Monday, 24 November 2025
Day at Sea 

You will note that the date at the start of today's blog is today's actual date--24 November. LFLatSea's previous report was from Lisbon on 20 November. Since departing from Portugal we have been at sea four full days and we have three and a half more sea days until we reach Hamilton, Bermuda, on Friday at noon. We remain in Hamilton until noon on Saturday and then we have two and a half more sea days until we reach Miami and Tucson on 2 December. Thus our long journey is fast approaching its end; in fact it seems very fast, for the days and nights sail by very quickly.

For now we are enjoying our days at sea. I can't call them restful because there is so much going on that rest is not really an option. Rather than sending out individual blogs on each day, today LFLatSea will present the highlights of the days we have already sailed.

After leaving Lisbon at 5:30pm last Thursday, the captain announced that we were very lucky to have left at all. A docker's strike was set to start at 6pm and any ships still in port would have to remain in port until the strike ended. That is the good news. The bad news is that the first night of the ocean crossing was very rough. Not rough enough to worry about seasickness, but rough enough to worry about falling out of bed! Fortunately, Friday morning brought much calmer seas and the passage has continued to be calm and pleasant after that one night.

Besides our usual eating and drinking, there are many on-board activities, including lectures, deck parties, fun and games, team trivia, and very good entertainment every night. We have been having most of our dinners in the Restaurant (main dining room), but every night the Colonnade, where breakfast and lunch buffets are presented, showcases thematic served dinners. We have had excellent French and Japanese meals on two different nights. Tapas are served every day from four to six in the Observation Lounge at the top of the ship.

Tapas in the Observation Lounge (left), Miso Soup with Two Kinds of Noodles (center), Japanese Dinner Menu (right)

This is my second time at team trivia on the Encore. I participated during the voyage from Rome to Lisbon and I am now on a different team as we start again from Lisbon to Miami. Will does not like to play. There are 11 teams participating every day. I was assigned to a team randomly, which has turned out to be very fortuitous. Not only are the five couples very kind and welcoming, but one of the couples--the Pillsburys--have invited the rest of the team, and Will, to a Thanksgiving Day cocktail party in their "Wintergarden Suite," one of the largest and fanciest on the ship. 

A large number of passengers left the ship in Lisbon and a whole new set of guests and servers came on board. Fortunately, our two favorite dining room attendants, Bharat and Klevi (the Armenian), are still with us. Throughout the cruise, from Istanbul onward, Klevi has been especially helpful to Will and me wherever on the ship he sees us. 

We have attended several lectures by a former  British diplomat who served in Moscow during the mid-1980s, when East-West relations were at a very low point. He has vast knowledge of the all the Russian security organizations and provides interesting insights and personal interactions with the KGB. There are at least two lectures every day on historical/political issues and two other lectures on more touchy-feely subjects.

Because temperatures have been pleasantly warm (mid to upper 60s), there have been outdoor activities as well: entertainment by the two bands on board and the ship's singers and dancers on the pool deck. Today, we had an outdoor "Fun Fair," at which passengers and crew participated in various games and tests of skills (bed-making, for example).

Some of My Team Members Getting Ready for Trivia

Passengers and Crew at the Fun Fair

LFLatSea will return with more reports from our days at sea.