RachelG

April 15, 2024–bumping along in the North Atlantic The seas picked up again through the night, and the room did a lot of creaking and groaning all night long, punctuated by occasional loud thumps from somewhere outside the room. We went ahead yet another hour. I made myself get up and go to yoga. Class was challenging due to the motion of the ship. We then had a leisurely breakfast in La Veranda. Skies were overcast, and it was chilly and windy outside. Walking track and outdoors decks still closed. I went for a pedicure, and it was a really good one. And amazingly, the price was what I normally pay at home. The pool deck lunch was Indian food, which George does not prefer, so we decided to go to Prime 7 for lunch. The menu is totally different than for dinner. I had a Manhattan clam chowder and Caesar salad with shrimp. George’s port ribs were just ok according to him, but his shrimp and grits were delicious. After lunch, the sun had come out, and even though it was still very windy, the sea had calmed enough that the powers that be deemed it safe to open the walking track on deck 12. I put on a windbreaker and got my steps. Love,love the walking track. It is coated with an anti skid material that has a slight sponginess to it. Very comfortable and safe. We were back to second at Trivia. I calculated the year the euro became the official currency in Europe based on the ages of my children when we visited there, but got over ruled. The seas really suddenly picked up again just as trivia was ending. There were a lot of bumping noises and creaky sounds in our suite. Tonight was the Event for the upper tier society members. It was a special performance by the guest vocalists and they were great. Dinner in Pacific Rim was very good. This isn’t my favorite restaurant, but I have figured out what I like. George loves it, so we compromise. He had sushi and sashimi. I had the watermelon and duck salad, spring rolls and lobster tempura, all very delicious. Best part for me is that they have really nice tea, not the Twinning that is served elsewhere on the ship. The ship was severely rocking by the end of dinner. I went to the magician show, and he had to sit down. But he was funny and did some good illusions.

We had to convert the number of miles in a marathon to meters. George did the calculation and got it correct the first time, but then second guessed himself.

April 14, 2024–still at sea cruising the North Atlantic The seas were still moving quite a bit but calmer than last night. We had a good nights sleep, and I made myself get up and go to Pilates class at 8, hard to do since we had set the clocks ahead yet another hour. It was quite overcast outside, and windy, so outside decks still closed. I was the only person in the Pilates class, and the instructor was late. I started doing some exercises by my self, and he showed up. I do reformer Pilates at home 5 days a week. Obviously on the ship, they don’t have reformers, so it was a mat class, but a pretty good one. Lorraine, the CD, held church service at 9. There were 16 of us in attendance, and she did a good job. The magnificent Sunday on a sea day brunch was held in Compass Rose. There was a big spread of sushi and sashimi, big cocktail shrimp, omelette and crepe stations, breakfast items.lots of salads, roast beef tenderloin, pork, cooked veggies, a massive bread table, and dessert bar with flowing chocolate with various dippers. Notably absent was any type of crab. That being said, I had plenty to eat without over stuffing myself. George had a big plate of sushi and said it was good. The seas had calmed down considerably, and the sun was out now shining brightly. I thought they might open up the walking track, but it was still blocked off, presumably due to high winds. So I got my steps indoors. I worked on cross stitch while George lost money in the casino. But today was a good day at trivia with our first win! There were two medical questions, which helped. We missed a math problem because we changed an answer. Dinner in Compass Rose was a hit. Everything was great. I had the mulligatawny soup, which is always good, the Shanghai dumplings, and the sea bream. All perfect and topped off with the sugar free coffee ice cream, which is a favorite. The show was a Broadway musical review, and the singers are all outstanding, but particularly the female vocalist. A+!

So sorry your cruise had to end this way, but thankful the surgery went well. Wishing him an uneventful recovery!

Lived there for 8 years in college then med school at OU back in the 1980s

The egg

Beautiful entrance to Pacific Rim

April 13, 2024–cruising the Atlantic As per the captain’s warning, the ship was very rocky during the night. Our cabin steward had set the potted orchid on the floor wisely. But the rocking was the type that just makes me want to sleep, so we had a nice sleep in until 10 am! Unheard of for me anytime except on a ship on a sea day. The fact that the clocks jumped forward another hour also helped. When we finally got up, it was partly cloudy outside, but pleasant looking except for the seas which had breaking whitecaps. All the outside decks were closed off due to rough seas and wind. We went to a morning reception for our travel group, then lunch which was a Greek buffet with excellent Greek salad, humus and tzatziki. I did my walk a lot the ship to get steps and finally found the egg which is a lot smaller than I imagined, but very bejeweled and beautiful. There is an app that you can download that takes you on an art tour through the ship. George went to the blackjack tournament and won big! That probably won’t last. We came in 2nd yet again at trivia. One team member suggested we change our team name to “The Bridesmaids”. Questions were very difficult today. The block party was tonight, where the captain and CD go throughout the ship greeting everyone in the halls. We met a lot of nice people. Dinner at Prime 7 was mostly great. Mt crab cake and salad were excellent as was my filet. George’s lobster was definitely off. He couldn’t eat it. They brought a new one which was edible, but really , the quality control could be better. The show was Josh Henderson who did a tribute to Freddy Mercury and Queen. Well done, though not my preferred style of music.

Bike ride views

Huge wall with George in perspective tive

Our ship

Dockyards chickens

April 12, 2024–Bermuda We had a smooth night sailing, and I slept like a log. When we woke up, the sun was peaking through some high clouds, and the wind had lessened some. It was warmer as well, in the upper 60s. The ocean was a beautiful aqua blue. I went to a HIT class—high intensity workout, and he made us sweat a lot. Only one other guy in the class with me though. By the time I finished, the ship was sailing into the Royal Naval Dockyards, an old navy base now a cruise port with shops, restaurants and a museum. We had been here before when they were just developing It. The captain had announced yesterday that we would sail out an hour early so as to avoid a big storm that was coming. Our tour didn’t start until 11:40, so we had a while to walk around the dockyards. Lots of expensive shops selling touristy stuff. But a nice walk. There was an interesting looking museum, but we didn’t have time to visit. We popped back to the ship for 15 minutes to grab a slice of pizza from the pool grill. We boarded a van to take us to Hamilton, in the middle of the island to the bike shop. We passed lots of pretty beaches and resorts, churches on just about every corner, and pastel painted houses with very thick walls and roofs. Our guide told us the are built to easily withstand a level 4 hurricane. Each has a water cistern underneath and it’s own septic system. Stoves are propane canisters, so they can go without electricity for quite a while. We arrived at a park in downtown Hamilton where we were taught how to ride our e-bikes, something neither of us had done before. After a test ride to learn the controls, we took off, first on the street, but soon on a bike path built on an old railroad track. It was great fun after I figured it out as you don’t have to shift gears, which was always the hardest part of riding a bike for me. We ended up at a park by a nice beach then rode back on the road this time. Really a fun excursion. Our guide had slushies waiting for us, from a stand in the park. I hadn’t had a slushie in probably at least 40 years, but it was refreshing after our ride. We rode back to the dockyards, and the wind had really picked up a lot. It was hard to even climb the gangway to the ship. The captain came on with the weather report—told us to expect rough seas and gale force winds. They are covering the windows on the lower decks. We came in 2nd in trivia. Shouldn’t have changed one answer, or we would have tied for first. Dinner in Compass Rose tonight. I started with a parsnip soup which was just ok. Sounded better than it was. The spinach salad was very good, with nice crispy spinach. My pork tenderloin was perfectly prepared, as good as I can make at home, but I didn’t have to do the work. I ordered a lingonberry soufflé for dessert, which was disappointing as it wasn’t a real soufflé, but rather a lingonberry purée with a meringue topping. The show was a singer, Lisa Marie Holmes, and she was spectacular. What a great voice. She sang a variety of show tunes, plus other music. I am looking forward to her next performance. George did well in the casino and recouped his precious losses.

They are a little snail encased in a ball that is deep fried. It reminded me of a tiny arancini ball except with a snail inside. You pop the entire thing in your mouth at once.

Mj-holiday, noted you said you are from Oklahoma, where?? We are Oklahoma people, Tulsa.