Back from our Cruise!

We got back from our cruise on Thursday, and I'll be writing about a port a day until the blog is done...otherwise, it's just going to be too long!

DAY 1:

We left Harwich (pronounced Harrich), England on June 27. We took a bus from Victoria Coach Station to our ship! Mike and I, along with our friend Chris and Kialee, who also joined us on the cruise, polished off 3 bottles of champagne on the 2.5 hour bus ride there! What a way to start your vacation, right? Unfortunately, the bathroom on the bus wasn't in working order, so when we arrived, it was almost an emergency situation for all three of us!

When we finally sorted ourselves out at the restroom, we joined the line to check-in. This was probably the smoothest check-in we've ever had on a cruise ship. Then we headed to our rooms quickly. The room was probably a little smaller than we've had on other cruises, but we were fortunate enough to have a room with a balcony so that added to the square footage greatly!

We then went to check out our table for dinner and were really peeved to find out that we were at a table for 10 even though we asked for a table for the 4 of us. We asked for a change, but were told it wouldn't be possible until the 2nd day. No worries!

Kialee and Chris came to our room for a "Sail-Away Party". We each had gotten a bottle of champagne delivered to our rooms---Champagne count now at 5! It was gray and cloudy as we left England, but we didn't mind. Mike, Chris, and Kialee were off work for 2 weeks, and me--well, I was just happy to be out of London for awhile! Surprisingly enough, this was the last grey and cloudy day we'd see for the next 2 weeks!

When we got to dinner that night we were joined by another 2 couples...There were the Christian Youth Ministers from Albany and a couple from Portsmouth, England. We never found out what she did, but he claimed to be the "Jack Bauer" of London for you "24" fans. We came to the conclusion that if he really was "the man" in the counterterrorist unit he wouldn't be spreading it around. It made for an interesting dinner though. It was a little awkward with the Christian Ministers on the other end of the table...we really felt like we had to watch our mouths and it was just not much fun.

After dinner we went to a bar onboard and had a few drinks. We'd have 2 sea days ahead of us to get to know the ship, so we turned in pretty early.



DAY 2:




We got room service breakfast and ate watching the sea on our balcony. How relaxing! Then it was off to find out if we'd gotten our change in table. WE HAD! Praise the Lord! After we knew we had gotten that all straightened out, we went to see what there was to do that day. We attended a champagne art auction (Champagne Count: 6), participated in some trivia, and attended a wine tasting, etc. Day 2 was our first formal night and we were excited to get dressed and ready to go. Mike especially loves wearing his tux, so he was in his glory. We got dressed early and went to take some formal pictures which actually came out nicely. Then, we went to the Captain's Welcome Reception (Champagne Count: 7) and then off to our 8:30 Dinner seating. We were out our new table and were excited to see that we had a window table with just the 4 of us. What we didn't notice at first was the table of 15+ next to us. Our waiter, Dragos from Romania, came and welcomed us and told us that we and that table of 15+ were the only ones in his section. He then introduced our asst. Waiter, Royston from India and took our orders. It's important to really get to know your wait staff on these cruises because they take care of you the whole vacation. If you get to know them, and let them get to know you, the service improves. On formal nights, the cruise line suggests that men wear a jacket and tie and women wear cocktail dresses. Tuxes are optional, but Mike and Chris both opted for them. Unfortunately, not many people really took the "suggestions". When the large table next to us arrived them were all slobbily dressed and VERY demanding of our waiters. They were even slipping mickeys in their drinks which is against ship policy. Dragos explained that they were Colombian and that it was in their culture to do that...not sure I get that though. That night we went to the first song and dance show. How can I sum it up? The singers were piss poor! The leading male reminded me of Jack Black in "School of Rock"...he even looked like him! The dancers were better, but the show really suffered. The one shining moment of the show was when the Cruise Director, Bobby Brown (That was his name, I kid you not), auctioned off several things for the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation. Between pre-dinner champagne, wine with dinner, and now drinks at the show, Mike and I were "Happy" to make a donation. We set our limit at $150 and finally won something--The Galley Tour. Chris and Kialee also made a donation and would be able to join us--More on the Galley Tour on Day 10.

Day 3: More of the same as Day 2. This was another sea day as we were going all the way to Lithuania on one shot. Trivia, Seafood Shack, Buffets, Bars, Name that Tune, etc.