Embarkation Day
Slept a little better – even though the hotel is only a few hundred feet from La Rambla, the activity settles down after 10 AM. With earplugs, the street noise is manageable.
This morning, Ellen got her boiled eggs and I had my standard breakfast.
Our cab was right on time at 11:00 AM – another couple was heading for the Equinox so we shared the cab. The ride to the pier took only about 10 minutes.
We checked our bags with a porter and found the Pier Coordinator – this time, the Pier Coordinator was from the ship and as soon as I told her I was the speaker, she knew my name, said she was expecting us, and knew we were going back to back. We got our Sea Pass cards quickly and soon made our way to the Ocean View Cafe for Embarkation Lunch.
Barcelona from Equinox
The staff on this cruise consists of Damian de Lorenzis (Cruise Director) (Damian is in Miami for Training until midway into the cruise); taking over as CD is Manuel, and assuming the acting role of Activities Manager is Daniel Bartrope. When Damian returns, everyone will go back to their original positions and I will be dealing with Manuel.
We spent the afternoon in the Solarium (no T-Pool on the Equinox) but the Solarium is still a comfortable place to sit and the chlorine smell is minimal.
I went down to the Silhouette Dining Room to sign up for “Select Dining” – this is usually a problem since it fills up pretty fast – this time out, the girl at the desk signed us right up (and for a table for two at that).
While I was dealing with the Dining set up, Ellen was a Shorex setting up opportunities for excursions. The Shorex team remembered us and was able to get us several excursions. We should be busy this cruise.
The sail away from Barcelona is not the nicest since the ship passes by the oil storage tanks out to the open sea.
Sail Away Barcelona
There are a number of lounge entertainers on board the Equinox – one of them is a duo called “Le Chic Duo”. I am guessing they are from France.
Le Chic Duo in the Grand Foyer
We had dinner at Table 519 (for two by the window) – the food was good especially the Mushroom Soup. I had the Seared Salmon, which was good as soon as I flipped the piece over to hide the skin (not a fan of fish skin).
After dinner, we went to the “Opening Night Show” in the Equinox Theater. The show featured our old friend, Lindsay Hamilton, who did two numbers from James Bond movies.
Lindsay Hamilton – Tribute to James Bond
Also on the show were the “Pampas Devils” – an act more appropriate to a South American cruise. Two guys and two girls, drums, and bolas. It turned out to be quite entertaining mostly due to the serious energy of the performers.
Pampas Devils
Completing the evening was a performance by one of the many acrobatic groups on the ship. She contorted every which way but was interesting to watch (if anything snapped).
Contortionist – Acrobatic Performer
After the show, I was scheduled to meet with Daniel to go over the presentation schedule for this cruise. The other speaker is Maritime Historian, Graham Anthony. This is a port intensive cruise so the first BTP presentation will be on the first sea day following Naples (Monday, November 18).
Back to our room to rest up for an all day tour tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment