At Sea: Thank goodness, another day of rest. This old gal really needed it after being on her feet and on/off that bus all dang day yesterday. We slept late, Dave rode the outdoor exercise bike for an hour and we had coffee in our room. There is an espresso machine in our room, and a proper tea kettle and a nice variety of fancy English tea. The ship also provide two liters of still or sparkling water to your room daily and it is replenished constantly. (There are numerous stations aboard the ship where you can refill your own water bottles - very nice insulated water bottles given to each guest - with still or sparkling water. The filtered water is provided via Culligan.)
Today was Easter and the crew were serving a proper a brunch. I don't know if they have a brunch every Sunday or not, as this was our first Sunday on the ship, or because of Easter. The brunch was held in the "buffet" - but as I said, there is no buffet on this ship. All the food stations are served by staff. Today, in addition to the usual salad stations, burger station, sushi, charcuterie, breads, etc., there was an omelet bar and a taco bar! I haven't had a taco in two weeks and there may have been some sort of withdrawal happening. The carving station had a pork roast, whole chicken, and a rolled ribeye stuffed with spinach. Explora does not mess around when it comes to food.
Of course, due to Easter Sunday, the dessert station was on chocolate steroids, with a fabulous array of sweet treats for adults and children alike. Dave even found a pretty slice of carrot cake.
coated in gold dust and filled with crunchy caramel balls.
Oh, we were really having a fun brunch today, sitting in the sunshine enjoying being waited-on like we were the King and Queen of the Mediterranean. Then they began serving a "brunch" drink with gin, mandarin orange juice, rosemary - topped with a splash of tonic.
After this feast, we walked for a bit, then I grabbed my stitching, Dave grabbed his book, and we went up to Deck 12 to enjoy the view of Sicily as we passed by.
We can't figure how this ship is taking so long to go so few (360) miles. Dave clocked the ship at 9 mph today. We are basically coasting to Messina, Sicily. At times we were so close to the coastline, we had cellular service on our phones. The afternoon passed by quite nicely, much stitching happened and it was fun to watch the trays of the orange/rosemary drink flying off the bar! Apparently the special Easter cocktail was a hit!
Afternoon tea served in the observation lounge on Deck 11 at 4p. It was quite proper too. Scones, finger sandwiches, and the same nice English tea we have in our cabin.
Though Leo was still in bed early this morning in Los Angeles, we were able to FaceTime with Lucile for a few minutes. She was very excited to be going to the mall with three friends (and one parent) and was having lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Life doesn't get any better than that for a ten year old.
And then it was time for dinner. After that tea time feast, we just had appetizers in the Mediterranean Yacht Club dining room, and called it an early night. When we returned to our room, we found a six-inch tall chocolate bunny, leaning on a yellow Easter egg, under a glass dome.
Where it will forever remain.
There was a Formula I car racing program from Saudi Arabia shown on the massive screen above the pool, but we missed it - dang. (NOTE: next month, this ship will board Formula I fans and the Explora II will sail to Monaco and will serve as a floating hotel during the Grand Prix.)
(PS: Mt. Etna blew-up a bit last night.)
When we arrived for dinner, the man seating us asked if we had a good day. Dave told him we didn't even leave the ship. It took a second, but the man finally laughed.
MORE SHIP NOTES: This ship can hold about 900 passengers, but there is rarely a soul in the elevator when the door opens. There are always empty seats in the bars and restaurants. You can easily find a chaise lounge at the pool. No problem finding a table in the food court. We were thinking this ship can not be even close to capacity... but we were wrong. This afternoon, at the excursion desk, trying to decide upon other adventures in our next ports, Dave asked the agent the number of passengers. We learned this ship currently held about 800 passengers. Dave and I couldn't figure how even 100 additional passengers could ever make this ship seem crowded. This is very good crew-to-passenger ratio and very good use of space.
Pedometer: 7,826 steps. No idea how I walked that many steps without leaving the ship. I am happy for the "rest" as tomorrow will be another big walking day.
Until my next update, I remain, your rested correspondent.
LINKS:
Explora II
Current Ship Location
Monaco Grand Prix