Since this is a cruise that effectively had only one sea day (today) it seemed like all the on-ship tours such as Bridge, Galley and Backstage that one normally scatters across as many days on a transatlantic crossing all needed to be jammed into the last remaining day on this voyage.
Yes, I can read and recognize that Day 2 was a sea day. However, since it is the day after boarding there is absolutely no way either a concierge or loyalty ambassador could get replies from everyone, much less schedule anything on that first day.
I had actually signed up for all three adventures around the ship but wound up attending only Bridge and Galley since the backstage tour was at the same time as a Sushi class in Izumi’s.
Bridge –
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- computer schematic
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- yet another flow chart
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- paper map plotting
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- bridge wing with controls
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- a “captain’s chair” put out for photo ops.
where we were escorted around, met the first officer, wandered out to the open bridge wing before coming back in.
Sushi interval in Izumi’s where a small group of us were instructed on two different rolls-
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- the initial set up
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- seaweed + rice layer flipped
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- tempura shrimp added
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- rolled
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- three layers
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- plus “crab”
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- two rolls + shrimp
Galley –
this ship has pretty close to the original galley which means that they are lacking in all the modern and fancy electronic cooking devices. The areas are smaller than corresponding areas on many of the same class ships. Makes for a good first ship for young cooks. The areas on Deck 4 & 5 support not just the Main Dining Room but the Windjammer, Chef’s Table and a portion of Chops in addition to room service.
There was also the slight matter of changing cabins from the luxurious upgrade that Royal had inflicted on me (oh, waaah I can hear all of your saying). I head to the back of the ship tomorrow and will have my corner balcony in which to enjoy both sailing in and out of Venice on the next leg + the view going through the Suez.
