Fun Day at Sea- Day 2

Day 2 began with waking up with rough seas. It didn't bother me at first but by the end of the day I was pretty tired of it. So, we got up and went for a walk on the top deck to try and work off some of the food we planned on eating. Then we headed to the formal dining room for breakfast. They served breakfast in the dining room and as a buffet on the lido deck. We typically chose to eat at the dining room because it was nicer and they had eggs benedict that the buffet did not have. Also, they had baked apples for a starter and stewed bananas and whipped cream for your pancakes and waffles so I liked that. Everything was presented nicely, they would even cut up your banana for you.
After breakfast Rachelle and I went to a Travel and Adventure talk by our cruise director. He reviewed all our excursion options at our stops and gave us some facts about them as well as shopping tips.
After that we met up with the guys and headed to lunch on the lido deck. Along with hamburgers and hot dogs, and 2 other buffet lines, they also have a new theme for lunch every day. Today it was Indian so I didn't try that but I'm sure it was good.
After lunch Rachelle and I went to a Champagne Art Workshop in one of the lounges. The cruise has many different works of art on board from Rembrandt to Picasso to Peter Max. They had all different pieces on display and the art expert on board talked about the different eras and medias that the artists used. It was like a mini art history class with free champagne.
Next came a nap then I met Rachelle for tea time. Now this was probably my least favorite experience. As stated in previous blogs, I love having tea so I was very excited they had a tea time. First of all, tea was held in the Neon Bar. All I have to really say is "bar". Whatever queen started tea over in England probably just rolled over in her grave when they put the tea ritual in a bar, but that aside, this bar was covered in neon signs- they were everywhere and they were all ON. Then, we sat at a table in the middle of the room. We were served tea rather quickly and then they started to bring out the tea snacks. We got a smoked salmon sandwich first. i'm not a big fan of smoked salmon but i thought i should eat it because it was part of the experience. Next we watched as the servers served every other table but ours the rest of the snacks. It was like they started with the table next to us, walked all the way around the room and ended with the table on the other side of us. I finally got fed up and walked to the cart where they had placed the trays before they took them around and picked up some cucumber sandwiches and a muffin thing. Later a server finally stopped by the table and we asked for the beautiful scones and cream they were passing around earlier and they were out. Not happy about that but that's okay.
We met up with the guys so they could have a pre-dinner snack then started getting ready for formal night. On a 5 night cruise there is one "formal" night. Our guys were in sports coats and we were in cocktail dresses. There was a captains welcome party where we were introduced to the captain and the only time where the drinks were free. It was crazy really, if you had a 1/2 full drink on your table they would walk by and give you another one. Plus there were appetizers. None of us were feeling great at that point, the ship had been rocking all day and I think it had finally caught up with us. We had about 30 minutes before our dinner seating so we found one of the 30 something photo stops and had formal pictures made. They were super cheezy next to a piano with a rose and champaign glasses but it was fun. They actually turned out really good but the ship was quite proud of them so we didn't purchase any. Really, all the photos the ship photographers turned out good, I was really impressed with them.
We headed to dinner but at that time we really didn't feel well so I just got soup and fruit and tried to feel better. Our waitress said it was the first time she had someone not order a main dish.
We went back to the room and got into bed hoping to feel better by the show (it was supposed to the a musical review show but it was canceled due to rough seas so it was a comedy show instead). We didn't make that which was okay but I was really upset that we missed the midnight buffet. This was Grand Gala night where the buffet is a work of art and it was supposed to be really amazing but we missed it. oh well, a little seasick medicine and off to sleep.

Here is our sign and sail card and the deck plans of the boat.
Here is a view of the main corridor leading to bars, casino, internet cafe, and lounges.

Mike and Cory had a soft drink card that gave them unlimited soft drinks throughout the trip. The only place to get the soft drinks is at one of the bars every 10 feet so here we are at the atrium bar.


Here is the main Lido deck at dusk. I'm sure we were enjoying a pre dinner snack here.