Time at Sea: July, 2007

Upon returning to the ship on the second night out, I quickly showered and met others at the Viking Crown Lounge for the sail away. By special request, the bartender rounded up some artificial sweeteners and made us sugar-free mojitos as an aperitif, a treat we repeated on later evenings. In the dining room we found more treats.

The second night out is usually a formal night on most cruises, but this 8-night itinerary delayed that until the third night, so we dined more casually but the meal was top notch.

We shared a couple of plates of escargot, and then I had both shrimp cocktail and some sort of appetizer based on mandarin oranges before a cup of lobster bisque and delicious chateaubriand. Sugar free coconut white cake topped off the meal.

 
After dinner, many of us headed to the 42nd Street Theater for “An Evening with Celine Dion,” an impressive impersonation by Tracey Shield of not only her vocals but also every annoying mannerism.

I am not really a fan of Celine-style music, but I grant that she sang beautifully. Julie loves Celine, and she found the total impersonation between the songs a bit too much but still enjoyed the show.

We tried to stay awake for the 70s Disco Inferno with Village People appearance at 11:30 PM, but 16-year-old Amy would not be granted admission to the Viking Crown for this party, and we were still recovering from jet-lag, so we turned in before midnight.


With no port on day three, we slept in later than we expected, missing the formal dining room breakfast.

At the Windjammer buffet, we had a terrific meal, including a ham and cheese omelet made to order. A day at sea is always fun, with trivia games, line dancing classes and just enjoying the amenities of the ship.

Splendour of the Seas features a challenging mini-golf course which we putted around several times. By challenging, I mean that some holes are almost impossible, and I’m not sure if that is by design or due to the toll taken by weather on the Splendour of the Greens making the putting surface very bumpy and uneven. It could really use to be re-furbished, but we had fun nonetheless.



Our son-in-law Laszlo took every opportunity to play. The rock climbing wall also got a lot of use when sea breezes didn’t shut it down.

We had lunch in the formal dining room as a group, and I think among the table we tried about everything on the menu, and by that I mean we all sampled everybody else’s dishes. I was quite happy with my tempura catfish, but everything else I tried was also great.

One of the highlights of the day for me was the Wine Tasting in late afternoon.

Our ship’s sommelier led us through a taste journey of different wines of the world.

My sister-in-law Jacque and her daughters Kendra and Kelsey joined Julie, Jay and I at the “cool table,” where we enjoyed more wisecracks and giggling than the other formal dining room tables.

Since my earliest memories of my nieces are of infants in diapers, it was funny to see these lovely young ladies, not to mention the handsome young man who was my baby boy, acting sophisticated as they prepare their palates with bread and cheese before sipping wine from the appropriate glasses. My brother-in-law Brooks, who doesn’t consider himself a cruise person and so didn’t come with us on this terrific trip, told me long ago to always note the alcohol percentage on the wine label, as wines lower than about 12 ½ to 13 % alcohol content have too much unfermented sugar which can lead to hangovers, so as every wine came to our table, I asked the pourer about its alcohol content.

Eventually, our pourer arrived at our table scanning the label in anticipation of the inevitable question. Only one came in low, at 11 ½ %, and no one awoke with a hangover, despite going from the wine and cheese party to the Captain’s Cocktail Party, after a change of clothes to formal wear.

The dining room menu was superb for our first formal night, including a focasia salad served family style. For an appetizer, I selected crab cakes, and for the entrée, I chose the chef’s special dish of pork chops with cranberries. I couldn’t resist the Café de Luche Cheese Cake for dessert, and it was an excellent meal at our elegant table, where everyone was decked out to the nines. On formal nights, photographers snap photos at several stations throughout the ship as well as at the dinner table.

Our big show that night was Dominick Allen, billed as a member of the legendary rock group, Foreigner.

An excellent singer, he also played some rock guitar and some big band saxophone and clarinet in a show that was more Vegas than rock show. He proclaimed his love for music and ran through several medleys showing the links between music styles. For example, he showed the roots of hip hop in big band jazz. His attempts to infuse the audience with energy were not appreciated by everyone, but when he shared the spotlight with his percussionist, who put on an unconventional drum solo, using everything from mike stands to drinks to speakers to the stage itself, it brought down the house. When Dominick got around to singing some of Foreigner’s greatest hits, the audience also responded well. I thought he put on a very good show and certainly displayed a lot of talent.

After the show, we went over to the Top Hat Lounge for a game called, “If You Know It, Sing It.” The nightclub was divided into two competing teams, and then the band would start playing a song. The first team to have someone at the microphone singing the song, won, assuming the person kept singing the song.

One of the first songs was "La Bamba,” which my oldest daughter Gina, who is fluent in Spanish, surprised everyone by knowing verbatim. I didn’t know the words, but I was among those who got up on stage and danced in support. Our team won because of the level of support offered once someone had identified the song. When a woman started singing Garth Brooks’ “Low Places,” for example, a lot of us got up and sang it with her. I don’t think any of us knew all of the words, but there is strength in numbers, so we not only carried the song but carried the day. Crete, the home island for my wife’s grandfather and the primary reason for choosing this particular cruise, would arrive at our resort the next morning, so we turned in before midnight in anticipation of an early start.