A very bouncy night – one of those continuously bouncy nights nobody likes. The result is not a lot of sleep. The strange ticking noise outside was there all night, as well. The angry seas were very visible from our cabin window, sometime splashing up to our fourth deck.
I was up in Windows Café at opening time and there were
very few people up there (the bouncy ship no doubt responsible). It was too windy and cold out on the Sunset
Veranda so I found a nice window seat (lots of choices). I usually get two kinds of
breakfasts on a cruise – waffles with cottage cheese and sour cream (when
it’s available) plus strawberry and marmalade jams and scrambled eggs or two
pancakes plus two egg OM. Today, it's the waffle combo. Ellen is planning to
make full use of the extensive Room Service Menu since the food comes quickly
and hot on this small ship.
I had to check out the Mosaic Café’s version of my signature Iced Mocha Decaf. Good but it could have used a little more
chocolate.
Even though it’s the first day at sea, the ship is holding
its “Onward Brunch” in the
Discoveries Dining Room from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. There is a lot of food available – we both
had omelets and I had some herring in wine sauce. It’s always a nice event and the music from
the Azamara Orchestra made it feel posh.
Still too cold to be outside so the best alternative is The Living Room on Deck 10 Forward. From here you can get a nice view of the gloomy day and choppy waters.
Comfortable seats, that great
view, and a bar. I am reading “The
Wanted” by Robert Crais (an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel).
We stayed there until I had to get ready for my first lecture. “Forensics and History: The Mystery of the Romanovs” was scheduled for 2 PM in the Cabaret Lounge. The AV guy was right on time and the set up was fast. The ship has a series of HD panels at the back of the stage and they project the slides perfectly. There are also two HD side monitors so everyone should be able to see everything. The headset mic, which is always a challenge to secure properly, was comfortable and worked perfectly.
I would say that the Theater was about 60 percent full – a
good first day turnout (I am going to use a capacity of 300 to estimate attendance). Astrid
introduced me – sort of – and the talk ran about 45 minutes. I felt I was moving too fast and will slow
down for the next session. Not a lot of
questions or comments from the audience afterwards. It was the first day at sea and the ship was rocking a bit during the session.
Hanukkah Candle Lighting was a 5 PM in the Cabaret Lounge. We got there early enough for a picture.
It was pretty well attended and
Reb Shlomo is pretty entertaining. He
and his accordion led the crowd through a few more songs than necessary but it
was still nice that the ship provided this service. I didn’t try the latkes but I did have a
jelly donut.
Additional Dining NOTE: The Food of France did not have anything we could eat. Italian Night was wonderful since they had a pasta station (which also was available the next night). The Pasta Station is the best bite on the ship. Fresh and tasty and the chef will get a new pan for me that is not meat contaminated.
Before the show, we went to he Den to listen to the piano man, Bob Style.
He is the best piano bar guy we have seen in
a long time. Sings a lot of different
stuff. Tonight was request night (he
hands out a booklet with all of the songs you can request – hundreds) so I
asked for “Lying Eyes” by Eagles and “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. He did a great job on the first one but I
missed most of Hallelujah because the show was starting.
Showtime Tonight was the first Production Show, “Groove Tonight”. It was a tribute to the music of the 70s but
I was there and don’t recall that some of these songs were from that era. Also, the costumes did not really remind me
of the 70s; nevertheless, the cast is good, Eric donned the most outrageous
outfits, and the energy was high. The
volume was not loud so that was a bonus.
The shows start later on this ship so we are back in the room. The bouncing is still going on and the Captain said it would be that way until we got to Puerto Rico. Earplugs are needed again for the rhythmic noises coming from outside the ship – must either be something loose on deck or due to some kind of weird wave slaps.
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