A quiet night and a very calm sea made for a restful night.
It is a totally beautiful day at sea.
I had breakfast up in the
Terrace Cafe - the good thing is that it is not very crowded at opening time. Got myself a nice quiet table with a view of the water. The good was good - I am hoping that this will be pattern for the entire cruse.
Specialty coffees and regular soft drinks are included on Oceania.
Baristas is the Coffee Bar on Deck 5 just outside the Grand Dining Room. It's a very popular place in the morning (as you might expect). I grabbed the table in the corner so I can see the water and I bring along my laptop so I can tidy up the talk of the day. I have found a terrific barista in
Barbara, who works the morning shift generally. She is from Napoli and makes a perfect decaf mocha latte skinny - she also brings it to the table. There are several baristas rotating through but she always has a cheerful good morning to go along with the great coffee.
Another nice thing about Baristas is that Corey, the Cruise Director, comes by at the same time I do and always says Hi. You don't see that always in a CD and I always the appreciate the contact. Even though the place is small, it is quiet and I can get my work done. Today, I am putting any final touches on
"Cold Cases Solved" for later in the afternoon.
The Regatta does have a nice salad bar for lunch as well as made-fresh Cesar Salad, both of which are very good. Terraces can get a little crowded at lunch. They also have a special for lunch, which is displayed and requires a request to get it. Today, I am sticking with the salad with some tuna salad.
Just outside the Terrace Cafe adjacent to the pool is the
Wave's Grill - they have a couple of items I'm planning to try later on in the cruise.
After lunch, I got ready for my talk - I am wearing a shirt and tie for this cruise but no jacket - it is, after all, a warm weather cruise.
All of the lectures will be in the
Lounge (really the only venue for large presentations). I set up my laptop quickly with the help of the AV techs. Unlike the sometimes odd things that happen on the Azamara ships, the Regatta uses all three screens so everyone can see. The picture quality is very good and headset mic worked perfectly.
My first talk -
"DNA Testing: Cold Cases Solved" pulled a full house of passengers. A pleasant surprise for me. The talk went well and finished on time. The crowd seemed to like it based on the feedback post talk.
We spent the afternoon out on the open deck - warm and not too windy.
Dinner was up in Terraces - salad bar and pasta made to order - I indicated that I need a totally vegetarian pasta and they were able to do that.
After dinner, we went to the Lounge for Showtime to hear vocalist,
Sonia Selbie.
We have seen her before and enjoyed her boisterous singing style and humor. She is very entertaining. As usual, we sat in the back next to the spot techs. I am thrilled to be able to get as many club sodas as I want on this cruise and bottled water as well.
A very nice first day at sea.