Sunday

The joys of sleeping in. The ship's schedule for the day was travel from Palma to Tunis on the mediterrean sea. I was lucky to have a very calm sea for the duration of the voyage and had absolutely no hints of any sea sickness. The sea itself had a very unique iridescent blue colour, that the following photograph doesn't quite capture properly.


Iridescence

So by now I think I caught up on all my jet lag. The time zone was 6 hours ahead. There a strange thing about the time when you're on the cruise ship. There is something called the ship's time and the port's time. When you arrive in a port, the locals may have a different time then the one that the ship is using. So they advise you never to ask the locals for the time. If you do miss getting back on the ship for departure time, they won't wait for you. Apparantly, you're suppose to pay your way for passage on another ship to a future cruise ship port destination. That sounds like a lot of trouble and I hope that fate doesn't befall anyone. They check you in and out of the ship everytime you disembark and embark. You're given a card for a whole week that will allow you to purchase the various goods on the ship and allow you on and off the ship.

So the first day was pretty much spent relaxing in the sun and reading. I finished "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. It was ok....wondrous creativity and a story you wouldn't believe, but end up believing and then wonder about it again by the end. I made it sound more confusing than it really is. I also started Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, and only have a few chapters left. Pretty heavy reading for a cruise, but I don't have much time to get reading in otherwise. When I'm at school or at work, there is always some other, more technical reading that unfortunately seems to take precedence.

It was also during my time in the sun, that I found out about "Cocktails of the Hour". Every hour in the afternoon, a different cocktail would go on sale (for the low low price of 1.70 pounds!). They would mix up a big bunch and then the waiters would distribute it among the passengers. This is in addition to the "Cocktail of the Day" which is featured in the daily newsletter. Yup, cruising involves lot's of alcohol and sun.

That night was "Cocktails with the Captain" night. Everyone is suppose to dress up to get their picture taken with the Captain. I had underpacked. I forgot to bring formal shoes. As a result, I looked like this:


White Shoes


While other people had tuxes and suits. I also found out that there is a minimum dress code to get into the dining hall, which I quickly found out that shorts were not allowed for men, but were allowed for women. If you ever go on a cruise, remember that you'll need clothes for the daily port excursions, clothes for chilling on the ship (ie swimwear), dressy clothes for dinner/night (remember to bring long pants) and formal wear for the days with a formal dinner (2 days/week). What a hassle. Cruise ships employ two professional photographers that take pictures at various events. The pictures they take are then posted in the picture gallery for you to peruse and if you are so inclined, to purchase. We ended up purchasing a few pricey portraits, since going to a studio would probably cost just as much. Along with meeting the Captain, we were given a glass of champagne each. I finished off my father's and part of my sister's, which when added together with my drinks in the afternoon, meant I was a little tipsy (not drunk yet though). Hmm...not a good state to be in around your parents, but could have been worse. After that, they introduced the Sunbird's Officers. I find out that the whole crew is British.

Dinner Time

Tonight was the first formal dinner. We registered for the early dinner was is held at 6:30. There is also a late dinner at 8:30. In hindsight, I think the late dinner would have been better. After coming back from the day trips, we would have to hurry off to dinner and lose out on some time in the sun. We had requested to have a table for ourselves, and we got it. Dining is fairly formal on a cruise ship. There is a head waiter that greets you and makes light conversation with the guests; head waiters, who's responsible for 3-4 tables each; an assisstant waiter, who performs functions similar to a bus boy; wine specialists, who keep your glass full; and bus boys, who bring food to and from the kitchen. The service is top notch. But something bothered me at every dinner. The fact that almost all the waiters and kitchen staff are filipino. So you have all the officers, who are british; all the waiters and kitchen staff are filipino; all the entertainers are irish; and the cabin stewards are almost all filipino. It felt strange that it was so segregrated. It felt like life on the ship was classy....classy in the sense that there are different classes of people. To me it's was an unsettling feeling. Even worse was the fact that the waiters had to sing and dance at dinner time. These are skilled waiters and they're doing song and dance. I thought it was demeaning. I was embarassed for them, even though some of them were really into it and enjoying themselves. So my guilty feelings were manifested in a weak gesture of giving a little extra tip at the end of the week. The easiest and most cowardly way out of any situation.

Anyway, about the food quality. Formal dining means that there is formal table wear.


That blue plate you see in the middle is actually taken away as soon as you sit down. It is purely decorative.

Immediately, you can start on the bread, which is slightly different every day.


Notice the butter in my sister's hand? They had extra large servings of butter.

Then you order off of the menu. There are starters, then salad, soup, main course, dessert and coffee/tea. The food presentation is very nice (which also usually means small portions). But once again, I'm going to nitpick a little. The food is not always the freshest. You can sometimes taste that the meats were frozen. The fruit is of medium quality. But once again, it can't be helped, because they can't get fresh food at the ports everyday. It didn't ruin dining by any means, but it is sometimes noticeable. One other small complaint is that the cuts of meat were of medium to low quality. But once again, I shouldn't complain since this is a discount cruiseline. The cooking is usually quite good and pretty tasty, although to my personal taste, I would have preferred a little less salt and more spice. The served jerk pork one night and it had absolutely no kick. I sound too picky, but I ate a lot. I ordered two main courses every night, and sometimes multiple starters. And yes, I'm weird for having taken these pictures.


I think that's the remains of roast pork or lamb on the left. On the right is stuffed chicken. I had forgotten to take pictures of the other stuff....because I was probably too busy eating.


Cherry Jubilee.


Chocolate Cake? These are actually other people's dessert. I didn't have dessert everyday.

Actually the entertainment for tonight was that Brit Comic. The previous day didn't have anything. Anyway, near midnight, it was the Chocoholics Buffet.


Welcome


Chocolate Breads


Chocolate goodies and the Chocolate Eiffel Tower

That's all for sunday....writing this has made me hungry...