September 28, 2016

Today was a Sea Day en route to Cadiz, Spain, where we are docked tomorrow. Overnight, the clocks returned to Spanish time, one hour forward, as the ship sailed south along Portugal’s west coast.

We were up on deck 14 before the 8:15 a.m. sunrise for our morning walk on the walking track. The temperature was 18 C with some wind and a clear sky. There was a bit of roll to the ocean.  The ship turned toward the Mediterranean Sea as the ship passed Cape St. Mary in Portugal’s Faro municipality.  After walking two and half miles, we stopped for cappuccinos, then returned to the stateroom to get ready for breakfast in the dining room before it closed at 9:30. We had a lot of events in the morning.  Starting at 10 was a Back Stage Tour Party specifically for passengers that have accumulated more than 75 days of cruising with Celebrity Cruises. About 40 passengers took in the tour. The theater cast started rehearsals in mid June and joined the ship at the beginning of August for performances until January 20th. The stage has elevated areas that can drop three metres and rise about two metres. The stage height reaches from deck 3 to deck 6 to accommodate tall scenery and aerial acts.  The 18 person crew consists of dancers, singers, production manager, costume caretaker and technical personnel.  The process of costume changes during the production shows was intriguing.  We saw the just off stage area, where the quick costume changes are done, as well as dressing rooms, the costume room and the area where costumes are repaired and cleaned.  Next at 11, the chief sommelier hosted a private wine tasting in the Silhouette  dining room, which had an attendance close to 100.  The Silhouette dining room features a glass enclosed wine cellar which is two decks high. Each level contains 663 bottles.  For every two week cruise, almost 30,000 wine bottles are loaded on to the ship.

After lunch there was a Captain’s Club Event with free drinks and canapés.  A duo provided music for the hour long event.  The ocean swells were a bit deeper this afternoon, about two meters, but the ship did not rock very much.  By mid afternoon the temperature was 24, but the wind was strong and felt cool.  Later in the afternoon, there was a presentation about Malaga’s history. The ship spends two days there, after we leave Cadiz.  From 5:30 to 6:30 there was a Ballroom Dancing hour in the Grand Foyer.  The dance floor, about 12 square meters, is squeezed between the Grand Staircase and the elevators.  Tonight a photographer was taking photos of people, sometimes in groups of 20, posing on the staircase, while others carrying drinks were cutting across the dance floor, making dancing quite difficult.

This evening was the specialty dining room event, in the Tuscan Grill, for the Carlson Wagonlit group of 22. There were two tables one of eight the other with 14.  We sat with Linda, Phil, Jarrod, Christine Bonnie and David.

 The menu was extensive.  Our group opted to sample a bit of all the appetizers and the side dishes. There were bread to be dipped in olive oil and fresh basil with balsamic vinegar added later, cheeses and Italian cold cuts, olives, plus four different kinds of pasta, mashed potatoes, steamed spinach and cooked eggplant.  Most people ordered the filet mignon, although rib eye steak and fish were also ordered.  The dessert menu included Tiramisu, spumoni donuts and Fig gelito.  Finishing with cappuccino or hot specialty coffees like Irish Coffee.  Dinner finished in time to hurry to the other end of the ship to see the production show tonight called Elysium.  It was a musical about nature showing all four seasons.  We had seen the elaborate costumes in the costume room.  The lead female singer wore a flowery dress with fabric flowers sewn on which weighs about 6 kg.  We could image the logistics of the costume changes that had been explained in the morning tour as we watched the show. We stopped at Café al Bacio for frappes after the show and were joined by Ursula and Reiner.

Today we logged 6.6 miles.