At Sea … Relaxing and Future Cruise Shopping

Sunday, 18 September 2016
At Sea — Mediterranean Sea
Temps: Around 70F (21C) @ Noon

We had a day of changeable weather.  Calm seas and sunshine this morning gave way to what I would call light seas and a brief rain shower as Silhouette made its way towards the Strait of Bonifacio … which separates Sardinia and Corsica.  According to Wikipedia, this strait is “notorious among sailors for its weather, currents, shoals and obstacles.”

Mui looks on as the ship approaches the Strait of Bonifacio.  The spit of land in the foreground is Sardinia; Corsica is but a hazy outline on the horizon.   What’s not clear in the picture are the whitecaps on the distant water .

Indeed, the water got rougher once we entered the strait … not unlike what happened when we went through the Strait of Messina yesterday.  This time, however, the seas remained fairly rough once we were in the Mediterranean proper … moderate by our standards.  As for the sun … it played hide-and-seek with the clouds all afternoon … it’s out now.  Most of the veranda is in the sun … I appreciate the bit of warmth reflected off the mock-teak deck.  I’m tucked into the shaded corner of my little haven at sea … mostly to stay out of the wind, which is adding a definite chill to the air.

Heading to the Med proper once we finish transiting the Strait of Bonifacio.

When we first started cruising 17 years ago, we thought the ports were the best part of a vacation at sea.  That changed in 2003 when we did our first Transatlantic.  Five consecutive days of relaxing at sea sold us on the idea that a mix of ports and sea days was a good thing.  So now, when possible, we look for that balance.  This cruise is port-intensive, however … pretty typical of European cruises.  In fact, we had to wait three days and nights before the first of the two days at sea on this itinerary came around.

Grass at sea!  You bet … and you’re welcome to walk on it (without high heels).

Though we planned to do nothing but sit on the veranda and enjoy a good read — and in my case, do some writing and perhaps photo processing — other things crept into the day and it went by in the blink of an eye.  Of course, that seems to happen even when we have nothing going on during a day at sea.  Not sure what the science behind this phenomenon is, but I’d like to find a way to reverse it.

I’ve never been a ‘hammock person’ … but I check out the ones at the Lawn Club.

We slept in by our standards.  It was 7:30a when we woke up.  First order of business … a light breakfast at the Oceanview Café.  Then we began our “at sea exercise regimen.”  On the S[olstice] class ships that means we start on deck 15 with a couple of laps outside before making our way down to deck 5 by way of the stairs.  Deck 5 is the first public deck, so here we add walking up one side and down the other side of the ship to our routine.  We continue that on the next two decks as well.  From deck 3, we reverse the routine to go back to our cabin … which happens to be on deck 10 on this cruise.  I can easily reach 10,000 steps with this routine … not bad for a day at sea.

Mui takes a break from our walk to play around on the Lawn Club giant chair.
The easiest way to get on and off the chair is by squeezing in under the arm.

Today, on the way up, we took a break at the Tuscan Grill on deck 5 aft — specifically what Celebrity calls a Coffee Break.  This is a special event between 8:00a and 10:00a for passengers who are Elite and above in the Captain’s Club.  If one were a late-riser, one could actually have breakfast here as there is a selection of small plates available as well.  We made do with a mango smoothie and an Earl Grey Tea for me; Mui ordered the cheese platter and a double cappuccino.

Panorama of the Tuscan Grill … we’re here for the Captain’s Club Coffee Break.

On our way to the cabin, we made the mistake of stopping by the future cruise booking office to pick up the 2017 and 2018 offerings.  Perusing the list later, several itineraries caught our eye — including one similar to the Scandinavia and Russia cruise we had to take a last-minute pass on this year.  Long story short, with the inducement of half-off the second passenger, 50% deposit, two pick-your-perks, and additional OBC [onboard credit], we deposited on a couple of itineraries.  Our 2017 cruise calendar is now filled ;-)

It’s a bit chilly today, but Mui will dip his toes in the pool at some point before we disembark.

I enjoyed the veranda in short spurts throughout the day.  But around 2:00p I finally got settled out here for good.  Mui joined me on and off as I started to write this post.  Late in the afternoon, our cabin steward brought the bubbly he had iced down for us … along with the day’s daily delivery of concierge appetizers.  The bubbly is a perk for concierge class cabins and was in the stateroom when we embarked.  Instead of drinking it to celebrate sailaway, however, we had asked that it be brought to us on our first day at sea.  We then promptly forgot about it until the knock on our door this afternoon.  What a nice surprise!

If you can’t raise a toast with your hands try using your toes ;-)

And that brings me to the moment at hand.  I’m telling you, I have no idea where the day went, but I see it’s almost 6:00p.  Mui will shortly be knocking on the veranda door to remind me that it is time to go to dinner.  Time to wrap up and get dressed.

Later …

We had a lovely dinner at Grand Cuvée.  By that I am referring mostly to the companionship of the couple at the adjacent table.  The two-tops are placed with just a sliver of space between them … thus enabling chats with couples at neighboring tables if one chooses to be social.  As for the food tonight … I’d have to describe it as OK.  We were well satisfied with what we ordered, but we’ve had better.

We wandered around for a few minutes after dinner, but I was anxious to get back to the cabin to enjoy the veranda.  Which is what I am doing at the moment.  There is noticeable ‘motion of the ocean’ tonight … nothing major, but enough to remind us that we are at sea.  It is rather chilly, too.  I really wasn’t expecting the Med to be quite so cool this time of the year.  But hey, after all the heat and humidity of this summer, I am not going to complain … I can always bundle up.  In fact, tomorrow I’ll pick up a couple of the wool lap blankets I saw by the pool … they should do an admirable job of keeping me cozy.

Tomorrow we continue our port explorations once again ... this time in Marseille, France.

© 2004-2016 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.