THE CRUISE - at sea, on the way to Dublin...

Day Two - Sunday, 19th June

The captain announced at one point that we would be rounding Lands End around midnight, and then setting course for Dublin, across the Irish Sea. We are scheduled to arrive on Monday morning.

The sea was so calm, and there was very little sensation of swells or anything. I don't have any idea what this part of the ocean is usually like, except when you hear horrendous stories of winter storms, etc, but our cruise would turn out to be one of the smoothest we've ever had.

This is the day when people new to this ship do their exploring and find their way about. With all these floors and different places to find, it can take a couple of days to know which way to turn. There are three major sets of lifts, one fore and aft and the middle set which connects you to the heart of the ship, and reception, and the shops, etc. There are thankfully a lot of places you can go, and find somewhere to sit, and these only got more crowded because the weather outside was a little cool on some days, so passengers were not inclined to sit out on the deck chairs.

We had to do the basic enquiries about going ashore, and money, (Dublin and Belgium do Euros, Norway does Krone, Iceland does kronur, so you either get some before you come on the ship, or buy it from reception, or just use your card in an ATM on shore. There are usually charges of one kind or another, whichever way you go, and our bank is very good with fees for exchanging foreign currency.

Then a nice lunch in one of the buffets, cold cuts and salads which were all pretty good. You have to pass you hands under a hand-wash machine EVERY time you enter the buffet food area. Not a bad idea, and we had no instances of novo virus this time, so it must help. All throughout the ship, you are encouraged to wash your hands under warm water for at least 20 seconds each time you need to. 

Lee went for the daily nana nap and I headed to the cinema to watch The King's Speech, but the theatre was full already, so I opted to sit in on a quiz being run in the atrium area. It was about Musicals and their composers, and the pianist plays a few bars, and you then have to write your answer, e.g. composer and song. And I came second (by myself), behind a team of four people!

Tonight was the first Black Tie night, and if you don't do the formal thing you are unable to go to certain parts of the ship "unless suitably attired". I have complained in my questionnaire that I thought this was discriminatory, and explained why. And besides, all those in black tie can go wherever they liked, and turned up in the buffet in their penguin outfits. What a joke!!! I must say that some couples did look very elegant, but others shouldn't have bothered. There were some ladies who probably asked their husbands how they looked and hubby didn't give an honest answer!!

So, our buffet tonight was Seafood and there is always a good selection, including Norwegian Fish Pie, seafood thermidor, and some asian style dishes. All very good but a little rich in some cases. 

It was a lovely evening and so we had more drinks outside near the pool, and were there until about 9.30pm.

Sunrise, coming into Dublin harbour - 4.00am