NorfolkSailor
December 21st, 2004, 10:59 PM
...Virginia to the Southern Caribbean 30 November 2004 through 11 December 2004 Part 2a
(See the first part of this journal dated 12/19/04)
The first full day of the cruise dawned as would all the rest – with clouds scudding across the sky to be chased away by the rising sun. Somewhere, there is a ledger that keeps track of blessings and I know our group now has many marks in the plus column for the consistent perfect weather we had throughout the cruise. This first day the seas were a bit rough and the wind still chill, however, so we mostly enjoyed the view from behind glass. After this day and until the last day, we would not again see temps dip below about 75 degrees and most days were in the low 80’s – glorious!
We had placed our room service card for breakfast outside the door before retiring and requested 8-8:30 service. We were snuggled in the warm waffle-weave bathrobes when the nock on the door came at about 8:10. We hade requested quite a variety of items for breakfast and a quick survey indicated everything to be exactly as ordered – from English muffins to coffee to eggs over easy. The only (minor) off note was that the toast and bread – while wrapped in a separate cloth napkin – came cold to the table. Otherwise, all of the food was warm or cold as it was meant to be and quite tasty. After this first time using room service for breakfast, we decided we would simply order coffee for two and wait to eat until we were joined by our traveling companions on the Lido. Having done my homework, I had come with plenty of cash in various denominations to cover special instances such as room service delivery and we were ready.
After breakfast, we ventured out to explore. Well, I should say that I ventured out to explore as the girls had all made appointments in the Spa for the morning and were busy being pampered in advance of our first formal night that evening. Worth is a subjective thing but the girls all seemed pleased with the value received for their investment in themselves and I certainly couldn’t complain about the result (not that I would anyway, of course – having decided long ago that there is nothing too good for DW).
Before continuing, let me give you some background on the principles in this journal:
Me (Kevin) – also known as NorfolkSailor on Cruise Critic. I’m a retired Naval Officer who has over 9 years of sea duty and more than a thousand days actually underway on naval vessels. I work in senior management of IT for government contracting agencies and (in case it’s not obvious yet) love to travel – and to PLAN travel.
DW (Jill) – the DW really does stand for Darling Wife. She’s an artist and faux finishing expert plying her trade free-lance in the Tidewater area. Like me, she loves travel and may have been even more places than I as she traveled widely in Europe and the Middle-East in her youth.
Sis (Terry) – my one and only girl sibling and a wonderful woman. Terry works in the insurance industry (as did our mother) in the Chicago area where she lives with cats and:
BIL (Denny) – her husband of many years. Denny is self-employed and manufactures a product called “Crash Wrap” that is used in the automotive repair industry to many things including damage limitation (covering broken glass to keep the elements from damaging a wreck prior to its repair) and spray paint masking.
Our dear friend (Judith) – a woman of wonderful humor and refinement. A friend we developed through Jill’s work in faux finishing and another travel lover.
Denny is very athletic and runs/bikes/swims regularly. I am less so but do run and am a scuba diver. Jill and Judith also dive and Terry – well, Terry is very fit but not for any of those reasons (I think it’s magic, personally). These traits will become important in explaining choices we will later make for activities on the cruise…
Now, where was I? Ah, yes, the girls were off to the spa and Denny and I were on our own for the early part of the day. Denny decided to go up to the pool and lounge while I went out to explore the ship and check into internet pricing so I could stay in touch with some business contacts. The internet lounge is a small but nicely laid-out room tucked between the library aft and the card room forward on the port side aft of the upper promenade. I found it without problem and, while there was no one there when I arrived, the signs posted throughout made it easy to identify the options. Another reason I needed to check into computer access is that DW is the president of the local chapter of the sumi-e society (oriental brush painting) and needed to write and send her monthly newsletter input since she had not been able to do so in the rush of the holidays and company prior to the cruise. I had hoped she would be able to access word and complete the writing without cost so that only the time spent sending it would be charged. This was not to be as the systems are set up to start timing (and charging) whenever the individual logs in – whether they access the internet or not. Also, there are no tools other than Wordpad loaded on the systems. In the end, I purchased a large number of minutes so that we would have plenty to ensure she could write at her leisure. Pricing starts at 70 cents per minute but larger packages of minutes provide a better per-minute charge with 100 minutes costing $55 (55 cents/minute) and 250 minutes priced at $100 (40 cents/minute). The ship also ran a special that allowed 20 extra minutes if you signed up for a package on the first night…
So, having set up an internet account (and vowing to take a laptop on any future cruise), I set out to complete explorations. Going forward on the upper promenade, I came to the casino – quiet save for a few folks at some of the slots – and proceeded into the atrium at the top of its three levels. It’s hard to think of this space as being in a ship as it’s quite large and looks for all the world like the lobby of a large hotel with shops, a café (the Java Café, which in on the promenade deck opposite the entrance to the Wajang Theater on the port side), front desk (in the atrium itself on the promenade deck), lounge areas on all three decks and the sweeping staircase surrounding the marvelous glass sculpture that rises from the lower promenade to the ceiling of the upper. Moving forward still, I came to the forward set of elevators/stairs and the balcony of the Rembrandt Lounge beyond. This space is beautifully done in glass, wood and fabric. I was surprised to see that some areas near the back of the balcony were set on risers – I had expected the entire floor to be flat. I was to find the same setup on the main floor after descending the curved staircase within the space to access the floor below. I was struck by the symmetry of this space relative to the dining room… Coming out of the lounge on the promenade deck, I walked back to the atrium and looked in on the Wajang Theater. This is a nicely appointed space with what looks like a (huge) plasma screen mounted in front of movie theater seating. Stepping out, I decided now would be a good time to try the cappuccino and biscotti offering at the café.
The café is really just a wide part of the port side but is at a dead end going aft since the ship’s services (and the kitchen) lie beyond it. In fact, this was a roadblock I would have to get used to in the coming days – don’t try to leave the dining room on the main level and go forward; you have to go up or down a level to go around the aforementioned non-passenger area… Completing my beverage (which was served in a “go cup”), I headed back to the atrium to ascend the forward stairs all the way to the Crow’s Nest. What a neat place! The time is about 10:45 and the daily trivia game is well underway. The space has a dozen or so folks playing and a couple more lounging and taking in the view from the panoramic windows the sweep across the front and sides to take in the view of the ship’s progress. The bartender seems bored (as I should hope at that hour) and I don’t stay long since I’m too late for the game and still have exploring left to do.
Aft of the (forward) stairs/elevators on this deck are glass doors that lead to the sports deck and aft to the Club HAL area. It also leads to the aft stair/elevator tower and a set of exterior stairs that lead to lower weather decks including the aft pool – my next stop. The aft pool was empty, as I would expect considering the wind and temperature but I was somewhat surprised to see a gentleman relaxing in one of the deck chairs overlooking the pool on the Lido deck – just below the sports deck and just above the Navigation deck. I didn’t disturb him but proceeded forward through the Lido restaurant and into the Lido pool area. As I passed the Dolphin bar, I noted that there is a spiral staircase beside it on the port side that leads back up to the sports deck – a convenient shortcut between the tennis courts and the bar, I thought. Continuing forward past the hot tubs and pool I came to the Terrace Grill on the starboard side just before the doors into the forward stairs and the spa/gym beyond. As I walked by, I could see that the “fixin’s” for the taco bar were already being set out and it reminded me that lunch must not be too far away – could it really be that time already?! After a quick look in to see how the girls were doing (quite well, it seemed – and DW later confirmed), I proceeded downward to the Verandah deck to rejoin the group before lunch.
(see the rest of this post seperatley as "Part 2b")
(See the first part of this journal dated 12/19/04)
The first full day of the cruise dawned as would all the rest – with clouds scudding across the sky to be chased away by the rising sun. Somewhere, there is a ledger that keeps track of blessings and I know our group now has many marks in the plus column for the consistent perfect weather we had throughout the cruise. This first day the seas were a bit rough and the wind still chill, however, so we mostly enjoyed the view from behind glass. After this day and until the last day, we would not again see temps dip below about 75 degrees and most days were in the low 80’s – glorious!
We had placed our room service card for breakfast outside the door before retiring and requested 8-8:30 service. We were snuggled in the warm waffle-weave bathrobes when the nock on the door came at about 8:10. We hade requested quite a variety of items for breakfast and a quick survey indicated everything to be exactly as ordered – from English muffins to coffee to eggs over easy. The only (minor) off note was that the toast and bread – while wrapped in a separate cloth napkin – came cold to the table. Otherwise, all of the food was warm or cold as it was meant to be and quite tasty. After this first time using room service for breakfast, we decided we would simply order coffee for two and wait to eat until we were joined by our traveling companions on the Lido. Having done my homework, I had come with plenty of cash in various denominations to cover special instances such as room service delivery and we were ready.
After breakfast, we ventured out to explore. Well, I should say that I ventured out to explore as the girls had all made appointments in the Spa for the morning and were busy being pampered in advance of our first formal night that evening. Worth is a subjective thing but the girls all seemed pleased with the value received for their investment in themselves and I certainly couldn’t complain about the result (not that I would anyway, of course – having decided long ago that there is nothing too good for DW).
Before continuing, let me give you some background on the principles in this journal:
Me (Kevin) – also known as NorfolkSailor on Cruise Critic. I’m a retired Naval Officer who has over 9 years of sea duty and more than a thousand days actually underway on naval vessels. I work in senior management of IT for government contracting agencies and (in case it’s not obvious yet) love to travel – and to PLAN travel.
DW (Jill) – the DW really does stand for Darling Wife. She’s an artist and faux finishing expert plying her trade free-lance in the Tidewater area. Like me, she loves travel and may have been even more places than I as she traveled widely in Europe and the Middle-East in her youth.
Sis (Terry) – my one and only girl sibling and a wonderful woman. Terry works in the insurance industry (as did our mother) in the Chicago area where she lives with cats and:
BIL (Denny) – her husband of many years. Denny is self-employed and manufactures a product called “Crash Wrap” that is used in the automotive repair industry to many things including damage limitation (covering broken glass to keep the elements from damaging a wreck prior to its repair) and spray paint masking.
Our dear friend (Judith) – a woman of wonderful humor and refinement. A friend we developed through Jill’s work in faux finishing and another travel lover.
Denny is very athletic and runs/bikes/swims regularly. I am less so but do run and am a scuba diver. Jill and Judith also dive and Terry – well, Terry is very fit but not for any of those reasons (I think it’s magic, personally). These traits will become important in explaining choices we will later make for activities on the cruise…
Now, where was I? Ah, yes, the girls were off to the spa and Denny and I were on our own for the early part of the day. Denny decided to go up to the pool and lounge while I went out to explore the ship and check into internet pricing so I could stay in touch with some business contacts. The internet lounge is a small but nicely laid-out room tucked between the library aft and the card room forward on the port side aft of the upper promenade. I found it without problem and, while there was no one there when I arrived, the signs posted throughout made it easy to identify the options. Another reason I needed to check into computer access is that DW is the president of the local chapter of the sumi-e society (oriental brush painting) and needed to write and send her monthly newsletter input since she had not been able to do so in the rush of the holidays and company prior to the cruise. I had hoped she would be able to access word and complete the writing without cost so that only the time spent sending it would be charged. This was not to be as the systems are set up to start timing (and charging) whenever the individual logs in – whether they access the internet or not. Also, there are no tools other than Wordpad loaded on the systems. In the end, I purchased a large number of minutes so that we would have plenty to ensure she could write at her leisure. Pricing starts at 70 cents per minute but larger packages of minutes provide a better per-minute charge with 100 minutes costing $55 (55 cents/minute) and 250 minutes priced at $100 (40 cents/minute). The ship also ran a special that allowed 20 extra minutes if you signed up for a package on the first night…
So, having set up an internet account (and vowing to take a laptop on any future cruise), I set out to complete explorations. Going forward on the upper promenade, I came to the casino – quiet save for a few folks at some of the slots – and proceeded into the atrium at the top of its three levels. It’s hard to think of this space as being in a ship as it’s quite large and looks for all the world like the lobby of a large hotel with shops, a café (the Java Café, which in on the promenade deck opposite the entrance to the Wajang Theater on the port side), front desk (in the atrium itself on the promenade deck), lounge areas on all three decks and the sweeping staircase surrounding the marvelous glass sculpture that rises from the lower promenade to the ceiling of the upper. Moving forward still, I came to the forward set of elevators/stairs and the balcony of the Rembrandt Lounge beyond. This space is beautifully done in glass, wood and fabric. I was surprised to see that some areas near the back of the balcony were set on risers – I had expected the entire floor to be flat. I was to find the same setup on the main floor after descending the curved staircase within the space to access the floor below. I was struck by the symmetry of this space relative to the dining room… Coming out of the lounge on the promenade deck, I walked back to the atrium and looked in on the Wajang Theater. This is a nicely appointed space with what looks like a (huge) plasma screen mounted in front of movie theater seating. Stepping out, I decided now would be a good time to try the cappuccino and biscotti offering at the café.
The café is really just a wide part of the port side but is at a dead end going aft since the ship’s services (and the kitchen) lie beyond it. In fact, this was a roadblock I would have to get used to in the coming days – don’t try to leave the dining room on the main level and go forward; you have to go up or down a level to go around the aforementioned non-passenger area… Completing my beverage (which was served in a “go cup”), I headed back to the atrium to ascend the forward stairs all the way to the Crow’s Nest. What a neat place! The time is about 10:45 and the daily trivia game is well underway. The space has a dozen or so folks playing and a couple more lounging and taking in the view from the panoramic windows the sweep across the front and sides to take in the view of the ship’s progress. The bartender seems bored (as I should hope at that hour) and I don’t stay long since I’m too late for the game and still have exploring left to do.
Aft of the (forward) stairs/elevators on this deck are glass doors that lead to the sports deck and aft to the Club HAL area. It also leads to the aft stair/elevator tower and a set of exterior stairs that lead to lower weather decks including the aft pool – my next stop. The aft pool was empty, as I would expect considering the wind and temperature but I was somewhat surprised to see a gentleman relaxing in one of the deck chairs overlooking the pool on the Lido deck – just below the sports deck and just above the Navigation deck. I didn’t disturb him but proceeded forward through the Lido restaurant and into the Lido pool area. As I passed the Dolphin bar, I noted that there is a spiral staircase beside it on the port side that leads back up to the sports deck – a convenient shortcut between the tennis courts and the bar, I thought. Continuing forward past the hot tubs and pool I came to the Terrace Grill on the starboard side just before the doors into the forward stairs and the spa/gym beyond. As I walked by, I could see that the “fixin’s” for the taco bar were already being set out and it reminded me that lunch must not be too far away – could it really be that time already?! After a quick look in to see how the girls were doing (quite well, it seemed – and DW later confirmed), I proceeded downward to the Verandah deck to rejoin the group before lunch.
(see the rest of this post seperatley as "Part 2b")