Tuesday — December 1
Being on a ship sailing down the eastern seaboard has been great, but things got even better about 30 minutes ago. Why? Because we’re in a slightly warmer climate now and can finally sit on the veranda. Granted, we’re bundled up in fleece tops and, in my case, long pants, and we have cozy wool blankets (compliments of Celebrity) wrapped around our legs. But so be it. I wasn’t expecting anything but cool temps this first day at sea since we’re only off the North Carolina coast. During his noon announcement, Captain Frantzis said the day's high was projected as 61F (16C) — warmer than I thought it was going to be, so no complaints on my part.
Cold? Maybe a little, but who cares!
We were up at 6:30a and off to get in some exercise soon after. I had hoped to walk laps on the Sky Deck, but the brisk wind quickly drove me to join Mui in the fitness center on the Resort Deck. I managed to put in 30 minutes on the treadmill, watching the sun as it moved higher on the horizon. Tomorrow, we’ll start our exercise regimen in earnest with an hour’s worth of cardio. If the warming trend continues, I’ll be doing my laps either on the Promenade Deck or up here on the Sky Deck.
Since it was much too chilly to eat on the veranda, we went down to the Manhattan Restaurant for breakfast. Afterwards, we found a patch of sunshine on the Promenade Deck and whiled away an hour reading and enjoying the quiet morning. Bundled up in our layers, we were the envy of passersby who were less prepared for the chill of a winter day on the Atlantic Ocean.
Promenade Deck
If you squint, you can see the deck chairs where we whiled away an hour this morning.
When our patch of sunshine diminished to a mere strip, we collected our belongings and headed up to the outside deck aft of the Palm Springs Pool. I imagine this area will be bustling with people when we’re in Caribbean waters. But this morning only those of us who had come prepared for chilly temps were enjoying the frothy wake as Mercury forged through the Atlantic. After a while, Mui left me to enjoy my book in the bright sunshine while he put in another hour on the treadmill.
Resort Deck Aft (off the Palm Springs Pool)
(photo courtesy of CruiseCritic poster, Radio)
We went to the Manhattan Restaurant for our midday meal. A cup of potato and leek soup was the perfect starter for me, followed by shrimp scampi served on a bed of orecchiette pasta. Mui had the fresh tropical fruit for his starter. Since he was planning to have the dark chocolate yogurt for dessert (talk about advance planning), he kept his main course light and ordered the Cobb salad. The right-sized portions, which many would consider small, left us comfortably sated. On the way back to the cabin, a stop at the Palm Springs Café netted us some hot beverages and two bite-size desserts to round out our lunch in the privacy of our veranda.
And so with today’s blog started, it’s time for me to pick up my embroidery and enjoy some R&R.
More later …
Blogging on the veranda is one of my favorite pastimes.
Sssh! Don’t wake him up.
Snack time!
… later — after dinner
We didn’t get to sip our wine on the veranda this afternoon. Around 4:00p, big patches of clouds appeared overhead. They were not the rain-carrying variety, but they did a good job of obscuring the sun’s warmth. So, we moved inside to enjoy our wine just as Helmi (our cabin steward) delivered the daily canapés — a concierge class perk. Mui had already picked up some goodies from the buffet — a good thing since the canapés were rather tasteless.
We spent the early evening hours relaxing in the cabin. There were a couple of interesting documentaries on TV that kept us entertained until it was time to get ready for the first formal night of the cruise.
When we first booked this cruise, we had no plans for participating in tonight’s festivities. At the last minute, we packed a black suit for Mui and a cocktail dress for me. After all, we were driving to the port and had no luggage restrictions to consider. Had the weather been warm enough to eat on the veranda, we would have skipped formal night, but since it wasn’t, we got gussied up and went to the Manhattan Restaurant for dinner.
I have to admit that although the food has been pretty good so far, it’s not as good as it was when Celebrity featured the Michel Roux menus. Can’t quite put my finger on what’s missing — most of the dishes seem just a tad bit bland.
First Formal Night Menu
As it is much too cold to sit on the veranda, I’m going to call it quits early. Here’s to warmer temperatures as we continue sailing south.
Next Up: Two More Blissful Days at Sea
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