The thunder boomed long before the sun came up. The 70% chance of rain materialized as massive thunderstorms, the sound of which *almost* drowned out the church bells calling the faithful to mass at 7am. Given that we had gone to bed just after 9 pm last night, the 9+ hours of sleep that we did get was sufficient. We showered and wandered out to get breakfast: yogurt, pastries and cappuccino. We again forgot the European differences: cooked breakfasts are not the thing. No worries! We ate our fill including gluten free muffins and pear juice (?!) before repacking and getting ready to head out taking advantage of a break in the rain.
We stopped for another coffee at a local cafe before walking north along the harbor to catch the pier shuttle that we assumed would take us south to get to the big cruise terminal building that we could see out in the harbor but which could not walk to. But no! The bus took us to the old cruise terminal we had walked to yesterday which we assumed was nolonger in use because it’s in the middle of the industrial port and there is a big new cruise terminal. So our wander yesterday wasn’t for naught! By the time the bus arrived at the terminal, it was teeming down again. We dropped off the luggage, took care of the paperwork and trotted through the rain to climb aboard the Norwegian Jade. This ship is to be our home for the next 11 days.The room wasn’t ready yet but we could drop off the carry on luggage and head to the buffet for lunch.
Now I had made arrangements in advance for gluten free meals/assitance while on board and they did suggest that I avoid the buffet but that was what was on offer for today. So I found the chef who walked me through every dish and explained what I could and could not have. They even had gluten free bread on request! I managed with a lovely lunch of pork tenderloin, au gratin potatoes, and green salad with chocolate soft serve ice cream for dessert.
Then it was time to wander the ship and figure out where everything is. We found the pool side bar which was open even with the rain and started to take advantage of our drinks package, making friends with Ade the bartender. The rainy afternoon provided plenty of time to test drive multiple bar tenders, play some cards, grab some snacks, and unpack the cases when they were delivered to the room. We opted for the extra expense of a balcony mini-suite (cuz you only have one 30th anniversary!) and were quite pleased with the amount of space we have.
Then it was off to the required life boat drill which is nothing like what I remember from my youth. No grabbing the life jackets and reporting to the life boats where a crew member showed how to actually use the life boats. Now we just reported to our muster station (in the Irish Bar on board?) and listened to announcements in 3 languages while watching crew members show people how to put on the life jackets. Really? Okay, what ever.
We stopped at the spa to book some overpriced pampering treatments before heading back to the room to dress for dinner. One of the reasons we chose Norwegian is their “freestyle cruising” where there are no really strict dress codes or set dining tables and times. We started in the martini bar with some cocktails and listening to a mediocre jazz trio (the guitar really needed tuned) and then headed to one of the main dining rooms. We were seated with a lovely group from Toronto with whom we got along famously. I was very happy that the the first thing that the waiter asked as if anyone had any food issues. I explained about the gluten free status and was promptly given a plate of gluten free bread. Yippee! Several of the menu items were marked as GF and I had a greek chicken salad as a starter and rainbow trout for the entree. When the dessert menu came, I took a peak and assumed that the sorbet or creme brulee were my only options. When they came to take my order, the waiter told me that the chocolate lava cake was gluten free. Really? I asked several times and told the waiter if he was wrong, I was going to come visit him 3 hours later and make him miserable. Nope, he insisted. So I ordered. And you know what is coming: half way through the desert, he came and took it from me and brought a plate of fruit and the creme brulee which were the only GF deserts. AAARRRRGGGHH! I had just filled out a comment card giving them credit for taking such good care of me. That promptly got torn up and put in my purse. I’ll have to wait a little while longer to see how bad the mistake turns out to be. I may or may not mention it tomorrow.
No steps data for days at sea since there is no reason for me to take my phone anywhere so you’ll need to wait until we dock before the annoying walking tallies to continue.
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