June 7- A Day At Sea

Yesterday I forgot to mention that the morning announcement letting people know the ship had been cleared by customs for passengers to go ashore was preceded by the piercing sounds of a bagpipe playing. Being awaken like the Queen- if one had been asleep. The piper stayed down in the Atrium for a couple of houses as tours departed. Perfect beginning to a day in Scotland.

Chartreuse Restaurant

Dinner last evening was at the French restaurant Chartreuse. We dined on beautiful French china.  Our server was a lovely young woman, Coralie, from Toulouse, France. We were presented with champagne with a sliced strawberry in it as we were seated. We studied the menu and when I indicated I wanted to order the veal, Coralie said, “The quality of the veal at the moment was not what they preferred and is tough. “ She suggested that I order something else.   Never had that happen in any restaurant anywhere. So we both had wonderful cheese soufflés with a tasty cheese sauce poured over the top. Jim had rack of lamb and I had beef ribs that had been cooked for 72 hours. All of it was so good. Of course I had dessert- an apple tart with ice cream plus they brought amazing chocolate truffles to the table.

As we were leaving Carolie brought a little gift- two macaroons in a clever box- top said “thank you” and the sides of the box said Chartreuse….very classy.

In the afternoon yesterday the Captain said the night was going to be rough with big sea swells and high winds as we made our way north and around the tip of the British Isles. He said the seas would be rough from about 10:00 last evening until 2:00 this afternoon. He was right on target. All night the ship pitched and rolled, the winds blew and we carefully moved about the cabin only when necessary.

Yesterday we saw a video – a NOVA/PBS production- of the building of the Explorer. The ship was built in three sections and the video showed how they put the parts together very carefully. The fancy suites have lots and lots of marble and stone so a process was created where there is actually only a thin layer of marble or stone and underneath it is a honeycomb sort of layer to help give the elegant look but without all the heavy weight. There is a back-up system for every cable incase a fire in one part of the ship destroys an important cable.  The four propellers were carefully designed and were cast in a way so there would be no vibration  in the ship. I do remember being on older ships where there was so much vibration in the dining room because of the engine that you could hardly walk or talk. The largest suite, The Explorer Suite- is 4000 sq. ft. and rents for $10,000 a night….can’t imagine!

Desk Area

Sarah and Leah

Since today is a day cruising the Scottish Coastline I wanted to tell you a little about the suite itself. There are marble tops on all the counters and all around the bathroom.

Our Suite # 824 (332 sq. ft. with a 132 sq. ft. balcony making a

total of 464 sq. ft. of living space) is attended by two lovely young women- Leah from Thailand and Sarah from the Philippines . They are always so cheerful and never seem to mind working around us when we happen to be in the cabin.

Walk-in Closet

The suite features a large walk-in closet and more drawers and storage space than we can ever use. The drawers are self-closing- push them almost in and they close the remainder of the way-  as is the toilet lid.

The desk area is also a long counter- perfect for dumping stuff and stacking stuff.

TV and Mini-bar

The TV is excellent and the mini-bar works great. The sofa for watching and reading is very nice and also comfortable.

The bathroom has a large walk-in shower , a

very deep tub and shower combination, two sinks, lots of storage, great towels and a toilet with a self-closing lid…..what more could a human need!

The bed is a king-sized bed with a most comfortable mattress. I have yet to figure out all the lighting switches. We are certainly sleeping great!

Leah rang the bell this morning at 8:30 with our laundry. Quick service! 

Selfie with Leah and Sarah

Breakfast came right on time and I think I will hang around the cabin until the sea calms down a bit. 

At least the rain has stopped. 

Still a great day with a perfect place to relax!