Not a lot to write about today, on what was the first of five full days at sea. We would just spend the day relaxing and exploring the ship.
We were up just before eight o’clock this morning, having got over most of the jet-lag by now. We got washed and dressed and made our way up to the Windows Café for breakfast. I enjoyed some charcuterie with fresh fruit with orange juice and coffee.
We then made our way outside onto the pool deck, where the weather was cooler than we had expected in these tropical latitudes. Several of the more energetic people were power walking or jogging around the track designed for that purpose, and some were in the pool or on sun loungers.
At 9.00am I went along to the salon for my appointment to have my fringe trimmed and my hair washed and blow dried. The guy did a nice job of it, but when I went to pay, they tried to charge me for a full haircut, when all I had had was a couple of millimetres cut off my fringe. I argued the point with them so they relented and only charged me for the wash and blow dry.
Trevor had said that he would be going to a presentation in the Cabaret Lounge at 10 o’clock, so I returned to 6030, and retrieved my laptop to do some of this blog in the background while attending the talk. It was very interesting; it was all about the geography and geology of the South Pacific, and the speaker had lots of photos of mountains and volcanoes and craters, some of which we would see.
Afterwards, we just pottered around the ship for a while before looking at the “Insider” programme, which details all of the days activities, talks and events. Many of the so-called “presentations” were really just sales pitches in disguise, and everything on board was outrageously expensive, all the more so for us when there is only $1.34 to the pound.
Back in our cabin, we looked at the Future Cruises brochure, and saw a cruise with an excellent itinerary, taking in New England and Canada in the “fall”. The ports of call included Boston, Massachusetts; Portland and Rockwell in Maine, and then into Canada where we would visit Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and several places in Québec, finishing in Montréal. We decided we’d visit the Future Cruises desk after lunch and enquire about this cruise.
We enjoyed a light lunch once again; in my case I just had fresh salad vegetables and meats washed down with cold water and a pint of Heineken each. The sun was at its zenith by now and it was much warmer out on deck; in fact, you had to be careful not to burn this close to the Equator.
As we walked back through The Den on our way back to 6030, we saw that the Future Cruises rep was at the desk and no-one else was waiting, so we sat down and asked her for a price for the cruise we had spotted. We were quite happy with our current cabin 6030, so we asked her to quote based on that cabin.
We ended up booking the cruise at an excellent price. We move up a tier in the Azamara Circle (the loyalty programme) after the current cruise, and this entitled us each to four free nights on board! This meant we would only pay for eight nights of a 12-night cruise! This was in addition to our regular loyalty club discount as well as an extra 5% discount for booking on board. Of course, we would still have our flights to pay for nearer the time, but as our cruise isn’t until October 2027, we have plenty of time. As it was, we had that exciting “We’ve-just-booked-another-cruise!” feeling. 🙂
We just spent the afternoon relaxing around on the ship, browsing round the shops, wandering the decks and stopping every now and again just to stand and stare out to sea, or look for flying fish. Usually an indication that flying fish are present is when you see lots of birds, but we hadn’t seen a single bird since we’d left Lima.
At four o’clock we decided to go up to the Living Room where they were holding a music quiz; the subject today was Motown. When we arrived, we saw that Afternoon Tea was being served, so we each indulged in a warm scone with cream and jam. It was just “squirty” cream instead of Rodda’s though – there is really no comparison.
As the Living Room was fairly full, we just sat on stools at the bar, quiz paper and pencil poised ready. The first excerpt we recognised instantly as Baby Love by Diana Ross and the Supremes, but after that we didn’t do so well. Many of the songs we knew the title but not the singer – we only ended up getting 23/40. The winners scored an impressive 39.
It was then time to return to 6030 for our usual afternoon power nap before getting washed and changed for dinner. This time, we had decided to go into the Discoveries Restaurant rather than the self-service buffet; we thought that 7.00pm was a good time – not too early and not too late.
As tonight was the Captain’s Cocktail Party at 9.00pm, I decided to dress a little more smartly. Azamara ships don’t observe a strict dress code; most of the time it is “evening casual”. Nonetheless, I dressed in a long, black dress with a slit up one side with silver high-heeled sandals; I was dismayed to see that my ankles were swollen; this always seems to happen to me on cruises.
I wore my hair up with a fake, clip-on bun, and little tendrils falling around the side of my face. A sequinned silver evening clutch completed the ensemble.
We arrived at the restaurant just before 7.00pm to be allocated a table. Unlike most of the ships we cruise on, Azamara doesn’t offer set tables or set dining times, so you could sit at a different table with different people every night. Personally, we prefer the set tables/times, because we’ve had some great table mates in the past, many of whom we’ve kept in touch with.
We were shown to a table for eight and were the first couple to arrive. Presently we were joined by a lady from Norway, a couple from Australia and another couple from the USA. A proper United Nations! 🙂
The service in the restaurant was quite slow, although the food was delicious and well-presented. It was after 8.40pm before we reached the dessert stage. I passed on dessert and coffee, and told Trevor I would go along to the Cabaret Lounge and bagsy the seats in time for the Captain’s Toast at 9.00pm.
Despite the doors only having opened at 8.45pm, the lounge was pretty full, and we could only find seats near the front at the side, which meant we would be viewing tonight’s show from the side rather than the front.
Trevor arrived shortly after I sat down. Waiting staff were coming around with canapés, but when it was immediately after our dinner we declined. They then came around with cold glasses of fizz, and we each took a glass. Of course! 🙂
Then Emily, the cruise director, came onto the stage and introduced Captain Alex Dumitrescu, who hailed from Romania. He gave a little speech and introduced his senior officers one by one. Then everybody raised their glasses, said “Cheers!” and the Captain and his officers waved goodbye and filed off the stage.
Tonight’s show was called “Amped Up” and featured the singers and dancers of the show company performing well-known rock classics. It was an exuberant, high-energy show, and we enjoyed it a lot, despite only being able to view it from the back and side.
After the show we found we were quite tired, so we decided just to go back to our cabin around 10.00pm. That’s very early for us when we are on holiday!
Back on 6030, we got washed and changed in to our ‘jamas, then I left the reading light on so I could read some more of Mutiny on the Bounty for half an hour or so. Then we turned off our light and settled down for our second night on board the wonderful Azamara Onward, as she carried us further on our south-westerly course.