December 27, 2017: Sea Day #1
Sunrise 05:24 am * Sunset 8:21 pm | Evening Attire: Smart Casual
After a whirlwind of activities for almost a week, we were very happy to come upon our first sea day. We thought it as a great opportunity for rest, but who were we kidding? we were up and at’em as the saying goes and although not a port of call, filled our day with #CelebrityLife activities.
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This morning we opted to venture down to the Tuscan Grille for breakfast (08:00 – 10:00 am) for the Captain’s Club breakfast (Elite loyalty status and above). Although we are very happy to have breakfast in BLU, we wanted to experience what the CC breakfast was about. In addition, our CC Hostess had mentioned there were very few customers visiting the breakfast, so we thought we would offer our support to this great Elite perk. We were the first table to be seated and only two other tables were seated after us, before we departed just before 9 am. The breakfast was continental buffet style and offered a nice selection of fruits, cheeses, cold cuts, yogurt, pastries (e.g., croissants/danishes), smoked salmon, bagels, cream cheese, etc. Specialty coffees, teas, smoothies, and cocktails were also offered.
Following breakfast, we proceeded to the Celebrity Theatre for a “Beyond the Podium” lecture series. Our first guest speaker was Astronomer Dan Benedict. He spent approximately 45 minutes explaining what we could expect to view in the Southern Hemisphere skies during our travels throughout the South Atlantic. It was a very interesting lecture to attend. Anthony was able to download an iPhone app after the lecture that Dan had recommended for this trip. Dan also mentioned that pending weather conditions, there could be the possibility of “Night Sky” watching as a group, for up to 45 minutes of “lights out” on the ship to minimalize the light pollution and enjoy the skies. The only problem was the gorgeous moon that will be full on January 2nd and is currently lighting up the night sky as is (almost half full moon). We are to watch the Celebrity Today for potential night events.
Our initial morning intentions was to listen to Dan’s lecture, attend the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet, and then return for the Mickey Live lecture – but we clearly didn’t have enough time for all three. Considering that we have never attended the Beyond the Podium South American lectures and we have attended every Meet & Greet that we have been invited to – the lectures trumped the M&G.
We remained seated, were served nice cold water from the Theatre attendants and within a few minutes, Mickey Live was starting his lecture on the port of Puerto Madryn, Argentina (next stop!). Mickey went through the different areas that were outside of the port which he had considered areas all worth visiting.
Following Mickey’s lecture, we went to one of our favourite areas of the ship, “Cafe el Bacio” where we enjoyed a latte with new friends, Marcel & Julia (Germany).
At 12 noon, we went to the Photo Gallery 4 to listen to the free Digital Photography Seminar, but after approx. 10 minutes decided it was not for us. Great for beginners! (useful tips and techie language explained); but we decided to move on to some lunch.
We then opted for a light lunch fare at the Aqua Spa Cafe on Deck 10. The Aqua Spa Cafe (open to all guests) has pre-set plates for a quick & easy light fare. We enjoyed the Asian Udon noodles plate, as well as the Caprese Salads 🙂
Following lunch, we decided to try one more free seminar, this time in the Rendez-vous Lounge on Deck 4. It was an iLearn Class (from the Apple Geeks) entitled, “Discover the Magic of iPhone and iPad”. The lounge was packed! and the information received from the IT Manager was excellent. Some basic info, but then some really handy tips! including and introduction to Airdrop – something neither of us have utilized before. We really enjoyed this seminar. Unfortunately, we found out that any future seminars later in the cruise would come with a “fee”. Likely worth the info received, but there are so many Celebrity activities to be involved in, as well as socializing with new friends 😉
At 2 pm was we moved to the Cellars Masters (Deck 5) for our first Wine Event that was recommended by our BLU Sommelier. The event was “World Wine Tour” and featured 12 different wines from around the world (Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, and California, USA). The wine tasting had approximately 4 stations that you went to and the event also offered a buffet style table of cheeses, dried fruits, and appetizers. We were given a numbered sheet of all the different wines and could make notes of our experiences. This was the first of 5 wine events that we signed up for, each event being on a separate Sea Day at 2 pm.
December 28, 2017: Sea Day #2
Sunrise 05:31 am * Sunset 8:50 pm | Evening Attire: Smart Casual
Today was a quiet day for Celebrity activities, we only had one on our radar and that was the “Blendtique Wine Blending Workshop” that was the second (out of 5) wine events that we had signed up for. The workshop was led by Ingrid (Cellar Masters Manager, Head Sommelier) and we were seated with 2 other couples to blend our own wine. We were given 4 bottles of 4 different varieties – Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon; and we experimented with percentages of each, until we came up with our signature blend. Ingrid tasted each team’s final blend and she tried to guess the percentages within each glass and then “graded” them (fun grading – no winner announced). It was a fun and interesting day, and we were happy to participate.
Finally, here is a short video of Ingrid (Head Sommelier) tasting our submission:
In addition to the Celebrity Life activities on board, Anthony & I enjoyed sea watching on the promenade of Deck 4 (closest line of sight) and also from the Oceanview Bar – Aft Deck 10. Both areas offering us lovely views of pelagic birds catching a downdraft from our ship 🙂 We also saw a dolphin from our balcony (briefly!) – which was exciting, but I wasn’t fast enough for a clear photo – siiiigh.
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