Welcome to the Chronicles of
~ the Second Noordam Adventure ~ the 15th Anniversary Cruise ~
12/06/2008 - 12/17/2008
12/9 - Somewhere in the Atlantic
And a hearty good morning to you all from north of the Turk and Caicos - or well north of the Dominican Republic, homeland of my mother. We have traveled 300 or so miles since we left Half Moon Cay yesterday, and about 600 miles since we left Ft Lauderdale. Currently, it is 77F outside, with a 30 mph wind coming (luckily) from the other side of the ship. The seas are considered rough, at 7 - 12 feet (personall, I think that is a little overstated, but hey, I am just telling you what they tell us). Here is the morning view: Last night we traversed into the next time zone, so all the clocks had to be pushed forward one hour. Time sure flies when you're having fun, or sleeping. The show last night was not bad. The comedian, I forget his name, used to write for the Dick Van Dyke show, Mash, and a bunch of other famous shows. That also means that he is rather - how do I say this delicately? - aged. And his jokes really came from that point of view, although he was very funny. He had a good spin in his act, and just when you thought you knew where he was going with a joke, he put a twist on it. The seniors onboard (and there are quite a few of them - although not as many as the last time we were here) were rolling in the aisles. Would I pay to see him? Probably not, but for a club act, especially to this sort of audience, he was very good. During dinner last night we were talking to the maitre'd, who is an indian (from India type indian), who probably has the most flamboyant personality of any indian person I have ever met (or even heard of), and he was telling us about how this week, the clientele skews younger, and how on their last run, it skewed older. He was telling us that on this trip, everyone wants to eat at the later seating, and how at the Dining Your Way option, there are lines waiting to get in. What they have done is taken the 2 level main diningroom, and broken it up. On the upper level, they have the traditional assigned seating and dining times. On the lower level, they have something akin to open seating, where you come in, and ask for a table when you want to eat, or you can call ahead and make reservations. This is something that the Norwegian Line started, and marketed rather heavily - their ships have no assigned meals at all. It is a great concept, and one that is easy to push as a distinction of your product. The problem is that it is like being at home and going out for dinner. What happens at 6:30 on a Friday night? 2 hour waits! It is not much different here. It is even worse with Norwegian, since they have 3 or 4 smaller main diningrooms, so one may have a big wait, and another may be open. We don't like it as a system much, and it does make it interesting to try to get to the shows. Anyway, so the maitre'd was telling us that on the last run, everyone wanted the early seating times because the crowd skewed older. I hadn't really thought about how you could tell the general age of the population of cruisers from one run to the next, but this makes sense. I thought it was interesting. Today should be interesting - I have a few things I want to do. Yes, I will try to take more pictures today. I had this thought when I got onboard that I might get up early and ride the bike they have in the gym here, but obviously that hasn't happened! Oh well, its vacation, right? See you later!
10:12pm - At Sea Well, today truly was an interesting day. Currently, we are some 265 miles from St Thomas, which puts us northwest of Puerto Rico, plowing thru 10-12 foot seas, with a gale force wind coming in from the northwest. Basically, typical cruising weather for this part of the Atlantic. Its currently 79F outside, so it is getting warmer. This morning, after a nice light breakfast, we went to see a cooking demonstration at the Cullinary Arts Center on the ship. The center is set up to do cooking demonstrations, similar to what you would see on the Food Network, complete with big screen TVs and downlooking cameras to catch all the action. The Executive Chef, Martin , made Tournedos Rossini with Madeira Sauce, and Poached Egg with Asparagus Mousse and Potato Foam. The first dish was delicious, and something I might try to make when we get home. Biggest problem will be getting veal stock like what they have here - it was the texture of thin jello pudding. Somehow I doubt I will find it at Big Y, and I know I am not going to take the 2 or more days they take to make some (yes, he told us exactly how they make theirs, and it take 48 hours or more to make). The second dish was technically very interesting, but not something I would make. I learned that egg yolk cook at 155F, while the whites cook at 149F. So, if you want to make a perfectly poached egg, with lovely whites and runny yolk, you cook it at 149F for 10 minutes (or up to an hour, without adverse effects on the finished product). Neat, but since I don't have a digitally controlled water bath (might have to get Joe to steal one for me), I couldn't make it if I wanted to!
Anyway, here is what the Cullinary Arts Center looks like. From our seats:
And from the front, after the show (people would have been sitting in the seats during the show - it was pretty well attended): Carol said it was like watching a cooking show host by the Governator, because of the chef's accent. It was true!
Then we went over to the Photo Gallery, and found a shot of us that was done when we were at Half Moon Cay. We were standing in the surf, and the girl cut off our legs! Here is what we looked like yesterday:
As you walk arounf the ship, you notice that there are many beautiful models of ships in cases. The detail is pretty amazing, so I took a couple of shots, because I like them. I suppose it makes sense to have such models on a cruise ship, but somehow I don't recall seeing them on any of the other ships we have been on. At least, not models of sailing ships. Anyway, here are a couple:
We also took a nice stroll around Deck 3. One of the features of this ship that I like is the fact that on the Promenade Deck, you really can walk all the way around the ship. Typically, you cannot make it around either the bow or the stern (front or back) of the ship. Usually, the only place you can do laps is on the sports deck, way up on the ship, and it is much smaller a deck, and very windy when underway. Here is what it looks like out there:
Carol said to tell Kelly that land can be seen in this picture, if you squint very hard! (Kelly would like to cruise, but does not want to be on a ship out of sight of land!)
This is me standing at the stern of the ship (it is very loud from the rushing of water there, but pretty):
And me looking over the stern: While Carol was getting a pedicure at the spa, I went to the art auction. There was only one piece I really liked (okay, there were a couple, but the original Peter Max - 6 feet tall - was obviously not going to be in my price range. They brough tit out, and I think it was offered at $58,000), and it was not particularly well priced. And the auctioneer was annoying. Not sure if I am going to go to the next auction. He is one of those guys who thinks that talking fast means people will buy more. What a shame. Carol's pedicure came out quite nice, by the way! We went to the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet, which was very well attended, and everyone was talking and meeting, and greeting. It was really nice. The ship's Captain, Cruise Director, Hotel Manager, and another of the ship's officers (I am not sure who he was - I was 2 minutes late, and missed the intros) was there. I got to talk to the Captain for a few minutes, which is always nice. Then we did a drawing - Linda, who organized the event, got 10 items from the shops of the ship and the restaurant donated for the drawings. I pulled the numbers from the bowl, and we all had a good time. Carol won a beach towel. Neal's wife, Peg, who we met in Ft Lauderdale for dinner, won a lunch at the Pinnacle Grill. Nice gifts were had! It was a great event. I didn't take any pictures, but Linda did, so I might have to try to get a set from her. Then we took a nap in our room before dressing up - tonite was the first formal night - and heading down to the Pinnacle Bar to meet Grace & Chuck, Trish & Greg, and Chris & Jan for drinks before dinner. That went really well, although Chuck got part of a drink spilled on him, but he considered it a "citrusy cologne." He's a good sport. One thing is for sure - we have met quite a few very nice people on this trip. Dinner was good. Trish & Greg joined us at our table, because Clay & Dennis (the gay guys) were eating at the Pinnacle Grill (the upscale restaurant), and Trish & Greg are eating at a table for two, but they really want to be seated at a table for 10. It was nice. After dinner, Carol and I had our pictures taken at one of the photo stations. The pictures looked okay when she showed them to me on the back of the camera, but my biggest thought was "Wow, I'm majorly broad lit!" Some Grenier habits die hard. Lighting ratios don't seem to be something they use much here. We'll see how they look when printed. Then we called it a night because we have to hit Customs tomorrow morning, and I think we saw the same show a couple of years ago, last time we were here. Besides, I did have a bit to tell you all. So now you are updated, and I can begin anew tomorrow in St Thomas. Linda and Maggie just called to say that they are not going to join us going to St John, because one of them needs to get on the internet for an extended period of time, and didn't want to hold us up - as our time on the island is somewhat limited. So, I'll talk to you again after we get back on American soil! Oh, and to my "land-locked servant," thanks for not killing the fish. Should I be worried...??? Anyway..... Keep Smiling!!!
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