What Do You Do on a 21 Day Cruise?

 Well, there are shore excursions, but I have told you about the ones we took, and Malaga (Spain,) Casablanca (Morocco,) Dakar (Senegal,) Recife and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil,) which were cancelled.  Valencia, Spain, was added, as was Madeira and Cape Verde.  That still leaves a lot of time.

The short answer is EAT!  And, you do not have to cook or wash dishes!  You have trained chefs preparing a wide variety of dishes, and you can eat as much or as little as you want.  That presents a problem when you get on a scale.  Oh well, eat, drink and be merry, for next week we diet.

There is no shortage of places to eat.  The largest is The Restaurant, which is just as it sounds.  There is a menu which changes every day, but there are also favorites which are always available.  We eat here the least.

We have unlimited access to the specialty restaurants, Manfredi's and Chef's Table.  Manfredi's has a menu featuring Italian cooking, with a fish of the day and a pasta of the day.  There are soups, appetizers, side dishes, desserts, and 6 or 8 main dishes to choose from.  The only problem is that the portions are huge.  The chef visited our table and said that it is the Italian way.  I usually order a half portion and still have trouble finishing it.  This is probably most like a fine dining experience at home.

The Chef's Table is our favorite of the specialty places.  The menu changes every 3 days.  This is a five course meal with wine selected to enhance 4 of the courses.  First there is the dish to arouse your appetite, then the First Course.  This is followed by the "Granite," (pronounced gran-ee-tay), an ice of several flavors blended.  This is followed by the Main Course, a fish or meat to match the theme of the meal.  Finally, the dessert.  The portions are beautifully presented and of a size that does not overwhelm you.  

Several of the wall pictures are "moving" pictures.  The one shown below starts as bare branches, the buds slowly form and develop into flowers.  Then the petals fall and the sequence starts again.  Other pictures show flowers growing or underwater scenes with plants growing and swaying in the current.  So far we have had evenings featuring the Route of the Indies highlighting spices that were introduced to Europe by early explorers, a California menu, Xiong (oriental) and Norwegian.  They are all good.  

The Pool Grill serves hamburgers, including the Pancho   

Villa with guacamole and the Viking Burger with cheese 

and round bacon.  They come with salad and French 

fries or onion rings.  They also have chicken, hot dogs 

and a salad bar.  Small tables are located near the 

pool area.

The Wintergarden is also on deck 7.  This is a nice quite place to relax and read or knit or whatever way you like to relax.  Every afternoon on sea days they serve High Tea.  The menu features many (25+/-) types of tea, including herbals and decaffeinated.  Then they bring out a selection of tiny sandwiches, some open-faced, and small cookies and tarts.  You are served a pot of hot water, a container which sits on top of the pot which holds whichever tea you have chosen.  You pour the water and let it steep to your liking and enjoy.

    

Mamsen's

Also on deck 7 is Mamsen's, named after Torsten

Hagen's (owner) grandmother.  They serve breakfast, including waffles, cheese, fruit, and rolls.  In the afternoon they have open faced sandwiches, and in the evening they have soup and fancy cakes.

The first deck bar also has pastries all day long.

The last place I will mention is the one where we eat most of our meals, the World Cafe.

The buffet is arranged in 3 sections, cold which includes fruit and cheese.  In the evening it has scrimp, crab and sushi as well as salad.  The hot area has scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, rice, French toast, vegetarian items, eggs benedict, baked beans, oatmeal, conchae (rice cereal dish) and an omelet station.  There is usually some special egg preparation, such as baked eggs with ham.  The last section has breads, a toaster, coffee cake, and rolls.

At noon, the cold section features cold vegetables, several salads and freshly made-to-order chef's salads.  The hot area has vegetables, starches, prepared dishes like lasagna, meat with various sauces and a carving station.  There are also vegetarian selections.  Everything is labeled as to whether it contains milk, eggs or gluten.  There is also a main dish you can order, such as grilled shrimp.

In the evening the cold area has shrimp, king crab legs, octopus salad and several kinds of  sushi.

The last area has breads and fancy desserts and cookies as well as an ice cream/sorbet section.

The other side of the deck has an identical food selection, except they have fresh pizza and fewer desserts.