Rock and Roll - The Storm Begins

Well it started overnight with some major motion in all directions.  This morning it’s sunny and if it wasn’t moving so much it would be beautiful with huge waves and swells forming around the ship.  Here is a quick photo from my cabin.  It doesn’t come close to doing it justice.  I’m recharging the video camera: this has to be captured to appreciate it.  

As I mentioned on an earlier post, mid ship is supposed to be best.  My cabin is close and it’s definitely better than the front and rear.  I was actually a bit hungry so took a shower (that was interesting), went and had some toast and coffee in the Windows restaurant in the back.  It was really rolling.  Just before I went up they had called a “starcode” for the crew in the restaurant which apparently means a medical emergency.  I heard somebody fell and might have broken something.  People there said at one point a whole bunch of people fell.  Didn’t stop them from eating though, the restaurant was surprisingly busy! And the one older man that I had seen running every day, was up on the top running track doing his laps.  He really has to be nuts, the way it’s moving and the strong gale force winds, he’s lucky if he doesn’t go overboard.

The Captain usually updates at noon, but he just came on at 10:15 to give an update.  He said the winds were up to 40 knots at night and are now down to 25 or so.  The forecast is for the winds to moderate by midnight but there could still be swells after that.  He also asked people to not go on the running track due to the winds and the motion.  He says “it’s all perfectly manageable”, isn’t that good to know!

Should be an interesting day.  In the meantime, this update is brought to you by the good people who make “Avomine” for without it, I’m sure I’d be lying in bed moaning!  It’s really too bad you can’t buy it Canada.  Talk to your UK friends if you are ever going on a cruise!

Evening update

It’s funny how some things come back to you.  So far for lunch I had eaten every day in the buffet or on the pool deck.  It has been very nice, especially because I was able to sit out with the nice weather.  But today, the outside tables were full so I decided to try the main dining room for lunch.  For food and overall dining experience, you can’t compare the buffet vs a nice sit-down restaurant.  For lunch today I had the grilled eggplant stack with soft buffalo mozz and shave radicchio followed by a nice veggie pasta with olive oil, pine nuts, fresh grated parm, served nice and hot - exactly what I was in the mood for.  When I have gone to the buffet for lunch, I try to take food at a buffet that will go well together, for example yesterday was the veggoe Thai green curry and some rice noodle salad.  It was fine but today’s lunch was a better match.  Add to that the included wine (today a couple glasses of a nice white chard from California), a nice view of the water, and it was a very pleasant meal.  It made me wonder why I had rushed through the buffet in previous days.  Part of it, I think, is due to traveling alone.  “Let’s get some food in me and get back to it.” To what exactly I’m not sure.  But the point is it really is nice to have a slow(er) sit down lunch.  I think I had come to the same conclusion last year, about this point in the voyage.  I have not yet done the buffet for dinner and now hereby pledge that I will not do that on this trip!

I may not have mentioned this before, but Azamara does not have any formal nights.  I sometimes like to dress up for dinner but the casual atmosphere works our very well in many ways.  While you do get some who dress casually, most do dress up a little for dinner, though you won’t see many suits.  But I also think it makes for a nicer atmosphere with the crew.  You find most tables interacting with the crew, asking them where they are from and so on.  On a formal night on Cunard, with everyone in their black tie best, it wasn’t happening.  I believe the crew appreciate being treated like that and, in turn, provide better service.  I could be wrong but the service is very good here but it doesn’t feel forced.

Tonight I tried one of the specialty restaurants, Prime C, the steak house.  Yes I know, why would you go to a steakhouse. Well, there are two restaurants on board in addition to the main dining room.  One is a French/seafood restaurant called “Aqualina” and the other Prime C.  Both, however, offer vegetarian options.  Despite an extra $25 I tought Prime C was worth a try. I liked the menu and the room was really nice, dark woods and very relaxing.  The food was very good, I especially liked the spicey butternet squash soup and the stilton bread soufflé (which was a side dish).

I left stuffed and went to caberet show, a musical called Café Amore.  It was, indeed , a bit cheesy but they did a nice job for young entertainers.

Oh and as I was having a pre-dinner glass of wine in the Looking Glass Lounge, they started music trivia.  I don’t play right?  Well the first two were so easy I got a card and played along.  The winner got 34 out of a possible 40 points, I had 29 1/2.  Not bad but I don’t think I will be playing again….but who knows!

It’s now after 9 pm and the ship is starting to hit the weather we’ve been hearing so much about.  They have completely emptied the pool which I take as a bad sign.  The captain even said something to the effect of “don’t worry we have options, I wouldn’t want to put the ship in undue harm.”   Huh?  But at the moment, you can tell the seas are a bit rough but the ship seems to be doing fairly well.   I’ve also heard from the crew that he’s quite conservative as a captain.  I’ll strap myself to the bed tonight just in case!

April 24, fifth sea day

The fifth full day at sea today at it’s a warm one, 19 degrees.  The wind is down too, or more accurately, coming from behind us, which made it pleasant for a run/walk on the jogging track.  In fact, it’s quite humid, must be thanks to the southern route we’ve taken: we are north of the Azore’s now.  Because of the nice weather, the track was full of joggers and runners.  I started running but it was too crowded to jog continuously so I jogged when there was space and walked otherwise.  I did 6 kms and glad I did.  Yesterday I did very little in the way of exercise and needed to break a sweat.  Yesterday morning there was a spinning class in the fitness centre at 9.  I went there, set up the bike and got on for a warm up before the glass.  But the ship was pitching quite heavily and it was obvious that I wouldn’t enjoy the class.  I ended up spending the morning in the sun.  Lunch yesterday was outside and it really could have been a Caribbean cruise: warm, sunny and the water looked turquoise.

Entertainment has a been a bit hit and miss to me.  The singing/dancing didn’t do much for me but last night was a comedian and he was quite good.   There is a full schedule of activities every day though I haven’t done too much of it.  One of the big past times on cruise ships seems to be trivia.  I don’t know why but when people step on a ship they seem to be overcome with the desire to play it.  There’s team trivia, music trivia, cumulative trivia…it goes on and on. 

No time change today which is nice, but we brace for the rough weather.  The Captain said he expects the wind to pick up later tonight and through tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Bad weather coming...

The bad news is that we won’t be able to avoid the bad weather.  The Captain informed us we will probably have 24 hours of near gale force winds with some large swells.  He suggested taking sea sickness meds if you are susceptible.  I’m hoping I will have enough in me already to pull through it.  It could be the one day I cut back on eating, which wouldn’t be a bad thing!  But I really have no idea what to expect, either from how the ship will react or how I will feel.  There has been a lot of movement so far, much more than I got last year.  This is clearly demonstrated by the pool that has lost a lot of water from all the sloshing about.  It’s making the deck around it quite slippery.  Many people are having trouble with the movement already so it could be rough on many of us.

But in spite of upcoming bad weather, it’s been very nice so far.  Today, the temperature is 18 but out of the wind, it feels much warmer than that.  I sat out and got some sun for an hour or two this morning. Our closest land is now the Azores, about 380 miles to the south east.  We have 1900 miles to go.  We moved our clocks ahead again for the third straight day at noon.  People are polarized on this one, some love it some hate it.  I find it seems to push the meal times together more than I would like.  But it’s not bad to do it during the day.  I never like turning it ahead as the last thing you do before going to bed.  This gets it out of the way early in the day.

So a few random thoughts at the midpoint regarding the things I think Azamara does well:

- Little things that are included like bottled water, good coffee (cappuccinos etc).

- Wine with lunch and dinner are included and are decent.

- Keep your room stocked with fresh fruit and flowers.

- Non-smoking policy.  I’m sure it won’t be long before all ships are like this but here there is only a small outdoor spot for smokers.  Many lines still allow it in the stateroom which surprises me.

Just a quick update for now.  Hope you are all doing well.

Changing weather

As I mentioned in the last post, the weather started very grey, but it’s been changing by the hour.  I sat out and finished my first book.  The spot I chose this time was on what is close to a promenade deck as they have on this ship.  It doesn’t go all the way around the ship, it’s really just the two sides.  But they have some deck chairs out with blankets to keep you warm.  Today you don’t really need the blankets as it’s 19 degrees out.  Anyway, I gave it a try on the starboard side which is where the sun would be if it came out.  But there was a mist from the sea, I think likely from the fairly large waves the ship is making as it lurches forward and pitches up and down in the swells.  That along with the strong wind was getting everything wet.  So I went to the other side and found it to be dry.  This deck is quite nice to take in the sea, especially as it starts to generate more and more whitecaps.  It’s definitely getting interesting as I sit there, some large splashes as the ship hits the water in a swell, the Captain refers to it as “slight to moderate” seas.  From this vantage point, you feel quite close to the water and are able to appreciate its force.  I don’t want it to get rougher but it is very impressive to see and feel the waves.  The Captain was somewhat evasive today in terms of the rough weather that’s up ahead.  He said he still considers it a long range forecast but it has improved slightly.  

I have to say that I’m feeling good so far.  I think it’s a combination of taking Avomine everynight since New York plus having my stateroom in the middle of the ship.  You feel the motion the most in the front of the ship and it’s greatly reduced in my room.  I actually like the motion that exists…maybe getting my sea legs?  We are currently still travelling at 18 knots and have about another 2300 miles to go.

Oh and the book I finished?  The Hunger Games.  Didn’t like the whole pretext of it.  I guess that’s the point to draw us in to the follow on books but doubt I will read them.  It

I joined a texas hold-em tournament but any luck I had, ended after the first night.  There were only 4 of us there but I was the first to exit.  I went for an espresso instead.

Tonight the entertainment is a magician/comedian.  Can’t say the entertainment has done that much for me yet.  The jazz band is ok, and they played again during the brunch.

Glad to see my Ottawa Senators are doing well and my hockey pool pick of the Ottawa goalies contributed some points for me!  I’m holding hope that they will still be playing when I’m back in Canada.    I logged on last night after dinner to check the score.  We don’t get Canadian TV though there is MSNBC, CNN and Fox from the US and Sky and BBC from the Uk.  What’s nice though is that each day we get a little 4 page printout of the news and sports from our country.  So I could have waited and read about the hockey there in “The Canadian.”  Interesting they also highlight the weather in Ottawa.  Could they actually print out a version for each guest?

Finally congratulations to Sandra who sent me an email saying she ran a 5km run in sub 25 mins!  Fantastic time but not surprising given her determination!

Sunday morning

I never should have mentioned that I hadn’t seen a cloud.  This morning when I awoke it was completely cloudy which makes the sea look more like you would expect the Atlantic to look: grey and ominous.  Still, there are only slight seas so pretty much the same gentle rocking motion.  I kept my balcony door open last night so I could hear the waves generated by the ship.  The sound was great and also provided some fresh air into the room. 

My exercise yesterday was walking for ½ an hour on the jogging track.  There are walkers most of the time there and I think running would make them feel uneasy, always having to watch for someone running behind them.  The walk was nice anyway with the sun and the nice views.   Today instead I went to the fitness centre and started out on the treadmill.  One thing you should be able to count on when using a treadmill: it doesn’t move.  With the pitching of the ship it made for a very strange experience.  One stride would seem fine but the next would send me forward and I’d brace myself on the front control panel.  I felt quite stupid (as well as a little afraid of doing some damage) so I shifted to the elliptical trainer.  Better.  The fitness centre is very nice, at the front of the ship with large windows giving lots of light.

As I finished up the sun made an appearance but it doesn’t look like it will last.

Some thoughts about the people on board.  It’s a very unpretentious group, very easy to start up a conversation with anyone.  I didn’t mention that on Friday evening, in the lounge before dinner, I met a couple, Wayne and Joanne from Virginia and ended up having dinner with them.  He’s a retired Army Colonel and they have a sun working in Paris, just happens to be named Rob.  It was a great dinner.  Last night, the ship put on a dinner for solo travelers, hosted by the cruise director Tony.  I attended that too and it worked out great.  There were 11 of us there, five men, six women, and mainly around my age.  Tony is a funny guy, a Brit who has been working on ships for 30 years and, not surprisingly, met his wife on board.  She was supposed to attend but ended up helping out at one of the other events on the ship.

Today there is a Sunday "Jazz Brunch".  Probably should have spent more time in the gym!

Noon update

One of the worst parts of travelling east is losing hours.  The first two nights we didn’t adjust clocks at all which I found surprising.  Today, we advanced one hour, and we did it at noon.  I’m really not sure why they did it during the day instead of night but perhaps there is method to their madness.  Will see if it makes the change more manageable tomorrow.  We have to advance another 5 hours before getting to France so if it is easier, I’m all for it.  Even though I’ll be at sea for 8 days, it feel like I’m denied those 6 hours!      

We are continuing almost due south in the hope of avoiding the nasty weather.  The Captain informed us that we are currently travelling at just over 18 knots, or 20 mph.  That’s about as fast as this ship goes.  It’s not terribly fast but it gives him the chance to slow down later to avoid the bad weather if needed.  The good news is that the next 3 days should be similar to this: sunny and calm.  I’ve already been able to sit out more on this trip than I did the entire trip last year.   

New favorite spot is on the sun deck at the front of the ship.  It’s sheltered from the wind and with the sun shining, it’s quite warm.  There are a few people out but it seems to be a bit of a secret.  Here’s a photo of it:

And a photo taken from the Looking Glass lounge I mentioned on an earlier post: