lydia’s show was divided into 2 45 minute segments, with Barnaby, a magician doing a quick, but impressive, magic show in the middle.

We should have been in San Juan today, but instead we had a really good sea day. It is rough, and the ship really is rocking away, however I like it that way. But maybe not for a Caribbean cruise.