It’s Monday afternoon as we sail north of Bermuda under sunny skies and light winds. The Eurodam made full headway on Saturday and Sunday as we cruised near top speed at 23 knots to take advantage of the fine weather. Currently we are going a little slower, but still moving at a brisk 19.8 knots. Since the sea is calm they are using only one of the stabilizers.
Sunday Evening: Captain’s Formal Dinner
The dining issue has been resolved so I will skip the details. The good news is that I am at the same table (just for me) in the dining room, this time facing in the opposite direction from last year, looking out toward the windows at the very back of the ship (no more nautical terms). At 8 pm the sky is still bright and I can watch the light dim and change to darkness by the time dinner is finished just before 9:30. The better news is that the table steward and his assistant are NOT the same ones as last year (if you’ve read my earlier blog you will remember that the waiter was a bit surly) and both promise to provide pleasant and efficient service. The best news is that Anthony, the wine steward from last year, IS back. In fact, he came to find and greet me when I was in a different area of the dining room for the first night’s dinner (of course, it pays to have left a nice extra gratuity last year).
Anthony on last year's cruise
Dinner was fresh shrimp cocktail; arugula and frisee salad with mandarin oranges, pine nuts and balsamic vinaigrette; rack of lamb—four large chops—with a creamy potato cake and ratatouille. I was tempted by the chocolate soufflé for dessert but took the smarter option of strawberry sorbet and decaf coffee.
Monday at Sea
I spent a quiet day today, relaxing and getting into the rhythm of being at sea. In the afternoon I attended a lecture, by a scholar from the University of California, tracing the historical background and current political/economic issues in Portugal. Starting tomorrow there will be two lectures per day.
Another pleasant new arrangement on this cruise is that all five time changes until we reach Portugal will occur at two in the afternoon rather than in the middle of the night—thus we won’t lose an hour’s sleep each night. So for the next week the hours from 2-3 pm simply do not exist.
It’s time for my pre-dinner nap, so I will sign off for now.
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