Friday, 5 April 2024

At Sea on ms Sirena

It is noon on Friday, our last full sea day before reaching the Cape Verde Islands. Rather than individual blogs, I am posting a general description of the all the days at sea. They do seem to blend into each other. 

Tuesday-Thursday, 2-4 April 2024

Crossing the Atlantic

Now that I am caught up on the Sirena's first three ports, Jost Van Dyke, Dominica, and Barbados, I will try to sum up these first three days crossing the Atlantic to the Cape Verde Islands, where we land on Saturday morning.

The days have been pleasantly repetitive, with very smooth and calm sailing, sunny skies, warm temperatures, and good food and drink. After breakfast in the quiet of the Grand Dining Room and a visit to the Barista Bar for another cappuccino, we divide our time between a series of lectures and reading or blogging. 

There are three lecturers on this cruise, with two presentations per sea day. One lecturer, a young British Ph.D. journalist talks about the development of international communications; another young British woman focuses on the history of international tourism. A British man, with the charming name of Benedict Brain, an expert on iPhone photography and editing, rounds out the trio.

Most often we have lunch in the Waves Cafe, a smaller covered outdoor venue with a choice of hot and cold sandwiches, salad bar, fruits and desserts. There is also a selection of hot entrees. Besides the wonderful surf & turf sandwich, we have enjoyed Angus burgers, hot dogs, paninis, etc. And since we have unlimited free wine and beer at meals I have been indulging in cold Heinekens with lunch. Will sticks to Diet Coke since he has a hard enough time walking the decks with his boot and cane.

There is usually a second lecture in the afternoon, if I can stay awake after the beer. Mr Brain offers a really helpful demonstration of Snapseed, an excellent iPhone photo editing app that is free. It does most everything that I pay a monthly fee for on Photoshop.

Except for the four dinners in the two specialty restaurants, we vary dinners between service in the Grand Dining Room and an extensive buffet in the Terrace Cafe.

Will Enjoying Lunch in the Terrace Cafe

Some Chocolate Lava for Dessert

Which Would You Choose for Dessert?

Perfectly Rare Prime Rib with Horseradish Sauce for Dinner

Almost-Finished Eggplant Parmesan and Caesar Salad for Lunch

Evening entertainment varies from a solo female pop singer to a stand-up comic to a husband and wife comedy-magic team (pretty awful), to production numbers from the ship's resident singers and dances, who are actually quite talented and pleasant to look at. We don't attend all the performances, since they start at 9:30pm. The problem with the time is that every night since Barbados we have been setting clocks forward and losing an hour of sleep (we will make up those hours when we return on the westbound QM2). The shows and lectures take place in the very intimate Sirena Lounge, which serves as the theatre. It is very much more comfortable than the large, tiered arena spaces on bigger ships.

We have a busy schedule for the rest of this Friday afternoon and evening. We are sending out a third bag of free laundry to make sure it comes back before we leave the ship on Tuesday (more about our debarkation plans in a later blog). Then, of course, it's lunch in the Waves Cafe, where I hope to sample every sandwich offering before we debark. I have already had an Angus cheeseburger, a hot dog, a panini with prosciutto and mozzarella, and various salads. Will has also had a reuben sandwich.

After lunch Will is going to see George Clooney's new film, The Boys in the Boat, in the Sirena Lounge, while I work on editing photos on my laptop. We haven't yet attended daily high tea, everyday at 4:15, but today might be the day. At 5:45 I am invited to a special cocktail reception for frequent Oceania cruisers (this is number seven for me). Will is invited to a different reception on Sunday since this is only his fourth Oceania cruise. At 7:30 we have our second dinner in the Tuscan Grill. I will give all the details in the next blog.